Silence of the Sleep

About

"Silence of the Sleep" is a psychological horror adventure game with side-scrolling 2D graphics and a minimalistic interface. The game features a unique music score, challenging puzzles, and a twisting story with no shooting or combat. Players explore an abstract world as Jacob Reeves, who has lost his memory and seeks to discover the reason for his journey.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 713 reviews

story238 positive mentions

grinding36 negative mentions

The game features a unique art style and atmosphere that effectively creates a creepy and immersive experience.
The story is intriguing and keeps players engaged, with a compelling narrative that explores themes of regret and rebirth.
For a game developed by a single person, it showcases impressive sound design and music that enhances the overall experience.

The controls are clunky and can be frustrating, particularly when trying to navigate quickly away from monsters.
The save system is punishing, with limited save points that can lead to significant loss of progress if players die.
Some puzzles are overly vague or difficult to figure out, which can detract from the enjoyment of the game.

story
494 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
48%
4%
The story of "Silence of the Sleep" is widely praised for its intriguing and dark narrative, which explores themes of trauma and mental illness, often leaving players captivated and eager to uncover its mysteries. While the atmospheric presentation, art direction, and soundtrack enhance the storytelling experience, some players noted pacing issues and gameplay elements that detracted from the overall immersion. Despite these flaws, many reviewers found the story compelling enough to recommend the game, especially for fans of psychological horror.
- “The story is captivating, but it won't leave you breathless or gobsmacked at the end, either.”
- “The vibrant music, the artistic visuals, the lack of mercy from what I called the tree monster who terrorized most of my playtime in the scene that is, ironically, shown on the store page's second video - all this is just the tip of a peeking iceberg that has so many hidden layers to its story you can't help but be absorbed throughout.”
- “Silence of the Sleep builds an amazing story and ambience for a 2D horror game.”
- “Midway through chapter 3, the game just became boring and I lost all interest in the story and wanted the game to be over by that point.”
- “I understand it is a special style of the game, however I think that the story was weak and not prepared very well.”
- “The story falls apart in the end.”
gameplay
263 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
63%
15%
The gameplay of "Silence of the Sleep" has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing its clunky mechanics, slow pacing, and punishing save system that can lead to significant frustration. While some appreciate the innovative puzzle-solving elements and atmospheric design, others find the core gameplay tedious and unengaging, particularly during monster encounters. Overall, the game is seen as a story-driven experience that may appeal to those willing to overlook its gameplay shortcomings for the sake of its narrative and artistic qualities.
- “Soundtrack is fantastic, gameplay elements that adapted through the story were surprising and innovative, general gameplay and story were very nice.”
- “The game has great potential, the puzzles and their mechanics are quite a fun experience.”
- “The strongest part of the gameplay are the puzzles and there are lots of them.”
- “Unfortunately, that's where I quit and uninstalled this game because I just don't want to waste time because of such terrible game mechanics.”
- “The story is really interesting and I love all the cinematic cutscenes, but I wouldn't recommend it because the gameplay ruins it all.”
- “On the other hand, I think the save mechanic is infuriatingly punishing, and getting insta-killed each time you get caught can make you lose 30 minutes of progress if not more, unless you saved recently.”
atmosphere
261 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
31%
2%
The atmosphere of "Silence of the Sleep" is widely praised for its haunting and immersive qualities, drawing strong comparisons to classic horror titles like Silent Hill. Reviewers highlight the game's exceptional sound design, art style, and music, which collectively create a tense and unsettling environment that enhances the psychological horror experience. Despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics, the overall atmosphere is considered the game's standout feature, effectively engaging players and evoking a sense of dread throughout.
- “The atmosphere is beautifully crafted to be extremely creepy.”
- “The game’s atmosphere is great and just oozes style.”
- “The atmosphere is artfully crafted with sound design that brings this horrific world to life.”
- “The monsters are gone but so is the atmosphere.”
- “Starts off solid with some seriously creepy sounds and atmosphere and transforms into a lifetime movie.”
- “Everything in between the story segments just felt like padding and I think if they took out all the minigames and monsters to instead improve the atmosphere, unsettling set pieces, and made the puzzles more story-oriented and challenging then the game would have been much better.”
graphics
221 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
45%
5%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique art style, which features shadowy silhouettes and a dark, atmospheric aesthetic that enhances the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the beautiful hand-drawn visuals and the effective use of color, creating a captivating and eerie environment. However, some players express frustration with technical issues, such as limited resolution options and item recognition challenges, which detract from the otherwise impressive graphical presentation.
- “The atmosphere and the graphics are exceptional.”
- “Silence of the Sleep is a game with incredible atmosphere and visuals as well as decent writing and character development on top of having superb sound design.”
- “The art style is absolutely gorgeous to look at, and often there's sights that make you want to take a screenshot and just use it as your wallpaper immediately.”
- “The graphics style is personal and unique, but it makes item recognition horrible.”
- “There are no graphics settings aside from brightness, and the game is forced in a small resolution (720p? idk), not that it needed to be sharper.”
- “That's bafflingly unacceptable for a 2D, sprite-based indie horror game with such minimalist graphics.”
music
212 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
33%
2%
The music in "Silence of the Sleep" has received widespread acclaim for its ability to enhance the game's atmosphere, with many players describing it as hauntingly beautiful and perfectly suited to the story's melancholic tone. The soundtrack, composed of a variety of tracks, effectively sets the mood for different scenes, contributing significantly to the overall immersive experience. While some players noted moments of silence or a lack of variety, the quality of the music and sound design remains a standout feature that many found memorable and engaging.
- “The atmosphere and the soundtrack are perfect.”
- “The music adds to the creep factor and really sets the tone for the game.”
- “The music fits great with the mood of the game and gives it more depth.”
- “I've lost count of the horror games that suggest you 'switch off the lights and play with headphones' only for you to encounter laughable jumpscares or, worse still, be deafened by horrendous music that probably justifies the use of the label 'horror'.”
- “While the game excels in its visuals, it does lack in its audio; though there are moments of captivating music, a lot of the game is silent, foregoing even droning ambience.”
- “Music can be way too loud at times.”
grinding
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players frequently describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and repetitive, particularly during puzzle-solving and monster-evading segments. Many find that backtracking and redoing puzzles detracts from the overall experience, leading to frustration, especially in later chapters. While some appreciate the story and artistic elements, the gameplay mechanics often feel laborious and detract from the enjoyment.
- “The bulk of the game is running away from monsters towards random directions, looking for cardboard boxes to hide again... every simple thing such as 'go from point A to point B' gets frustrating and tedious.”
- “Solving puzzles is a one-time affair; it's fun when you figure it out, tedious when you have to do it a second time, and a game-deletion reason when you are forced to do it a third time.”
- “Alright, one of my main gripes about this game is in chapter 4 with that goddamn sewer level. It just drives me up the wall on how tedious, mundane, and boring it is because while I'm trying to solve the puzzles in the sewer, I can't constantly keep hiding from monsters that move too slow. It just ruins the tension for me, which equals a lot of rage-inducing moments when I'm backtracking a lot.”
stability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marked by a mix of experiences; while some players report significant bugs and glitches that affect gameplay, others have encountered minimal issues, such as minor control problems and occasional freezing. Overall, the stability seems inconsistent, with some users experiencing frustrating bugs while others report a smooth experience, suggesting that the game may require further polishing to enhance its reliability.
- “Now when I try to use the inventory by pressing the space bar, the inventory is only visible when I hold my finger on the space bar, and when I do, everything else just freezes.”
- “The controls need reworking; they feel very buggy and it's not pleasant using them as is.”
- “At the time I was playing the game, there were a few slight glitches, such as being able to walk through a wall in a certain store room, and some confusing gameplay choices, such as not showing that 'E' is the default action button in the beginning.”
emotional
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes deep emotional responses, exploring themes of depression, loss, and coping mechanisms through its narrative and atmospheric design. Players find themselves introspective as they navigate haunting environments and confront emotional turmoil, enhanced by a melancholic soundtrack that underscores critical moments. Overall, it delivers a profound emotional horror experience that resonates with players on a personal level.
- “Here, we grapple with depression, loss, and the consequences of how we cope with emotional turmoil.”
- “Some areas describe destroyed areas of emotional torment, as others are just pure anguish decaying rooms, but that’s not all Jacob is going to face deep down… his mind will take him to a mysterious hotel where no one leaves, but no one dares either… they all sing and dance all day!”
- “Music is also composed by Jesse Makkonen, with guitar chords in melancholic tunes, and piano also at the same rhythm for critical emotional moments.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the funny mini-games and amusing end credits, others feel that the humor often falls flat, particularly in chapter 3 where it seems out of place. Additionally, the soundtrack adds a humorous touch at times, but overall, the comedic elements may not resonate with all players.
- “Pretty nice game with funny end credits :)”
- “The game also includes some funny mini games.”
- “Watch out for the laughing monster - it will give you the chills, man.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
50%
33%
The game offers some replayability due to choices that can affect the story progression, but overall, many users find it lacks significant replay value and recommend acquiring it in a bundle for better value.
- “Replay value, yes.”
- “It's enjoyable, but hard to recommend unless it's gotten in a bundle - it doesn't have much replay value.”
- “There also seems to be some choices that might or might not change the progression of the story, so there's at least some replayability factor.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
"Silence of the Sleep" features decent character development that complements its incredible atmosphere and visuals, enhancing the overall narrative experience alongside superb sound design.
- “Silence of the Sleep is a game with incredible atmosphere and visuals, as well as decent writing and character development, on top of having superb sound design.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have reported significant issues with the running mechanics in the game, describing it as "bugged" and inconsistent, where characters can unexpectedly slow down despite attempts to regain speed. This problem persists even after stopping and restarting the running action, indicating a need for better optimization in this aspect of gameplay.
- “Running in the game is bugged; you can hit shift or whatever button you have for run, but the running is inconsistent. You could be running fast only to suddenly slow down, and even if you stop for a bit and try to run again, you would still be running slowly.”

70%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Silence of the Sleep Review - Nightmare Silhouettes Attack!
Silence of the Sleep offers intriguing visuals and an overall delightfully creepy atmosphere, but leaves much to be desired in terms of writing and gameplay.
Techraptor.net
70%

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