Silence of the Sleep
- October 1, 2014
- Jesse Makkonen
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.
Get on Steam"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.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique art style and atmosphere that effectively creates a creepy and immersive experience.
- The story is intriguing and thought-provoking, with unexpected twists that keep players engaged.
- The sound design and music enhance the overall mood, contributing to the game's unsettling ambiance.
- The controls can be clunky and unresponsive, making it frustrating to navigate during tense moments.
- Some puzzles are overly vague or difficult, leading to confusion and potential frustration for players.
- The save system is limited, with few save points that can result in significant backtracking after dying.
- story155 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely praised for its intriguing and dark narrative, which keeps players engaged with unexpected twists and a psychological horror atmosphere. While some players found certain elements predictable or felt that gameplay mechanics detracted from the storytelling, many appreciated the depth of character development and the emotional weight of the plot. Overall, the narrative is considered a strong point, complemented by artistic visuals and a haunting soundtrack, making it a compelling experience for fans of horror and storytelling.
“But most of all, it's the storyline and how it pulls you in; very well done.”
“The vibrant music, the artistic visuals, and the hidden layers to its story keep you absorbed throughout.”
“The story unravels slowly and deliberately, never completely telling the player everything and shrouding the whole experience in a veil of uncertainty.”
“The story falls apart in the end.”
“The story and dialogue are not there; the only interesting character and somewhat readable dialogue comes from the supposed villain.”
“Just when you feel like you're finally getting somewhere with the story, things slow to a crawl and you're forced through mundane tasks for far too long before the action picks up again.”
- atmosphere82 mentions
- 65 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautifully crafted, creepy, and immersive qualities, often drawing comparisons to classic horror titles like Silent Hill. Reviewers highlight the effective use of music, sound design, and visual aesthetics to create a tense and foreboding environment that enhances the psychological horror experience. While the atmosphere is consistently lauded, some players note that gameplay mechanics can detract from the overall experience.
“The atmosphere is beautifully crafted to be extremely creepy.”
“The game is incredibly atmospheric, engaging, and at times nerve-racking.”
“The atmosphere and the soundtrack are excellent.”
“The monsters are gone but so is the atmosphere.”
“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.”
“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.”
- gameplay66 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the monster chase mechanics frustrating and the controls somewhat clunky, leading to a tedious experience. While the atmosphere, story, and art are praised, the gameplay often feels slow and lacks intuitive mechanics, making it difficult to engage fully. Despite its interesting stealth and puzzle elements, the overall execution leaves players wanting more in terms of interaction and fluidity.
“This standard of gameplay oozes atmosphere to the point you are literally on edge, tensed up from the psychological onslaught your senses are dealing with.”
“The game also features a surprising amount of variety, be it on the moods, the settings, or the gameplay mechanics.”
“Once I got the mechanics down and became comfortable with the controls, I could really let myself sink into the game.”
“I'll start with what made me quit this game, and it's the monster chase mechanics.”
“The gameplay is on par with most 8-bit side-scrollers, but without much interaction to speak of.”
“The monster gameplay becomes a dull 'run the opposite way' goose chase, until you find some boxes to hide within, or hit a dead end and start over.”
- music66 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its haunting beauty and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, drawing comparisons to iconic titles like Silent Hill. Reviewers praised the soundtrack for its quality and emotional depth, noting that it effectively complements the game's visuals and narrative. While some mentioned occasional issues with volume levels and a desire for more variety, the consensus is that the music significantly contributes to the immersive experience.
“Great music and atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere and the soundtrack are excellent.”
“The music is amazing, and I really like the atmosphere throughout the whole game.”
“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'.”
“The music is creepy and mood-setting, the graphics are unique, and the monsters are terrifying.”
“Music can be way too loud at times.”
- graphics56 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their unique and artistic style, characterized by dark, shadowy visuals and a vibrant color palette that enhances the eerie atmosphere. Many reviewers praised the game's ability to create a captivating ambiance through its minimalist design and striking imagery, often highlighting the impressive sound design that complements the visuals. Overall, the aesthetic elements are considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's immersive experience.
“The art style is really nice, with the characters looking like shadows in a dark place.”
“I loved the art style and colors, and the graphics in this game really added a great vibe to it.”
“The aesthetics are definitely the high point in this game; it has Jesse Makkonen's trademark dark palette of blue-violet-red mixed with gray and black, the characters are real-life human-modeled dichromatic silhouettes, and the movements are lifelike, reminiscent of Prince of Persia (but better).”
“When I say odd, I mean pretty much everything about it: the story (which starts off with suicide), the flat shadowy graphics, the control interface (not that good, really), the structure and the puzzles (I'm still not sure exactly which of my actions got some of them solved).”
“I really hate 'indie' games, where 'indie' is a euphemism for 'maybe we have a great story, but we're unable to secure even Kickstarter levels of funding, so let's make a primitive, uninteractive gameplay experience with crap graphics.'”
“I was not eager at first to play this game due to the art style and graphics being simple and the gameplay 2D, but it looked creepy and very different from what I have seen or played and gave it a shot.”
- grinding7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to excessive backtracking and repetitive tasks like dodging monsters and solving simple puzzles. Levels, especially in later chapters, are described as mundane and irritating, detracting from the overall enjoyment and tension of the gameplay.
“The bulk of the game is running away from monsters towards random directions, looking for cardboard boxes to hide again. Every simple task, such as 'go from point A to point B', becomes frustrating and tedious.”
“Alright, one of my main gripes about this game is in chapter 4 with that goddamn sewer level. It drives me up the wall how tedious, mundane, and boring it is. While I'm trying to solve the puzzles in the sewer, I can't constantly keep hiding from monsters that move too slowly, which ruins the tension for me and leads to a lot of rage-inducing moments when I'm backtracking.”
“Backtracking can be tedious.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game deeply emotional and introspective, drawing comparisons to the impactful storytelling of the Cat Lady trilogy. The narrative effectively emphasizes the protagonist Jacob's life and adventures, leaving a lasting emotional impression on players.
“The only game that made me feel introspective and pensive like this one was the Cat Lady trilogy.”
“To me, these features really struck me emotionally, further emphasizing Jacob's life and adventures.”
“The game was truly engaging and emotional for me, and I hope to see you express your talent to more people in the future!”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its amusing mini-games and entertaining end credits, contributing to an overall lighthearted experience. Additionally, the soundtrack enhances the comedic elements, providing a mix of hauntingly beautiful and funny tones.
“The soundtrack is really good; it can be hauntingly beautiful, calming, or funny.”
“Pretty nice game with funny end credits!”
“The game features some amusing mini-games.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Users report stability issues, particularly with the inventory system, which only appears while holding the space bar, causing other functions to freeze. Additionally, sprinting can be inconsistent, cutting out unexpectedly, though these bugs are generally seen as minor annoyances in the context of gameplay.
“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 sprinting was a little buggy and would cut out randomly while holding down the shift key (I even switched keyboards to double-check it wasn't user error).”
“Moving back and forth while avoiding monsters can get a little monotonous after a while, but for the most part, you're too busy running away from them to care too much.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's running mechanics are reported to be poorly optimized, with players experiencing inconsistent speeds where characters can suddenly slow down despite attempts to regain normal running speed. This bug significantly impacts the overall gameplay experience.
“Running in the game is bugged. You can hit shift or whatever button you have for run, but the running is inconsistent. You might start running fast only to suddenly slow down, and even if you stop for a bit and try to run again, you will still be running slowly.”
“The optimization is terrible; the game frequently stutters and lags, making it nearly unplayable during intense moments.”
“I experience constant frame drops, even on high-end hardware. The game clearly needs better optimization to run smoothly.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players generally agree that the game has strong replay value, encouraging multiple playthroughs due to its engaging mechanics and varied content.
“The replay value is incredible, with so many different choices and outcomes.”
“Every playthrough feels fresh and exciting, thanks to the diverse paths you can take.”
“I love how each run can lead to completely different experiences and surprises.”
“The game has minimal replay value, as the story remains the same regardless of the choices you make.”
“Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
“The lack of varied outcomes makes replaying the game feel tedious and uninteresting.”
