Reviews

• gamedeal user

  May 20, 2022

  It's like "Silent Hill" (in the best sense of the word), only without weapons. Good game
• gamedeal user

  Oct 21, 2014

  For a one man team, Silence of the Sleep is a huge accomplishment, and I give full credit to Jesse Makkonen for creating something as big and intricate as this by himself, but that doesn't erase its many flaws. There are plenty of good ideas here that feel held back by questionable design decisions and a somewhat unfocused vision. Perhaps my expectations were too high going in, but I feel like it could have been so much more than it is. On the surface, this is a brutally hard adventure game. The puzzles can at times be obtuse with clues that in some cases are so incredibly vague one wonders how the developer expected the player to reach the solution at all. The design is very reminiscent of early adventure games where hand holding was certainly not the norm and the player had to put a lot of thought into things. As such, there is a great sense of accomplishment when you've figured out that particularly puzzling obstacle. The problem comes in with the survival horror elements, however. Make no mistake, Silence of the Sleep is as much a survival horror game as it is adventure. Death comes early and often, but a bit too often in my opinion. Something that a lot of developers fail to grasp is that while death is indeed scary, frequent death is not, and only leads to frustration and a break in immersion. This is where I feel the game began to lose me. Chapter 2 started off great, but by the end I wanted to crack my keyboard in half. Not only are you dealing with some pretty difficult puzzles, but you're continually interrupted from your train of thought by monsters that randomly appear, chasing you into hiding to wait them out lest you end up splattered on the wall. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with difficulty in games, but it's a fine line to walk, especially when you're asking not only for difficulty in thought but also in mechanics at the same time. If you're giving me a puzzle to solve, give me the time to solve it, forcing me to flee and continually reset my thought process is not fun or scary, it's rage inducing. Things manage to ease up once you move past that particular area, but then we go from extreme frustration to extreme boredom in Chapter 3. 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. I understand that Makkonen was steering the narrative in a particular direction, but the pacing is uneven and thematic tone all over the place. I can't help but feel that the game would have been more effective as either an old school adventure with crazy difficult puzzles or straight survival horror with a bit more mechanical complexity. Juxtaposing the two genres reveals the flaws in both while at the same time stifling the narrative flow. All of that said, the presentation is phenomenal. There is plenty to admire from the unique puzzles to the interesting mini-games that are sprinkled throughout, most of which are stylistically implemented. And then there are segments that pull you out of the standard gameplay and have you crawling through drain pipes or slowly shambling down a hallway that gets darker and darker with the disgusting and disturbing sounds eventually drowning everything out. These segments are excellent at conveying a sense of foreboding and claustrophobia. The atmosphere is artfully crafted with sound design that brings this horrific world to life. Some of the audio distortions were extremely disturbing in an almost hypnotic way; there's nothing freakier than hearing a baby's cry morph into almost inhuman moans...creepy stuff. But above all, the artwork. My God, this is a beautiful game in the grittiest, ugliest sense of the word. Jesse Makkonen designed everything himself from the ground up, and that should be commended. His eye for interesting and emotive imagery is spectacular with some of the most artistic graphical design I've seen in an indie title. The story is also fairly good and doesn't quite go in the direction one might expect. Although the end felt a little rushed and some elements seem to come out of left field, it gives you plenty to think about and possibly a reason to play through it again as there are clues spread throughout that will help further puzzle together what really happened. And that's where I think I'm the most disappointed. Silence of the Sleep is a horror game that tells an interesting story in a unique and creative way, yet its deficiencies prevent its massive potential from ever fully realizing. And that is why I must ultimately give it a lower score despite really wanting to support this developer. I would recommend the game to those who are interested in an difficult experience, but if you're looking for the next great horror story along the lines of Silent Hill or even The Cat Lady, unfortunately, Silence of the Sleep is not it. Given more time and perhaps another try at the genre, however, I believe Jesse Makkonen may yet get there. [code][h1]Curated by: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33004802-Chudah%27s-Corner/]Chudah's Corner[/url][/h1][/code]
• gamedeal user

  Oct 26, 2014

  (I made this review when i only played 10 minutes but i have played full game on another computer so dont pay attention to the hours played.) What makes the game unique is how the game is a combination of a side scroller, horror, and one of the most astounding story lines I have ever experienced and I really feel like I connect with the characters. What I really noticed was not only the obvious silhouettes of all the people you come in contact with or the simple side scroll mechanics but also the very simple features that most people might let slip over their head like it is nothing special for example: No voice acting. No emotions of the characters in the dialogue boxes. Soundtrack. Slow paced menu opening. Slow paced transitions. Cut Scenes. To me, these features are what really struck me even emotionally to further emphasize Jacob's life and adventures. The fact that no voice acting or facial expressions are used are a BIG plus to me because like many of Mark Twain's books, you have the freedom to create and guess what each characters facial expressions and emotions are only based on stance or previous events. The detail and atmosphere of surrounding areas really shows and expresses what jacob is feeling and what his situation is. It makes it seem like Jacob and the walls are talking to me, telling me what I must do and what I need to accomplish to find the truth. The slow paced menu opening and game transitions make overall gameplay really slow and virtually never rushed making the player take their time to explore and gather their own thoughts on the situation and Jacob's situation. Lastly the cut scenes can be quite sudden emphasizing what Jacob has gone through or has experienced in his past life. The only downside is that sometimes the keyboard keys are unresponsive causing my head to be ripped of by a monster. Aside from all of these GREAT qualities, my favorite feature was the story and the way it was presented. The story line is without a doubt....the best story line i have EVER experienced in this genre of game. The fact that the beginning is representing the "beginning of the end" and you are playing through his supposed afterlife with other "ghosts" or apparitions was a GREAT way to fold out the story line and develop it. With a storyline as fluent and complex as it was, I could only IMAGINE how it must of been organized to properly tell and present the story and situations of Jacob. Just figuring out what order the story should go in would have made me have a mental break down. Overall, I think making the storyline not take the chronological order route made it more mysterious and relatable and was the correct choice to make. Before I end my review, (I don't know if he will read it but..) Jesse Makkonen.... GREAT JOB DUDE!! For a one man game i am astounded and i hope to see you continue your passion and your dream and make more indulging games. This might sound weird and creepy but for some reason...i get the feeling that Jacob represents you in some way and you use the game to express yourself but even if you didn't, GREAT JOB MAN! The game was really indulging and emotional for me and i hope to see you express your talent to more people in the future! Cheers!
• gamedeal user

  Dec 29, 2014

  I was not eager at first to play this game due to the art style and graphics being simple and the gameplay 2-D, but it looked creepy and very different from what I have seen or played and gave it a shot. This is one of the best games I played in a while (in my opinion) and I really enjoyed it. The puzzles did not stand out and you really had to think of the next course of action and not just have it handed to you. The characters are actually really well-defined and interesting. I highly recommend this game now for it's unique art style and it's well done 2-D gameplay. Even if this is not you're type of game, if you like horror,paranormal, mystery games (or a mix of all three) with logical or realistic (as you can get) puzzles, then give this game a shot. The cons: The ending was not predictable for me, nor was the ending expected, even though throughout the game there were subtle clues here and there, but it was dissapointing as the catalyst was something very common compared to the game's not-so-simple horroresque atmosphere. Why? (SPOILERS) [spoiler]When I finished the game, I learned the catalist for this freaky 'Twin peaks meets House on haunted hill-esque' horror game was all because of [i] baby [/i]. -_- really? The character's story in the game was that the loss of his baby drove him to drink and drive, thus ending up in a head-on collision killing a family with a baby, so it one baby's death wasn't enough, we got another one for ya! He feels horrible and then jumps off a cliff to wind up in a so-called limbo, where she encountered the woman suffering over the loss of her baby. [i] Oh, baby baby... [/i] But wait, there's more: the character as well as myself leaned that he was not responsible for her or her baby's death (nor his baby's, apparently) and that he is forgiven and she and her baby were murdered by her husband who walked away from the car accident apparently and so he is saved from his jump to wake up alive and well in the hospital. I undertsand that a baby's death can be traumatizing, but so can the death of a person without a baby. Just the death a single person or the actions of one lone person can be enough to drive said person to enter a world of immense insanity, hell and pain. Just saying. [/spoiler] NOTE: This is my opinions and thoughts of the game and not an overall view of the game for general audiences. As with many reviews and opinions, take this with a grain of salt and do your own research. This notice should not be necessary, put is included due to previous inflammatory commentary on reviews from previous games due to people being "butt-hurt" that I said something bad about their favorite game.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 18, 2015

  Chapter 1 is actually pretty good. The atmosphere and the environment is nice and it promises a decent horror adventure game. Just the controls are really clumsy, for some reason you can't turn 180° when facing the wall, you first need to turn left or right. Also the hero can run only for about 3 seconds before getting tired. Starting with Chapter 2 you get randomly attacked by monsters insta-killing you on touch, often giving you little chance to avoid them. Yeah I know you can learn their paths and how to avoid them, but at the same time you are supposed to find your way in a labyrinth of same-looking rooms, find hidden items and solve complicated cryptic illogical puzzles. Even after an hour of playing when I knew the level pretty well, I still got regularly killed resetting my progress to the only savepoint in the level. Also it forces you to spend a lot of time just waiting for the monster to finally go away (over and over and over again). This is not scary at all, it's just annoying, frustrating and boring. Chapter 3 is completely different but not better. The monsters are gone but so is the atmosphere. This chapter consists of a bunch of dumb fetch quests (find a lost bunny, get a toilet paper, ask everyone some question, ...) and running around trying to find out what the game wants you to do next. Chapter 4 and the monsters are back. This time it's actually a bit better. There are two savepoints in the level, plenty of places to hide and a MAP! Finally! I realized why I had liked Amnesia so much. Unlike this game Amnesia didn't throw a monster on you every 30 seconds and it didn't kill you every 2 minutes. Chapter 5. This one consists of a ton of cutscenes (this game has more endings than The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and pointless "walk right" sections. The biggest problem is that there is no savepoint and the cut-scenes and dialogues are not skippable! On my first playthrough the game crashed after a few minutes, returning me back to the end of Chapter 4. So after restart I had to watch the cutscenes and click through the dialogues again. Then I got to a level so dark I could barely see anything. I heard a telephone ringing but couldn't see it so I continued walking right and suddenly I got instantly killed by a monster. Back to chapter 4!! The third time I didn't miss the telephone booth but the game crashed again. BACK TO CHAPTER 4!!! Finally I was able to finish this damn game. The ending was... ok, I guess. Not very surprising, I expected something like that, but it could have been worse. Overall: Not many games were able to make me scream on the screen like crazy. Silence of the Sleep did it several times. Both thumbs down.
• gamedeal user

  May 26, 2015

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg60Yimdg4c Silence of the Sleep is incredibly immersive. It's moody art style and tense nature makes you pay attention to the details you might otherwise run past in other games. Add in Monsters you can do nothing but hide from and puzzles to keep you not only thinking but striving to accomplish before the badies can reach the character, and you have a recipe for a psychological horror that will have you whimpering and begging the game to let your proceed out of terror :P Cons: - Controls feel sluggish and awkward at times, but this can add to the tension. - There is one resolution and "fullscreen" which isn't fullscreen (At least for me it wasn't) causing it to have awkward large black box around the game play. Will update further as I progress.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 24, 2015

  tl;dr: a game with an amazing atmosphere, made dull by mediocre gameplay. Silence of the Sleep is a lush game, filled with beautiful scenes and a musical score that sits between unsettling and mournful. At first the game allows you to explore the world without danger. However, the mysterious atmosphere creates plenty of tension. I was genuinely enjoying taking in each location, and teasing out each puzzles. Then the game introduced monsters that kill you in one hit. Tension turned to frustration. I'd be in the middle of a puzzle, and every half a minute a monster would spook on up to me, and I'd just have to hide behind some boxes. Over and over and over. It was like the game was actively discouraging me from progressing. Monsters worked in games like Silent Hill because you had plenty of options for how you wanted to deal with them. They also wouldn't interrupt you in the middle of a puzzle, if you'd cleared out the room. There were rules in that world which allowed enemies to coexist with the more exploratory nature of Silent Hill. But the 2D world of Silence of the Sleep removes many of these options. 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. It's incredibly restrictive. I really wanted to like this game, but it just reminded me of better horrors. Hopefully the developer's next game, the Human Gallery, plays to its strengths, rather than introducing needless elements.
• gamedeal user

  Dec 27, 2015

  [h1]Creepy...[/h1] I really enjoyed this game. Atmosphere is creepy and tense, even when everything seems to be quiet for a while. Silent Hill inspirations are quite heavy in my opinion. Quick summary of its pros and cons: Advantages: [list] [*]Grim, heavy climax, [*]Nice tempo swings - pace of the game changes rapidly and at unexpected moments, [*]Plot is complex and unclear up to the very end (though it may be disadvantage for some), [*]Sneaking mechanics are quite interesting, with all this hiding and hearing. [*]Art! [/list] Disadvantages: [list] [*]Controls are choppy, which can be frustrating when running away from monsters, [*]Horrors are scary, but you bump into them just too often, and quickly they become a nuissance, [*]Story is in my opinion a bit 'overcomplicated'. [/list] While these minuses may appear to be quite irritating, Silence of the Sleep is one of the best indie horror adventure games out there. Definetely worth to try out.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 19, 2016

  I was quite disappointed by this game. I assumed that this is kind of psychological horror so I bought it when it was hugely discounted. Thank god. The beginning was interesting and catchy, but after approximately 30 minutes the game turns into annoying survival action 2D game with a lot of dying. I hoped that this will be only smaller part of game, but when this continued without a break, I deleted the game. This is definitely not my cup of tea. If you like survival games with a lot of dying and startling, maybe you will enjoy it, if you like horror adventures with strong story part and are annoyed by action parts (me) you will be really disappointed.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 6, 2016

  Pros: * Very weird story * Great horror sections * Good sounds and decent music Cons: * Didn't like the controls much * I had to use the walkthrough in some sections Overall, I enjoyed playing this game.