Sleep Awake is an upcoming psychological horror game from developer EYES OUT and published by Blumhouse Games. In the far-flung future, humanity has been reduced to living in the last city standing, known as the Crush. To make matters worse, anyone who falls asleep is susceptible to The Hush, a phenomenon that results in the victim vanishing, leaving behind nothing but an ethereal shadow. We recently had the chance to get some hands-on time with Sleep Awake, an experience that left us cautiously optimistic for more.
In our brief time with the game, we took on the role of Katja, a young woman desperately trying to stay awake while solving the mystery behind the city’s vanishing sleepers. While the city is full of people attempting various methods to stay awake, Katja utilizes plants, creating solutions that keep her awake despite her fatigued mind’s protests. To find the necessary plants, we had to explore her home, which was completely rundown and filthy, as is befitting of a horror setting. Our first attempt at making one of these solutions was very straightforward, but the developer hinted that more puzzle-like tasks may be in store later on.
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Before we could complete the solution, we suddenly found Katja standing in a dreamscape, conversing with a mysterious woman. After a few odd scenes, like Katja approaching a train station in the middle of nowhere and appearing on an airport runway, she finally woke from this surreal segment. This tells us that simply falling asleep isn’t enough to be abducted, with some other force at work. Upon completing her anti-sleep solution, it became clear that this was meant for someone else, though Katja still used some of it to keep herself awake.
Sleep Awake blurs reality into dream as Katja fights to stay awake at all costs.
The next segment of the preview had us exploring the city, following markers Katja set up at some point in the past. This was our first chance to see what life is like in the last city, and it turns out Katja’s home was just the tip of the iceberg. The Crush was in a state of disrepair, with collapsed buildings, infrastructure and debris littering the path every step of the way. This was also the setting for our first run-in with one of the many cults Katja will run into throughout Sleep Awake, the Pain Eaters.
While remaining hidden, we witnessed a man reciting what sounded like a prayer and performing a sadistic ritual, indicating to us that he used pain instead of medicine to stay awake. As a result, the Pain Eaters have developed a reverence for pain, forming the foundation of this demented following. The developer promised that this is not the only cult we’ll run into, since desperate citizens will look for solutions in increasingly bleak communities. Additionally, though this and other cults may seem threatening, they aren’t the only force Katja will need to avoid as she explores.
The Crush is buckling under the weight of the mysterious disappearances, but even in emergencies, there are people who attempt to maintain order and control at any cost. This results in a paramilitary force known as the DTM patrolling the city, arresting those like the cult leader we saw earlier, and anyone else that they deem troublesome. We didn’t spend much time around them, but had to remain out of sight whenever they patrolled an area. Judging from Katja’s light narration, we did not want to cross paths with them.
The world of Sleep Awake is falling apart, intensifying the need for control.
Despite being a horror game, Sleep Awake was not very scary. There were a few segments in which disorienting FMVs were overlaid on top of whatever was happening in the game, and the soundtrack was perfectly suited to the haunting locales we explored. These created an atmosphere that was more uncomfortable than it was outright scary, but it feels like it’s setting the stage for big scares later on.
That said, one segment was a bit scary, where Katja entered a looted and dilapidated vault to retrieve a switch. When she attempted to exit, she was forced to the back of the suddenly larger room, with plenty of grotesque offal suddenly covering every surface. This repeated once more, creating a sense of dread that only dissipated when we successfully exited the room.
Shortly after this section, our time with Sleep Awake was done. I wonder how often the tone will shift between creating uncomfortable tension versus more direct frights. I’m also curious to discover what’s causing The Hush and how or if Katja will be able to put an end to it. Even if she can, does that mean the people living in the Crush will suddenly be truly saved? Without a firm release date, we’ll be waiting for some time before we get answers. With all that in mind though, if you’re a horror fan, Sleep Awake is a game to watch out for.
Sleep Awake will be released in 2026 on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.
