Among The Sleep has some innovative ideas, not least telling the game from the first-person perspective of a toddler. And they’re innovative ideas you can now try out for yourself, because the game has a public alpha to try. And it’s likely the single scariest thing you’ll play all year.
The alpha in question is mostly a playable version of the game’s rather compelling trailer for PC, Mac, and Linux. But there’s a difference between seeing a trailer of the game and actually playing it. A very large difference, as it turns out.
I generally play games in a dim room with headphones, and for this game, that is a terrible idea. Even though Killbrite is insisting this is just a rough draft, it’s already an incredibly atmospheric game, and the mechanics are superbly constructed. Everything in the game makes sense from the perspective of a toddler; you have to solve puzzles the way a kid would, and the game encourages just enough exploration and has just enough detail that the world feels real and lived in. You don’t have to unplug the washing machine that’s unnerving you… but you can, and it’s a nice touch. You can easily duck under tables and inside closets, which is probably a good thing since it’s not like you’re packing a shotgun. You don’t face much danger in the alpha, just solving a few puzzles, but it’s still scary as hell.
It’s brief, but it does a really good job of selling the game. Which is likely the goal, since they’ve just crossed their Kickstarter funding threshold. So if you want to get on the ground floor of this game, I’d recommend doing it now: There are three days left.