Silence of the Sleep

Silence of the Sleep
66
Metacritic
77
Steam
71.688
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$0.84
Release date
1 October 2014
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
77 (408 votes)

You play as a man called Jacob Reeves. A man who has lost his reason to live. He throws himself into a blackness to end his misery, but instead of it being the end he wakes up without a memory of his life before.

Show detailed description

Silence of the Sleep system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Vista, 7 or 8
  • Processor: Dual Core 2.0 GHz
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: 1024 MB card capable of shader 3.0
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 1500 MB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX 9c Compliant
  • Additional Notes: Widescreen monitor (16:9) that supports refresh rate of 60Hz and minimum resolution of 1280x720.

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
Updated
App type
Steam APP ID
321870
Platforms
Windows PC
Similar games
Popularity
Reviews
Write a new review
General Jonas
General Jonas

Amazing adventure game.
The art style is really nice, with the characters looking like shadows in a dark place. Environment, story and plot are very nice too. Dark and mysterious, but very original.
Most of the puzzles are fairly simple, but some others are a bit far fetched. That doesn't spoil the game though.
Like some others said, it's one of those indie gems that's really worth it.

Driller64
Driller64

This game is overall pretty good, it's got some fairly mindfucking moments, fairly hard to solve puzzles (a little too difficult at points), a pretty dead on atmosphere and a good story. My only main complaints are the ending, which I felt was quite rushed and sort of didn't really utilize the story's full potential as well as it could have. I feel that the developer should either remake the game to be longer or make a sequel of some sort. My other complaint is things you need to complete puzzles in the game are a little too hard to find sometimes, and I would recommend having some kind of indicator that these said items are important.

But overall a good game that I would recommend if you are in need of a survival horror game that only takes a few days to beat. 7/10.

RisEN
RisEN

Very long time "loading" word that you see. Boring chapters and not interesting chatting. I didn't strongly feel inside the story.

Waddleloo
Waddleloo

Horrid game can't finger paint

ELBANANA
ELBANANA

It was an interesting story. Awesome ending. Gameplay a litte tedious.

Cold Glass of Water
Cold Glass of Water

I pauses every 5 minutes to change my pants. This game scared the living crap out of me. Metaphorically and quite literally.

TiredEyesThomas
TiredEyesThomas

I only played through half the game, then I encountered a bug which wouldn´t let me progress. I have written it down in the forum, but didn´t get a response. Then I went to youtube and watched a Let´s Play.

The game tries to build a twisted story, but for me it fails, as dialogue and events are sometimes presented in an akward way. But my biggest gripe about the game is, that the conclusion is not only presented very slowly but also leaves many plotholes and worse, shows that many characters, places and sidestories were there for no reason at all. Yes, many things seemingly important... are there for no reason, it seems.
And for the gameplay, I thought it was much more annyoing than fun.

On the other hand, there are some things you might realize at the end do make sense and are pretty cool.
It´s not that abd of a game, but you have to understand how I feel about this game after having a not-that-good-experience and after that bug.

Blaker
Blaker

This was a fantastic experience. You can tell the developer really poured his whole heart into this game. It's a good example of horror/fantasy gameplay.

Pros:

-Story is engaging and the key players are memorable
-Gorgeous artwork and the visual style just works
-Monsters are quite scary/deadly
-Surreal, frequently changing environments keep things fresh
-Doesn't feel cut short like many other solo projects
-Interesting stealth mechanics

Cons:

-Character movement is a little unwieldly
-Backtracking can be tedious
-Some puzzle mechanics are hellishly subtle

TanTeethNeyes
TanTeethNeyes

Great game especially when you realise its a one man team, yeah controls are a bit clunky at times but the atmosphere and storytelling make up for it I think. i love the music would go for a soundtrack.

ღ Shantelle ღ
ღ Shantelle ღ

Do not spend $18.99 for this game, it is way over priced.

Jonoangelofdeath
Jonoangelofdeath

If you enjoy puzzles,horror, and a Mysterious story then this is a great game for you that will keep you tense and on your toes!

penbit
penbit

Bought it with a heavy discount so I wasn't expecting much but it turned out better than I thought. The mood is great, controls are a bit annoying to get used to. Recommended only for "2D point and click" fans.
Also I think this game should not need the "psychological horror" tag at all. It's more like a mystery than horror.

Zergling50
Zergling50

This game not only has a creepy atmosphere, but also has truly challenging puzzles and a story that is very mysterious. It makes you want to know more.

rjazz2
rjazz2

The art style is amazing. Very unique story for P&C fans--I wouldn't call this horror but it's definitely eerie.

Maken X
Maken X

Got this when 90& off. It's one of the best heaven simulators available on steam. Pretty close to the heaven I visited when I was being resuscitated. Strongly recommanded for those who would like to have a sneak peak to what heaven looks like.

6+7/10

*Will visit heaven again!

rosedragon
rosedragon

Some jumpscares that I don't even know what so scary about what been depicted on it, clunky control, and unlikeable npcs. The music was great tho, it does have atmosphere, I just have no idea what so scary and the goal doesn't interest me much.

U44253
U44253

The controls are choppy (which is weird because most all you can do is move up, down, left or right), the dialogue appears to have been written by a teenager with a horrible understanding of how human beings actually interact with each other and the no-auto-save "feature" made my first time playing it frustrating enough to rage quit after losing a half hour's worth of progress. I mean, I peak out a door, see a creature walk by, figure the coast is clear once he walks by, right? NOPE. As soon as I open the door, I'm dead. How was I supposed to know that? I was thinking, well, I'll open the door and if he's still close by I'll run away and go through another door. There's a lot of stuff like that in this game.

However, I really do like the general look of the game. The art is great. It LOOKS beautiful but it plays rough. The story has heart but I just wish it was written by a better writer. Also, I get that they're trying to pay homage to The Shining, but this isn't homage, this is borderline plagiarism. Man, All in all, the game looks good but I just wish they tried harder when they made it.

Shadowcleaver
Shadowcleaver

This game has a Silent Hill mood in its story and atmosphere that is a thing that I very much enjoy. It is a good experience storywise. Only things I found annoying are the mini-games. Some of them are frustrating and non very much in theme with the game, like the bunny one. The controls are a little cluncky and the savepoints too few. Several time I had to run trough all the stage so that I could save my progress. And the hiding spots from monsters should be more present; too many times I had to run back trough several screens to avoid one of them, only to keep finding him in my way. Excepet for this things it is a wonderful game for horror and psychological games fans. Great atmosphere, good story and nice graphic for an indie game.

getupkid10
getupkid10

controls and gameplay are a little janky but the storyline, atmosphere, and music are phenomenal.

Shot_Dunyun
Shot_Dunyun

I stopped playing the game two hours in because There is some part where you just need to be lucky to not being spotted by some monsters . I did not stay to find out if it gets better, maybe you'll find that part fun

DangAreRuse
DangAreRuse

This is a great new game experience, and it is even more impressive that it all comes from the work of one person. It may be a few years old, but it's a game I can recommend to almost anyone.

Shalaa
Shalaa

This is a good game. People just don't seem to understand it: clunky controls, protagonists slow movements, art style. I love it the way it is.

Only negative thing is parts where you have to navigate through different corridors and rooms to find stuff or what you are supposed to do while you watch out for the monster/s. It can be frustrating sometimes, so remember to save when you can!

OtakuVicchan
OtakuVicchan

This game looks really good and I had high hopes for it. However, I found the controls to be extremely choppy and it wasn't very scary, just weird. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. There are better games out there like The Cat Lady which have a similar style.

Occupant
Occupant

This game has lots of things going for it. The art style is very good. The plot is intriguing. The horror elements are well executed. But I couldn't finish the game because I became too frustrated with the distance between save points. A major mechanic in the game is learning how to "scout" ahead to know when it is safe to move. Unfortunately, the first time you are able to practice this mechanic (after the "rings" puzzle), you haven't been able to save for about 15 minutes. So every attempt to learn the scouting mechanic takes 15 minutes. After a few tries, I just got fed up and had to uninstall. It's a shame, too, because I actually wanted to see where the game was going. I guess I'll just have to watch a playthrough video.

selambentolgi
selambentolgi

started really exciting, the artwork was nice, the soundtrack and the story was really interesting... until somehow the monster came out of nowhere and killed me and the last time I was able to save the game was a chapter before... the saving issue really makes such a promising game a waste of time... that's why I uninstalled it after 50 minutes of play time...

a m a n d a
a m a n d a

I enjoyed everything about this game besides the monsters. The atmosphere is great, but the monsters ruin it (for me) I hate running and hiding.. so much time is wasted doing that and it happens often. Besides that I highly recommend this.

Hate | 流星
Hate | 流星

This game has an interesting psychological horror theme with and a taste of depression. The art and atmosphere is aesthetic and quite beautiful. I found it quite immersive as I relate to the MC myself :D

My only complain is that the save points are too distant.

LambdadeltaYT
LambdadeltaYT

I wish steam would allow you to give neutral reviews, since this would be the case with Silence of the Sleep for me.
Now, since this isn't possible, bear with me while I rant what I think about the game. Even though I'll rate it positively, I still wouldn't necessarily recommend it, funnily enough.

The game started great with a kinda unique artstyle and sound direction, not much letting on about the story which is always a plus in a horror game where you have to unravel the mysteries before you one by one.

Then, chapter 2 starts. If you read other reviews of this game, you know about them by now. They are tedious. They are annoying. They don't serve any real purpose.
Still, they are only in 2 chapters of this game, right, so they can't be that bad, that's what most people argue with...right?
No. Strictly put, their annoyance doesn't serve any purpose. Giving players a few more save points, more intuitive controls (the turning when coming out of a door and trying to go back in is horrible) or even improving the few mechanics you give the player would have gone a long way.
YES, you can mostly see, hear, etc. if a monster is coming.
But it's quite inconsistent. In one of the later chapters you're merely allowed to read what Jacob sees instead of seeing it for yourself, even though in the same chapter, this very mechanic is also present. Why overcomplicate it like this?
When you force your "average adventure game enthusiast" to learn the patrol routes of the monsters which are sometimes really really tight, you may have put the wrong thing in your game.

More puzzles with story-ties would have been nice. What we got were weird fetch-quests where you had to talk to people several times, do atmosphere breaking tasks (I loved Mrs. Chanelle but still) or other stuff.
This time could have been used to develop the story, and, oh boy -

The Story. It started really really good, but feels rushed in the end with the introduction of new themes. I won't go into detail since this would spoil everything, but most of the story was foreshadowed, except for these things mentioned in the end.
I don't know why Jesse Makkonen decided to drop the ball like that. I'll still play his other games, just to see if he improved, but I feel really disappointed with what he did with this game, sadly.

tl;dr:
this game can be really frustrating
the story falls apart in the end
play it if you have nothing else to play or just want to enjoy the atmosphere/graphics/sound

edenkun (scorpio26)
edenkun (scorpio26)

If you enjoy playing sidescroller horror games (for example: The Cat Lady, Downfall, Detention.) You might also like this one.

It has a bit of flaws in the story and some elements of gameplay, but I enjoyed my time with it.

Cap10tom
Cap10tom

I started this game a long time ago and restarted it a few times. I finally decided to give it a college try and finish it to whittle down the number of unfinished games in my Steam library. I personally think this is a very unique game and I am very pleased that I buckled down and took the time to finally finished it. You can complete the game in about 5-8hrs and the first 2hrs left me confused but, as the plot progresses it unravels into a very interesting and suspenseful story. The developer, Jesse Makkonen, did an outstanding job with the game and it is very impressive that he created such a cool game by himself. This is the first 2d horror adventure game that I have played but, was really surprised and enjoyed how much tension was created through atmosphere and through the characters internal conflicts. I would certainly recommend this game to anyone that enjoy point and click, horror, and/or puzzle games. There are few drawbacks. The movement mechanic is a little clunky and frustrating when you are being chased and must change directions quickly. Also, there is no autosave and save points are few and far between, so I found myself basically spamming saves after every item I found. Lastly there is a section in the middle of the game where you are required to avoid detection while solving puzzles and the scarcity of save points makes it very bothersome (I almost quit here but, toughed it out which was very rewarding in the long run).

eriol
eriol

Excellent premise, very good story and atmosphere...
But 'hiding from monsters' looses all fear & suspence very soon. 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. And since you 'll have to comb every area multiple times (oh, you WILL miss items or puzzle locations) this gets boring.

Hsiu "Sho" Chang
Hsiu "Sho…

I respect that it is a one man show, I like everything, the graphic, story, writing. UNFORTUNATELY the monster and the saving system have me quit the game after getting out the hotel. There is no point in having rare saving points, this is not the 1990's where the game designer artificially punish the player for not saving regularly and waste hours of time.

Pyrotraxus
Pyrotraxus

This is a very cool indie game. Hope everyone tries it! I'm really impressed. Thanks alot for this opportunity.

Hellhounfd3223
Hellhounfd3223

Changed my review. Completed part 2 finallly....good lord that was infuriating. And guess what part 3 offers? MORE INFURIATION! Now I'm stuck at this retarded bunny luring minigame....omg, when will it end? And to make it worthwhile I have all this pointless stupid dialogue that isn't even worth reading its so poorly written.

How to make this game worth 5 or 10 dollars? REDO ALLL THE DIALOGUE, fix these stupid puzzles so they at least "seeem" intuitive, and get rid of stupid excuses for segments like this "bunny minigame"....omg.

This game looks and reminds you of cat lady and downfall. unfortunately its nothing of the sort. Its nothign liek the old resident evil or anything. The story and dialogue are not there, teh only interesting character and somewhat readable dialogue comes from the supposed villain. Everything else is great....the art is amazing....the music is good (although it needs more music since it has blank spots)...the controls are bad though and the text is bad and the puzzles have been bad. Its linear too. So you are doing 1 puzzle at a time in a specific order and you KNOW IT.

Its not like resident evil where you see a bunch of puzzles and you move onto another puzzle if yhou get stuck on one....no ur stuck doing 1 puzzle at a time. And why bother? wuts the reward? There is no reward other than horrible minigames and horrible writing you get to read.

my old review:

For a one dollar on sale game I'm not gonna dislike it, but read below:

Three problems so far up to chapter 2 or whatever.

1. the rose thing....couldn't interact, thought was bugged. had to go online and find an answer and turns out I "wasn't facing the right way".....I mean really? You have to face the chars to talk to them in every other instance, but this ONE GUY you don't do that for some reason.... I mean if its a big enough issue that others are stuck and having to go online asking the same thing, fix IT! I tried turning all ways possible I remember, but entering the room and doing it the right way off the bat somehow fixed it.

2. The save system. I opened a door and got instant kiled by a monster. I had to redo the previous chapter and learn the hard way how the save system here works. Previously it let me listen in or peek through any doors where there might be monsters on the other side.....this door had no such options, and so you go trhough and instant die if hte monster happens to be right infront of it.

3. Opening doors. You have to face away from the screen or toward the screen to access doors inbetween start and end of the hallways. This means pressing the w and/or s key to do so, and it means stopping and doing a sloooow animation to do so. The problem is you can't see which way u are facing in the dark. And the second and main problem is you can't face towards the screen and then away from the screen or vice versa! YOu have to click a button (a or d) to face perpendicular to the screeen..THEN YOU HAVE TO WALK A LITTLE BIT, then finall you can turn toward/away from the screen. Given teh amount of time each of those animations takes...

So humour me here: you walk through a door. there's darkness. there is a monster right there, it immediately aggro's to you. You have to open t he door u just came from. because its dark you cant see if ur facing towards the door or away from the door. and you can't tell iif you pressed w or s. so you press w again to confirm thats where u wanan go, u press e, nothing h appens, u press w again, nothing happens. Oh thats right ..u have to turn...walk....THEN PRESS W. this si a good 3 seconds process with the animations of the game, meaning ur screwed.

Fix the controls....good lord.

And problem 4: the dialogue....someone needs to take a creative writing class or something, cause the writing here is horrid. The bartender devil has barely passable dialogue, everyone else so far including the main character....just horrible writing here. The solution to everything seems to have him say "shit" all the time and "...", boring and unbeleivable

problem 5: the other puzzle with the 3 mirrors and the turning knob in the washroom was nonsensical. I though to myself "ok I'll do it this way since it seems to be working like this...". But it didnt work. SO I went online and turns out I was right in how to do it, only for some reason u have to do each key individually lol. That doesn't make any sense! I can't explain it better without spoilers here. A mirror that somehow has railing in it cause the text told u so, and u can only place the railing in a specific slot cause u didn't have any other items in the mirror when u turned it previoiusly.....wut?!?!

im ...0.8 hours into the game and I had to stop due to frustration on the third chapter and these bullloney stealth mechanics coupled with the controls. I have to find a room with a box to hide behind and then remember where that room is and run back to it each time i find a monster......praying I don't open a door and get instant killed by one that spawned there, having to repeat everything since my last save. speaking of saves u can only do them in specific spots, so its looking like u have maybe 2-3 chance to save during each chapter in total.

not really much point playing this game unless you are prepared to be frustrated by it. its literally cause the game is setup to be frustrating when it doesn't need to be. Even listening ot monsters is difficult cause it hardly makes any sound indicator for u to register it by, u might assume the monster sound is the normal dynamic sound of the environment and instant death awaits you.

DilDo
DilDo

As much as I wanted to like this game I can't.

This story was interesting when the game was actually trying to tell it; but I felt it kept bogging itself down with running around solving simple puzzles that had little to nothing to do with what is going on, pointless "mini games", and very lackluster horror. 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.

One of the more annyoing things about the gameplay is because it is sometimes trying to be a 'hide from and avoid the monster'(the very few that you ever see) game it has a limited sprint and stamina system, so as you spend most of the game running around the buildings talking to people instead of encountering monsters, you are constatly being pointlessly slowed down damn near every hallway and room because your character is so hopelessly out of shape.

The music is alright and often really good when your sometimes here it.

The art and style is fucking beautiful in my opinion, almost worth checking out on the visuals alone.

il padre
il padre

wow. Silence of the Sleep is a unique game. furthermore, it's a good game

the aesthetics is definitely the high point in this game; it has Jesse Makkonen's trademark dark palette of blue-violet-red mixed with gray and black (sounds weird, works really well), the characters are real life human-modeled dichromatic silhouettes, the movements life like reminiscent of Prince of Persia (but better), the character photos in the dialogue boxes are real faces reduced down to a carbon copy with BloodNet feels. the backgrounds are stunning. the music is weird but very high quality. the atmosphere is at times really tense, with most of the game falling under the horror category with clear Silent Hill influenes (especially SH3), however, the game is more than that; it has a moving story that's fed you piece by piece as you progress with characters surrounded by mystery but all with their own personality

it's not all positives, though. the game is hard as f-ck at times, too hard, unenjoyably hard. some of the objectives are dim at best, a lot of puzzles are not easy, many items are hard to spot, and certain gameplay features are confusing even after the tutorials. the controls could really do with an overhaul, that this game doesn't have controller support is more than mildly surprising. overall, this game could have been vastly improved with some play testing (yeah, i'm looking at you, Jesse - hit me up)

as for the gameplay, i guess it's best described as a Siren in 2D; hide, or get brutally murdered. i love the death sequences, right in line with 2D trial and error games like Another World

the first two or three levels give you the impression that it's going to be the same thing dragged out throughout the game, but that actually isn't the case; the game keeps surprising you with new environments and what i thought were novel little mini games that are part of the story progression. also, first time i ever remember having an NPC whistle as the sole source of music. annoying as hell! but A for innovative

Steam's binary grading system doesn't leave room for much finesse, so:
10/10 aesthetics
2/10 controls
9/10 atmosphere
8/10 story
3/10 difficulty

in brief, it's more an experience than a fun game to play, more a work of art or a story to be told that an enjoyable gaming experience. if that's your cup of tea, and you can appreciate rough gems and quirky gameplay elements, then get this game
great story, characters, atmosphere, art - not great gameplay, too hard and not intuitive

go Finland!

Twistyshake
Twistyshake

Silence of the Sleep is an interesting little horror adventure game that takes you on a journey into the darkest corners of a human mind. Panic, fear, loss and grief are some of the emotions that are explored on this journey. If you'd like to see gameplay videos from this game please take a look at my steam profile or visit my youtube channel here.

The artstyle is what first drew me in. It is simplistic in some ways, but also very dark and sets a fantastic, mysterious and haunting atmosphere befitting of psychological horror adventure game. The focus of the game is more on exploration, dialogue and "what's going on?" rather than jumpscares and chase sequences; combat is non-existant. The music and sound design adds to the haunting atmosphere. Simple in design, yet beautiful i many ways. It's simplicity is no wonder considering that the game was made by only one person. But that's also what makes it so impressive.

While I praise many aspects of Silence of the Sleep, it's not without it's faults. The controls and save system is rather archaic, clunky and takes some getting used to. It's my opinion that this game would have been better off if the player could have used smooth and simple mouse controls to move around and interact with objects instead of fighting against clunky keyboard controls. A certain monster enounter could also have been designed in a more thought out way, causing less deaths and frustration to the player.

That being said I believe that the strengths of the game far outweighs it's weaknesses and that it's well worth a playthrough. Would I recommend Silence of the Sleep? Absolutely!

Bastion
Bastion

Got it 90% off, still wasn't worth it unfortunately.....

Pixels4Fun
Pixels4Fun

1. No controller support.
2. Stuck at the beginning of Ch 2, getting killed by monsters. Having to redo the same steps again, and again, and again. F it. This isn't fun anymore.

So other than the fact that the game is basically unplayable for the reasons above, it was very good. Artistically, the game is great: the graphics are nicely done and quite creepy, the music is good, the story (as much as it is) keeps the player intrigued and engaged. I wish I could continue playing the rest of the game, but I do not have the patience to deal with those monsters.

0x
0x

It was a difficult choice wether to rtecommend it or not. I decided I'll recommend it, but I highly suggest to get it on sale or as a key.

So this, indie horror game was actually made by one single person. He composed all the music, did the art and programmed the game with all of it's story and riddles.

The game has some huge weaknesses, The moving is clumsy and unintuitive, the riddles are sometimes more annoying than difficult and the monsters are a pain in the ass.

Nethertheless thhe game still got a really well laid out story that keeps you excited till the end. Once yopu get used to the negatives you'll also see a lot of cool things. For every annoying chapter, there's one that is really fun to play.
At the end I was still happy to have played that game.

It definetly has some major flaws, but they're bearable considering how well done the rest of the game is.

Doresol
Doresol

It's music, art, story, and atmosphere are great. But...

I really enjoyed this game until the Chapter 2 where I was forced to be chased by a monster every 10 seconds.
I expected a puzzle game, but it turned out that it actually was like Outlast but with an annoying control.
To save in the game, you have to go to the saving spot as it does not have an autosave system. This makes it even worse because, as you know you are likely to be chased by a damn monster again real soon, every time you make a tiny progress you have to go all the way back to save.

I wanted to like this game. I even feel bad to thumb it down. I still can't recommend this game though because I was really annoyed playing it and it was just not what I expected. Sorry.

spiritworld
spiritworld

It's a decent game, 3/5 stars if you will but under my yes/no scale. I really appreciate that this is a one man game and developed in only 1.5 years.

Additional horror when pressing shift to run from a monster, and your character stops running after a while.

P.S. the most original ending credits for a game that I've ever seen.

arejz
arejz

Excellent game, excellent story!

redhoratio
redhoratio

Graphics and sounds are spectacular. The slow pace of the character makes long term play prohibitive, espcially when going between multiple rooms is required to solve a puzzel.

Belirsizintegral
Belirsizintegral

Fu...k your save system. This game is terrible

levheart
levheart

A very odd little psychological horror adventure game. 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). Although it resembles some other psych-horror games (The Charnel House Trilogy, in particular, comes to mind), there's something unique here, somewhere between annoying and brilliant. It's a very slow-paced game intended for mature players. You'll need a lot of patience throughout, and some endurance to pass the 2nd level with its lethal roaming monster, which constantly kills you (I nearly gave up and uninstalled the game at this point). But if you persevere the payoff is quite intriguing.

pied6piper
pied6piper

Pros:
- Awesome atmosphere.
- Great mix of horror, noir and drama with a bit of comedy.
- Intriguing storyline.
- Good writing.
- Superb art and visuals.
- Perfect length.
- Sound and music are enjoyable.

Cons:
- Chapter 4. This is a perfect example of how you can sabotage your own game and make people hate yourself really badly. It is irritating beyond any words: only two savepoints, intstadeath monsters, really slow movement, confusing objectives and way too complicated map layout. You need some really angelic patience to beat this chapter of the game.
- Puzzles are obscure and most of the time I just didn't understand what I have to do to move further. I would reccomend using guide because solving riddles here is totally unsatisfying and irritating.
- Sadly, no option to play with gamepad.

I would recommend this game because pros are totally outweighing cons, but you need to have a lot of patience for 4th chapter which is a total disaster. Also I would recommend using guide because puzzles are not enjoyable and too obscure, at least for me. Just don't spoil storyline for yourself!

In the end I have to say that I am really impressed by this work of just one man and I am definetely interested in all next projects of Jesse Makkonen (he already improved greatly in his next game, Distraint, which I highly recommend too). If you like psychological horror, noir and deeply atmospheric disturbing games - you will love it despite all the flaws it has. Also, it's really cheap, far cheaper than it should be. A lot of garbage on steam costs 10 times more than this impressive piece of art.

BeNikis
BeNikis

OK,so just finished the game and I can say that if the stealth sections weren't so drawn out this would freaking amazing.The "Psychological Horror" Tag is really appropriate - there are classic scary monster horror parts,but the overarching story and how certain things interconnect give the psychological part of the tag incredible weight.What I'm saying is this game is a gem with basically one,kind of drawn out flaw in my opinion.

bashgold
bashgold

8/10 soundtrack is amazing and story is just great, level 2 was infuiating and controls overall were ok not good but ok. love the art. BRING BACK MRs. CHANTELLE!!! SHE DID NOT DESERVE SUCH A FATE!!!

Epickick
Epickick

Mother of god its immersive igguess?

Erebus
Erebus

Great atmosphere, but mechanics could be better. Really good value for the money (if you buy on sale).

Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelstein
Hubert Blaine …

It has great atmosphere and the storyline is intriguing. But the gameplay is slow and somewhat clumsy. The worst part though, is the game saving system. After I had to play a chapter all over again for the second time, I decided that was it for me.

stoneinfocus
stoneinfocus

If you're looking at this game because you're really into psychological horror, it is an interesting little gem when it comes to the atmosphere and art design - and even more impressive that it was made all by one person. But even though the story is mysterious enough to keep luring you along, it's a pretty predictable twist, especially if you're an aficionado of the genre. The worst and almost unforgivable part of the game are the chase sequences, which thankfully are a fairly small part of the game, but can be maddening nonetheless, particularly when you have to keep restarting back to your most recent save point.

Recommended if you're willing to put up with some frustrating bits to enjoy the unique ambiance and aesthetic, but that's about the only thing that really stands out.

SXG-240
SXG-240

good game no controller support :(

LittleCarla
LittleCarla

A Really scary 2d game. Artistic, dark, gory and a feeling of hopelessness and despair. Good story too. In this game you use your arrows on the keybord navigate. Not everyone likes this kind of games, but it is how we played pc games in 90'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKZhzYnP55s&list=PLh0sNe0ltwmCCqoglTgjt…

dystopicfilms
dystopicfilms

Take the deeply unsettling mind-bending imagery of "The Cat Lady", the objective-based exploration of "Whispering Willows", and the stealth style gameplay of "Knock Knock" and what do you have?

The answer, dear readers, is the latest creation by unique Indie game developer Jesse Makkonen.

Having previously demonstrated a unique flair for creativing involving stories that mix streams of consciousness introspection and real-life sociological critique with some of the most ghastly images this side of Eli Roth's twisted psyche, this newest game from the creator of the "Distraint" promises to be even more involving than it's predecessors and no less disturbing.

Players take control of Jacob Reeves, a shady though well-dressed avatar who looks like what would happen if you green-screened a fellow for one of those mid-2000s iPod commercials. Having thrown himself seeming to his own death at the very start of the game, Jacob instead finds himself wandering in a twisted internal space carrying distinct shades of many well-established Horror films. References to the "The Shining" in are particularly self-evident, due in no small part to the visage of the game's antagonist: a nameless though enigmatic gentleman who bears more than a passing resemblance to Stephen King's tragically fated though diabolically manipulative butler-turned-provocateur, Delbert Grady.

Where the game truly shines however (so to speak), is in it's inspired use of light and dark. Darkness is a key theme of this game and as such light sources are used to superior effect. Shining light on certain pieces of scenery can allude to certain clues while fumbling through darkness can sometimes prove to be a far safer option, especially when it comes to hiding from the game's Lovecraftian abominations, each one a seemingly conscious nod to the influence of the late H.R. Geiger.

Add to this some very interesting puzzles and the game itself proves more than capable of hooking and maintaining player interest.

Where the game falls short is the clunky movement. Having to turn in right angles when you would prefer to simply run back and forth from left to right can be especially frustrating, especially when placed in a situation where a monster is chasing you. Considering that this is not Jesse Makkonen's first rodeo, one would think that he would have worked some of these creases out by now and the often stop/start erratic nature of movement in the game DOES lessen the enjoyment factor, albeit by only the smallest amount.

Either way, one could do far worse than to choose "Silence of the Sleep" as a go to adventure game. While some may argue that it is at times style and story over gameplay substance, one could do far, far worse than what is essentially a fine piece of thrilling Indie gaming.

Theodore_Imms
Theodore_Imms

I really wanted to give this a good review, but the things this game did wrong can't allow that. While the atmosphere and all that were absolutely spot on, however:

-Puzzles a lot of the time were just unclear. A particular involved searching a bathtub for an item. 1), the item was near impossible to find, 2), the game didn't at all make it clear that sounds were clues as to how close your hand was to said item.

-The spawning of monsters often spawned right near the player and felt like it was a deliberate sabotage to making any progress.

-Saving. While manually saving isn't much of a problem, what IS a problem is if I were to, for example, save my game, pick up an item, then save again, loading that save would make no difference. It's basically checkpoint saving, except you have to do that yourself.

-The monsters in general. The first appearance was one of the single most tense things I've ever had in a horror game. However, it only does this well-crafted sequence one, form then on the monsters have no reaction to the player, and only walk in straight paths back and forth.

I'm afraid the good atmosphere is completely drowned out my pure frustration, at least for me, anyway. Disappointed, I'm glad this costed less than a pound.

master_pain_betty
master_pain_betty

It's OK for an indie. The sound design, in particular, is extraordinary. The author could use this to showcase his skills so as to get hired in some major game development company. Otherwise, OK story, OK graphics, intriguing monster design, excessively obscure puzzles sometimes.

R4zoR
R4zoR

Puzzles are too long
Boring gameplay

Mr. Boogie
Mr. Boogie

Awesome. This game is a side scroller 2d. The story is pretty good. It's a mystery-horror tale with several puzzles and dialogues. The art is minimalist but pretty good, it creates a nice atmosphere along with the sounds and music. Mechanics are easy to learn and the controls are fine.

No bugs or crashes. Works fine on Win 7.

Considering it was made by only one person it's really meritorious. An efficient narrative with twists and turns that keeps you guessing and interested. Some good intense moments reminiscent of games like Silent Hill. I guess the only complaint could be that some parts might be a little too long due to some unnecessary back and forward in a couple of chapters. Anyway, it's very cheap normally and a steal when on sale. Packs a lot of content for the price, took me around 14 hours to finish it. Cards are included. This is an Indie gem and I happily recommend it.

TheGizmoDuck
TheGizmoDuck

There's a lot to like about Silence of the Sleep.
The music, backgrounds, art direction, monster design, sound design etc. are all great and make for a fantastic atmosphere. These are the things I actually value most when it comes to video games. However, Silence of the Sleep reminded of how that's not all there is to a game.

The controls are unnecessarily cumbersome. You could argue that is to add a sense of panic in tight situations, but that tension should come from the game itself, not fighting the controls.
The biggest culprit of this is when you're trying to turn 180 from facing the background to face a foreground door and you need to press a side direction THEN the direction of the door it's needlessly convoluted and adds nothing.

The puzzles are hit and miss. Most of the time they're fun and challenging but there's a few inventory object puzzles especially that are difficult not in figuring them out, but in seeing the items and grabbing them because they don't stand out from the background at all and with no indicator that they're there so you find yourself interacting with every piece of background to make sure you didn't miss a key or a tape or whatever.

And as much as I love the monster design I feel like the game would be more enjoyable without them. This is due to how they impede the flow of the game. At first they're not too bad and are easy enough to work around but they become an absolute nuisance at a certain point in the story. Instead of adding dread and fear they are an annoyance with one touch kills. You're trying to solve a puzzle and oops you're dead and have to start all over from the beginning of the chapter because of how few and far between save points are. Really, all the games issues could be overlooked if not for the monsters exacerbating the other issues.

I truly wanted to press onward after Chapter 2 to see, hear, and experience the work of art this game presents but it just turned from a clunky but interesting horror adventure into a frustrating mess that overshadowed anything enjoyable to me.

A real shame because of how enjoyable all the artistic aspects of the game are.

astronuno
astronuno

Scary!!!

So...
Art and style - impressive!
Soundtrack and music - beautiful!
Monsters - "What the hell is that?"
"Hide! Now! FAST!!" - "oh my god, oh my god, don't find me, don't find me, go away!"
Story - some parts hard to understand
Chapters - easy to explore (except chapter 4, can be hard no navigate)
Controls - easy to use

Worth buying and playing!

MythoBeanz94
MythoBeanz94

I really liked the game, loved the art style and the creepy and grim atmosphere it had, the puzzles were somewhat challenging.
There were some parts in the game though that were pretty annoying I'm talking about you (Chapter 2 and Chapter 4) but when you get the hang of it it gets easier but overall I enjoyed the game an awful lot despite the negative things I mentioned before.

Usimortis
Usimortis

I seriously won't spend more time with this ridiculous saving mode. You find places to save your game like RES2 but I only found one and when progressed somewhat into the game I couldnt find another. I will not replay 30 minutes of this game.

It is a struggle to move and the controls are clunky as hell. The atmosphere and soundtrack are perfect. Those I really enjoyed.

kokiri1232
kokiri1232

Silence of the Sleep is an interesting and good spooky game, now its story time.

A man named Jacob sits alone near a cliff and soon he falls off only for him to wake up in some room, with no idea of how he got there and worse he can only remember his own name.

All right the likes, well first the soundtrack is really good, it can be hauntingly beautiful, calming or funny. The game’s atmosphere is great and just oozes style.

The story is really good and had some beautiful moments; the puzzles were good and not too hard, the mini games for chapter three were all so good. I really liked the characters; some of them were really interesting.

Now it’s the bad. Running in the game is bugged, as you know you can hit shift or whatever button you have for run, but like I said the running is bugged like you could be running fast only to start to go slow and even if you stopped for a bit and tried to run again you would be still running slowly.

And the hiding mini game for hiding from the monster in chapter two sucked.

So with that all said Silence of the Sleep is interesting and good spooky game, with a good story, really good soundtrack and a great atmosphere that just oozes style.

So if you’re looking for an interesting and good spooky game this one’s maybe what you’re looking for.

barkbarkgͥaͫy òwó🐾✨💖🌟💫
barkbarkgͥaͫy …

I have nitpicks, but overall it's good and I enjoyed it, despite the minor frustrations. Very impressive for what I think is a solo developer game?

NeThZOR
NeThZOR

Recommended. Played this one release day, just for some reason never recommended it.

Stragen
Stragen

Easily one of my favourite indie horror games. Love the storytelling, the art design, and everything. I've played this some years before finally making this review, so you can be sure that it had a lasting impression on me.

HoboKeyMaster
HoboKeyMaster

Intriguing and fascinating experience to say the least and to think it was only made by one person. Truly amazing

EMPERORNick100
EMPERORNick100

The atmosphere and the soundtrack are excellent.
The game is very interesting, if you like horror and psichology make sure to play it!

⟢K◆t◈O❖m⟣
⟢K◆t◈O❖m⟣

'Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom' - Francis Bacon

It's crazy to think I have had this gem of a psychological horror game by one of my favourite atmospheric horror developers Jesse Makkonen in my game library for ages and never wrote a review?! Well, today that changes...

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'. Thankfully, there are games like Silence of the sleep that show you how & why you should be using headphones in the dark. 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 vibrant music, the artistic visuals, the lack of mercy from what I called the Tree Monster who terrorised 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.

The central character, Jacob Reeves, has lost all will to continue due to an unrevealed reason that has shattered his self-purpose in life and it is in an attempt to escape from this misery that Jacob Reeves subsequently forgets his trauma instead ending up on a surreal journey of revelation to discover the truth that haunted him for so long.

What follows is a plethora of puzzles intermixed with stealth sequences and a slow burning mystery that is an absolute curiousity to experience but one that assaults the senses in a manner equal to the great Alfred Hitchcock.
The hues that adorn each level enforce the uneasiness with their strong reds & other tense colours while the nerve-wrecking violins vibrantly echo against the other orchestral sounds all gelling together to leave you feeling pulled along at a pace that can only be described as pure horror.

The levels themselves are a true test of logic & reason as you try to understand what is happening throughout the plot which is where Silence of the sleep excels because the player truly gets to feel the same vibes that the character endures when attempting to 'remember', the sense of not knowing what it all means early on does hit home hard yet, as the levels progress, it gradually comes together what Jacob Reeves wanted so hard to forget. The sound effects add so much to the eeriness of the plot from the bizarre screech that is a pre-warning of the 'Tree Monster' to the high pitch repetitive sound of a baby crying - these and many more effects take hold of you early on and never let go until the finale.

The puzzles are of the kind that are solvable when you put together all the clues you have encountered through the level while some puzzles require trial & error but overall they are logical. The most challenging puzzle being shown in the second video of the store page where you need to find items and clues to use a lockpick to open doors to advance, all while being chased by a 'Tree monster' that senses you through sound and movement. As seen in the video, if you are in the room and the 'Tree monster' follows you into it then it becomes a skill QTE where you need to keep the dot in the moving line. If you fail your level ends as being discovered and you re-load to retry. Thankfully there are key save points in the form of a Gramophone.

The theme itself is dark akin to another fav developer of mine - David Szymanski so be warned to expect depressive themes alongside simulated situations that I won't reveal due to spoilers.
If you're seeking out a dark, psychological horror theme that will leave you mesmerised by its mysterious plot & heavy atmosphere then look no further. It's price really is exceptional value.

~~~Liked what you see? You can find more at Have a word ~~~

NonSpecific
NonSpecific

Good game for a while, the atmosphere was great and dealing with the monsters were interesting, however I entirely lost interest once I reached chapter 3.

kevmuller
kevmuller

the dev always gets me super invested into the characters stories, bravo once again, distraint 1 and 2 ruled, and now this and heal were amazing too, i need more :D

captnsidney
captnsidney

Ack, What happened?? All was well, then Chapter 2. Its not broken, its just not good enough to play when it is that frustrating. Dont waste your time.

Drowned King Lodos
Drowned King Lodos

Beautiful.

The game is incredibly atmospheric, engaging and at times nerve racking.
Simply put it was a great experience.
Oh and the music, amazing.

Treat yourself.

mhender668
mhender668

Although there are interesting and creative things about this game, it is agonizingly slow-paced, and clunky and slow to move the character around. The dialogue between characters is slow, wordy and not usually of any value.

I'm not that fond of games with monsters that get you, but that's not my beef. When the monsters do appear, it's usually easy to get away, but the monsters hang around for ever, and there's nothing to do but wait what seems to be an eternity for the thing to come and go. You spend all your time trying to get away from the monsters, rather than playing the game. I know that avoiding monsters is part of the gameplay, but it gets to be a boring drag after a while because you can't accomplish anything to advance the game.

There are a few moderately challenging puzzles, but not enough for my tastes. Also, the game does not auto save, so you have to find the rare gramophone where it can be saved. If you don't do that regularly, you will lose whatever items you've found since the last save, and may have to suffer through soul crushingly dry conversations and slow gameplay.

I paid very little for it, so I hate to give it a thumbs down, but this rating system doesn't use stars. I'd probably give it 3 stars, if it did. It would be vastly improved by speeding up character movement, cutting down the conversations (i.e., Hi, how are you? I'm fine, and you? I'm ok. That's good. blah blah blah), and by auto saving the game. It would also be nice to have a way to get rid of the monsters, or at least make them come and go in ten seconds, rather than a minute or two.

Update: The game is locking up in Chapter 5 during the bartender scene. Because the last gramophone is before the phone call, which happens just before the excruciatingly slow, tiresome and boring walk through the dark, and then across a barren field, and then into the woods where the bartender and Jacob prattle on, when it locks up, you have to go through all that again. It's happened twice. I may muster enough interest to try again, but after that I'll have to punch out.

Update 2: I've tried everything and can't get past the bartender scene in Chapter 5. I'd be glad to hear some ideas as to whether there's anything I can do, short of starting the game over.

PsychoLittleToga
PsychoLittleToga

Overall, this game can make up for its flaws in creativity. I really liked the story because he didn't seem bland and predictable, it seemed like it was always evolving so it didn't make sense till in the end- which is always a plus. For those who don't like the constant adrenaline horror games, this one is a fair medium. The gore and art that goes with the scares and story was absolutely great. I'll admit I got stuck in chapter one, because the game does not always have clear objectives and items can be easy to miss. It almost made me give up on the game, but thanks to one of the simpler guides I got through and then BAM! I got pulled back in with that hand scene. That was great.

Pros: Good story, great art, nice scares, for a one man game the quality is pretty decent

cons: the mechanics aren't perfect, running seems to have short "stamina", facing the walls and trying to turn fast can cause the character not to move, and finally- some of the items are hard to notice.

Otherwise a really decent game, and if the game developer reads this, I really liked the note you put at the end. Personal touches like that are always appreciated.

Riku
Riku

Great atmosphere, interesting storyline, final plot twist ensured.

Shaloku
Shaloku

I applaud the developer for this game, I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, the music and the visual design, but the control really broke the game for me. In some instances the game will require you to react to frequent monster chases that could insta-kill and while that's an annoyance, it's only made unbearable with the control not quite reactive enough to perform the necessary sequence to escape. It's unfortunate, I really enjoy Makkonen's other works.

Sem
Sem

I don't really enjoy indie games but even tho this game is tagged as horror game, I found this game depressing.
Will give you chills on every scene. 8/10

Karl
Karl

I wanted to like this game - honestly - but there is a severe glitch.

I am unable to use the inventory. The red arrow just does not move to the grey arrow in order for me to toggle through. At first I thought it was a fault on behalf of my laptop but the thing is I am 100% able to use the mouse in order to use the red arrow to log out and I am able to use the mouse to move the character's flashlight.

It is very original and magnificently atmospheric. Like I said at the start, I wanted to like this game . . . But there are loopholes in the system that needs to be fixed.

(To be fair - I got this game at a high discount . . . if that makes any difference.)

***

Later on, I tried it again, and now things are worse! Now when I try to use inventory by pressing space bar the inventory is only visible when I hold my finger on the space bar ... and when I do everything else just freezes.

This is not good!

FrigidSouls
FrigidSouls

This game has got to be one of my favorites in a long time. The art work is awesome. The game play is very intriguing.

©HiHoFai™
©HiHoFai™

An interesting and intriguing horror game. The dark creepy atmospheric and the shadows in this game are good. Moreover, both the visual and audio are good as well. Although the game is rather short with only a few chapters, it delivers a rather good gaming experience. Also, the controls are basically simple. The tutorials are understandable and you'll easily grasp of where and how to use. Story-wise, it's fine, not too shabby.

However, there are also a few drawbacks as well. For the puzzles, it's really mind-boggling and you really need a guide(s) to know where, how and what to do next. It's really not that easy. Every chapter has its own puzzles and it might take some time if you want to rely on your detective mind. Then comes the monster. Once a while, it will appear at certain places and you must avoid it at all. Actually, it patrols a fixed line of places. Therefore, you must listen carefully or peek when it's near, and be smart, else it's going to be restart from where you saved. And speaking of save point, there's only one at each chapter, so, if you're unlucky to bump into the monster, good luck in escaping it, else it's all back to square one.

This game is not bad but it takes some time to get used to it. As this is a horror game, of course you'll get some jump-scare but that's one of the charms in this game. Come to think of it, the eerie atmosphere with the creepy music somehow reminds me of Silent Hill. Maybe it's because of the flashlight? Hmmm...

All in all, Silence of the Sleep is not a bad game but also not really a good one either. It's just depends on you whether you like it or dislike it, simple as that. Personally, I think it's fine so yeah, it's worthy of time and value. For an indie game, it's that good. Banzai!

( 6 / 10 )

DN Styles
DN Styles

Silence of the Sleep is a great Indie Horror Game which was created by only 1 Person and for that it is very awesome! Overall, I give this Game a great Rating of 8 / 10.
+ Pros:
Nice Horror Elements
Great Music and Atmosphere
Great Plot and Story at the End (Was very shocked about the Ending)
I loved the Art Style and Colors and the Graphics in this Game as it really added a great Vibe to it.

-Cons:
Annoying Riddles and some Codes were really hard to find
Some Mechanics like Hiding from Monsters were hard
Save Points are hard to reach and easy to miss and if you die you gotta do it all over again.

Talos Blackspade
Talos Blackspade

This is such a little indie gem. While it lacks polish in some areas, it makes up for it with engaging characters, dialogue, and a though provoking story line.

JimtheSFN
JimtheSFN

A nice horror game with an interesting story.
I enjoyed the puzzles in this one. Not to easy.
Enjoyed the different settings.
The characters you meet during the journey are all so different and interesting.
Can easily recommend it.

Emol Dandriel
Emol Dandriel

Really good 2D psychological horror game, mostly centered in exploration, narrative, puzzle solving and evading monsters. Dark and twisted plot and atmosphere.

Tetisu
Tetisu

People said pretty much everything about the game. I just want to say that it is just amazing. The only game that made me feel introspective, pensive like this one was the Cat Lady trilogy. This one, like Cat Lady, also goes deep into human torments. No game is perfect, obviously (I wasn't a big fan of needing to turn, using either "w" or "s" to open doors, for example), but as an experience it is just amazing. I just feel sorry for having found this game only a few days ago.

(▰˘︹˘ ▰)
(▰˘︹˘ ▰)

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

TheRadicalMomo
TheRadicalMomo

Unfortunately I snore, so there wasn't much Silence to be found here.

As I write this, it's literally on sale for 54 US Cents. It's great if not a little short for a game.

One man team made game, so have your mindset set to that.

It does what it does well. Get it, It's a fun 3 hour game experience.

DemonjayTV
DemonjayTV

Not a bad game
Lasted longer then i expected, Took me around 6 hours to finish
The art style is nice, the audio/music is good
But most of all its the story line and how it pulls you in, Very well done.
Not to scary, some jumps scares here and there, its more a the tension of dread that builds up.

The only things i disliked is that the game is build on a resolution of 1280x720, No way to change that ingame
you can run it native or full screen, Native gave me black bars all around and full screen dint work
This It made it difficult for me to stream and record.
got it eventually to work full screen after setting my desktop and streaming resolution to 1280x720
Doing so my streaming overlays dint work....but we got to play the game.

Game is good thou and worth the price.