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Image credit: Em Stonham for The Escapist/EYES OUT, LLC./Blumhouse Games
Em Stonham
andSam Smith
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SLEEP AWAKE is an unnerving, psychedelic horror experience from the teams at EYES OUT and Blumhouse Games. Exploring what would happen to humans if they were unable to sleep, playing through SLEEP AWAKE felt like wandering through a nightmarish art exhibit.
Below, you’ll find The Escapist’s first impressions of the initial SLEEP AWAKE experience, looking at everything from the minimalistic style of play to the undeniably incredible artwork. This spoiler-free impression piece was completed with a PlayStation 5.
The Escapist recaps SLEEP AWAKE is a psychedelic horror experience that was released on December 2, 2025, developed by EYES OUT, LLC., and published by Blumhouse Games. In SLEEP AWAKE, you explore Earth’s last city through the tired eyes of a character named Katja. The city is being decimated by a strange phenomenon called The Hush, which snatches up anyone who falls asleep, sentencing them to an unknown fate. As a result of The Hush, the city’s remaining residents are desperately searching for a solution to staying awake, leading to some Hellraiser-esque cults and torture practices. The game is visually stunning, with a blend of polished animation and FMV scenes, with a well-rounded, immersive soundscape, too. SLEEP AWAKE’s gameplay is quite simple, falling into the walking simulator niche, with a large focus being placed on exploration instead of intensive gameplay. An arthouse fever dream
The visuals in SLEEP AWAKE are spectacular. Image credit: Em Stonham for The Escapist/EYES OUT, LLC./Blumhouse Games
SLEEP AWAKE came out on December 2, 2025, developed by EYES OUT, LLC., and published by Blumhouse Games. It’s a dystopian, psychological horror, centering on Earth’s last city in a hellish timeline.
In this city, residents are being plagued by a presence called The Hush – a phenomenon that snatches up anyone who falls asleep. It’s unclear what The Hush actually is at first and what happens to people when they’re taken, but the city is being overrun by cults and desperate groups trying to find a way to stave off the need for sleep.
SLEEP AWAKE places you in the shoes of Katja, one of the remaining residents who’s managed to avoid sleeping.
The first task in the game is to mix up a mysterious eye drop concoction to take to someone named Amma, following in the footsteps of her father, who appears to have been a scientist, explaining why Katja’s house is brimming with strange plants, books, and equipment.
The story in SLEEP AWAKE is odd, and certainly not its best feature. Image credit: Em Stonham for The Escapist/EYES OUT, LLC./Blumhouse Games
The story unravels from there, showing how different groups across the city are attempting to resist the urge to sleep, using stomach-churning tools and torture devices to shock themselves into staying awake. Seeing how different people reacted to the threat of The Hush was unnerving.
It’s a somewhat interesting story, undoubtedly, but it’s not SLEEP AWAKE’s most compelling element. SLEEP AWAKE’s main selling point is its artwork. It’s a psychedelic, reality-warping experience, blending interesting animation with FMV scenes and immersive audio.
Short but sweet, if slightly too simple
The gameplay in SLEEP AWAKE is minimalistic. Image credit: Em Stonham for The Escapist/EYES OUT, LLC./Blumhouse Games
The gameplay in SLEEP AWAKE largely falls into the walking simulator niche. You’re tasked with finding certain items or completing simple puzzles, with a few trope-heavy stealth sequences thrown in for good measure.
Playing through SLEEP AWAKE felt akin to walking through an art exhibit, not playing a horror game. The visuals were incredibly beautiful and unnerving, all at the same time, and the world itself had been crafted meticulously, with tiny details like peeling posters, abandoned experiments, and scrawled journals adding to the atmosphere nicely.
That said, the largely hands-off gameplay did remove some of the horror factor. You’re never really under threat – there are some stealth sequences and hazards to navigate, but the incredibly horrific scenes tended to happen from a distance.
Being able to explore more of the world would’ve been incredible. Image credit: Em Stonham for The Escapist/EYES OUT, LLC./Blumhouse Games
There’s nothing wrong with walking simulators, but it is worth keeping the play style of SLEEP AWAKE in mind if you’re a horror lover. This is a game to pick up if you want to explore a nightmarish world and investigate a strange story without having to work too hard in terms of gameplay.
In terms of performance, SLEEP AWAKE ran well and didn’t throw up any visual quirks, frame drops, or glitches. The menus and tooltips were clean and easy to navigate, and the game felt polished overall.
SLEEP AWAKE is an unnerving and visually striking addition to the psychological horror niche. Its minimalistic gameplay style may be off-putting to some players, but if you’re a fan of walking simulators and arthouse, psychological horror, you’ll find a lot to love here.
Ask The Escapist When did SLEEP AWAKE come out?SLEEP AWAKE was released on December 2, 2025.
Who made SLEEP AWAKE?SLEEP AWAKE was developed by EYES OUT, LLC. and published by Blumhouse Games.
Is SLEEP AWAKE a walking simulator?SLEEP AWAKE can best be described as a psychological horror walking simulator, featuring a few puzzles and stealth segments for added variety.
Is SLEEP AWAKE scary?SLEEP AWAKE is tense and unnerving, but it’s not overtly scary, and it doesn’t rely too heavily on jump scares. It’s more disturbing than frightening.
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