Ever heard of M.C. Escher, Magritte and Dali? If you know these surreal artistsβ work and appreciate it, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find their influence in this lovely looking game; even if you donβt know them, you will more than likely appreciate the mind-bending levels and quirky design of the game.
‘Back to Bed’s protagonist, Subob, is the subconsciousness of the actual main character – Bob. Bob is a somnambulist (aka. sleepwalker) and when he falls asleep, it is your job to guide him through his dream world, avoiding traps, creatures and the edges of the structures he is walking on. This is done by placing objects in his path as he continues walking, unaware of his surroundings, until he walks back to bed.
Gameplay & Levels
βBack to Bedβ is a pure puzzle game in which you must walk around, picking up a limited amount of items in order for them to hopefully have an impact on the dream world. As Bobβs βguardianβ, you can pass through most of the dreamworld objects, including Bob himself for optimal placement.
Scenes are completed through the use of logic, timing and thinking βoutside of the boxβ, especially where perspective is concerned – this might make some people think of another tablet hit βMonument Valleyβ which uses a similar art style. I guess the βlose stateβ would be when Bob is woken up by βlivingβ things that touch him in the dream world, his constant falling from ledges only means he respawns.
I am far from being an expert game player, but I managed to finish the game with relative ease and little frustration – but enough that I gave myself an inner high five each time I worked out what to do.
Without wanting to give it away, there are over 10 βscenesβ in each of the two βlevels/ dream worldsβ
The levels themselves are quite short taking from between 30 seconds to a minute to complete – if you get it right, although this has rarely been the case on my play through as I could only familiarise myself with the layout of the hazards and Bob’s route by failing a few times.
The short levels allow for great ‘casual’ play – working at, and completing a level while commuting on public was easily possible.
After completing the game on the βNormal Modeβ, the suitably named βNightmare Modeβ is unlocked in which there is an extra element to the levels.
Controls
The version I played was on the iPad, and moving requires a tap and hold gesture which works very well. Objects are picked up and placed by tapping on them, although I found it a little difficult to get the hang of initially, but like moving, works well and responds accurately to taps – something that is essential in mobile/ tablet games!
Pacing is dictated by Bob’s (sleep)walking speed – this is the time you have to complete the puzzle, but also how long you must wait before the level finishes. In the event that you are confident with your object placement, you have the ability to fast forward the action; you can also pause the game to give yourself time to think (or check the time of the next bus if you’re waiting for one).
As all games should be, in my opinion, it is completely playable offline and the two main scenarios can be finished without connecting again after the initial download from the App Store (as it was for me). It remains to be seen if there will further levels made available online at a later date, but I would gladly purchase a few more – for a reasonable price, of course.
Another plus to the game being available offline is that the load time is reduced as it doesn’t need to check with an online database to save data or whatever information the devs have chosen to store about you.
Graphics & Sound
Lovely looking! An art style that I have always liked inspired by the artists I mentioned previously. The colours are sombre and the tones hypnotic – as befits a game set in a dream. There are nice incidental touches with the NPCs and idle states – chess pieces are startled by Bobβs presence and fly away, Subob shakes his head while sitting down. There were no display issues whatsoever on the iPad, butter smooth and crisp.
Levels/ worlds are punctuated by still art βcut scenesβ – one also accompanies the end of the game – each of the pieces being worthy of a wallpaper for your device.
When the game loads, we are played a haunting melody as a giant eye watches over a looping animation of Bob and Subob (this iris responds to the movement of the accelerometer in the iPad, which is a nice touch) ies and sleepy sound effects. Completion of each scene is accompanied by a suitably eerie voice which sounds as though it was recorded with the speaker speaking backwards, then reversed (like something from a David Lynch film); this voice also occasionally appears giving you tips.
Drawbacks
Iβll admit that I was a little puzzled at the fact that scenes must be reloaded when Bob βdiesβ in some situations, but not in others – perhaps this was based on facts about falling dreams and whether or not we usually awake before hitting the ground. It would have been nicer for the regular levels to have been a little more expanded – maybe even a little harder.
According to Steam and other reviews I have read, the game works best with a controller, I can only the iOS version and have no complaints about it,
Although I havenβt completed the βNightmare Modeβ yet, I can see there being much impetus to play through the game a third time, I would have liked more levels; perhaps a sequel is on the way?
Conclusion
The game was definitely worth the money I spent on in order to play it on my tablet and its bitesized scenes were well-suited to the time I have available to play on it. βBack to Bedβ is a lovely looking and easy to play game with just the right amount of challenge. Worth paying for, but donβt expect it to last for endless replays. I wouldnβt buy it for my phone as the graphics would be difficult to appreciate, but would consider it on Steam further down the line.
Thanks for reading & any comments are most welcome!
Links::
- Bedtime Digital Games website – http://bedtimedigitalgames.dk
- βBack to Bedβ Kickstarter – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1216936499/back-to-bed-0/posts
Purchase the game from the following sites below:
- on Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bedtime.backtobed&hl=en – $3.02
- on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/back-to-bed/id887878083?mt=8 – β¬3.99
- on Steam – http://store.steampowered.com/app/308040/ – β¬5.49
(prices correct at time of writing)
Social Media:
- Twitter: @BedtimeDG
- Facebook: Facebook.com/Backtobedthegame
- All photos are screenshots from the iPad version of the game.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artistβs personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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