This has been an overly negative review, and I recognise that this game has a lot to improve on, however, I genuinely think that there's something here that could be unique and fun, as long as Accidental Studios are able to lean into what makes Subliminal unique.
At the time of writing this, I’ve beaten the game three times over the course of three days, so I think my personal verdict is obvious. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone. Obviously fans of survival games will get the most out of it, but aside from that it’s just an all-round solid game - both in design and performance. I think that, despite how early it is to call it, Requiem is highly likely to take home Game of the Year for me.
For any fan of 3D platformers, or even someone who has very little experience but has more than a passing interest, I can absolutely recommend Big Hops. This goes doubly if you enjoy the "play your way" style of gameplay offered by games like Dishonored and Breath of the Wild. Although I wouldn't expect a deep connection between the stories or characters, there's still a fair amount of joy to be found in exploring its world and uncovering secrets.
Given this, and the fact that Sleep Awake is overall a very enjoyable and well crafted experience, with a few hitches in its story that can mostly be ignored due to the absolutely beautiful presentation of its world and characters, I would say it's worth the price tag, but not to expect a total game changer in the horror genre.
By now, it's well documented that the original vision for Ad-Hoc Studio's Dispatch was very different to the game that hit store shelves. Conceived as a choose your own adventure, live action, interactive TV show akin to Netflix's Bandersnatch, the COVID lockdowns resulted in the project being shelved for a few years, and only uncovered in the wake of creative differences with Telltale Studios over The Wolf Among Us. Eventually, after a troubled development, Critical Role (yes the D&D podcast people) announced a partnership to help Ad-Hoc found their creative vision.