Among the Sleep is an ambitiously original game from Norwegian indie developer Krillbite Studio which walked very comfortably past it’s original Kickstarter goal of $200,000 back in May of last year – eventually netting $248,358 in funds and unlocking a few stretch goals along the way. One of which was the tantalisingly titles, “Proper Oculus Rift Support”. It was one of the earliest commercial titles to pledge support for Oculus’ virtual reality headset and remains one of the most anticipated and one of the first projects I backed.
One year later and the team have suffered some setbacks, the last of which being an issue with the distribution of digital copies of the game via digital delivery platform HumbleBundle. Kickstarter backers have been asked for their patience while the issue is resolved, but as of writing this I still haven’t received my key so it’s probably safe to assume there remind an issue. Frustrating, but as the studio states:
We’ve just spoken to HumbleBundle, and they say they are working on getting the digital keys out ASAP! It’s out of our hands, and we’re eagerly awaiting the keys as well.
We’re so sorry about the delay, and thanks for your patience!
We’ll be in touch shortly!
– Krillbite Studio
Elsewhere, the game has launched commercially and is available via Steam, GOG and HumbleBundle. It’s received fairly wide coverage for such a small title already and the reviews have generally been favourable to mixed. A common criticism seems to stem from shallow, repetitive puzzles and a somewhat wishy washy storyline, however the game’s unnerving tone and ability to truly unsettle is almost universally praised as is the original and striking production design.
Virtual reality support is included in the release and is apparently very good with an extremely positive review from The Rift Arcade, who were impressed – despite glitches:
Among The Sleep is an impressive achievement for a first-time developer. It’s cerebral, polished and fun to play, and through the Oculus Rift headset it’s an intense experience, even with the few niggling bugs it currently has. Should you buy it now for the DK1? Yes. It’s playable, even with the low resolution display. We can’t wait to experience the game all over again when the DK2 arrives.
Interestingly, the team recently also announced that they’d been courted by Sony and their title will indeed appear on the Playstation 4 with support for Project Morpheus. An interesting move by Sony, who’s really carved out quite the reputation this console generation for a company with it’s eye on up and coming game development talent, not to mention anticipating gaming trends (virtual reality in this case).
We’ll post an update should we hear more on the digital key debacle. You can also grab Among the Sleep on Steam here, GOG here and HumbleBundle here.
Are you a backer of Among the Sleep and are waiting for you key? Let us know if in fact you gave now received one and what you think of the game. Sling a comment below with your thoughts.