Back to Bed Reviewed
By Julie Morley
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Bob is sleepwalking with no control over where he goes.
A few weeks ago, we previewed Back to Bed to give you an idea of what you could look forward to on the August 6th release date. Now that the games’ release is upon us it’s time to head back into this strange dream world to solve some brain exploding puzzles. Now that is out, has it been worth the wait?
Bedtime Digital Games has implemented additional content since the Beta release just a month ago. Previously, Back to Bed was limited to 15 levels of narcoleptic babysitting joy, each progressively increasing in difficulty, varying between multiple themes and nightmarish enemies. In this finished version, the levels available have quadrupled, separated into four sections, each with different themes and difficulties.
Strange enemies capable of awakening Bob are everywhere.
Each theme tells the story of Bob’s life travels in the midst of his sleepwalking haze. Bob begins one episode on a rooftop of a building in an urban setting then somehow manages to walk himself out of town towards the train tracks and onward to the coast. Bob is a narcoleptic with a thirst for travel and sightseeing, which opens up a lot of potential for level design. I personally found it fascinating – every level felt like a portion of Bob’s story and I was on a mission to both protect and get to know him.
With use of apples and fish bridges, Subob controls where Bob goes and ensures he makes it Back to Bed.
Delving into the level design, each is uniquely designed and unpredictable. Bedtime Digital let their knack for level design really shine in Back to Bed, designing each section with multiple levels, patterns, and maintaining a sense of separate worlds within each one separately. I found every level to be a delicious challenge with an incomparable sense of reward at the conclusion and anyone who gives Back to Bed a playthrough will feel the very same way.
In a world full of apple hats and melting clocks, it’s imperative to ensure Bob’s safety and pathway to his ever so comfortable bed awaiting him.
There’s an undeniable sense of reward every time Bob makes it to his cozy bed, safe and sound.
Back to Bed is an isometric brain teasing gem that offers a challenge on multiple levels, literally. Subob, Bob’s subconscious – which the player controls, is capable of traveling on multiple planes and levels via invisible staircases in order to acquire granny smith apples in an effort to veer Bob’s sleepwalking pathway. When obstacles are placed in front of Bob, including the sour apple, he automatically turns clockwise which creates puzzle problems in the first place. This leaves it up to the player’s creativity to make sure Bob doesn’t fall to his death or awaken; and I assure you, it’s extremely rare to nail it on the first try, especially when you explore the third and fourth sections. Conveniently, unlike the Beta, players have multiple tries on each level, unless he awakens.
Wrapping things up, Back to Bed is an attractive isometric puzzle game that will please art aficionados, insomniacs, and puzzle lovers. It delivers a satisfying gameplay experience and even an understanding of narcolepsy.
[divider]Want to try Back to Bed out for yourself? Enter our contest before 8/14 and you just might win a copy!
[facebook][tweet][Google][pinterest][follow id=”Cliqist” size=”large” count=”true” ] [author image=”http://cliqist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/julie.jpg” ]Julie Morley is a freelance writer and comic artist from Spring, Texas. She attended the Academy of Art University for two years, studying Animation and Illustration. Whilst here, she learned about writing comic scripts, storyboards, and general storytelling. Since leaving college, she has been working on personal comic projects, stories, and illustrations. She aspires to release a self published comic within two years. For the majority of her life, she has been playing console games, typically being third-person shooters and sandboxes. Her favorite game of existence is Dark Cloud II (Dark Chronicle) and her favorite Indie game is Gone Home.[/author]
Looks like a very nice game, the level design looks to me like Escher drawings. And it runs on Linux, so I’ll be able to actually play it 🙂
having played the highly rated Monument Valley recently with its dimension turning and impossible architecture- i wasn’t as impressed with it as i would have been had not played Fez before it. i feel it might be a similar case here tho looks intriguing
This looks amazing. I really like all the arty references. Maybe I shoudl try this one out. ^^
[…] Back to Bed by Bedtime Digital Games is quite the unique puzzle game. Playing as an odd human-faced dog named Subob, your goal is to guide a sleepwalker named Bob through surreal landscapes. Those who guide Bob safely through all the stages (nightmare mode and all!) might find themselves looking for more like this. But are there any other games that have you keeping sleepwalkers safe? What about games that take place purely in dreamscapes? Surprisingly, there’s not a huge amount available! I’m here to guide you to a handful of other titles that may help scratch the Back to Bed itch in their own special ways. […]