“There is no such thing as monsters”, they said. “Now, go to sleep.” Parents – they leave us no choice but to take slumberous matters into our own hands. Take an armed page from Macaulay Culkin, add a pump-action dash of Nerf, and you have yourself one heck of a “bedtime story” in Sleep Tight. Switch on that nightlight reader and get ready to jump into pajama warfare!

Developer: We Are Fuzzy

Publisher: We Are Fuzzy

5 hours Played // Review Copy Provided // $14.99

From pillow forts to Gatling machine guns, all is fair in naptime and war! Sleep Tight puts you in the onesie of a kid getting ready for bed. Oh, but this isn’t your typical pillow drool affair . . . it is your job to defend your room by any means necessary. The monsters won’t stop until they’ve infiltrated every corner of your room – let alone your dreams! Will you stand up for your right to rest, or will you take this terrorizing takeover lying down?

One-Trick Pony

Upon booting up the game, you’ll be greeted with a light melody complementing the start menu (love the art!). You’ll have your choice of four basic options including one mode of play, simply labeled “Play”. There is a certain beauty in its simplicity, however I REALLY wish there were other modes to engage in. It’s like going to sleep with one blanket or one pillow – sure it will serve the purpose but there’s a comfort and safety in numbers. And by numbers, I mean you can never have enough pillows and blankets! Fight me on that and I’ll have to put to sleep – YOU TRYNA GO ‘NIGHT-NIGHT’?!

Relax, Mikey, it’s time to unwind for the night. Sorry parental guardians – no can do. If you’re looking to relax in this jammie-wearing indie game good luck with that! The only comfort you find in the darkness is taking solace in the destruction of your shadow-creeping enemies! It’s you and you alone who is responsible for setting up blockading defenses and launching militaristic offensives. Who will be your hero?

New Kid on the Block

Upon starting a new game, you are given the option of a character via the character selection screen. In your first time playing there is only one kid available. His name is Joe and is described as “. . . a team player and an all-star athlete.” Playing as this redheaded leader, Joe gives the player the optional tutorial mode to get a handle on the game and its mechanics. Don’t let the kiddy aesthetics fool you – proper planning and spending will be required. You’ll come to find these are the only means of survival diving further in as the difficulty ramps up quickly.

Sleep Tight plays like a beautiful blend of twin-stick shooter and tower defense. You have essentially two cycles: the preparatory days and the defending nights. In order to prepare (during the day) you must spend your currency. This “money” comes in the form of both Suns and Stars. The trophy-esque Stars are acquired from defeating enemies, picked up in the form of a drop. A set amount of Suns is granted after each successful night of defending your room.

No Rest for the Wicked

Successfully defending your cozy sleeping quarters comes down to how well you spend your currency and your twin-stick skills. The enemies are the monsters of your worst nightmares come to life. They run and claw at you in waves throughout the starless nights. Your pillow fort defenses and movement-sensing turrets are the faint flame of hope in the darkness. Well, that and the flashes of your blaster leading your foes . . . to the light. But as each night passes, your enemies grow stronger and so must you.

Upgrades will play a huge role in winning. Your map of play is the space of a floor rug with four stations in each corner. These stations serve as your means of progress and upgrading. In the bottom left you will find the medical area where you can purchase health and temporary buffs. In the bottom right is where you can build big things – both offensive and defensive. Look to your top right for ammunition and other animated artillery at your disposal. And last but certainly not least, the top left houses your research table. Keep your mind sharp and your shooting sharper!

No Time-Outs

The tutorial does well in showing you the ropes and getting you started. However, there are far more advanced tactics needed to survive later into the game. I really enjoy the fact that this game requires to plan and spend wisely. Though I enjoy the challenge, I can see how this may pose a problem for more casual players.

Resources are extremely limited. Unless you set yourself up properly from the get go, you most likely won’t see past level 20 or 25. And good luck passing the Blood Moon nights every 10th night. On those crimson-lit evenings you’ll see an increase in aggression and number of enemies on top of the already increasing difficulty. Fortunately there are measures in place to help with the unrelenting challenges of the higher levels.

If at First You Don’t Succeed

Sleep Tight, as most tower defense games, is meant to be replayed. You are meant to lose at first. It is up to the player to continue again and again, progressing a little further each time with experience and unlocks. And when I say “unlocks” I am referring to both characters and upgrades. By meeting certain requirements and/ or hitting certain goals you will start to unlock new characters. Each kid will have individual perks that may change up your play style or make things a little easier to start. Also, after every game played, you will naturally start to get stronger as each “run” will allow you to upgrade more things such as weapon power through your research station.

Not everything will remain after each game played though. The power added to each individual weapon is one thing that will stay. However, things like unlocking the higher tiered-defenses and options of gaining additional suns per night will not. Those are on a per game basis and is all part of the planning. Not only are the upgrades important, as I mentioned earlier, but so is the placement of everything you purchase. What, you think you can just buy a big gun and be set? Not in this room of the house, buckaroo!

Watch Your Six!

You have to remember that you are going to have everything that goes bump in the night coming after you. And when I say coming after you, I mean literally chasing you from all sides! You must build forts to serve as bedroom bunkers (not to get confused with bunk beds). Set up turrets as both a warning system and to help blast those baddies before they reach you. Quarantine yourself and never get caught unprotected. Regardless of even the best planning though you eventually will also need to shoot some stuff.

Channel your inner childhood hero and choose which gun you want to take to war. This is where the twin-stick skills come into play. Yeah, it’s great to have options, but not so great to have limited ammo. Everything is so limited that you only shoot exactly what you need to shoot to kill. Every Sun spent on a bullet-filled magazine is one less sun to upgrade your defense. Suns should hardly ever be spent on chamber food. Between choosing whether or not to research for greater power, actually purchasing that power, healing yourself, or buying guns and ammo you have tough choices to make.

Speaking of tough choices to make – how do I really feel about Sleep Tight personally? I like the challenge in the resource management and allocation. I love the tightness of the twin-stick shooting and fluid movements. The art style in this game is reminiscent of something out of a Pixar movie which is hard not enjoy. However, as all games there are some downfalls.

Not Quite R.E.M. Sleep

I feel a specific list will do them justice:

The volume of characters’ in-game voiceovers. Though it can be adjusted (you wouldn’t know until after you experience it), it is startling. I’m not even sure why they voices are so loud compared to all other sounds in the game. With the music and sound effects at a normal volume, on stock game settings, the kids’ voices are enough to wake up your own kids in the other room!

The hit boxes are questionable. Unfortunately, this is a huge issue that needs to be addressed somehow. Sometimes the enemies swing at you point blank and it doesn’t hit you. Other times they swing through small crevices in between your defenses and it hurts you when you’re out of range. As long as you keep a safe distance it isn’t noticeable. However, when your defenses are down and your only means of survival is narrowly avoiding the last few monsters before the sun comes up . . . it can be pretty frustrating.

Get ready for a difficulty spike at level 26/27+ because it is pretty overwhelming. Of course you as the player can always play better or plan more efficiently. However, the monsters’ hit points and damage output is exponentially greater right about that time. Not to mention the aggressiveness and number of enemies increases as well.

There is only one mode of play. It is challenging enough to keep interest for a while, but other modes or options would be amazing! Why not incorporate different room designs? Both in look and shape. What about different carpet designs or maybe fully-customizable rooms?

No multiplayer options available. I love me a singleplayer game as that is my main/ preferred method, however the option to play co-op would be great and add a deep new layer.

Sweet Dreams

I feel that Sleep Tight is a great first impression into the potential and minds of the developing team at We Are Fuzzy. It is an enjoyable, charismatic game with a smile-inducing art style. Though the gameplay is repetitive, there is never a dull moment as nothing is still at night. The days require careful planning and are an interesting and unique challenge to overcome. It gets better as you are only limited by resources and not time, so as someone who likes to think things through, I appreciate that.

Sleep Tight is a great game that is just a little rough around the edges. This indie gem would be incredible with a little polish and a few more options available. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Sleep Tight and the developers. If you are at all a fan of twin-stick shooters or tower defense I recommend you bundle up in the colorful covers of this game!

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