Sleep Awake’s Demo Has Me Equal Parts Excited and Terrified

I’ve had my eyes on Sleep Awake for some time now, it’s shaping up to be something really rather nuts. The new title from Spec Ops: The Line Director, Cory Davis and Nine Inch Nails guitarist, Robin Finck brings together psychedelic narrative storytelling, a Cyberpunk-like setting and stealth-focused gameplay to create one of Fall 2025’s most exciting titles.

Numerous trailers have pitched the game as being something pretty terrifying. Exploring the real between life and death, Sleep Awake pits players as Katja who must do everything she can to stay awake and avoid being taken by The HUSH – an obscurity that sees people who fall asleep, disappear. An eerie concept, huh? Based on the demo, is there something to be excited for? Certainly! Here’s some thoughts on Sleep Awake ahead of it’s launch next month.

Gameplay and Story

Borrowing elements of walking simulators and first-person stealth games, the gameplay on offer in Sleep Awake’s 30-minute demo is simplistic but satisfying all the same.

The first 15 minutes of the demo sees players following narrative story focused sections, offering some backstory to Katja and her mysterious world. The opening section sets up a story that seems like it will be full of twists, turns and interesting characters who will throw societal norms out of the window.

The game leans heavily into the insanity that can occur when under severe sleep deprevation. Katja and others are taking all kinds of weird medication and normally ill-advised practices to stay awake and avoid The HUSH. And as a result, she and the others we meet are all going rather loco, with hallucinations aplenty.

The stealth sections in the demo were basic hiding around corners then making a move when an enemy looks the other way. Though fine, I hope there’s going to be more to the stealth mechanics, and gameplay in general with the full release.

Though what really left me wanting more was the seamless change between FMV and in-game sections. Whilst not quite Alan Wake type FMV overlay, the weirdness they provide has me craving the full launch.

Creeping to survive under the city’s neon lights

Performance, Visuals and Audio

Playing the demo on Steam Deck, the performance was great and I’d comfortably play the full game on Deck when it releases next month.

The game’s environments look very Arkham with an illuminated dark city and plenty of neon. The psychedelic trips and hallucinations bring a full spectrum of colour that wouldn’t look out of place in a Psychonauts 2 biome. The world looks great and I can’t wait to see more.

I think it’s best you to play the demo to learn this lads’ fate

Equally, the audio and ambience of the ‘last known city on Earth’ capture the mood of Sleep Awake very well. With Robin Finck involved, we should expect a stellar soundtrack and the developers plan to reveal more about the soundtrack leading up to launch.

Not Long to Wait

With less than a month to go till launch, having just about mentally recovered from the demo I’m even more excited for Sleep Awake. In a year dominated by incredible indies and some huge AAA titles, it’s great that AA games are still being made. I guess I’d better stay awake until December…

Sleep Awake releases on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on December 2, 2025. You can wishlist the game on console and Steam now. Have you also played the demo? What inspiration from Nine Inch Nails do you hope to see in the game? Come and join the active and friendly Gamer Social Club Discord to chat about all your favourite games.