I want to start my review by saying that I haven't beaten the game yet. Hell, I've only gotten through the first level!
But I feel like I already have a lot to say about it, so I'm writing the review now, and I'll edit it once I finish the game.

I've only been a fan of Script's games for a few years, Don't Escape: 4 Days to Survive is the first game of his that I played, and I really enjoyed it. It was a really great and Polished experience, and I've enjoyed all of my playthroughs of the game. I eventually got around playing the other Don't Escape and Deep Sleep games, and really liked them. Script really has some skillful hands when it comes to creating a great world with a great atmosphere.

When I heard that he was working on a new Deep Sleep game, I wasn't sure if he was gonna be able to outdo himself, after all, Don't Escape 4 was an amazing game. But the more we got to see of the game through its development (with screenshots, trailers, etc), it became clear rather quickly that this was really gonna be not only his greatest games yet, but just an amazing game overall. And man, I think it has surpassed all of my expectations!

There's so much to unpack in this game, it looks beautiful, it sounds beautiful, it's very fun, it's full of detail, it's very large... you really do get a lot of bang for your buck here.
I knew this game would be more complex than Don't Escape 4, but I didn't expect it to be in this level.
The game has advanced quite a lot on every aspect, graphically, sound-wise, content-wise, and, most surprisingly, gameplay wise. At first glance, you might expect this game to play similarly to Don't Escape 4, but there are so many unexpected complex mechanics here. I think the combat system is the most surprising of all, whereas previous games didn't really have any combat at all, this game has some rather complex turn-based combat, with many decisions to be made on how you will handle fights, what resources you will use, how you will gather them, how the enemies work, etc.
It's a lot of fun to play and experiment with.

The rest of the gameplay also has a lot of layers to it. The game is essentially divided in two sections, the dreams, which are really the meat and bones of the game, and the waking world, where you get to make decisions that will affect the dream sections. Here, you will get to walk around the protagonist's apartment, which has a really nice atmosphere, combining the work game's composer, Carlonec, with Script's beautiful art, to create a really nice looking place. I mean hell, I really just want to step through the screen and spend some time chilling in there, looking at the city below while drinking some coffee on the balcony... it's great. I love moments like this in horror games, where you get to take a break and get a glimpse of the protagonist's ordinary life.
Anyways, when you're awake, the game is somewhat similar to the Persona games, if you've played them, as you basically have to choose an activity to do for the day, which will grant you bonuses in the dream sections.
There are several options to choose from, so you really get you experiment and adjust your resources how you want.

You will also find a computer here, where you get to use the points you earn through the dream sections to unlock new abilities and items to craft.
Now, normally I don't like these kind of systems in videogames, but I think it's done rather well here. It's simple enough to not be overwhelming, but also complex enough to be very fun and let you play the game how you want. And all the things you unlock really do feel important and useful.

Then come the dream sections, which play quite differently from Script's previous games. The gameplay is a little more like a traditional game, mixing RPG and Survival Horror elements. You'll definitely feel at home if you like games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. You get to explore large maps, finding resources, solving puzzles and fighting or avoiding enemies.
So far, none of the puzzles I've encountered are particularly complex, reminding me more of Resident Evil's puzzles than Silent Hill, but still, I enjoy this kind of thing and it feels right at home here. The game's resource management system is very interesting, feeling like some sort of middle point between the classic Resident Evil games, and something like Resident Evil 4, as you get to upgrade your life bar, inventory size, etc, but (at least so far in my playthrough), you don't really become overpowered.
Through the game you will find multiple items that can be used as weapons, and each of them work differently, for example, some weapons may deal more damage, but also let your enemy skip a turn. Or, you might find a shield that blocks some of the damage you take, and at the same time hurts the enemy once they attack.
The combat is turn-based, but not in a traditional "the player and the enemy each get consecutive turns" way. Enemies take a certain amount of turns to attack, so deciding when to attack, when to block and when to use healing items or craft stuff is very important.

The game's crafting system is very nice, it's fun to use but again, not particularly overwhelming. Essentially, you get a certain amount of charges during a dream, that you can use to craft things like healing items and weapons. There are ways to restore your charges for the night, but they may not always be available. You can also increase the maximum amount of charges you can have with the computer, using the soul points you get through the game. Basically, it's a sort of currency, certain actions give you some soul points, although the main way of earning them is through completing the dreams and main objectives. These are what you later use in your computer to unlock new abilities and items to craft.

As for the game's story, well, I can't say too much yet, as I haven't gotten too far yet (really, most of the playtime I have right now is just me exploring and fooling around with the game), but so far it's really intriguing and really makes me excited to get through the game to learn more!

Overall, this is just a great game. It's a really fun experience, and you can tell Script has really poured all his soul into it. You can just feel it in every design, every piece of dialogue, every little nod, either to previous games or the real world, as this game is still set in the 90s and so you'll find a lot of cool details to old technology here (I might just be a really huge nerd :P). It's a game that, of course, every Scriptwelder fan NEEDS to experience, but at the same time, any fan of horror games, graphic adventure games, survival horror games, really should try out, because aside from being this developer's best game so far, it's also just a really well done game on its own. It feels really professional, and you will not regret your time with it.

this game sucks

this game sucks