Sleepwalking can be dangerous. It can result in people exiting their homes in the middle of the night and falling off a ledge. Back to Bed by Bedtime Digital Games plays on such fears by introducing us to Bob the sleepwalker and his subconscious guardian named Subob - a four legged creature that must guide him safely back to bed each night.
Originally released on computer and mobile in 2014, and PSN in 2015, the 3D puzzle game featuring isometric challenges has finally made its way across to the Wii U eShop. The only noticeable difference in this latest version of Back to Bed is the ability to play the game on the Wii U GamePad. The controller's screen mirrors the television. With the player taking control of Subob, you are required to safely navigate Bob from point A to B by moving the objects around him - to begin with, giant green apples that stop him from falling off a ledge or making contact with other dangers.
Each stage in Back to Bed can take a few seconds to a few minutes to complete. The nature of the gameplay is rather simple and the difficulty of each puzzle gradually increases as you progress. You start out having to simply relocate a few objects to stop Bob walking off a ledge, and over time more elements are thrown into the mix. These can include mobile clocks that will wake up Bob if he makes contact with them, isometric flooring - making it harder for Subob to move about, and paintings that transport both characters from one side of a level to another.
One other noteworthy rule is that Bob can only turn clockwise when he makes contact with a blockade in front of him, such as a chimney. This means a lot of the puzzles require a bit of pre-planning in order to succeed. To further complicate matters, there are nightmare variations of both worlds (Rooftop and Harbour), which raise the difficulty of the puzzle solving. With all of this in consideration, a lot of the puzzles are likely to take multiple attempts to solve.
The 3D graphics in the Wii U version of Back to Bed are a little rough around the edges. Despite this, the art style and sound effects fit perfectly with the dream sequences presented throughout the game. The title makes use of surreal art with melting clocks, flying hats with wings, paintings hanging on walls and even a slow-talking narrator that will make you feel like you're in a famous dream sequence from Twin Peaks. The cutscenes and levels also include hand-painted effects and the use of impossible shapes; the music supports the visual choices, adding a sense of mystery. All of this combined works well given the main theme.
Conclusion
As simple as Back to Bed may seem, it's a satisfying puzzle game. Bob's dream sequences further enhance the experience with the inclusion of an appropriately fitting surreal art style. If you're in the mood for a fun and functional puzzle game, maybe consider this one.
Comments 24
You had me at the Salvador Dalì X M.C. Escher art style.
Art style looks cool but not enough of a gameplay hook to pull me in right now. Maybe when my backlog is lighter 😉
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
@ScottishJR Today is a bank holiday. They don't normally announce updates on bank holidays.
"You had me at the Salvador Dalì X M.C. Escher art style"
Yeah, that looks great. I may download it someday.
Surrealism style...
looks dope AF , I'll try it.
I great to finally see this game arrive on Wii U. I've known the people responsible for this since it was just a prototype five years ago. Now it's available on almost every platform out there.
Looks really cool. I'll check it out on mobile.
will give this a try. I love the art style. Sounds like the game has good mechanics which is everso important in a game aiming to puzzle yet not frustrate the player.
Like a soporific Chu Chu Rocket. In a good way.
But a Christmas backlog puts to bed any chance for Bob to fill the surreal hole left by Mr Pumpkin in my waking hours.
What the?!? I posted a comment about the review and it's been deleted!
@Vulpern put to bed. I see what you did there
So... Monument Valley?
@gaga64 indeed, it was an excellent comment, too, one I entirely agreed with.
But Nintendo Life doesn't take criticism lightly, they either delete negative comments or outright ban you if you dare making remarks. I've been banned seven years for outlining inconsistencies in their Dr. Mario Online RX review, I know.
Back to the bag
@gaga64 I noticed this ... and I fail to see the logic behind it. I wish the NL staff was consistent in how they dealt with comments. Deleting polite questions (as opposed to simply answering them) is something readers pick up on. Such a shame ...
@Simbabbad thanks, I was starting to think I was going mad and never posted it in the first place! Normally the reviews on here are really helpful, this one just surprised me. @tg1 I agree, this isn't, in my opinion, the best way of responding to criticism, unless you're trying to kill off your readership community.
@DragonbornRito
Kind of, but this game existed long before monument valley came out.
@gaga64 I would have liked too see your comment as well. Guess Nintendolife hates free speech -_-
I just hope Alex isn't shadowbanning everyone he dislikes on their YouTube channel.
Looks like a future pick up when the backlog lessens.
@FlameRunnerFast in essence I said the review was a little light on commentary around the actual quality of the game, what makes the Wii U version unique, and the value for money.
I'm not trying to troll the writer or the site, just expressing my opinion of this single review. Usually I find the reviews here to be fantastic, but this one left me with additional questions, and undecided on whether or not to buy.
But now I'm a little concerned about the site's censorship policies.
@gaga64 Thank you. Yeah this review seemed more like a brief overview of the game. I usually ignore these reviews as reviews on any number scale often massively vary from reviewer to reviewer, such as the person who reviewed the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, whom I'm convinced the reviewer dislikes the series as a genre itself. I believe one line complained how the rogue aspect made all the randomly placed floors seem generic. This is a trapping that effects the entire genre to a degree, not just PMD.
Not to mention they gave a 9/10 to Persona Q, a game I quickly got bored of. Along all my friends that are fans of Persona call it a lackluster spinoff, plus most of the Persona community . I think 4 separate reviews of each game (in a more select pool of games) like CoroCoro does would be far more valuable than these reviews.
Remember seeing this reviewed on Good Game a while back.
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