The twin-stick shooter is something I often find to be underappreciated. Gameplay is often challenging and enjoyable, but finding the right balance between being overly difficult and a walk in the park is hard.
NeverAwake does an excellent job of finding that balance by presenting two unique approaches to the genre. First, there’s the gameplay that requires you not to complete a level but acquire enough Souls earned from defeating enemies. The second is the approach to its story and theming.
NeverAwake Asks Players To Tackle Their Biggest Fears Head-On
You play as a girl as she navigates her way through levels straight out of a surreal horror film. Eventually, you learn that this is just her imagination. The girl is asleep in a hospital bed, unable to wake up.
As you progress through each level, you realize you’re not battling otherworldly demons. You’re encountering her biggest fears. Vegetables, dogs, schools; these are all the things a young girl fears. Since we’re exploring her psyche, everything is exaggerated for effect.
Throughout the campaign, we look at a glimpse into her life. We learn what this girl deals with, what makes her happy, and her struggles. Before long, I found myself emphasizing with her; everyone had to deal with fears we now deem irrational as adults. For me, it was (and still is) frogs. Silly, I know, but life is about facing your biggest fears and finding the courage to tackle them head-on.
The Levels In NeverAwake Loop Until You Complete Your Objective
In this regard, it makes sense that you can’t complete a stage by navigating from point A to point B. That would be the coward’s way out; we’re not supposed to run away from the things that scare us. We’re meant to defeat them.
NeverAwake requires players to obtain enough souls to complete each stage. This is done by defeating enemies and capturing their essence. It carries over to boss battles, too. You’ll damage these larger-than-life creatures, obtain their Souls, and dodge their attacks. The result is an experience that now ties into the game’s narrative and results in strategic thinking. You don’t have to deal with the challenging aspects of a stage, instead focusing on ensuring you can complete your tasks.
Additionally, you can replay the game and look to do better each time. Maybe the first time you complete a stage, it takes you a couple of loops to complete a stage. Slowly but surely, you get better and better.
NeverAwake Gives Players The Firepower To Deal With The Nightmare
As you obtain Souls and progress through the game, you can unlock new abilities and equipment to help your journey. The game does a great job of balancing being able to use our new toys while also not going overboard. You have to pick and choose what you add to your arsenal, but it never feels overly restrictive. This lets the player find a style of play that suits them best.
You’ll need these abilities as the game gets progressively more challenging. This shouldn’t come as a shock, given the genre. Unfortunately, it leans a little too hard into an uneven difficulty curve at times. While NeverAwake is easily more accessible than other twin-stick shooters, it can’t avoid those frustrating moments. Now and then, attacks will come out of nowhere to kill you. They’re eventually avoidable, but it’s still disappointing nonetheless.
There are some mechanics in place to help alleviate these issues. First, you can revive yourself with extra power at the cost of Souls. This will help put you over the hump when you reach a roadblock. Second, the game isn’t long at all. You can easily breeze through the entire experience in one sitting. Sure, you can come back and try to improve your performance, but the one issue with NeverAwake is that replaying the game doesn’t always feel rewarding.
Wrapping Up
NeverAwake does a lot of good things that help make it an attractive option as a twin-stick shooter, but I’m afraid that there isn’t enough value here. You can’t go wrong here for those looking for something with a surprisingly enjoyable story and unique twin-stick gameplay. Just don’t be upset when the experience is over before it really begins.
