Don't Wake Me Up

As others have said, this story breaks the conventions set with other Hosted Games and Choice of Games titles. No matter any of your other decisions, the game ends early and you can only reach bad endings if you choose one of the two love interests- [spoiler] All Asterius route endings end the game early and left a bad taste in my mouth. [/spoiler] While I understand the narrative decisions for this, it really ends up going against the "be your own protagonist" style of other games in this vein, and for this reason I can't recommend this for someone looking for a read like other titles marketed similarly like the Wayhaven Chronicles. I do still think it is an interesting story with good writing but I think there shouldn't even be a choice between love interests if one of them is clearly intended by the author to be the "wrong" one.

There's a lot of great stuff in this one. As other reviews have said, trying not to spoil anything, there is a lot of silly comedy in the game, with amazing references, as well as some really cute moments, but there are also a lot of really heavy topics. If you don't feel like you're in the right headspace for a story that might have some not-so-happy endings (or you just don't want anything to do with them), then maybe hold off on this one (or if you can stand to leave something unfinished: [spoiler] cut the game before Chapter 5 [/spoiler] ) The game gave me a lot to think about, and while there are certainly things I would like to have been different (see spoiler below for a hint), overall I would recommend this one. Just ignoring the darker/heavier/philosophical/ethical issues involved for a moment, there were some absolute comedy gems in this game that had me gut laughing, and I always appreciate that. Would love to meet the author one day to see if the sense of humor and memes/references translate to real life. Keep up the great work! [spoiler] For Asterius fans, I highly recommend creating a fantastical headcanon where Asterius gets a sweet happy ending. When some…

You're forced to romance Len for any chance at a good ending. You're also put on Asterius' route if you don't romance Len (though it's not necessarily romantic). I can only speak as to what happens on Asterius' route as I sure won't replay to experience Len's and I'm also going on memories over a year old now, but it got very cliché and frankly quite dull to read even before the endings. Things happening very fast that I didn't care for in chapter five, with a plot twist that ruined my investment in the characters and story. [spoiler] It turns out the characters' backgrounds were a complete lie. Were you happy for Em to see her long-lost brother? Were you excited to work as a team with Len, Asterius, Em, and Orion? Haha, nope. Seriously, why would you think that's a good plot twist? [/spoiler] I also wanted to see the rest of Lydia's story, but you don't even hear from her past chapter four (which itself was fine, though pretty short and unmemorable). I wasn't a fan of playing through chapter three. It's a puzzle level which I don't care for in IFs, however the story [i]was[/i] pretty great in it... [spoiler] before you learn Orion and Em's backstories are made up, anyway. [/spoi…

*Incredibly* hit or miss type of game due to a number of reasons that other negative reviewers have touched upon. The prose is so beyond campy it's hard to take anything in the story seriously. There's also a puzzle section, which is so bad there is an optional in-game guide included that spells out the solution for you. Hooray. But more crucially, Don't Wake Me Up is very much structurally different from typical Choice of/Hosted Games titles: you don't really have stats, you don't really have stat checks, and you don't really have choices either. ...Well, you do, but not like that. Instead of a lot of accumulated story and romance decisions that ultimately determine the final act and ending of the story, like these titles usually do, Don't Wake Me Up is instead structured like a visual novel from twenty years past. Make the right decisions, get the good ending. Make the wrong decisions, get the bad ending. Except there's a lot more decisions than in a visual novel, obtuse ones, inside all the comedy and whatnot. And yes, even the one decision that a lot of negative reviews don't like: one of the two romanceable characters has only bad endings. This could be fine, if the bad…

SPOILER FILLED REVIEW: 8.5/10 - A good game for people who like to think, problem solve and explore. If you enjoyed the Matrix and 6th Sense, you might also enjoy this. Don't read if you don't want to have elements spoiled for you. I want it registered that I didn't sign up for this. I wanted a fun, adventure game in a genre-shifting world with some hotties and now I'm sad and thoughtful. I think that the airship, musical fight was a bit much for people who are not into that specific thing but the game is well written and thought provoking. I too have wondered about AI and where it stops being a fun program and becomes essentially slavery. If we build computers and software that function essentially like human brains that can create and emote, form connections and learn, where do we measure the lines of sentience and what do we do when we inevitably cross it. I really suck at romance games so I inevitably didn't actually romance anyone and in a way, I'm happy I didn't. All the same, I'm not sure that I can or would want to play this game again because I don't think there are any good endings. Even if you free Len and the others, then what? More AI. By lettin…

wow. this game hit home for me in ways i never thought possible. this was the first game that ever made me have to get up from my computer and take a long walk to reconsider my own relationship with my craft. this game is funny, poingent, and seriously one of the most interesting game experiences i've had in a long time. i highly reccomend it to my fellow lonely nerds, escapism enthusiasts, tumblr users, and artists who need a break from the world.