As October 2021 nears Halloween, subscription services all around are gearing up. The Epic Games Store is one of those, twisting its free game policy toward darker titles. So far, one relatively spooky experience has been made free on the store this year, and now Among the Sleep will really kickstart that sense of horror into something more terrifying.

Europa Universalis and PC Building Simulator (which were also free on the Epic Games Store in October) can hardly be called horror games, despite how intimidating their complex interfaces may be. While Stubbs The Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse is more thematic by featuring an undead protagonist, calling it “scary” might not be accurate.

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That game's tongue-in-cheek humor pales in comparison to the genuinely foreboding atmosphere of Among the Sleep. Like Stubbs The Zombie, this free game is also a remaster. The original 2014 indie horror game now looks even scarier, and its free release could bring around a larger playerbase.

Epic Games Has Already Embraced Halloween

If players want to log in to redeem the free Paladins Epic Pack until the October 21, they can also download a more scare-centric title: Stubbs The Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse. The free release of Stubbs to the Epic Games Store came after the new addition of critic scores to its store pages, which did not do the 2021 remaster any favors.

The game was marred with controversy upon release due its alleged promotion of cannibalism back in 2005. Psychologist David Walsh’s National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF) argued the game might encourage such activities in children (a common attack vector against games among conservative cultural critics at the time). When Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Cause came out as a remaster in 2021, this discourse did not rise again.

What is Among The Sleep?

Originally released in 2014, Among the Sleep is an indie horror game with a bit of a twist. The game is set in the early 1990s, and stars a small child who witnesses a fight between his estranged parents. As instances like these tend to, it manifests as a nightmare when the toddler goes to sleep. That’s where the unsettling events of Among the Sleep take place. There is always a silver lining, and in this case it's a sentient cuddly bear named Teddy. The version being released free on the Epic Games Store contains a lot more Teddy content, which can prove a double-edged sword depending on how the player appraoches the game.

The basic gameplay unfolds similarly to “walking simulators” like Dear Esther, but the crawling mechanic and baby size means that toddler protagonist David often needs to think of inventive ways to circumvent environmental obstacles. Similar to Dear Esther, its themes also delve deep into the often-upsetting intricacies of troubled families. David has a unique lens for looking at this type of fractured relationship, and is not a perspective that is often put front and center.

Alongside being one of the creepiest indie horror games out there, Among the Sleep was a popular Kickstarter project that also received considerable funding from the Norwegian government. The Kickstarter campaign garnered $258,000, which handily surpassed its initial goal. A lot of indie games receive funding from their country’s cultural institutes, especially those with unique narrative twists and turns.

Recently, Roman time loop game The Forgotten City released to unanimous acclaim and was partially funded by Australia’s various cultural centers. This attention makes sense given its original mod form even won a National Writer’s Guild award.

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Among The Sleep Steps Up Free Epic Store Horror

Ultimately, what Among the Sleep accomplishes is a masterclass in perspective. Very few games put in the direct first-person viewpoint of an actual toddler, and fewer do it successfully. A great example of this mechanic done poorly is the opening to Bethesda’s Fallout 3, which was otherwise a successful relaunch of the series formula. Fallout 3’s opening hour involves playing going through the childhood of the protagonist, with an awful lot of time spent as a baby. Many of Fallout 3's most popular mods entirely remove this arduous section.

Among the Sleep solves many issues with this type of first-person baby gameplay by making the child’s psychology a core concern. One of its most successful elements is how it uses the relative size of the child to create a scary video game. A lot of the nightmare David experiences is heightened by huge, looming furniture. The metaphorical transformation of the two parental figures into hulking, imposing creatures really adds to the general discomfort of the game. What might normally be a lovely bedtime lullaby becomes a sinister hymn.

The music used throughout is particularly interesting. One of the main monsters is a more feminine creature, and every time it stalks David the "Trollmother's Lullaby" can be heard, which begs the question of who exactly is the troll. Overall, Among The Sleep runs into some problems with its limited range of player agency, but ultimately overcomes that with a strong aesthetic and thematic principles. It stands as a fantastic independent horor game, and is definitely worth picking up for free on the Epic Games Store. Who knows what kind of horror gem the storefront will release next.

Among the Sleep will become free via the Epic Games Store on October 24.

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