Games worth discovering

Gruesome vegetables, scary dogs, and creepy dentists | NeverAwake - Review

4K View2023-01-19

NeverAwake is a twin-stick shooter, but it’s also a single-stick shooter. It’s a side-scrolling game, but it’s also a vertical scroller. It’s sleek and flashy, but also gruesome and messy. This duality approach might seem like a genre identity issue for NeverAwake, but really, it is a unique fresh take on the shoot ‘em up genre.

Set in the subconscious of a girl under a deep coma – Rem, trying to wake up, NeverAwake’s main narrative is about imagination and symbolism. Rem’s subconscious struggle and journey to waking up are represented by the entire imaginative premise which is basically where the gameplay happens.

The gameplay is basically Rem battling her traumas and phobias that range from gruesome vegetables, scary dogs, ugly school bullies, and creepy dentists.

Each trauma represents a World, which in turn symbolizes a part of her body. Complete a world and that part of her body “heals”, with the ultimate goal of waking her up from her deep slumber.

NeverAwake’s different worlds on the other hand are subdivided into a series of byte-sized levels which are fun and addicting to complete. They’re short enough to avoid fatigue, and the progression between them are compelling enough to keep you playing level after level.

Some levels are side-scrolling, others are vertical scrolling. A simple design decision but one that’s really effective in giving the game variety.

NeverAwake’s progression is a very rewarding and lenient experience. Across the game you gather souls to purchase more types of secondary weapons, upgrade them, and also collect items that modifies your stats and effects, like increasing the souls that you receive for example. All the progression elements are spread out pretty well, with frequent unlocks and items made available, as fast as you can clear the levels. An engaging system that will push you to complete even more and more levels.

The level setup is different from its peers. Instead of clearing a level or a boss, you must rather collect souls from defeating enemies or damaging bosses. Filling your soul meter to 100% will complete the level regardless of where you are or if the boss is dead or not. In addition, the levels loop again and again until the level is complete, so you don’t have to worry about missing any enemies or segments, what matters is that you fill that soul meter, or die trying.

Dying gives you the option to go on an “oversoul” mode at a small cost. Where you are more powerful both offensively and defensively for the next run.

That’s not all, if the game is still too hard, you can even activate auto-aiming and enter a single-stick shooter mode, where Rem automatically aims and fires at targets. This makes the game much easier and more of a true side-scroller game. On a whim, you can also go back to twin-stick mode by just moving the right stick, and go back to auto-aim again by just letting go of the stick. A commendable accessibility move.

The variety of enemies and their different projectiles presents the core challenge of the game. Some are squishy and die easily, some are swarm-like in nature that you have to overwhelm, some are tough enough that you need a sustained firepower to defeat it, some you just need to completely avoid. The boss fights are not too hard and not too stretched out, especially once you memorize their limited patterns.

NeverAwake mixes clean low-poly 3D graphics with high definition hand drawn 2D sprites that are largely grotesque and unsettling, appropriate for its traumatic symbolization. Together with the smooth clean UI and the impressive display of fireworks with the bullet hell effects, the overall aesthetic results in a sleek and flashy artistic visual design.

NeverAwake is an addicting shoot ’em up with a smart byte-sized level design and an engaging progression system. A game that is both highly rewarding and accessible. Beautifully grotesque, charming, and imaginative.

Mentioned games