Sleepytime Village Demo 2024.5.22

To learn how to be an adult you have to act like a kid.

Sleepytime Village is a creepy AF classic-style point & click adventuregame about learning to rediscover both your inner child and the joy of creativity.

Inspired by games like Monkey Island and Broken Sword. you’ll take the role of a neglectful, workaholic fatheras he wakes in a mysterious children’s storybook village in search of a way out, whilst being haunted by its residents, its formless narrator and visions of his childhood.

What is the this place, what does it want from him, and how can he escape?

During your exploration, you'll decipher enigmatic hints and unravel intricate riddles throughout the village. Your journey will take you from the vibrant village square with its peculiar residents dwelling in quaint houses, to an underground realm of caves, and even to a somber graveyard of broken toys. With over 70 scenes to explore and numerous peculiar creatures, toys, and landscapes to encounter, the adventure promises an abundance of mystery and discovery.

The game covers relationshipsbetween generations, from grandparents, to parents and children and when those grown up children have kids of their own, it explores how the sensibilities through the generations distort and twist the perceptions of what is important.

There is one main player character with a large cast of 'real world' secondary charactersthat fill in the backstory and push and pull of the gameplay. Players will be faced with heavy choiceswith the freedom of taking the wrong path often. The send category of secondary characters are the 'Villagers', characters that seem to spring from kids' TV programmes and books. At first they seem simple and innocent, but they have their on singular purpose to 'help' Rufus learn the lessons he needs to change his outlook.

The leading secondary character is a seemingly omniscient narrator, who prods Rufus through the game, but as the game progresses, the player will begin to question if the narrator is all they seem to be.

Rufus must explore the many locations in sleepytime village, finding objects that don't belong there which when collected transport him back to the 'real world' in the form of a flashback so he can get some insight into his past and recent present.

The game will track the choices the player makesand provide multiple paths depending on if the lessons the village is trying to teach are being taken on board.

Appropriately, the game is a family affair. The characters are all based on drawings by writer / composer Steven Horry’s daughter, created between the ages of 3 and 5 and interpreted by Ukrainian artist Yulia Lapko. We figured the best way to create children’s storybook characters that would appeal to kids but freak out adults was to actually work with a child - have you ever watched the Bedtime Hour on CBeebies? Trust us, it’s trippy and it’s terrifying. Don’t Google Collywobble. It has been a source of joy and encouragement to see her drawings turned first into art by Yulia, and then bought to animated life by Creative Director/Developer James Lightfoot.

Dare you enter the village? Check out the demo and unravel the mystery!