Sleepin’ Guy Deluxe Edition Review

I wonder if Fabio Ferrara, developer of Sleepin’ Guy Deluxe Edition, has heard the urban legend that says if you die in your sleep then you’ll die in real life? Maybe he has and decided to make the Sleepin’ Guy series to prove it wrong. The vanilla version of Sleepin’ Guy was released on Switch, Playstation, and Steam, where it is more aptly titled Suicide Guy because the goal of each level is to find a way to kill yourself. Ferrara and publisher Chubby Pixel introduced Xbox players to the franchise with Sleepin’ Deeply which has the same mechanics and premise as the main game, but with a fraction of the levels and the omission of the suicide moniker. This is all probably confusing (I was definitely confused while researching this), but the game has a basic yet unique premise, as well as mostly satisfactory gameplay which is boosted by a fair amount of humor making the whole thing an interesting experience. 

The game takes place inside the mind of an overweight slob (he has both ketchup and mustard stains on his undershirt). After taking a healthy (unhealthy?) chug of beer the guy passes out and finds himself inside a fast-food restaurant. You are now in the first-person perspective, which is used for the entirety of the game. A TV screen hanging from the ceiling blasts out a warning message showing that his beer slipped out of his hand and is very slowly falling to the floor in slow motion. The guy needs to wake up so he can save his beer.

There are 24 regular levels in Sleepin’ Guy Deluxe Edition and each one is presented as a table in the restaurant. You have to complete one level to gain access to the next, and after each level you return to the restaurant. The goal of each level is to get yourself killed. You might be picturing the game as a sandbox-style game where there are a number of ways to off yourself in every level, but that is not the case. As far as I know, there is only one way to die in each level, and to get to that point you usually have to do a bit of puzzle-solving and platforming. You have a basic moveset of jumping, picking up smaller objects, and pushing/pulling larger objects. Some picked-up objects can be interacted with such as a lighter, a screwdriver, and an alien squirt gun; these functions are almost always used to solve an environmental puzzle. The large moveable objects are often used as a platforming tool, allowing you to reach a higher area. The guy also has a very useful clamber move that allows him to scale up ledges if you didn’t quite make the jump.

Some of the levels take place in one room, whereas others have you following a somewhat linear path. A lot of the levels take inspiration from pop culture. There is a Mario-inspired level with warp pipes and question mark blocks that can be moved and placed in the air and then used as a platforming path. One of my favorite levels takes place inside a lighthouse. On the table is a copy of the book Moby Dick and to complete the level you have to harass a nearby whale with the moveable lighthouse light. Eventually, it will jump in the air and smash the lighthouse, killing the guy. I definitely enjoyed the smaller, tighter-styled levels like this.

I never played the original Sleepin’ Guy so I can’t really comment on the changes and additions in the deluxe version.  I’m going to guess that the six extra levels accessible from the main menu are all new additions, but don’t hold me to it. These are on the larger size, and continue the trend of parodying pop culture and other games. There is a level with a naughty goose that definitely reminded me of Untitled Goose Game. I have played the other game in the franchise that was released on Xbox, Sleepin’ Deeply, so I can compare these two. Sleepin’ Deeply features only six levels, but they are all very large. Honestly, I was only able to beat the first one on my own, in the second level I gave up and had to resort to a guide for help. The puzzles in the levels just felt too obtuse. There was a little of that in Sleepin’ Guy Deluxe Edition but I think its smaller size levels are better suited to the style of game found here; however, I know some players prefer a challenge. I think the biggest issue with the series is that the game doesn’t do a good job teaching you the mechanics, especially the ones contained in specific levels. The game just plops you in and leaves you to your own devices. The other big comparison point between the two is price. Sleepin’ Guy Deluxe Edition is $9 USD and Sleepin’ Deeply is $6. For an extra $3 you get a lot more content – at least five hours of gameplay compared to one to two hours in Sleepin’ Deeply.

The game uses a basic low poly art style, which is very bright and looks nice at times. There are some disparities in the quality of various assets though. Some look very nice, the aforementioned goose looks like it was yanked right out of the stylish Untitled Goose Game, but some of the other creatures and assets don’t have the same attention to detail.

I thought the approach the game took for the soundtrack was pretty neat. In each level, there are a few boombox radios laying about playing the soundtrack for the level. I thought the music fit well with the gameplay. They used all different types of music, but my favorite was the Metal track featured in the level where you summon a demon. The sound effects, however, were on the other side of the quality spectrum. As you run and jump, the guy will make embarrassing noises like burps and wheezes. This might sound funny, but he does it a lot, and it’s always the same noise – perhaps it would sound better if they recorded some variants to each noise.

Conclusion

I found Sleepin’ Guy Deluxe Edition to be a decent distraction over five or so hours of gameplay. It has an odd premise, and while the gameplay is simple the game doesn’t hold your hand meaning that some of the levels feel purposefully confusing. If you enjoyed Sleepin’ Deeply then you’ll get more of the same here, and for anyone else that is interested, it might be worth picking up, although with so many other games calling for your time and money, I would probably recommend you wait until this one is on sale. 

This game was reviewed based on Xbox One review code, using an Xbox One console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.