NeverAwake Analysis – A Dark Journey Through the Subconscious

She’s not awake yet…

Never Awake tells us the story of Rem. For some reason, the girl is in a coma on a hospital stretcher. With no apparent possibility of waking up, the little girl fights against her fears in her subconscious. And this is where our role comes in, since we will embody his another self

face your fears

The Neotro title is divided into seven phases with several levels to overcome. each of them is infinite loop circuits where enemies will appear on all four edges of the screen. The Dream World Rem is able to move freely. under a dual joystick gameplay, we can move and shoot infinitely in any direction. Additionally, we will have a powerful secondary weaponwhich we can use as long as it is charged, and with a dash. This movement will serve to avoid projectiles and enemies.

When they’re done with them, they’ll post almas that we should collect These souls will fill a meter that must be filled to 100% to move to the next level. If we finish the route without having filled it to the maximum, we will start from the beginning in a second loop until we reach it. The objective will be to complete each level in the minimum number of turns and time to obtain additional souls.

A healthy mind in a healthy body

Souls are essentially game currency. As we progress they will be unlocked new secondary weapons and upgrades in the shop

NeverAwake is not an easy game, especially if you’re not used to the genre. But what’s good is that it’s not too difficult if you know how to equip yourself well. What I mean by this is that if a level or a final boss is blocked, we can try to put new objects or weapons that we have in our inventory or that we can buy. Experimenting with new combinations that adapt to our game system and level design is one of the main attractions of this title..

nightmarish surrealism

Another of the aspects I liked the most about NeverAwake is its artistic department. Being a game that places us in the world of dreams and the psyche, all levels have this strange touch of dreamlike surrealism. The title mix of 3D and 2D elements in a satisfying way that gives it its own identity.

He the level design is very well differentiated, corresponding to each of little Rem’s traumas. The enemies are also very different and we will always find a new one in each phase. Twisted and bizarre monsters that will change from floating eyes to monstrous vegetables or nightmarish Yorkshire-esque final bosses. Bosses like this offer the best fights in the game, since each has its own patterns that will need to be learned.

Eventually

NeverAwake is one of those little gems that go unnoticed among the tidal wave of the catalog of monthly releases. A shoot ’em up twin stick which surprises with its refined, frenetic and adrenaline-filled gameplay. His personal graphics know how to fill in the gaps of the levels that are too short, which are rather a way of giving meaning to the traumatic story they tell us. If you are a fan of kill them 80s/90s arcades, it’s a more than recommended bet.