(Dont) Open Your Eyes

Ever find yourself lying awake at night, wondering what might be lurking in the shadows? (Don’t) Open Your Eyes plays right into that primal fear. It’s a horror themed visual novel where you’re not just reading a story you’re shaping it. The premise is simple but intriguing: a mysterious, shadowy figure visits you in your bedroom, and through your choices, you help define what this creature becomes. Ignore it, engage with it, tease it every decision sends the story down a different path.

Now, if you’re new to visual novels, here’s the deal: they’re like interactive books with visuals and branching narratives. You don’t control a character running and jumping you steer the story through dialogue options. (Don’t) Open Your Eyes sticks to this format closely. The whole game takes place in one location a bedroom and visually, it’s pretty minimal. The room is a static image, and the “nighttime” version is little more than a rough sketch. It sets the mood, but don’t expect to explore the space or watch dynamic lighting play with shadows. Even the monster, which should be the star of the show, sometimes comes off looking a bit silly rather than scary. Its various body parts claws, eyes, limbs don’t always land the eerie vibe the game seems to be going for.

Where the game really hooks you, though, is in the conversations. Lying in bed, trying to sleep, this creature starts talking to you. You don’t speak aloud your responses are all through multiple choice options. And these aren’t just cosmetic choices. They matter. You get to decide what kind of eyes the creature has sad, empty, piercing. You choose whether it has claws or mangled hands. Each selection changes how the monster looks, but more importantly, it changes what it says. The creature is fully voiced, and the voice acting is actually pretty solid it adapts to the version of the monster you’re helping create.

With 27 possible combinations of features and dialogue branches, there’s a decent amount of replayability here. You might play through once crafting a melancholic, lost being, and another time designing something more sinister. The writing, though, can feel a little overwritten at times more flowery than frightening which undercuts some of the tension. Still, there’s something compelling about the creature’s identity crisis. It doesn’t know what it is, and you’re the one guiding it or misleading it.

In the end, (Don’t) Open Your Eyes is a mixed bag. It’s got a cool concept and some genuinely spooky moments, but it lacks polish in both visuals and narrative execution. If you’re into slow burn horror and don’t mind a game that’s more about atmosphere than action, this might be worth a look. Just maybe play it with the lights off.