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PAX 2018: Sleep Tight Is Twin Stick Shooting With Pixar Charm

This dual-stick shooter and tower defense game bleeds charm and nostalgia and is being designed by some VFX heavy hitters.

Charles Singletary Jr

January 17, 2018 3:30 PM

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Pixar games are infrequent and lower profile happenings than you'd expect from the major animation studio, there's certainly a lane for experiences that exude the charm and energy of their many properties. Sleep Tight is a new game that could fill that void by providing something kids can love and adults can appreciate for its nostalgic romp through childhood nightmares. While you may not know the development team of We Are Fuzzy, you certainly know their work.

"Since I was a kid, I always wanted to make games. After 10 years of working on other people's projects, it was time to make my own, and I wanted to go back to that feeling of pure play." said Maxx Burman, co-founder and creative director at We Are Fuzzy. "I feel fortunate to work with such talented artists to bring this Pixar-esque world to life. I think it's an experience that will appeal to the young at heart, no matter their age."

Burman has a portfolio that includes Far Cry, League of Legends, Westworld, Titanfall, and more. He's not the only one bringing some established credit to the We Are Fuzzy team, either. Character artist Dylan Erken brings experience from working on Wreck-It Ralph and Zootopia while Oscar Mar cut his teeth on the Rainbow Six franchise.

Sleep Tight pits players against creatures from childhood nightmares in a kid's bedroom that can be outfitted with thematically appropriate turrets, barriers, and more. The gameplay experience progresses in two phases: Day and night. During the day, players can spend the resources earned in combat to upgrade weapons, place turrets, grab powerups, and more. Once players have spent all of their suns, one of the resources, nightfall happens and the battle begins. 

The demo I had a chance to try allowed me to fight through to the first boss fight, where the night takes on a grim shade of red and ramps up the waves of enemies. Completing the intense battle completed the demo and I was also able to watch some higher level play via a video playing at the booth. Sleep Tight, in my brief experience, struck a solid balance between entertainment and challenge. On top of such great character and level design, this could be a hit. Look for Sleep Tight sometime this year on Nintendo Switch and PC.

Charles Singletary Jr

News Editor

Charles Singletary Jr keeps the updates flowing as the News Editor, breaking stories while investigating the biggest topics in gaming and technology. He's pretty active on Twitter, so feel free to reach out to him @The_CSJR. Got a hot tip? Email him at Charles.Singletary@Shacknews.com.