Back to Bed has been on my radar for a while, ever since I saw a NerdCubed video covering it – a video which apparently came out in 2014. For some reason I never bought it during the past five years, but good things really do come to those who wait, seeing as I received a review copy. How did I find it though?
I like puzzles so Back to Bed is already off to a strong start. The goal in every level is extremely simple; guide Bob back to bed. This would be easy if Bob were awake, but you see, Bob is a sleepwalker so he’ll just keep walking forward unless you intervene. Don’t intervene and he’ll just keep wandering aimlessly. There’s your puzzle, how do you get Bob back to bed?
The whole game takes place in some twisted dream world full of disembodied eyes, strange shapes and weird voices, but it’s more charming than it is unsettling thankfully. To match this crooked view of the world, you control a weird, warped, sort of, dog-man-thing. This dog-man-thing can move objects to affect Bob’s path, walk on certain walls and fast forward time if you don’t want to wait around too long for Bob. And that’s it. Grab, drop, and go. Bob moves entirely by himself so it’s just down to you to change his path in the right spot at the right time and boom, puzzle solved.
I’m gonna say now, I found Back to Bed extremely easy. I was never particularly stumped, and the solution was always obvious to me. Even the time pressure added by Bob constantly striding towards the next fall didn’t phase me. And that’s OK. Sometimes it’s nice to have an easy ride to fill a little time. The levels are all one or two minutes long so they’re perfect for portable sessions on the Switch, and it looks great in handheld mode too (the mode I played in since I fancied lying on the couch). And there were enough new mechanics introduced to keep it feeling fresh through the whole game. Shame it less than two hours to complete…
Seriously, I completed Back to Bed‘s sixty levels in about ninety minutes. If ever a game was short but sweet, this is it. What really irks me though, is that the latter thirty levels are just the first thirty again, but you have to guide Bob to some keys before he reaches the bed. That’s the only difference. Honestly, it feels like the levels were made with the keys in the first place and then just removed to make the game easier at the start. I don’t know if this is actually the case, but it still isn’t cool.
If you want a puzzle game about beds to play in bed, you can’t go wrong with Back to Bed. It’s very simple, easy on the eyes, and unique in its presentation, but it doesn’t have much else going for it. As with most puzzle games replay value is non-existent, and sadly it’s over far too soon, but I can only guess there wasn’t much else to be done with the concept. I’m just glad Back to Bed hasn’t fallen victim to the Switch tax, cause I think $5 is about the limit of what I’d pay for it personally.
A digital copy of Back to Bed for Switch was provided by the developer.
Find Back to Bed on Switch here: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/back-to-bed-switch