Welcome to our complete walkthrough for Sleep Awake, a surreal psychedelic horror experience developed by Eyes Out and published by Blumhouse Games.
In this game, you play as Katja, navigating a dying world plagued by a mysterious phenomenon known as The Hush, which causes anyone who falls asleep to disappear. This page will guide you through all the chapters of the game and will contain the solution to every puzzle, stealth section, and key enemy encounter in the game.
For more information about Sleep Awake, check out their official website here.
Table of contents
Prologue: For Fear of Losing Track
The Flat
After the opening cutscene, you find yourself in a dark apartment. Interact with the tape machine right in front of you.
Then turn around and head towards the table. There are a few items here. Pick them up. You’ll find your first Microfilm Volume here.
Turn right and interact with the device on the table.
This lets you inspect the Microfilm that you have in your inventory. Select The Hush Microfilm to view it.
A tremor triggers right after this, and the light comes on in the apartment. You can spend some time looking around the room.
When you’re ready, head through the door past the Microfilm Device.
This will trigger a short cutscene where Katja almost falls asleep.
Continue forward and turn left to spot a white door. This leads to the Kitchen. Head inside.
The tremor did a number on the place, but thankfully, the Distillery is intact.
Pick up the book from the kitchen countertop, near the kettle.
You’ll hear the sound of your alarm as you put the book down. Head toward the first room with the Microfilm Device. This triggers another sleep wave.
Continue moving forward, and a cutscene will start. This completes the prologue
Chapter 1: A Hidden Reef
The Fathom
After the cutscene, you’ll find yourself in a desert. There’s a ship up ahead with someone standing on the deck. Head toward it.
This is Het, and after a short exchange, she’ll walk off and disappear. Continue past the ship toward the Lighthouse in the distance.
You’ll see a bright flash of light. Het will reappear, and things will start getting weird.
Once she disappears, you’ll see a black hole floating in the air. Keep moving towards the Lighthouse.
As you progress, a black and white shadow will appear in front of you. Continue forward to get teleported again.
You find yourself in a dark room with some blue rays floating ahead. Go towards it.
This will take you in front of a train. Continue towards it, and the train will rush past you.
Go toward the platform in the middle of the desert. You’ll see Het again. Walk up to her to trigger another cutscene.
As she disappears, get on the train platform and head towards the black hole.
This takes you to another area. You’ll see Het again, and she’ll disappear into the black hole like before. You know the drill, head toward the black hole!
When you get out of the wormhole, you can spot something in the distance. Walk towards it.
When you get close enough, you’ll see that it’s a greenhouse floating in the air. There’s a ladder right next to it.
Use the ladder to enter the greenhouse.
There’s a Nesting Doll in a container on the right that you can pick up here.
Head to the back room through the red curtains.
Look down and interact with the grill to trigger another cutscene and complete the chapter.
Chapter 2: A Remedy for Sleep
The Flat
You’ll find yourself back in your apartment. The alarm clock is ringing. Interact with it to shut it off.
Check your Notebook on the table. In this chapter, you’ll have to prepare the Anti-Sleep Infusion for Amma.
Press O or use the D-pad to check your objectives. It’s a multi-step quest that requires you to collect and prepare several ingredients for the potion.
First things first, head towards the Kitchen and check your Notebook on the Kitchen Countertop. The items needed for the potion are located all around the apartment.
How to Find Artemisia Plant
From the Study Room (the room with the Microfilm Device), head into the small side room with the curtains.
The Artemisia Plant can be picked up from one of the containers on the left.
How to Fill Water Pitcher
Exit the small room and turn right to spot a staircase. This leads to the Rooftop Garden. Go up the stairs.
Take the door here to get out to the Rooftop.
Head to the railing and interact with the handle to turn the water on.
Then go back downstairs and head into the Living Room. Enter the small section on the right side just before the Kitchen door.
You’ll spot a Water Pitcher on the ground under a faucet. Interact with it to fill the Water Pitcher. Pick it up once it’s filled.
How to Find Nitocris Plant
Turn left after picking up the Water Pitcher. This is the Nitocris Plant. Interact with the crown of the plant to collect it.
How to Find Ololiuqui Plant
Head towards the Kitchen and enter the small room on the right, just through the main door, next to the shelves.
You’ll find the plant on the plant racks on the left.
How to Find Tuners
Head back to the Living Room and go down the stairs in the central section.
Turn left to spot a box in the bookshelf. Interact with it to find the Tuners.
How to Find Cymatic Disc
In the Living Room, there’s a set of doors under a bookshelf on the right. Open it.
Crouch down and open another door. Crawl to the other side to enter a small room.
The Cymatic Disc is on the table on your right.
How to Conduct the Cymatic Ritual
Return to the Living Room and interact with the cushion on the floor by the table in the central section.
Follow the instructions to progress through the ritual. At one point, you’ll have to place the Tuners in specific spots in a certain order.
- Place the First Tuner at the top-right corner.
- The Second Tuner goes to the top-left corner.
- The Third Tuner goes bottom-right.
- Place the Fourth Tuner at the bottom-left slot.
Preparing the Anti-Sleep Infusion
Return to the Kitchen and head toward the Distillery. Interact with the three grinding tools on the countertop and pick up the prepared ingredients afterward.
Then, interact with the device with the tubes three times to pack the powders.
Pick up the Burner next to the kettle and interact with the kettle to light it.
Interact with the handle on the right to collect the Infusion. This triggers a cutscene marking the start of the next chapter.
Chapters 3 & 4: The Ministry Will Have You Now
The Crush
When the cutscene ends, you’ll find yourself in The Crush, the last known city in the world. You also have a new objective: deliver the Infusion to Amma.
Start by following the path. This area is pretty linear. There’s only one way forward.
Follow the yellow path markers and keep moving forward while taking in the sights.
You’ll find a Poster along the way that you can inspect.
There’s also a Microfilm (The Pain Principle) that you can collect along the way.
Eventually, you’ll drop through a tin floor.
Continue moving along the path to trigger a disturbing cutscene. This is your first look at the Pain Eaters Cult and the DTM Agents.
When the cutscene ends, you can start moving again. As you go up a set of stairs, a door will fly open. Head inside.
You’ll find your first Void Shadow inside. Don’t worry, it’s just a collectible. Interact with it to put it to rest.
Exit the house and keep following the yellow path markers.
You’ll drop down to a large area filled with water. We’ve marked the way forward in the image above.
This will lead you to a metal door. Interact with it.
Pick up the Roll Down Door Lever from the broken drawer.
As you try and exit through the door, an event will trigger where the door seems to get further from you the more you try to reach it. Just keep heading towards the door, and eventually you’ll get out.
Retrace your steps and turn right just past the wall in front of the metal door to spot a shutter with a blue light above it. Head towards it.
Interact with the panel to use the Roll Down Door Lever to open the shutter.
There’s another shutter up ahead. Use the lever inside the house to open it.
You’ll head through a wooden door up ahead to find another Void Shadow.
Continue moving along the path till you spot a DTM Agent up ahead. This is the first stealth segment of the game.
Crouch down and make your way past the DTM Agent. You can use the environment to your advantage and use it for cover. Hiding under rubble essentially turns you invisible.
You’ll find a set of stairs leading down.
Head down the stairs and use the switch at the end to block the path behind you.
Enter the house on your left up ahead. Head toward the table.
Interact with the sink.
Escaping the Freezer
Continue through the house to reach the freezer in the back. You’ll find a withered body in the corner. Head towards it, and it’ll disappear.
As you’re about to exit the freezer, the door closes. You have a new objective: escape the freezer.
You’ll see a grate on the ground opposite the door. Go through it.
This takes you to a small room. The main door is locked. Head towards it and interact with the Prybar to pick it up. This triggers a short cutscene.
Afterward, head toward the steel gate. Interact with the door to open it with the Prybar.
Then drag the object towards the door and use it to climb through the hole above.
Continue moving forward. You’ll find a Microfilm (The Machinist) on a shrine with red and blue light bulbs.
Getting Past the Electrical Fields
In the next room, you’ll find a body floating in the air, getting electrocuted by a device in the center of the room. If you try to pass through the electricity, you’ll die. You need to figure out a way through.
Head right, into the caged path. You’ll find the Machinist Music Box. Pick it up.
Place it in the empty slot beside the lever. Then use the lever.
As soon as you pull the lever, the beam of electricity will start rotating around the room. You need to follow it to get to the other side.
From the corner, crouch under the second beam of electricity to get through.
Now you can keep moving forward. You’ll find yourself back outside.
Eventually, you’ll enter a building and use a ladder to get upstairs. Crouch under the table on the right to progress.
When you exit the building, you’ll find the path ahead blocked by another beam of electricity. Go right.
Shimmy along the ledge to get across. You need to find a conductor for the device. Crouch under the wreckage on the right.
Pick up the Machinist Witch Rune, then go back outside.
Place the item on the handle and pull the switch to deactivate the electrical beam.
Return to the main path and continue moving forward.
You’ll see the shadow of Het inside a pipe. Head toward it, and it’ll disappear. Continue forward to trigger another cutscene as Katja takes another drop of the Infusion.
This will transport you to a room full of eels.
Turn around and continue moving up the path.
You’ll reach an area where you see another Pain Eater getting attacked by the DTM Agents.
Go left through the door and keep moving forward. As you reach the lower section, the DTM Agents will kick the Pain Eater into the water.
Continue along the path and interact with the device up ahead to try and save the man. But you won’t succeed.
Keep moving forward to eventually spot the Delta Theater. But you’re on the wrong side of it.
Surviving the DTM Agents
Continue heading forward. The next section of the game has multiple DTM Agents patrolling the zone. You need to sneak past them to get to the street level.
Crouch down and carefully make your way through the zone. Head out of the door and downstairs using the stairs.
In the room downstairs, you’ll see a red door with a grate on the wall beside it. Use the grate to get inside.
Once inside, pull the cabinet away from the door. Then enter the room behind it.
Pick up the Keycard hanging by the entrance. Then use it on the panel by the exit door
As soon as you step outside, you’ll find a DTM Agent standing on the balcony. Crouch down and sneak past him. He won’t turn around.
Go to the end of the corridor and pull the switch to drop the shutter, blocking off the enemies. Use the stairs to get to the street level.
There are more DTM Agents here. You’ll have to sneak past them and get into the Delta Theater by following the neon signs.
Once you reach the stairs leading up to the theater, you’re pretty much home free.
Go up and head to the right side of the entrance to find a hole that you can crawl through.
Getting Through Delta Theater
There’s a Void Shadow in the elevator on the left. When you’re ready, head through the door on the right to progress through the zone.
Turn left up ahead to enter the receptionist’s area.
Answer the phone, then pick up the leaflet. Turn around and collect the 71 Keycard from the shelf.
Return to the previous room and continue through the other door. Check the drawer marked 71.
You’ll find the Delta Theater Key on the body inside the drawer.
Use the key to open the locked gate in the room and head down the stairs. You’ll get hit with another sleep wave and see Het.
When she disappears, the drawers around the room will start to move. Note the cracked wall at the end of the room.
Head inside the small room on the right.
Interact with the button near the monitors. Then head back to the corridor. You’ll note that the cracked wall has turned into a window. Walk toward it.
Go back to the small room. Press the button, and this time the window will turn into a door. You’ll also see some light coming from the small room on the left. Head into the left room.
Press the button twice and return to the corridor to see that the door is now open. You can head through.
Go through the door and interact with the alarm on the table.
This will change the scene again, and the room will start filling up with water. Follow the green exit signs on the wall to keep moving.
You’ll enter a small room. There’s another door on your left. Head through it.
This takes you to the lower level of an apartment complex. You need to climb up to Amma’s Apartment.
Climbing to Amma’s Apartment
Continue moving forward and go up the stairs to reach a section with an active electrical field. You need to time your movement to get past the electrical field. Sidestep your way past the body at the end.
Crawl through the vent on the right, around the pillar, once you make it past.
You’ll reach a small room with a scarecrow in the middle. Push the fridge forward through the door. Then cross the wooden bridge.
Enter the room on the other side of the bridge and open the electrical panel beside the door. Get behind the wooden cart. Push it into the panel to disable the electricity.
Go out of the room and take the stairs on the left. Continue moving through the building. You’ll be able to drop down to where the man was electrocuted from a broken bridge.
Drop down and head through the door. As you get near the ladder, there will be another termor and the ladder will fall off.
Get on the wooden bridge and interact with the counterweight rope. Then quickly run back before the elevator drops.
Climb the ladder to get on top of the elevator, shimmy along the ledge, and climb another ladder to reach the upper floor.
Go to the middle part of the wooden bridge and turn right. Interact with the ledge to jump.
You’ll enter an apartment. Check the left room up ahead to find another Void Shadow.
Head into the bathroom and move the curtain near the bathtub. You’ll be able to jump down through the hole to the lower floor.
Keep moving forward through the rubble to eventually make it to Amma’s Apartment.
Continue moving through the apartment to find Amma sitting on a couch.
Interact with the light. Then place the Anti-Sleep Infusion on the table next to her.
Interact with the Tape Machine.
Pick up the buttons from the shelf near the table lamp. Then place it on the food bowl in front of the inanimate pig. This will trigger another cutscene.
Chapter 5: In Memory of Light and Language
The Fathom
Once the cutscene ends, you’ll find yourself in a beautiful orchard full of pink trees. You’re in The Fathom again.
Continue walking forward, and soon you’ll spot a sheep. Head towards it.
The sheep will disappear, but you’ll spot another one just up ahead. Keep following them, and Katja will count them down.
Eventually, you’ll reach a gate. Walk towards the yellow glow coming from the gate. There’s another gate on the other side. Head toward it, and the yellow glow will disappear.
Turn around and return to the first gate. You’ll hear the ringing sound of an alarm clock just past the gate. Pick it up.
After the cutscene, you get transported to a different area in the orchard. Continue along the path to find Bo up ahead. Follow him.
He’ll lead you into a cave. Stay on his trail.
After a while, the screen will turn pink, and you’ll find Bo up ahead, standing in the middle of a weird circle. Go up to him.
Bo will sing to one of the seeds to grow a tree. Interact with one of the seeds to grow the trees yourself. After a while, the screen will fill with a yellow glow, and you will be teleported again.
Continue moving up the path to spot Bo in the distance. Head into the small bridge on the left. Wait a while for the path to open.
Once it does, keep moving forward. You’ll find Bo again. He asks you to keep up with him. Take the other available path, through a puddle of hands, and continue moving forward.
You’ll spot another gate with a yellow go. Go toward it.
Escaping the Thresher
This will trigger a chase sequence. You’ll find yourself standing in front of a machine that wants to mow you down.
Turn around and start running towards the gate in the distance. Along the way, you’ll find seeds that you can use to slow down the Thresher.
As you reach the gate, the screen goes white. This starts the second phase. The idea is the same as before, but this time there are no seeds that you can use.
On top of that, some of the obstacles will switch places when you get close. Run toward the gate to complete the chase.
You’ll spot Het up ahead, beyond the gate. Walk up to her.
After the conversation, she disappears. The world has shifted by now. Turn back and continue along the path.
Following Bo (Again)
As you keep moving, you’ll eventually find Bo again. Like before, he will run off, and you’ll need to follow him.
But this time he’ll split into two parts. One of them will lead to a dead end. But don’t worry, you won’t get lost.
Keep following him till you spot a lighthouse. Keep following Bo while keeping the lighthouse ahead of you.
Soon, you’ll find Het surrounded by multiple Bo’s. Water will start to rise around you. This will lead to a cutscene, and the chapter will end.
Chapter 6: Things Fall Apart
The Flat
You’ll be back in your apartment. Interact with the handle to turn the water off.
Katja says that you need to get to the basement. Follow the shaking pipe to find the way.
As you enter the basement, you’ll hear the pump alarm going off. Head toward the yellow switch and interact with it.
Then, swap the position of the two tanks by dragging them to the opposite positions and plug up the pipes.
Interact with the yellow switch to fix the water system.
Return to the Kitchen. As you head towards the Living Room, a huge beam falls over your roof.
Use the door on the left of your Study Room to reach the Rooftop. Head toward the railing.
After Katja’s outburst, go up the ladder. For this next part, you just need to keep moving forward, checking in on any living plants in the Rooftop Garden. You’ll find three plants in total as you go.
Once you inspect all three plants, go up the steel staircase. The door to the Greenhouse on your left will open.
Inspect the Notebook. Then, interact with the red curtain at the end of the Greenhouse.
Pick up the Anti-Sleep Infusion from the table up ahead. This will trigger another cutscene, and the chapter will end.
Chapter 7: Present and Future Tense
The Crush
You find yourself back at The Crush. You need to get to the Somnological Institute, where Katja’s Dad used to work.
Go forward, and you’ll spot a children’s slide just in front of a set of stairs. Interact with the slide. As you go down the slide, the screen turns black.
You’ll see a new path in front of you. Head through the gate.
Keep walking forward through the zone. You’ll see the shadow of a person as you progress.
This path is linear, and you can’t get lost. So just keep walking. You’ll find a Void Shadow inside a small cabin.
Interact with the Void Shadow and crawl through the passage on its left. You can see the Somnological Institute just up ahead.
As you crawl through a steel fence, you’ll reach an area filled with poison gas. You need to hold your breath to get past it.
Just beyond this point, you’ll spot the gate to the facility. Head toward the door and interact with it to get inside.
The Somnological Institute
From the entrance, head right to spot a hole in the fence. Crawl through it.
As you go to the rotating door, it starts spinning. You need to figure out a way past it.
Walk to the huge baby head statue in the area. Interact with it, and the blades will disappear. You can now move forward.
In the next room, turn right to spot another door. Head through it and crawl under the rubble to get to the other side.
Head into the room with the green light to answer the phone. Then return to the corridor and continue forward.
You’ll spot a locked door on the left. To unlock it, you’ll need a Keycard.
Head right to go into the last room in the corridor to reach the office of Katja’s Dad.
Go around the table and inspect the note.
Then check the board underneath.
You’ll find three devices on the table. You can rotate the central dial to switch them to different frequencies. Pull the switch nearby to activate the devices.
To solve this puzzle, you need to find the correct frequency for all the tuners. The clue for them is hidden around the room. Check the image above for the solution.
Once you set up the tuners and pull the switch, the painting at the end of the room will open, revealing a hidden compartment behind it. You’ll find the Keycard along with two other items in the compartment. Pick them up.
Return to the locked gate from earlier and use the Keycard to access it.
Reaching The Pharmacy
Go down the stairs to reach the Doctor’s Lounge. You’ll find a chessboard in the room where you can place the Knight piece you found in the safe.
Continue through the door inside the lounge to reach a locker room. The area is flooded, and there’s a live wire on the ground. Get on the wooden bench and use it to get across. Time your movement to get past the electrical field.
When you reach the shower room, you’ll see a shadow again. Wait for the event to play out. Then crawl through the hole in the wall.
Keep moving forward until you eventually reach a furnace. Interact with it.
Continue progressing through the door that opened up.
You’ll have to cross another poison-filled area up ahead. Crawl under the pipes on the other side and into the vent.
Up ahead, you’ll see Het walking off down a corridor. Follow her to reach a steel door. Head inside.
Continue moving forward to find the door to the Pharmacy.
The Control Room
Continue moving through the Pharmacy. You’ll find a Void Shadow on a stretcher up ahead.
Head into the next room through the door. You’ll find the Sleep Infusion on the table just as you head inside. Use it to trigger a cutscene.
Return to the previous room. You’ll see some seeds spread around the Pharmacy now. Pick up one of them.
Keep moving forward, and you’ll reach a room with a big flower tub. Interact with it to plant the seed.
Then interact with it again to grow a tree. Once the tree sprouts fully, you’ll find a Keycard.
Return to the room where you found the Infusion and use the Keycard to open the door to the Control Room.
Stand on the glowing circular area at the center of the room. Turn down to look at it. This shows you a vision of Katja’s Dad.
Interact with the switch on the panel. Then turn left and pick up the Tape. Use it on the Tape Machine to listen to the recording.
You’ll see some furniture appear in one section of the room. Head toward it and pick up the three objects here.
This will cause another Tape to appear along with another Tape Machine. Listening to it will cause a new set of furniture to appear. The same steps will repeat one more time. Once you listen to the final tape, you’ll notice a container appear inside the room.
Interact with it, then head to the center of the room and look up.
Finding the Man in the Cage
Once the short cutscene ends and you can move your camera, you’ll spot a set of stairs leading down. Go through it.
Continue moving forward. You’ll have to crawl through a vent up ahead.
This will take you to the room with Katja’s Dad. As it turns out, he’s still alive. Interact with the panel to try and set him free. But it doesn’t work.
Turn around. You’ll spot a lab coat on some crates. You’ll find a Skeleton Keycard in its pocket.
Use the Keycard to access the back room, behind the glass.
Head into the room and walk toward the switch near the red light.
This is when you’ll get your first glimpse at what The Hush really is. Wait for the entire event to play out. This will end with a creepy cutscene.
Escaping the Hush
After the cutscene, head to where Katja’s Dad was. He has turned into a Void Shadow. Interact with it.
Then head through the door inside the backroom.
The next segment is basically about escaping these creepy creatures called The Hush. There are two main rules: Don’t look at them, and Don’t stop moving.
The Hush are mostly harmless as long as you don’t get too close to them. Part of your screen will turn red when they get near you.
The area is linear, and all you really have to do is keep moving. Continue making your way through the zone until you make it to the area shown in the above image.
There’s a bridge at the end of this path. When you get to the end, you’ll get cornered by The Hush on both sides. They will push you off the ledge, and a cutscene will trigger, completing the chapter.
Chapter 8: On Bearing Witness
The Fathom
The next chapter takes place in The Fathom and begins immediately after the cutscene. You’ll find yourself floating in an area drenched in red light. After a while, you’ll see a bunch of steel beds appear out of thin air.
Look around to spot some glowing white lights. Head towards one of them.
As you get close, the shape of the light will shift. Continue approaching it to find a Void Shadow.
Interact with the Void Shadow to turn the space red again. Look around to find some more white lights. Keep repeating the steps until a cutscene triggers. This will end the chapter.
For more interesting articles related to indie games, check out the links below:
- Into Indie Games homepage
- Total Chaos Walkthrough Hub
- Marvel Cosmic Invasion Walkthrough and Guides
- Winter Burrow Review
- Marvel Cosmic Invasion Review
Muhit Rahman lives off two things: gaming marathons and endless cups of tea. He writes guides, reviews, and occasionally forgets that real life doesn’t come with checkpoints. His favorite genres are Soulslike and Metroidvania, with Dark Souls III, Hollow Knight, and Dota 2 forever holding top spots on his all-time list.
