Numb

Numb is a first-person horror game about James, a young man with sleep problems who moves into a house in Escondido, California. As he settles in, he experiences sleep phases through dreams that make it difficult to tell whether he is awake or dreaming.

The house's past

James’s house once belonged to Ms. Karen Johnson, who inherited it but never moved in because she wanted to forget what she experienced there as a child. The house has a history of strange events dating back to the 1950s, when Karen’s grandmother, the fashion designer Tiffany Johnson, lived there. Tiffany’s life combined luxury with alcohol and drugs; her only son had chronic psychological problems and frequently went to a psychiatric clinic. Tiffany later died by suicide through a drug overdose.

Sleep and dreams

The game follows James through sleep phases affected by stress. One of these is REM sleep, which usually makes up 20% to 25% of total sleep and lasts 90 to 120 minutes. People usually experience four to five REM periods during normal sleep. As James’s sleep problems unfold, the line between dreams and reality becomes uncertain.