Sleepwalker's Journey is timed, so if you take too long, you will hear the clock ticking. Fortunately, the game does not end and make you start over, but, if you hear that alarm clock tick, you will get a note after each level that you "took a little too long," which affects your score.

Personally, I don't care as much about the score as I do figuring out how to get the sleepwalker all around the maze and safely back into bed!

And that is where the real fun of this game lies. Instead of a more traditional left-to-right platform, with increasingly difficult obstacles, Sleepwalker's Journey challenges you to move back and forth, up and down, and even retrace steps to get all of the stars, moons, and other goodies before getting the snoozing little character back in bed.

This screenshot displays a deceptively simple example of more complicated mazes:

The pillows cause the little guy to turn around safely. Levers and pieces of floor move up and down as well as side to side to move the little guy all over your screen. Higher levels introduce more complicated forms of movement, such as fans that safely blow the sleepwalker around and canons that can be aimed in different directions. If any level seems too easy, the gamer just clicks on the little arrows in the lower right-hand corner to make "sleepyhead" walk faster and faster, which makes the game more challenging.

Music and graphics add a touch of hilarity to the game. One of my favorite graphics is the hot air balloon that is a cat's head. It seems oddly reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. I'm not sure if the sleepwalker is just dreaming or having a nightmare. 

The background music is easy to ignore. However, the sound effects must be turned on. The "doink" that happens every time the sleepwalker falls, walks into a wall, or does something that loses the gamer points, makes me truly believe I have hurt the little guy!

While playing some of the higher levels, I actually chose to forego some of the stars and moons and just get the little guy to bed because of the goose egg I knew I had given him. The points no longer seemed worth it, I felt so bad for him.

I especially like the "revert" option in this game. If you kill your sleepwalker, and, you will kill your sleepwalker, instead of restarting the level from the beginning, you may choose to back up just a few moves and try again. This solves the problem of massive frustration from having to go through an entire level multiple times to solve an especially challenging problem at the very end of the level.

This game is worth playing. Not a typical platformer game, Sleepwalker's Journey has humor, various levels of difficulty, and plenty of surprises, as well as options regarding reverting or restarting. Definitely give this game a try.