I mentioned in my review for Castle of Illusion that I had previously worked a graveyard shift before my job changed operating hours, forcing me to return to days after about seven years of being a purely nocturnal creature. This was absolute hell on my body, and for a period of time I started frequently having myoclonic jerks that impeded my ability to sleep. There were stretches of time where I would maybe get three hours of rest over as many days, it got so bad that my resting heart rate was reaching dangerous levels and I had to be given prescription sedatives in order to rest. I thought I was dying, though a prolonged lack of sleep can cause you to enter a delusional and paranoid state. Much of my life during this period can only be remembered in the same way you would a fever dream.
Anyway, it was during this health crises that I started playing Bomberman Hero. I remember waking up on the couch after getting maybe an hour of sleep (if I was lucky) and turning on the N64 to make more progress. It's a good game, there's no doubt about that, but it's been so colored by the issues I was having at the time that I always feel a little bit of anxiety creeping in when I think about it. I also started watching Star Trek Voyager at night to try to fall asleep, because that show is boring as shit. In my addled state of mind, I started seeing Neelix pop up in Bomberman Hero. At one point the two were blending together so much I thought there was a plot point where Bomberman mind-melded with a serial killer and was taking on some of their traits.
A lack of sleep over a long enough period of time can cause you to hear and see things that aren't really there. I know Bomberman Hero is just a game, but it's also like... a sleep paralysis demon? It has all these distinguishable and well defined features, you know what you're experiencing, but it's just off enough that you question whether any of it is real. Like, yes, sure, the bits where I started to think Bomberman was Tuvok is obviously just a byproduct of me getting about 40 minutes of rest between watching Voyager and playing Bomberman while benzos were rushing through my veins, but I've also come to doubt the experience of playing it as a whole. Is there an ice level in this? Yeah, probably, I mean that sounds right, but can I really trust my own memories on this?
I think Bomberman Hero marks the closest I've ever gotten to full blown psychosis. 3.5 out of 5.
Anyway, it was during this health crises that I started playing Bomberman Hero. I remember waking up on the couch after getting maybe an hour of sleep (if I was lucky) and turning on the N64 to make more progress. It's a good game, there's no doubt about that, but it's been so colored by the issues I was having at the time that I always feel a little bit of anxiety creeping in when I think about it. I also started watching Star Trek Voyager at night to try to fall asleep, because that show is boring as shit. In my addled state of mind, I started seeing Neelix pop up in Bomberman Hero. At one point the two were blending together so much I thought there was a plot point where Bomberman mind-melded with a serial killer and was taking on some of their traits.
A lack of sleep over a long enough period of time can cause you to hear and see things that aren't really there. I know Bomberman Hero is just a game, but it's also like... a sleep paralysis demon? It has all these distinguishable and well defined features, you know what you're experiencing, but it's just off enough that you question whether any of it is real. Like, yes, sure, the bits where I started to think Bomberman was Tuvok is obviously just a byproduct of me getting about 40 minutes of rest between watching Voyager and playing Bomberman while benzos were rushing through my veins, but I've also come to doubt the experience of playing it as a whole. Is there an ice level in this? Yeah, probably, I mean that sounds right, but can I really trust my own memories on this?
I think Bomberman Hero marks the closest I've ever gotten to full blown psychosis. 3.5 out of 5.