Among the Sleep dev's free game The Plan is pretty darned beautiful

Among the Sleep developer Krillbite Studio has released its free side project, The Plan, which the studio described as "a free atmospheric videogame, exploring issues of death and meaning."

Only lasting about five minutes, The Plan puts you in the role of a fly as it ascends through a forest into the great unknown. It's quite experimental and features little in the way of conventional game mechanics, but it's a surprisingly engrossing experience that perhaps doesn't need any more usual game elements.

Much of this is due to its stellar presentation. The hazy backgrounds of foliage and sunlight somehow manage to be both realistic and otherworldly as it focuses on the microscopic plight of an insect in the colossal wilderness, and the music subtly builds to a staggering crescendo before the audacious climax. Plus it's short enough that you can sneak it in while procrastinating on doing something else, so there's that.

This minuscule length is a deliberate decision as Krillbite stated on The Plan's homepage, "Every word you read of this useless print is another second of your life." In short, time is precious and it doesn't want to waste yours.

Some may argue that The Plan isn't really a game and it definitely occupies the same terrain as Journey, Passage, and Dear Esther, but it's shorter than Journey, prettier than Passage, and less overwrought than Dear Esther, making it well worth taking a punt on for the low price of free.

You can download The Plan for PC, Mac and Linux, and if you dig it, feel free to vote for it on Steam Greenlight.