I Am Alive Review - New Game Network

I Am Alive is a title that has gone through a number of iterations and likely design changes. First announced with an intriguing trailer way back in 2008, the game has now finally been released as a downloadable title. I Am Alive offers many interesting concepts – and though they are based on simple mechanics, original ideas are still ever-present in the experience. Though not without issues, particularly due to the lower budget feel of the presentation and some barebones mechanics, I Am Alive is a title that offers a notably unique experience and a stellar post-apocalyptic atmosphere that’s among the best in recent memory.

The plot of the game is appropriately simple, as players assume the role of Adam who has just arrived in the fictional city of Haventon. The city, and assuming much of the world, has been shaken by an accident only referred to as the Event, which basically caused widespread damage and eliminated most of the human population. We learn that this is where Adam’s home is, and he must try to find his wife and daughter, hoping they are still alive. It is said that Adam was across the country when the Event occurred, and has since walked back to the city, which took him a whole year.

Once Adam enters the city, he becomes involved with a little girl and her family, proceeding to help them in hopes of getting information about his own family. Adam and other main characters are decently engaging and relatable, but many of the other thugs and victims you meet on the streets are rather forgettable. The plot is serviceable enough to carry the gameplay, however the ending is simply abrupt and unsatisfying. To say more would be to spoil it, but it feels as though a large portion of the game’s ending is simply missing – instead treating us to a short final cutscene that provides almost no closure to any of the potential that was being built up over the course of the game.

I Am Alive has firm footing in the adventure genre, which means platforming and action are the key elements of the experience. Players control Adam in a third person view as they explore fairly open environments within the city, with potential to jump and grab on to a number of ledges. Platforming is linear at first, but as more of the world opens up, a number of optional objectives and areas to explore become available. Most of these optional locations will contain either useful items or side missions, but more on this later. Climbing around the urban environment looks appropriately realistic, as the game borrows some inspiration from Uncharted, though the results aren’t quite as smoothly presented. Still, the game manages to pull off some truly breathtaking moments thanks to some creative platforming while keeping a very realistic approach.

The game employs a strength meter, which means you can only climb or hang on ledges for a limited time. It presents an interesting element to the gameplay, and though your energy is easily replenished with food or by deploying a piton, it none the less keeps you on your toes. Climbing itself is usually straightforward, as mentioned before, likely with a number of paths available with some hard to reach places. There is, however, usually only a certain point where you may start the climb – and in the game’s often cluttered surroundings, it can be difficult to see where to begin. One ledge may look no different from the next, but only certain items will allow you to climb on top of them. Later in the game players discover a grappling hook, but it barely provides any use outside a few certain locations where it was required to progress.

The city of Haventon does provide ample opportunity to climb everything from fallen skyscrapers to broken overhead rail tracks. In fact, the game’s world is covered with a cloud of dust so walking on the ground actually drains your energy level overtime. In order to avoid this negative effect, players will need to climb on various buildings from time to time in order to catch their breath. It’s an interesting mechanic that promotes exploration of the higher levels of the sizable city – which is where most of the interesting stuff is anyways. Players will come across a number of survivors, which all usually require something to help them ease the pain – medicine, food, etc. If you lack the items, you may return later or simply ignore their pleas. If you do have the item on-hand, you’re rewarded with some background story on the Event and also clues to your own family. There isn’t any kind of quest log – in fact, the map of the city lacks any detail beyond the basic street layout. As you explore the world, new points of interest (such as dead ends and new paths) will be filled in.

It is in these safe heavens that you won’t only find survivors, but also hostiles. The Event wasn’t kind to all citizens, so those who managed to escape unharmed have either setup small gang groups or holed up in their territory. AI in the game has a number of different and realistic behaviors – some folks will simply ask that you stay clear of their small property and threaten to attack if you get too close. Most, however, travel in groups and are always looking for trouble. As you enter their field of view, they will either engage right away or, more often than not, approach and bully you. This is what the action in I Am Alive is all about – intense standoffs with a group of enemies, all wielding weapons.

The game offers you a machete to work with as a close-range weapon, and a pistol and bow later in the game. In a post-apocalyptic scenario, finding supplies is hard, but finding weapons and ammo is even harder. Thus, it’s a rare occurrence to carry more than three bullets at a time, so strategy during enemy encounters is very important to both survival and bullet conservation. As enemies approach and harass you, a prompt appears to quick-kill the closest enemy, sending everyone into a panic. However, pull your pistol, and all melee enemies will give up, as they won’t dare attack an armed man. You must keep your sights on them, because given the chance they will get closer for an attack. To save bullets, you can order enemies to step backwards and if they are in front of a fire or a pit, push them over the edge.

Later in the game, enemy groups grow in size and posture. Some enemies will appear as leaders, meaning they are the most likely to ignore the gun and call your bluff if your clip is empty. Some enemies will have riot gear, meaning they won’t be scared by your weapon nor can be melee attacked, thus forcing you to take them down with a precision-aimed headshot before they get too close. Given all these factors, many of the encounters can potentially play out as strategical standoffs – you must almost always kill most of the enemies, so finding efficiency is key. There is some stealth that’s possible when approaching groups, but by and large most encounters are unavoidable. If you do die, the game offers 5 checkpoint restart opportunities through the whole game, which can be replenished by helping the civilians as mentioned earlier.

As has been noted, I Am Alive is a game that has many interesting ideas and they are well implemented, yet it’s notably simple. The same can be said about the game’s presentation. Graphics in this title are appropriately washed out and dominated by gray and black, which actually gives the game a surprisingly strong atmosphere. Combined with a good soundtrack and a visual filter, the world of I Am Alive can be haunting and desperate – exactly the type of atmosphere that many have tried to achieve (Resistance franchise), but only a few pulled it off (Metro 2033).

However, voice acting and dialogue is serviceable at best, with some basic animations and minimal lip sync. The game’s soundtrack would sometimes be stuck in a “combat situation” when you’ve long left the enemies behind. Things aren’t great on a technical level either – the game’s engine just doesn’t look very good, with low resolution textures and an awful draw distance. The apparent excuse for poor visibility is due to the dust, but things aren’t much better in clear areas either, and things get especially bad in unlit areas. Thankfully, enemies and items are highlighted, so they are easier to locate. The game did crash once, taking our 360 with it. Also of note, while checkpoints work fine as you play, restarting the whole game puts you back to the previous loading screen instead of a checkpoint, which could mean a ton of gameplay lost.

I Am Alive must have endured many changes over the years, but it is good to see the title finally come to life. It’s a downloadable release that offers good value, with 3 hours of play for just the main story missions and a haunting world to explore. The story’s ending is a bit of a letdown, and the graphics don’t look that great – but this is a game packed with interesting ideas. Sure, all of the gameplay mechanics that come from those ideas can seem rather simple, but they are firmly grounded in reality which makes the simplicity appropriate. This may not be the same ambitious effort that was introduced to the world with a trailer some years ago, but I Am Alive is still a worthwhile experience that offers something new and different from the norm.