The game is very intense, and most encounters require a good and rare bullet to deal with, but you usually get one at the start of it with a well planned sneak attack. Resources are quite scarce and you will want to spare medical supplies and other random supplies as much as possible to help out survivors for a better end game score. This is the kind of game that rewards exploration but almost always comes with a risk of death by stamina failure.

The story starts out completely believeable and really portrays the love a father is capable of, even if it is all in the benefit of a young child only resembling his daughter. The story lacks closure and leaves you wondering where the sequal is. It is also quite short. Beat the game in 5h 47m with 90% score on easy. Running through survival now to see what i can do with experience under my belt.

Favorite weapon: Hunting Bow - Nothing like getting your projectiles back from your still enemy bodies. *WARNING* DOES NOT INTIMIDATE ENEMIES. only draw this weapon when you already have them at pistol and have space between you and them. Also works as a nice initiator to take out the pistol bearing enemies quickly, then pull out trusty gun to scare the rest while recovering arrows and grabbing extra bullets.

With the entertaining decision based combat system and the difficult survival aspects of this game, but lacking longer gameplay, i give this game a 8.5/10

You know what? Its really rather good. Its a good 12 hours worth of bleak post apocalyptic survival so provided you don't mind the complete lack of comedic relief then all good. In all seriousness, its a very playable game with some very clever elements. Holding a gun with only one bullet (or empty in some cases) and facing off against 3 enemy makes for some very quick strategic thinking of who to take down first, and who you can bluff into surrendering. The world setting is fantastic and a very believable vision of downtown US after the apocalyptic "Event". It really does feel that genuine. The plot is good enough, though relatively straightforward and although a little clunky at times, the control are sufficient. Had a couple of graphic glitches, and one dead end point where an enemy didn't spawn so I couldn't make the next objective. Also find that getting the enemies into that precise point to make a "strike" was tricky and it would often revert to the "struggle kill" with no warning.
There's a good mix of the puzzle and platformer elements in the climbing sections and its challenging enough, even on the regular level setting. Whilst the game is quite "samey" in that involves exploring climbing and a bit of combat, its fulfilling eough
Its not a cheery game by any standards (its on a par with say, Dead Space in terms of optimism) but its one that made me pretty happy. Overall score is a very comfortable 8 out of 10

Mixed reviews for this game confuse me, it deserves better. Don't get me wrong though, many things people complain about are true and the game really is relatively short (around 4 to 5 hours of gameplay) and abrupt, however it offers a very unique combat system and the overall atmosphere is pretty good.

Playing on hard difficulty you will be forced into roungh resource managment (mainly ammo management, also water and other stuff), therefore you can't just wander anywhere you want neither can you shoot everything that moves, you have to force your enemies to surrender by threatening them with your (often times not even loaded) gun. I loved the concept and look forward to other games implementing it. The second most important aspect of the game is post-apocalyptic atmosphere, as mentioned above it is executed fairly well and the game feels somewhat unusual and therefore interesting.

Surely, the game has it's flaws, they are mentioned in other reviews, However, I feel like most of them were brought up by people over-hyped by the game and therefore expecting it to be more than it actually can be. Some cons of the game I can think of is it's repetetiveness. Combat got somewhat repetetive but I am fine with that, what really annoyed me is climbing buildings over and over again (which was fun at first... but you can only climb so much without getting sick of it). And that's basically it, nothing else really stroke me during my first playthrough.

To sum up, I can recommend this game. Get it if it's on sale and you are looking for something post-apocalyptic with survival aspects and unusual combat system. Just don't put your expectations for it too high and you will enjoy it as long as you keep all those bad reviews off your mind while playing.

At first glance, I Am Alive showed a lot of promise. The post apocalyptic atmosphere is believable. The story feels genuine. But ultimately playing it felt more like a chore than entertainment. The game concepts sound great on paper, but fall short on execution. It tries to pretend it's open world, yet is completely linear. I tried to play as a passive person, purposely trying to save lives and ammo, but nothing I did or didn't do mattered. Just about everyone I encountered had to die because they were the aggressor and wouldn't step down. There was no way to talk my way out of any situation. And if I pointed my gun at someone without the intention of using it, they always attacked as soon as I lowered my weapon or tried to walk away. Killing people became routine and expected so eventually I just started shooting first.

Then there's the stamina aspect which works well most of the time, until you unwittingly find yourself lost with no stamina to get back to safety, being forced to restart a level. And finally there's that genuine story which turns out to be nothing more than a dead end serving no purpose other than to keep the game moving forward. There is no closure here.

Attaching the Ubisoft name to this title feels very similar to attaching the Gearbox name to Aliens: Colonial Marines--setting up high expectations, only to be disappointed.

I've read some reviews that criticize the difficulty of combat in this game. I Am Alive doesn't want you to fight; it wants you to SURVIVE. Perhaps it doesn't do enough to illustrate this point, but just like critically acclaimed Outlast or Amnesia, combat is not your friend. This game was one of the first high-profile games that puts the player in highly vulnerable situations. It requires a different mindset. You are not a soldier. You are not a superhero. You do not have any advantages over the other humans in the game. If you are outnumbered, you will lose. If you try to have shootout after shootout, you will lose. If you try to go toe to toe with an opponent that is bigger, stronger and tougher, you will lose. Play smart: Avoid. Intimidate. SURVIVE!

I Am Alive was the very reason I started using the screenshot taking feature Steam offers. Probably most of the pictures I took were uploaded for this game only. I am still perplexed why people call this game ugly. It's environment is simply gorgeous. I look at the big picture here not tiny details such as not near perfect antialiasing or the highest HD textures available in current generation video games. Simply the city our protagonist arrives to looks stunning and depressing and superb. This desolate city is characterised by grey and white colours due to the fog, dust and toxic waste present and the beams of the sun shining through the sky are the most beautiful I have ever seen in a video game. Those being more expert in this area will probably challenge me - I have found this game visually stunning, regardless. I took numerous pictures especially when you climb the skyscrapers - those sequences are outstanding.

Gameplay-wise I Am Alive is a rather difficult TPS game. Even a single enemy can easily kill you. You have melee weapons at your disposal and any firearms you have provide you only with limited ammo. You need to plan every single encounter very carefully. The only letdown when it comes to this game its shortness. It can be completed in 5 or 6 hours with all side missions completed and collectibles obtained. Still, it is forgivable considering the budget was rather low for this one and also it's easy to catch this gem at a discounted price.

I bought this game in sale for a low-price about 3 years ago but only played it a couple of months ago and was not disappointed; a good discovery i must say, for my part.

"I Am Alive" is a story-driven Third-Person (Shooter) game which takes place in a post-cataclysmic era, in a dark and dusty world, with a mostly black & white atmosphere. A lone survivor wants to retrieve his lost wife and daughter when the Event occured, one year ago.

The player must collect resources to restore their Health and Stamina, but also to help other survivors who will give informations about the Event and your researched people. This is a choice, among others.
Some survivors are hostile and quick decisions must be taken to stay alive... or not; intimidate and/or kill are sometimes the only way, but choose your priority target(s) precautionously, considering, furthermore, the rarity of ammo.

The player has also to climb walls and edges, and there again good decisions are important concerning the way to take. You can find rare and precious pitons scattered in maps to be used wisely when out of Stamina while climbing.

A thing i liked is the "Lives" (called "Retries" in the game) concept that was the core of ancient era games. Helping gentle/friendly survivors will reward the player with a "Retry".
Some are scattered in the maps like those precious 1-Up we were happy to find in the games previous generation.

"I Am Alive" has pleasant graphics and gameplay mechanics.
A con of this game is a frequent "freeze & jerk" cam little bug that never lasts more than a couple of seconds. No big deal here, even if a bit annoying.
The key mapping is also particular considering that you shoot, interact and run with the same button : Left Mouse. Not really intuitive when familiar with L-Shift key to run and usual E/F (and sometimes Space) keys to interact.

To conclude, this short but (in my opinion) good game has a realistic aspect that makes it interesting. There are challenges to take. However i would recommend to buy it in sale regarding the cons above and its short duration.

I Am Alive is an action adventure developed by Ubisoft Shanghaii.


The game is about the devastation in America one year after the event. Almost all cities were destroyed by the earthquake. The government tries to help the population, but it is powerless because the cities are paralyzed by poisonous clouds of dust. Food, water and ammunition have become scarce, making the population more and more aggressive and violent. You play as a survivor who travels to his old home in the city of Haventon to save his wife Julie and daughter Mary. When you enter the house you will find a letter stating that they had to leave their home to be safe. When he leaves the house, he sees a little girl whom he mistakes for his daughter and saves the girl of three men. The girl, Mei, misses her mother and gives the player a walkie-talkie, which they use to contact Henry, who wants to see Mei again. The player is supposed to travel with her to Henry's apartment, but they are overwhelmed by a dust storm, so they seek shelter in the destroyed shopping center. The protagonist, whose name is never mentioned, realizes that Mei has a fever, so he goes out to find medicine for her that has been dropped by the government to help survivors. After they both arrive at Henry's, they see that Henry is in a wheelchair. He wants a radio transmitter from the player, and he also gives the player some groceries and a bow. While looking for the radio transmitter, he finds an old ship on which the radio transmitter can be found.

The player controls the main character from a third-person perspective during the navigation, the camera switches to the first-person perspective when aiming and shooting. When encountering enemy survivors, the player can employ various tactics to stay alive, including sneaking to surprise enemies with a machete Quick Kill, performing stealth kills with a bow, or using bluff and intimidation e.g. Point an empty weapon at enemy non-player characters.

The game has an emphasis on climbing and exploring. The player climbs destroyed buildings and navigates dangerous areas. Every effort has its price, and when it comes to physically demanding activities such as climbing or jumping, controlling the main character's stamina is crucial so that they can survive. Through skillful endurance management, players are rewarded by accessing hidden paths, resources and other survivors.

The gameplay also involves collecting hidden resources and supplies scattered around the city: water, food, batteries, gas, medicine, cigarettes, tools, climbing gear, weapons, and ammunition. Anything the player can save from the ruined city can be used to keep the main characters strong and healthy, or prove helpful in their quest by allowing them to rescue survivors. Reps can be accumulated throughout the game by helping or rescuing people, with optional side quests to be completed.


+ cruel atmosphere à la "Die Straße"
+ atmospheric end-of-time backdrop
+ innovative psycho models before the fight
+ challenging climbing with loss of stamina
+ Remedies and ammunition are scarce
+ Weapons from machete to pistol to bow
+ playable with keyboard and controller


- weak story and dialogues
- Morality and conscience without influence


I Am Alive offers you a survival trip with creative psycho duels, which takes place in an atmospheric end time setting.



I Am Alive ist ein Action-Abenteuer, welches von Ubisoft Shanghaii entwickelt wurde.


Das Spiel handelt von den Zerstörungen in Amerika ein Jahr nach Dem Ereignis. Fast alle Städte wurden durch die Erbeben zerstört. Die Regierung versucht der Bevölkerung zu helfen, allerdings ist sie machtlos, da die Städte durch giftige Staubwolken lahm gelegt sind. Nahrung, Wasser und Munition sind knapp geworden, sodass die Bevölkerung immer aggressiver und gewalttätiger wird. Man spielt einen Überlebenden, der zu seinem alten Zuhause, durch die Stadt Haventon, reist, um seine Frau Julie und seine Tochter Mary zu retten. Wenn man das Haus betritt, findet man einen Brief, in dem steht, dass sie ihr Zuhause verlassen mussten, um in Sicherheit zu sein. Als er das Haus verlässt, sieht er ein kleines Mädchen, das er mit seiner Tochter verwechselt und rettet das Mädchen von drei Männern. Das Mädchen, Mei, vermisst ihre Mutter und übergibt dem Spieler ein Walkie-Talkie, mit dem man Kontakt mit Henry aufnimmt, der Mei wiedersehen will. Der Spieler soll mit ihr zu Henry's Apartment reisen, allerdings werden sie von einem Staubsturn überwältigt, sodass sie in dem zerstörten Einkaufszentrum Schutz suchen. Der Protagonist, dessen Name nie genannt wird, merkt, dass Mei Fieber hat, weshalb er losgeht, um Medizin für sie zu finden, die von der Regierung abgeworfen wurden, um Überlebenden zu helfen. Nachdem beide bei Henry ankommen, sehen das Henry im Rollstuhl sitzt. Dieser will von dem Spieler einen Funksender, außerdem übergibt er dem Spieler einige Lebensmittel und einen Bogen. Auf der Suche nach dem Funksender, findet er ein altes Schiff, auf dem der Funksender zu finden ist.

Der Spieler steuert die Hauptfigur während der Navigation aus einer Third-Person-Perspektive, die Kamera schaltet beim Zielen und Schießen in die First-Person-Perspektive. Bei Begegnungen mit feindlichen Überlebenden kann der Spieler verschiedene Taktiken anwenden, um am Leben zu bleiben, einschließlich Schleichen, um Feinde mit einem Machete Quick Kill zu überraschen, Stealth-Kills mit einem Bogen auszuführen oder Bluff und Einschüchterung zu verwenden, z. eine leere Waffe auf feindliche Nicht-Spieler-Charaktere richten.

Das Spiel hat einen Schwerpunkt auf Klettern und Erkunden. Der Spieler erklimmt zerstörte Gebäude und navigiert in gefährlichen Bereichen. Jede Anstrengung hat ihren Preis und bei körperlich anstrengenden Aktivitäten wie Klettern oder Springen ist es entscheidend, die Ausdauer der Hauptfigur zu kontrollieren, damit sie überleben kann. Durch geschicktes Ausdauermanagement werden die Spieler belohnt, indem sie auf versteckte Pfade, Ressourcen und andere Überlebende zugreifen.

Das Gameplay beinhaltet auch das Sammeln von versteckten Ressourcen und Vorräten, die in der ganzen Stadt verstreut sind: Wasser, Nahrung, Batterien, Gas, Medizin, Zigaretten, Werkzeuge, Kletterausrüstung, Waffen und Munition. Alles, was der Spieler aus der zerstörten Stadt retten kann, kann verwendet werden, um die Hauptfiguren stark und gesund zu erhalten, oder sich bei seiner Suche als hilfreich erweisen, indem er es ihm ermöglicht, Überlebende zu retten. Wiederholungen können während des Spiels gesammelt werden, indem man Leuten hilft oder sie rettet, mit optionalen Nebenquests, die abgeschlossen werden müssen.


+ grausame Atmosphäre à la "Die Straße"
+ stimmungsvolle Endzeitkulisse
+ innovative Psychoduelle vor dem Kampf
+ anspruchsvolles Klettern mit Ausdauerverlust
+ Heilmittel und Munition sind knapp
+ Waffen von Machete über Pistole bis Bogen
+ mit Tastatur und Controller spielbar


- schwache Geschichte und Dialoge
- Moral und Gewissen ohne Einfluss


I Am Alive bietet dir einen Überlebenstrip mit kreativen Psychoduellen, welche in einer stimmungsvolle Endzeitkulisse spielt.

I Am Alive | ★★★☆☆

I just wanted to review this just so my few friends could perhaps noticed this game and maybe give it a petty try. Yes, the game lives up to its bad review. Flat written plot, terrible environment modeling and texture work that it's looks like it was a PS2 game. Paired it with Ubisoft parkour that is somehow uniquely challenging because of its timed stamina features.

However, In a span of full 5 hrs of my play time. I've experienced a new interesting mechanics and a realistic approach to how an apocalypse supply would actually be. In the stretch of the game you will find a full of aggressive, desperate people that can be bluffed by a mere empty pistol.

There's no shootout whatsoever gonna happen throughout the game because of the scarce bullet and most of the time you would be in a situation, surrounded by 4 armed men and you need to think ahead before taking any action to utilize every single thing you all have.

It has a really great potential that could maybe reach a different kind of popularity if something like Remedy or Naughty Dog developed it while still having all its concept intact.

I Am Alive is a reasonably rare example of not only an older game that holds up well, but also of a port that actually improves on the original. I was glad for the opportunity to give this game another go on Steam, as my original playthrough on the PS3 was cut short due to more than a couple bugs, some clipping issues, and eventually just running out of replays (more on that later). This time around, not only did I finish it, but I did so in around seven hours, which was fairly perfect length-wise. So, what is I Am Alive anyway?


The event of I Am Alive take place about a year after an undisclosed post apocalyptic event that included (and continues to feature) earthquakes and a thick cloud of dust which has settled on the city you will be exploring (and presumably large swaths of the rest of the world as well). Given the level of destruction and the particulars of it, it seems like natural world upheavals (earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, etc...). Survivors are largely left to fend for themselves and have turned to small scale tribalism, gangs, and a general "every man and woman for themselves" type scenario.

You play as an estranged father who has spent the last year walking across the country, and has finally returned to the city his wife and daughter lived in, in an attempt to find them. The remainder of the journey is an exploration of morality when your end goal is possibly the most important you will ever have. Coming across and helping or hindering other survivors, fighting for your life against others, and generally trying to navigate a completely ruined world.

There is a funny little Easter Egg of sorts; a nod to your typical post apocalypse, in one section of the game. Look for it. It's pretty amusing in my opinion.


The gameplay in I Am Alive involves heavy doses of climbing with some lite platforming, some optional fetch questing, exploration, and includes some fairly long stretches of emulating walking sims broken up by flashes of action and combat.

There is a lives system in play with this game, in the form of "replays". This is probably the only part of this game that I didn't enjoy. With the Steam port however, you can choose to disable or modify their availability through the game's difficulty modes. Easy is infinite, for example. You can earn replays by completing fetch quests. There are twenty in total, and so that is also how many bonus replays you can earn. I actually only needed to use two during my playthrough, and I don't quit recall if you also earn them as you advance the story as well. When I played on the PS3 years ago, I ran out of replays and patience along with it, so it was nice to at least see some modifications to how they are handled with this version.

The climbing and leaping seamed much improved from what I remembered as well. It didn't feel clunky outside of a couple moments where the hit detection seemed a little off. Nothing that really detracted from the experience. Which is good since it is the primary gameplay mechanic.

Combat is probably the most interesting aspect of the gameplay in my estimation. Just about everybody you encounter will be armed (outside of quest givers for the most part). Some people will just be defending their turf, families, etc....and you can simply choose to walk away with your hands up, and they will leave you be. However, most people are hostile. In those moments, you have a surprising amount of options, but they typically boil down to drawing your gun immediately or waiting until one enemy gets close enough for you to use your machete. After dispatching that person, you are well advised to ALWAYS pull your gun next, even if you are out of bullets. This is where I Am Alive really gets interesting in my opinion. People tend to react the way they would in real life; holding up their hands, placating or trying to calm you down, backing away, and so on. This sometimes leads to you being able to boot people off buildings, run them through with your machete, or just simply knock them out. However, not everybody responds the same. Some people will think you wont pull the trigger, and if you happen to be out of bullets and dry fire, all bets are off. I really enjoyed this quite a bit.

This time around, outside of the rare moments of hit detection being off, I didn't experience anything even remotely buggy or laggy, experienced zero crashes, and the game generally ran immaculately on the highest settings (I use a 1050ti and have a mid range rig).


The graphics in I Am Alive have always been really cool. That kind of old school filtered film. That, with splashes of color, especially when not in the actual cloud of dust (you spend a lot of the game trying to stay off the streets, sticking to rooftops, old highways, and so on), really make for a stunning, if somewhat dreary visual experience. Really conveys an oppressive sense of hopelessness with little bits of positivity sprinkled in to keep you going. The animations also looked great, cutscenes were done well, and the world in general carried a surprising amount of detail.


The audio tracks were top tier in my estimation. From the ambient sounds of the world, to the sounds of combat, conversations being had by NPC's amongst themselves, and even the voice acting. Everything was quite well done here.


I Am Alive was an all around good game. It does have some pacing issues, but in my opinion, those periods of time are filled with interesting things to see, which breaks up what could otherwise be a detrimental aspect to the game. It's the perfect length in my estimation as well, weighing in for me at 7 hours. This game holds up remarkably well to today's standards, runs immaculately, and is generally an interesting, more realistic, and even fun take on the post apocalypse. Plus, that combat system was and actually still is pretty innovative. I think it is worth giving a go if you haven't before. Probably not so much in the way of replayability though, especially since its servers are on Ubisoft's murdered servers list, which I guess impacts speedrunner leaderboards and the like.