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.

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? [h1]Story[/h1] 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. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] 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). [h1]Graphics[/h1] 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. [h1]Audio[/h1] 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. [h1]Verdict[/h1] 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. [code]If you found this review helpful and would be interested in supporting my Curator group, it would be appreciated. Cheers. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32549618/[/code]