I Am Alive

Let me start of by saying, i'm a terrible writer and i will most likely not be able to properly convey my experience with this game. But i still i felt this game deserved me at least putting in the effort.

I know this game has been under some heavy criticism since it's release, and even tough i have seen people giving their favor to it Brads score just made me a bit sad. I can clearly see how this game is the anti-Brad of games. It doesn't take kindly to bad decisions or poor execution and it very rarely rewards you for doing good. Rather it simply hands you what you need and expect you to figure out the proper next move. Its reward is letting you keep whatever surplus you can maintain by being efficient. The game is even trying to fool you in to poor and costly decisions by flaunting "rewards" of in the distance that will sometimes cost you more to acquire then they actually provide.

I won't say that this didn't frustrate me at first. The game is poor at letting you explore your limits and a moment of indecision can force you to simply give up and reset. There was even an occasion during my play through where i understood my limits and pushed them just enough, but where the developers had assumed that i would find the options i pursued to hard and simply move on, "power up" and come back later. So that after exploring for an hour and acquiring more stuff then i could possibly need, i stumbled upon unpredictable situation that got me killed and reset me back to where i had started an hour earlier.

But, and here is the thing about this game. While frustrated, I had enjoyed that hour of painful exploration, planning and last second escapes so much that i didn't hesitate at all but immediately set down the same path again. I don't think i can explain exactly why i love this game so much. It isn't that its "hard" or "punishing", because the game isn't that. Rather i would say the game challenges you, both to think before you act, but also to accept risks and costs to make progress. As someone who obsessivly hoards items in RPGs and never touches a health restoration item, this game forced me to break that habit. And at the same time it welcomed me with open arms, making me understand that every item counted and anything that could be saved should be saved. I really felt like what i did and how i tackled each obstacle mattered. It wasn't just a slog of samey hindrances on your path to the end of the game where each one was forgotten as soon as the next one approached.

Now, all my drawn out, poor and unfocused writing aside, this is what i truly wanted to say about this game. This is the best game I've played in more then a year and i play most notable games that get released. This might not be the game for you, but you do your self a disservice i you don't find that out on your own. It was a long time ago that a game ended and i just sat there, satisfied yet still wishing i could somehow have more.

The fact that this was a downloadable game both makes me happy and sad. Happy that i was given so much in something i didn't expect a lot from and sad that this didn't get the chance to to be even better. As it stands i would have bought the current game as a full priced retail product. And if this is what they chose to release as downloadable i can only imagine what they would have made for a disc.

If anyone involved with the development of this game should read this. Know that this game has reinvigorated my dying passion for games. I can't give you more praise then that.