Can design overcome deficiency?
I am alive is a difficult game to review; namely because it is so intriguing but fails in many areas that would damn other games. The apocalypse is quickly approaching cliche but I Am Alive hits on the most important part of any apocalypse story: survival. The choices you make are genuinely difficult and I don't mean which alien you choose to sleep with. Whether it is using an item, firing a bullet, or choosing which climbing route to take there is never any room for error but all paths allow completion if you pursue them with enough skill. I genuinely grew anxious throughout my time with this game. The depleting stamina and non-regenerating health reminded me of an old-school CAPCOM game ala resident evil where every herb and bullet was precious.
I used the word paths but the game is strictly a linear affair with some mild exploration and hidden items. Your choices rely in how you use the linear world to your advantage and there are often times where getting an out of reach item has to be weighed against the time and resources required to obtain it. This is where the game runs into the flaw that almost kills it: the lack of responsive controls. While I was able to mitigate the effects to an extent through judicious camera control it was still frustrating when the character would move even a single handhold in the wrong direction and deplete your stamina bar just enough to require the use of an item. In a game where each second you spend climbing is precious this is a nearly unforgivable flaw. Why 3.5 stars then? Because this game set out to do something, make you anxious and setting a mood and in doing that it succeeded beyond belief. The mishaps were technical rather than conceptual and that, to an extent, I can overlook.
