I Am Alive
A post-apocalyptic survival game about climbing and moral choices.
I Am Alive is a 2012 action-adventure survival game developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and published by Ubisoft. Set in a post-apocalyptic world after a cataclysmic disaster, it was released digitally for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows. The game follows an unnamed protagonist searching for his wife and daughter in the ruined city of Haventon.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Darkworks (2005–2009), Ubisoft Shanghai (2009–2012)
- Director
- Stanislas Mettra
- Producer
- Sergei Titarenko
- Designer
- David Maurin
- Programmer
- Yann Courties
- Artist
- Liao Jun Hao
- Writer
- Jess Lebow
- Composer
- Jeff Broadbent
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
I Am Alive is an action-adventure survival game played from a third-person perspective, switching to first-person when aiming or shooting. Climbing is a central mechanic governed by a stamina meter; all physical activities while off the ground drain stamina, with actions like jumping consuming more than shimmying. The meter refills on solid ground, but outside at ground level, dust in the air constantly depletes stamina and eventually health. If stamina runs out while climbing, the player has a few seconds for a final exertion, but doing so permanently reduces the maximum stamina meter, which can only be restored with a specific item. Pitons can be placed into walls to allow the protagonist to rest and recharge stamina mid-climb, though each piton is single-use and cannot be removed. Hostile encounters offer several strategies: a machete quick kill on a single enemy, melee combat, drawing a gun to intimidate enemies into surrendering (even without ammo), or firing a gun or bow to kill one enemy in hopes the others surrender. Surrendered enemies can be knocked out or pushed off a ledge or into fire. The player must identify and kill the group's leader first, as this often forces others to surrender; killing a weaker member causes the leader to attack. Aiming a gun at enemies for too long without acting convinces them the protagonist is bluffing.
Plot
The game takes place one year after The Event, a catastrophic disaster that killed 90% of humanity and left toxic dust and aftershocks. Society has fragmented into small survivor groups, some protective of resources and others predatory. The unnamed protagonist returns to his home city of Haventon, hoping to find his wife Julie and daughter Mary, whom he last saw before The Event. He records video updates for an unidentified future viewer, explaining it took him nearly a year to walk back from out east. In his apartment, he finds a note from Julie saying she and Mary left for an emergency camp shortly after The Event, and that she forgives him. Leaving, he mistakes a small girl for Mary but saves her from three hostile men. The girl, Mei, says her mother went missing on a supply run and gives him a walkie-talkie to contact her family friend Henry. At Henry's apartment, Henry thanks the protagonist and asks him to retrieve a radio transmitter, which Henry cannot get due to his disability. After traversing deadly dust clouds to retrieve the transmitter, Henry reveals that Mei's mother Linda is held against her will in a local hotel. The protagonist fights through gang members who take women prisoner for sexual gratification, rescues Linda, and learns that Henry once oversaw the Haventon Fire Department's dispatch and communications systems and likely knows the locations of all emergency camps in the city.
Development
The game was first mentioned in a September 2006 International Herald Tribune article, where Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated the company would publish a game called Alive featuring characters relying on instincts after an earthquake. In July 2008, Gamekyo reported that Assassin's Creed producer Jade Raymond was producing I Am Alive, a first-person survival-adventure set in post-apocalyptic Chicago, developed by Darkworks for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360, with production starting in 2005 and a second quarter 2009 release planned. Ubisoft declined to comment on Raymond's involvement. At E3 2008, Ubisoft showed a CGI trailer introducing protagonist Adam Collins, and Guillemot said the game would offer a rich palette of emotions and challenge players to make life-changing decisions. In August, Ubisoft executive director Alain Corre told MCV the company hoped the game could launch a new franchise. In January 2009, Ubisoft confirmed Raymond was not working on the title; senior producer Alexis Goddard explained the game would feature violence only as a last resort and emphasized the first-person view for conveying danger. The game was slated for March 2009 release, but the next day Ubisoft published a fiscal year schedule without I Am Alive, stating it required further development time and would bolster the 2009-10 lineup.
Reception
The PlayStation 3 version received generally favorable reviews, with a Metacritic aggregate score of 75 out of 100 from fifteen reviews. The PC version scored 66 out of 100 from ten reviews, and the Xbox 360 version scored 69 out of 100 from sixty-eight reviews, both rated mixed or average. Australia's PlayStation Official Magazine gave the PlayStation 3 version 9 out of 10, praising the core mechanics and psychological discomfort. Destructoid scored the Xbox 360 version 8.5 out of 10, praising climbing, combat, tone, and morality management, but criticized the lack of a non-violent solution and the absence of a penalty for killing. Game Informer scored the Xbox 360 version 8.5 out of 10, calling it one of the most memorable survival games. Eurogamer scored it 8 out of 10, praising tone, gameplay, and moral side-missions, but noted the combat and intimidation systems never develop beyond their initial introduction.
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