There’s an emerging theme in game development where designers are taking stories with strong narrative themes and pairing them with light puzzle-solving elements. (I often wonder if this is the result of so many using the pejorative “walking simulator” but I digress). I Am Dead falls firmly into this category.
I Am Dead
Developer: Hollow Ponds
Price: $20
Platform: Nintendo Switch and PC
MonsterVine was supplied with a PC code for review
Taking on the role of Morris, the former curator to the museum of the isle of Shelmerston, you’re tasked by your talking dead dog to string together memories with physical items used to sniff out the recently deceased. In order to find these memories and items you’ll need to ‘slice’ through objects that might be in the camera’s way. Once found, your dog, Sparky, can sniff out the spirit and reunite the memories to manifest that spirit in front of you. A heady concept, maybe, but the gameplay is pretty straightforward.
Sparky tasks Morris with finding a new custodian for the island. Shelmerston has a volcano in the middle of it and while it’s supposed to be dormant it’s been riling up a bit recently. The current custodian is getting rather tired and it’s up to Morris and Sparky to bring memories together, manifest spirits, and ask them if they’d like to take over the job. It’s explained further along in the story that the spirit who decides to do this gives up their spiritual form and becomes one with the island, no longer allowing them to visit ‘The West’ which I assume is where spirits are supposed to go, based on some of the in-game language.
In order to tie memories and physical items together Morris must first find someone that still has memories of the spirit. The first spirit ran a yoga studio out of a decommissioned lighthouse and going through each level of the lighthouse revealed several people thinking about the recently deceased. Selecting the person resulted in a small story told through a flat, 2D style of the game’s art, that I navigated using the triggers on my controller. Finding the right frame to land on before it would allow me to progress the story was sometimes finicky and was much easier to do with my mouse, which only required me to pull a circle linearly from top to bottom in a UI element. However, I felt more comfortable using the controller. The movement and slicing lent itself more to controller use so I took the hit and just dealt with using the triggers, which wasn’t too annoying.
Memories often told the tale involving the spirit and an item connected to them. One person remembered a badge given to them by the spirit when they were alive, so I would have to find the badge in the same area. Slicing involved using the controller triggers to effectively zoom in and out of the item and wherever the camera was, it would pass through the 3D object, as if to cut it into layers. Many of the items you would find to connect to memories were found this way. Along with the necessary items found to progress the story, there were collectibles called Grenkins. Finding Grenkins requires being more precise with the slicing system and trying to match the slice to that of a picture given to you by Sparky. It was transparently a system created to make better use of the numerous objects they created for the game that you can look through, but it was still enjoyable finding them.
I wasn’t thrilled with I Am Dead after the first level, despite the art and dialogue, the game hadn’t quite captured me yet. Pressing on and being treated to more locations around Shelmerston, I was captivated by the world Hollow Ponds had created. I Am Dead masquerades as our world but beneath it, there are anthropomorphized bird- and fish-people who love toast. Actually, it seems like a lot of people in Shelmerston really enjoy toast: There’s a restaurant on the main street promenade that exclusively sells toast. Humorously enough the world in I Am Dead is actually quite alive. While I spent my time in this world I started to get a little more invested in the story and was a little disappointed by the end.
Following the story of Morris I felt like I had a strong grip on the narrative about half-way through the game and not long after that had a prediction on how the story would go. What I was treated to was my prediction told in a way that was somewhat captivating. I’m not going to roll out examples but there are a lot of games that overstay their welcome by explaining things too much. An extra chapter or epilogue that goes into what happened during a story with serious subject matter that maybe didn’t need to be explained. I Am Dead ends precisely where it’s supposed to, and I felt a connection with the narrative as my mind unwrapped things during the closing credits. I apologize for being so abstract, but it feels not just necessary but almost on-point for the type of game I Am Dead is.
Treated not just to a strong narrative but one that was assisted by the somewhat silly art and humorous narration, the stunning, low-poly art helped tell the story of I Am Dead. All important characters in I Am Dead are brilliantly voiced, and the dialogue between them is humorous. Sparky sounds like a delightfully whimsical young woman, and Morris a kindly old gent. Tapping into the memories of some of the other islanders you’re met with a wide array of wistful reminiscing that, without proper direction, would have lost all meaning. I would often fall into the stories because of how well they were told and voiced.
The Final Word
I Am Dead is quite good for being a short and fun puzzle game with a deep enough narrative that you can take something away from it. This isn’t just putting pieces together, it’s chaining elements together with the reward of beautiful storytelling that creates a very captivating world. If you love puzzle games, there are certainly more difficult puzzle games out there. However, if you’re interested in a strong narrative, fun art, and completing simple puzzles, I Am Dead is the most fun you’ll have this year.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
