Unalive
- January 5, 2017
- RandomSpin
Get on Steam"Unalive" is a roguelike action-adventure game where you must navigate through randomly generated laboratory rooms after being subjected to a deadly experiment. Collect unique items to enhance your abilities, avoid deadly traps, and defeat random boss encounters in a single, challenging playthrough. Every decision matters in this permadeath game, as death is permanent and there are no second chances.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features impressive graphics with a dark and minimalist aesthetic that enhances the horror experience.
- Gameplay combines exploration, puzzles, and combat, providing a rich and engaging experience with multiple endings that encourage replayability.
- Despite its flaws, the game is enjoyable for its price, offering a fun time-killer experience for fans of the roguelike genre.
- The game suffers from a lack of depth and variety, with repetitive gameplay and minimal content that can lead to boredom.
- Technical issues such as poor AI, unbalanced power-ups, and lack of customization options detract from the overall experience.
- Many players find the game too short and easy, with a lack of meaningful progression or story, making it feel like a missed opportunity.
- gameplay15 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "unalive" is a blend of exploration, puzzles, and combat, offering a psychological horror experience that encourages thorough investigation of environments. While some players appreciate its engaging narrative and solid roguelite mechanics, others find the gameplay limited, repetitive, and occasionally frustrating due to resource management issues. Overall, it presents a mix of enjoyable elements and shortcomings, making it a budget title that may appeal to some but not all players.
“Developed by Randomspin, the title combines an engaging narrative with puzzle mechanics that challenge the player's mind and courage.”
“"Unalive" gameplay is an engaging combination of exploration, puzzles, and combat.”
“The exploration mechanics are well-balanced, encouraging players to investigate every corner of the environments and interact with objects that may provide hints and clues.”
“The gameplay is very dull and repetitive.”
“The gameplay is very short; I finished it in about 76 minutes, including the learning curve.”
“Here we have quite simple rules and gameplay.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of "unalive" are characterized by a dark, minimalist aesthetic that aligns well with its theme, earning praise for its impressive visuals and unique enemy designs. However, some players criticize the use of outdated pixel art and lack of graphical enhancements, leading to a perception of low-quality visuals. Overall, while the graphics may not appeal to everyone, they are considered fitting for the game's style and contribute to its charm.
“unalive's graphics are impressive, using a dark and minimalist aesthetic that perfectly complements the game's theme.”
“With its stunning visuals, challenging puzzles, and engaging narrative, the game stands out as a worthy addition to the genre.”
“I really enjoy the game artwork; I like the enemy designs and it has a decent and solid roguelite gameplay. Definitely a hidden gem for me.”
“A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
“While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
“Without any other substantial graphics tweaks, it's not possible for gamers to improve the lackluster 2D visuals.”
- story7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as engaging and rich in psychological horror elements, revealing the protagonist's past and the world's mysteries. However, some reviews criticize the lack of coherent plot and level design, suggesting that the game fails to deliver a meaningful narrative experience. Overall, while there are hints of an intriguing story, its execution is deemed poor, leaving players disappointed.
“The plot unfolds in an engaging manner, revealing secrets about the protagonist's past and the nature of the world in which he finds himself.”
“"Unalive" is a psychological horror experience that masterfully combines art, storytelling, and gameplay.”
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“The game features no proper level design or game/story flow/plot, as they opted to try to use samey repetitive procedural generation algorithms as a substitute for adding such content to the game, to avoid doing the important job of level/map design.”
“The game is so poorly made that you can kill big enemies who'll try to get to you through the walls by shooting those parts that'll appear in your room... poor AI, poor design, poor everything... ah, and don't expect any story.”
“No story.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as atmospheric and ambient, effectively enhancing the setting and creating a sense of tension. While some players appreciate the eerie and minimalistic soundtrack that aligns with the game's lo-fi aesthetic, others feel that the music and sound effects are lacking or underutilized. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, though opinions on its execution vary.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“The music and sound effects are minimal but eerie and complement the game's lo-fi aesthetic.”
“The setting is complemented by an atmospheric soundtrack that creates a constant sense of tension.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "unalive" is characterized by a tense and immersive environment, enhanced by an intriguing plot and an atmospheric soundtrack that maintains a constant sense of tension. Reviewers appreciate the game's ability to create a fresh and impactful experience within the horror genre, with music serving primarily as ambient support.
“With a tense atmosphere and intriguing plots, 'Unalive' stands out as a fresh and impactful proposal in the horror game scene.”
“The setting is complemented by an atmospheric soundtrack that creates a constant sense of tension.”
“Nice atmosphere; the music is basically just ambience.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability through multiple endings influenced by player choices, encouraging exploration of various narrative paths. Additionally, the investment in character development enhances the desire to replay the game for different experiences.
“In addition, the game has multiple endings, depending on the player's choices, encouraging replayability and exploration of different narrative paths.”
“You need replay value; it invests the player in the character they are playing.”
“Challenges and replayability.”
“The game has multiple endings, depending on the player's choices, which encourages replayability and exploration of different narrative paths.”
“You need replay value to invest the player in the character they are playing.”
“Challenges and replayability are lacking, making it hard to stay engaged after the first playthrough.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including numerous bugs, broken AI, and unresponsive controls, which detract from the overall experience and make it difficult to enjoy. Additionally, it lacks support for 1080p resolution, further impacting its performance.
“It has a fun concept and the graphics are decent, but if it weren't for the broken AI and buggy controls, I would have given this a positive review. However, the very unintelligent AI and quirky controls made this game very difficult to play.”
“Feels buggy and doesn't support 1080p.”
“Yes, it's very buggy and quite easy to beat.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the well-structured character development, which fosters a strong emotional connection to the stories. However, the simplistic AI of the monsters, which primarily focuses on attacking the player, detracts from the overall emotional depth of the gameplay experience.
“The character development is well-structured, allowing players to connect emotionally with their stories.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is praised for its well-structured approach, enabling players to form emotional connections with the characters and their narratives.
“The character development is well-structured, allowing players to connect emotionally with their stories.”
“Each character evolves in a believable way, making their journeys feel authentic and engaging.”
“The depth of the characters and their personal growth throughout the game adds a rich layer to the overall experience.”
