Unalive

About

Unalive is a single player action game. It was developed by RandomSpin and was released on January 5, 2017. It received positive reviews from players.

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 193 reviews

gameplay7 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

Unalive offers a straightforward and addictive roguelike experience, with procedurally generated rooms that keep gameplay fresh and engaging.
The game is accessible and easy to pick up, making it a fun time-killer for players looking for short, high-stakes runs.
Despite its simplicity, Unalive has moments of tension and excitement, especially when players collect items that enhance their abilities during runs.

The game suffers from a lack of depth and variety, with repetitive environments and minimal long-term progression, which can lead to a feeling of monotony over extended play sessions.
Difficulty can be uneven due to the heavy reliance on procedural generation, resulting in frustrating runs where success feels dictated more by luck than skill.
Visuals and sound design are functional but lack polish, failing to elevate the overall experience and leaving players wanting more in terms of presentation.

gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
47%
16%
Gameplay is characterized by a top-down perspective with responsive controls and straightforward combat that emphasizes positioning and timing over complexity. While the exploration and puzzle elements are engaging, the overall experience can feel limited and repetitive, with some players noting a lack of depth and enjoyment after extended play. Despite its budget title status, it offers a mix of enjoyable mechanics and a compelling narrative, making it a hidden gem for some, though others find it dull and lacking in variety.
- “Gameplay unfolds from a top-down perspective, with movement and combat designed to be immediately readable and responsive.”
- “Combat is straightforward, focusing on positioning, timing, and situational awareness rather than complex mechanics.”
- “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 controls are simple to grasp, which helps the game remain approachable, but this simplicity also defines the ceiling of its mechanical depth.”
- “- gameplay is very dull and repeatable.”
- “- very short gameplay (I finished it in about 76 minutes, including the learning curve).”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
47%
20%
The graphics of the game are a mixed bag, with some praising the dark, minimalist aesthetic that enhances the theme, while others criticize the use of outdated pixel art and lackluster visuals that fail to impress. Despite the simplistic 2D art, many players find the artwork and enemy designs enjoyable, contributing to the game's charm, though the overall quality may not meet contemporary standards. Ultimately, the visuals are seen as fitting for the game's style, but they may not appeal to everyone, especially those seeking modern graphics.
- “The art style prioritizes clarity, ensuring enemies, hazards, and items are easy to distinguish even in chaotic situations.”
- “"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.”
- “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.”
story
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game's storytelling is primarily environmental and suggestive, emphasizing survival over a clear narrative, though it does reveal intriguing aspects of the protagonist's past. While some players appreciate the psychological horror elements and the moral lessons embedded in the experience, others criticize the lack of a coherent plot and poor design, leading to a disjointed storytelling experience. Overall, the narrative potential is acknowledged, but many feel it is not effectively realized within the game.
- “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.”
- “Storytelling is largely environmental and suggestive rather than explicit, reinforcing the sense that survival matters more than understanding the larger picture.”
- “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.”
emotional
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a strong emotional impact from the game, describing it as both heartwarming and capable of causing emotional distress. The character development is praised for fostering deep connections, leading to a mix of laughter and tears throughout the experience. Overall, the game effectively engages players on an emotional level, making it memorable and immersive.
- “I laughed, I cried, I alt-tabbed.”
- “But I'm invested emotionally.”
- “The character development is well-structured, allowing players to connect emotionally with their stories.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
14%
29%
The music in the game is described as atmospheric and ambient, effectively enhancing the overall tension and aesthetic. While some users appreciate the eerie and minimalistic soundtrack, others feel that the music and sound effects are lacking or underutilized. Overall, it contributes to a unique and immersive experience, 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.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
The game's atmosphere is effectively conveyed through its sterile environments, constant threats, and an atmospheric soundtrack that enhances tension, despite minimal contextual background. While the sound design offers basic cues, it contributes to a tense and immersive experience, making "unalive" a notable entry in the horror genre. Overall, the combination of setting and sound creates a compelling atmosphere that captivates players.
- “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.”
- “While the game provides only minimal context for how or why the protagonist is trapped there, the sterile corridors, sealed rooms, and constant threats communicate the premise effectively through atmosphere alone.”
- “The atmosphere feels lifeless and uninspired, making it hard to immerse myself in the game world.”
- “Despite the potential for a rich setting, the lack of environmental storytelling leaves the atmosphere feeling flat and unengaging.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Players appreciate the game's high replayability due to its variability and multiple endings, which encourage adaptation and exploration of different narrative paths. The emphasis on player choice and character investment further enhances the desire to replay the game.
- “You need replay value to invest the player in the character they are playing.”
- “This variability helps maintain tension and replayability, forcing players to adapt on the fly rather than rely on memorized patterns.”
- “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, invest the player into the character they are playing.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including numerous bugs, broken AI, and unresponsive controls, which detract from the overall experience. While the concept and graphics are appreciated, these technical problems make gameplay frustrating and challenging.
- “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.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while it is well-structured and fosters emotional connections, the minimal exposition may leave players seeking deeper lore and character insights feeling unsatisfied.
- “The character development is well-structured, allowing players to connect emotionally with their stories.”
- “This stripped-down approach ensures that momentum is never broken by exposition, but it also means players looking for lore or character development will find little to hold onto.”