UNREAL LIFE
- November 19, 2020
- hako life
- 5h median play time
Get on SteamIn "Unreal Life" , a young woman with amnesia seeks her lost memories, aided by a talking traffic light and the ability to read objects' memories. This atmospheric puzzle adventure game invites players to compare the past and present, solving mysteries and uncovering secrets on a journey through memory lane. Follow the girl and her unlikely companion to discover what awaits at the end of this emotional quest.
iPad
iPhone
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Phone
Steam Deck
Windows
Android
Mobile Platform
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Reviews
- The game features a compelling and emotional story that resonates with players, often leading to tears over unexpected moments, such as a traffic light.
- The pixel art and soundtrack are beautifully crafted, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
- The puzzles are engaging and well-designed, with unique mechanics that encourage exploration and interaction with the environment.
- Some players found the pacing slow, with tedious backtracking and unskippable animations that disrupt the flow of gameplay.
- Certain puzzles can be obscure or require trial and error, leading to frustration and the need for guides to progress.
- The game has a single manual save slot, which can be inconvenient for completionists aiming to achieve all endings and unlockables.
- story522 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The story of "Unreal Life" is widely praised for its emotional depth, creative narrative, and engaging characters, particularly the unique interactions with a talking traffic light. While some players found the pacing slow and certain plot elements predictable, many appreciated the heartfelt themes surrounding mental health and personal growth, culminating in a memorable and impactful experience. The game's charming pixel art and atmospheric soundtrack further enhance the storytelling, making it a recommended choice for fans of narrative-driven games.
“The story really touched me and the atmosphere of the music and visuals and everything played well together.”
“An absolutely incredible game with a wonderful, interesting and heartwarming story, portrayed by its amazing art, visuals and animations.”
“The complex story kept me guessing all the way through and definitely pulled the heartstrings a bit.... the OST hits as well.”
“The story caught me off-guard so well because I thought this game was just some girl finding her way out of this strange world, but it is so much more and so much darker.”
“The story is pretty cliché and predictable, but still heartfelt.”
“The plot is surreal, which is fine, but it's so disconnected from anything I can grasp onto that it just melted away into gibberish for me after a while.”
- music174 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its emotional depth and atmospheric quality, enhancing the storytelling and visuals effectively. However, some players noted issues with repetitiveness, abrupt transitions, and occasional mismatches between the music and the scene's tone, which detracted from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, many found the soundtrack to be a highlight, contributing significantly to the game's whimsical and immersive setting.
“The soundtrack features soft melancholic music similar to some tracks from the Nier series that fit the theme and story perfectly.”
“The visuals are beautiful, the soundtrack is amazing, and the main characters are all very cute and lovable as well.”
“Put shortly, this game is a masterpiece of storytelling, with likeable characters, an atmospheric soundtrack, and a charming art style.”
“However, the music can get repetitive and annoying because of how short some tracks are, especially if you're lost solving puzzles.”
“Very inappropriate use of music throughout important moments; I don’t like the critical songs that play during critical moments. I think it is cheesy, so having to constantly hear it during serious moments creates an internal struggle where I have to fight to stay in the atmosphere that the song is ruining.”
“This is the rare game that is made worse by its music.”
- graphics110 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning pixel art and immersive aesthetic, which effectively complement the emotional narrative and engaging gameplay. Reviewers highlight the beautiful visuals and atmospheric soundtrack as key elements that enhance the overall experience, creating a captivating world that players can easily lose themselves in. While some mention minor issues with the art style, the overwhelming consensus is that the graphics are a standout feature, making the game a must-play for fans of visually driven storytelling.
“With its beautiful pixel aesthetic giving an ethereal feeling, the game is a perfect match for its unique, lonely (in a good way) yet lived-in world that you just immerse yourself in, paired with a slightly somber but very sweet and wholesome story told in an engaging manner.”
“Every area is brought to life with beautiful pixel art graphics accompanied by a pleasing soundtrack.”
“Unreal Life rules in its immensely powerful aesthetic and look - coupling that with an emotional, engaging narrative that's filled to the brim with fun characters and an enchanting world.”
“While the art style is decent, the soundtrack and sound effects clearly outshine the art style most of the time.”
“I'm not really a fan of the 'glitch' visuals though.”
“Despite its modest art style, I think the locations and the world design were very good, granted the game settings are very limited for the price.”
- gameplay106 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its simple and chill mechanics, primarily focusing on exploration and puzzle-solving, with a unique feature that allows players to touch inanimate objects to view their memories. While many players appreciate the innovative mechanics and engaging story, some find the puzzles to be overly simplistic or tedious, occasionally requiring guides for progression. Overall, the game strikes a balance between narrative depth and gameplay, appealing more to those who prioritize storytelling and atmosphere over complex mechanics.
“It is simple and chill, but with unique mechanics I didn't see before, and a hint of psychology.”
“The gameplay itself is simple and fun.”
“Visuals are beautiful, gameplay is engaging (especially if you like point-and-clicks), the writing is very good, and the game has lots of little details that build a compelling world.”
“The gameplay here is pretty much nonexistent and the puzzles are quite simple and punish you for thinking ahead.”
“Very linear narrative-focused game - limited gameplay, puzzles that usually are a bit on the simple side but with a few challenging ones here and there.”
“Gameplay can be a bit hit or miss, and the 100% technically requires 3 playthroughs (you can make it shorter using a well-placed save) which makes it a bit of a drag.”
- emotional94 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its emotional depth, with many players expressing surprise at how deeply they connected with its narrative, even over seemingly mundane elements like a traffic light. The combination of beautiful pixel art, a heartfelt story, and engaging character dialogue creates an immersive experience that resonates emotionally, often leading to tears. While some found the music occasionally detracted from the emotional impact, the overall consensus is that the game delivers a powerful and touching journey that is both whimsical and poignant.
“Overall, if you love whimsical adventure games with an emotionally engaging and gripping narrative or are a fan of something like Omori, Night in the Woods, Yume Nikki, and Undertale, this game is a must-play experience with an impactful narrative that I think many people would benefit from witnessing.”
“Going back to talking about how I felt after playing this, I haven't gotten this emotional since I watched Violet Evergarden (which I highly recommend to anyone, even if they don't like anime that much). I usually don't really cry watching/playing stuff like this, but I do get the feeling that I'm 2/3rds of the way there as soon as I feel my chest tighten, and/or when I feel tears pushing to leave my eyes, and this game managed to do both of those with some amazingly well-written character dialogue, which felt natural and in-character just about the whole way through.”
“What an emotional narrative throughout that peaks late and keeps on rolling until you've reached the end... I recommend this game on story alone.”
- atmosphere60 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its captivating blend of beautiful pixel art, immersive soundtracks, and a surreal, dream-like quality that enhances the storytelling experience. Players appreciate the emotional depth and charm of the characters, alongside the intriguing puzzles that contribute to the overall ambiance. However, some critiques mention occasional mismatches between music and critical moments, suggesting that while the atmosphere is strong, it could be further refined.
“The story is interesting, the puzzles were fun to solve, and the visuals and soundtrack enhanced it by adding an immersive and captivating atmosphere.”
“Unreal Life has beautiful pixel art, a dream-filled world full of interesting characters, and an atmosphere that's hard to get off your mind when you take a break from it.”
“The world has a dream-like and comforting atmosphere, which is helped by the nice and kind characters.”
“Very inappropriate use of music throughout important moments. I don’t like the critical songs that play during critical moments; I think it is cheesy. Having to constantly hear it during serious moments creates an internal struggle where I have to fight to stay in the atmosphere that the song is ruining.”
“The soundtrack isn't anything special when it comes to single, amazing songs (other than the one for the true ending credits), but they're all implemented really well for the story and the moments. It helps to add a massive amount of atmosphere and general emotion to each part they feature in, which, for a game like this, should be more important than making a bunch of bangers anyways.”
“The story has atmosphere; it does not dive into full-blown surreal dreamscapes like Yume Nikki or parts of Omori, but it definitely has some surreal and fantasy mood to it with its locations, props, characters, and world.”
- grinding18 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Many players find the grinding aspects of the game, particularly related to achievements and puzzle execution, to be tedious and slow-paced, which can detract from the overall experience. However, those willing to endure these moments often appreciate the captivating narrative and aesthetic, suggesting that the payoff in story and world-building may outweigh the frustrations of grinding. Overall, while some elements feel poorly designed and repetitive, the game's strengths in storytelling and atmosphere shine through for many players.
“The puzzles are fine in concept, but often very tedious to execute because of how slowly everything moves combined with having to redo things you mess up.”
“It's a very tedious process where only ~17% of players who see the true ending know about this lore (based on global achievement stats).”
“This game is this year's 'The Missing' - you'll have to put up with a lot of tedious and not well thought out gameplay, but believe me it's worth it for the world and story - the last act makes up for all of the earlier shortcomings and is just a load of great scenes in a row.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as cute and fitting, enhancing the overall atmosphere without being overwhelming. Players appreciate the charming characters and whimsical elements, such as a talking traffic light, which evoke both laughter and emotional responses, creating a delightful experience reminiscent of an urban Alice in Wonderland.
“It has enough mystery to keep me curious, and the humor fits well with the atmosphere - not too much or loud, but funny enough to elicit smiles.”
“The funny talking traffic light made me cry.”
“The characters made me laugh and tear up, and the world they belong to was so charming... several times, I felt like I was part of an urban Alice in Wonderland.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is generally well-optimized, running smoothly with minimal issues; players have reported only a single bug, a random hardlock, which was easily resolved thanks to the effective autosave feature.
“It runs smoothly, and I have only experienced one bug in my entire playthrough, which was a pretty random hardlock. Thankfully, the game autosaved just a few moments ago, so a simple Alt + F4 fixed it.”
“A psychometric girl wakes up on a street with no memory and is helped by a high-performance AI traffic light that wirelessly connects to her for a journey to remember (and heal) herself.”
- character development4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is highlighted by unique and varied character designs, particularly for side characters, which adds depth to the overall experience. While the animation is described as simple, it effectively complements the distinctiveness of the characters, enhancing player engagement. Overall, the character designs are a standout feature that players appreciate.
“The animation is simple, but there's enough variety to make it work, and most of the character designs (other than the main character(s) and one of the side characters) are all pretty unique in concept.”
“Great game! I love the character designs with a passion.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been noted for its mediocre replayability value, suggesting that players may not find significant incentive to revisit it after completing it once.
“Mediocre replayability value.”
“Mediocre replayability value.”
