- Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
- Release Date: Oct 8, 2020
- Also On: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Dec 16, 2020From its heartful story that is only made better by a charming set of characters, to the soothing atmosphere of the gorgeous island-town Shelmerston, I am Dead constructs a serendipitous but accurate portrayal of the usually sorrowful emotions around death.
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Oct 20, 2020Despite the dark undertones, one might assume a game with the title of I Am Dead has, I certainly felt anything but. The narrative pulls you in immediately. The heartwarming stories you’ll discover are just as great. I didn’t want it to end. Even though I didn’t rush through it, I wish I had spent more time taking in the gorgeous scenery and story. Lately, it seems as though the world is on fire, so why not take some time to pick this up and let Morris and Sparky’s delightful adventure take you for a ride?
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Oct 7, 2020A delightful puzzle adventure full of charm, personality, and satisfying ghostly X-ray vision mechanics.
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Oct 7, 2020I loved my time with I Am Dead so much I wish there was a little bit more of it. Hanging with Morris and Sparky is a chill, relaxing time, even if there’s an undercurrent of the sad afterlife coursing through the world. It might be that juxtaposition between the reality of death mixed with the playfulness of the world that makes I Am Dead so memorable and fun.
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Oct 12, 2020Although the game can feel a little underwhelming when it comes to rewarding you for collecting all of the Grenkins and got a bit glitchy towards the end, the real reward from playing I Am Dead rewards you with good storytelling and a life lesson about life, death, and knowing where you come from.
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Oct 12, 2020With a deep storyline, vibrant world, and intuitive puzzles, I Am Dead is a fantastic journey about death and how we affect those around us long after we're gone.
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Oct 7, 2020I Am Dead avoids the pitfalls of modern video game storytelling to deliver a touching narrative experience with simplistic, but approachable puzzle elements.
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Nov 8, 2020If you are looking for a charming little puzzler and hidden object game then you cannot go wrong with I Am Dead. The story experience can be swept through in a few hours, and they will pass quite quickly, but it's an unforgettable journey.
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Nov 3, 2020While it would be nice if I Am Dead's characters were as layered as the town of Shelmertston, the game still mostly succeeds as a unique puzzle experience with some excellent environmental storytelling. It is rewarding to explore this space while magnifying and cross-cutting its details, a constant stream of small discoveries coming into view as you deduce the location of the next hidden memento. Every corner of this seaside village brims with picturesque detail, creating a small town that feels genuinely interconnected. And while the game's pleasant tone keeps things from ever getting truly heavy, it undeniably makes for a thoroughly charming time.
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Oct 13, 2020I Am Dead takes players on a whimsical journey through a colorful and cute narrative that plays on themes of death and discovery. Each chapter gives us a new piece of the puzzle, making it tough to put the game down, even if the game’s systems become repetitive across long play sessions. You’ll get the most out of this adventure by taking your time, and you’ll be glad you did as you splice through each new object to uncover all the secrets hidden within.
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Oct 8, 2020I Am Dead is a delightful adventure.
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Oct 7, 2020Most of Shelmerton’s residents have worthy miniature tales to unravel, threads which are less fluffy than some earlier encounters might indicate. It makes for a game that is mature yet whimsical, exploring known and unknown impressions left on a community by those who have passed on, and the complete tale is a fulfilling one with a creative narrative finale. For such a high concept game mechanic, it’s frustrating that the controls aren’t as intuitive as could be, but it’s nothing that compromises I Am Dead’s colorful portal into North Atlantic island life.
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Oct 7, 2020A charmingly offbeat exploration and object finding game which is at least as much about its characters and their stories as it is the mechanics of your search.
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Oct 7, 2020At a time where a 'Britain divided', in the near-future and distant past respectively, is the setting of at least two new AAA games - namely Watch Dogs: Legion and Assassin's Creed Valhalla - it's refreshing and comforting to play through a game where this place I call home isn't, well, a load of sh*t. The bucolic, pastoral Britishness of I Am Dead is weaved throughout its gentle humour and its heart-squeezing moments of emotional lurch, likewise its old-time seaside quaintness and whimsical soundtrack. It's a nice game to spend time with, in the same way that Detectorists (for example) was a nice TV show to spend time with; and for a title that's ostensibly about preventing a cataclysmic eruption, it's incredibly relaxed. It's definitely not for everyone, but to return to that Annapurna catalogue of paragraph one: if those games do it for you, I Am Dead will scratch the same itches with all the agreeable satisfaction of a Morris Lupton bellyrub. Woof.
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Oct 15, 2020I Am Dead offers an interesting game proposal, but even if original, its structure feels a bit outdated.
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Nov 16, 2020Overall, the keywords for I Am Dead would probably be ‘charming’ and ‘quirky’. It isn’t a horror adventure nor a sad one, even though there are little doses of melancholy here and there. Instead, it’s a light puzzler that features some interesting game mechanics, and others that feel more appropriate to a casual mobile title — an easy recommend to casual players who are short on time and don’t mind a bit of repetition.
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Oct 16, 2020A very interesting game indeed, I Am Dead isn't top-tier indie magic but it's a hide-and-seek sandbox that will reward you the deeper you go. It's refreshingly content-rich, what with the Grenkins to find and riddles to solve for committed players. An appealing sense of place and strong visuals are only spoiled by some misplaced attempts at quirkiness and some minor control issues. Overall, though, I Am Dead makes us long for the sweet embrace of the reaper. Wait, no. It's just a rather enjoyable game. That's it. Not that other thing. Good god.
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Oct 14, 2020Ricky Haggett's I Am Dead offers a nice walk on a fictional island through the eyes of the recently deceased Morris Lupton, hoping to find a new Keeper to prevent a volcan's eruption. With it's dog Sparky and a clever mechanic of zooming into almost every item, house or people you can see, I Am Dead is a short but relaxing puzzle-adventure. We simply hoped the extra challenge was more rewarding.
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Oct 8, 2020Dipping in and out of this humble puzzler is the way to go since it can otherwise be easy to lose sight of the charms of a fairly ordinary environment.
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Feb 8, 2021If you don’t mind the narration and you’re able to get into the narrative, then you’ll probably delight in uncovering all the neat objects and stories this island and its inhabitants are hiding. For me, though? It never quite hits the mark. I Am Dead has some interesting ideas, and it executes on a lot of them, but taken as a whole, it’s just not as good as it could be.
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Dec 11, 2020Clearly a lot of thought was put into this game and it is enjoyable to discover that. Unfortunately, I Am Dead’s repetitive gameplay, awkward controls, and short story that left me feeling discontent made me overall a bit disappointed.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Oct 8, 2020I Am Dead, with its ghosts, its world of objects, large and small, curiosities charged in some ways by the people who owned them, speaks to this very clearly, for me at least. It speaks of the ways that conversations with the dead go on. The way rituals and responsibilities take on new and perhaps confusing dimensions. More than anything it is a reminder of that bright contradiction - that death has absolutely everything to do with life. [Eurogamer Recommended]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 10 out of 15
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Mixed: 2 out of 15
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Negative: 3 out of 15
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Oct 11, 2020
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Feb 13, 2021
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Dec 26, 2020Literally unplayable. I've spent the last 20 minutes trying to get past the opening stage. There is no option to advance. **** this game.