I Am Alive......thoughts? (spoilers)

I went in with low expectations (downloadable title, relatively small file size) and was pleasantly surprised at how immersive it is. It really only takes place across several city blocks but the world is well-built. I would gladly play a sequel, even if it were similarly small-scale.

I think the part the game excelled at most was the victims aspect. I hoarded most of my supplies the first time (hardest difficulty) so it was surprisingly sobering when one tells you "I understand you can't help..." as you walk away...even more so when you decide to return to help later and they've.....committed suicide, which as it turns out happens either way, but still.

I was surprised to find out not many liked the ending. SPOILERS if you don't think you'll play:

The chapters are bookended by the protagonist's video diary entries he makes into a camcorder. Early on he meets a little girl close in age to his own daughter, who he is trying to find along with his wife (he was across the country when "The Event" occurred, presumably a supervolcano eruption due to the choking dust, ruined cities, and constant earthquakes). Over the course of the game he returns her to her wheelchair-bound guardian, helps them gather equipment to signal a rescue boat, and rescues her mother from a gang keeping her as a sex slave. After the final area, he helps the girl and her mother to the rescue boat but decides to stay and continue to search for his family. After the last entry we see a woman has been watching these video entries of his by candlelight. She starts to cry to herself as we see his gear nearby on a table...

I was totally fine with this, precisely because it's a little open-ended. He may not necessarily be dead (near the end it's hinted that a new group has kidnapped Henry, the wheelchair dude, to find out what he knows about rumored secret survivor camps), just kidnapped as well, perhaps setting up a never-will-be-made sequel about his wife rescuing him in turn. But even is he is dead, I'm be fine with that too, since he did help and rescue a "surrogate" wife & daughter, and gee golly, maybe that's what life's all about: helping others, even after civilzation crumbles.

That all being said, I wouldn't quite pay $14.99 for it (very linear and not a whole lot of replayability)...wait for it to go on sale like I did last year...