I Am Future: Cozy Apocalypse Survival Review

High On Life

HIGH It’s a no-stress title to wind down with.

LOW WALK FASTER!!!

WTF A talking refrigerator?

Developed by Armenian studio Mandragora, I Am Future transforms survival into a peaceful experience best paired with a cup of tea. The idea differs from the traditionally violent nature of survival games, instead focusing on resource management and socializing with anthropomorphic appliances. The third-person gameplay is well thought-out and I always had a thousand things to do, but as the story unfolded a few problems cropped up for me, and In my experience, the mellow, cozy nature which is ostensibly the selling point of I am Future becomes its biggest flaw.

The tale kicks off on an isolated rooftop where the player wakes up with amnesia and a sky-high sense of confusion. The city around them is completely flooded, and survival is accomplished through a complex system of gathering and crafting.

At first, materials are collected from piles on the floor — simple parts like wood planks, plastic, and metal scraps. These basic ingredients are used to upgrade to higher quality parts and tools.

Quests are usually checkpoints that require certain objects to unlock. This loop of foraging, building, and crafting creates a deliberately slow experience that rewards patience and planning. I enjoyed collecting materials because they cleared up the roof every time I picked them up, and seeing a messy junkyard turn into a clean home served as motivation to gather. Additionally, the story is supplemented with rooftop excursions like fishing and exploration which add another layer of depth.

In terms of narrative, the plot is a little underwhelming. While there are hints of an interesting backstory, lore is delivered through large walls of text that didn’t feel exciting to read. The content itself is also fairly generic and struggles to stand out on its own, piggybacking off of the gameplay instead of being a central part of the experience.

Throughout the narrative, simple obstacles like hunger, health, and basic enemies pose a slight challenge. The player needs to craft meals and sleep, which are quite easy to do. A small mechanic I loved was working to unlock recipes. From simple foods like baked mushrooms to more advanced fish soup, these crazy concoctions provided a nice distraction from the big quests. Besides basic human needs, the player also needs to repel leeches (called electrosites) that appear every night. Alas, electrosites are threatening through quantity instead of quality, and by the mid-game, they stopped feeling like a meaningful enemy. Adding to the annoyance, they spawn even on “peaceful” mode, which kind of defeats the purpose of that setting.

Throughout this review, I have mentioned that in general, the vibe is is slow-paced. Unfortunately, it gets a little too sluggish.

Many progression requirements demand large crafting times while rarely introducing new mechanics, shifting the experience to busywork. The storage system is also poor, as each item gets its own slot inside an inventory menu. However, the beginner inventory and chests don’t have nearly enough storage slots for the amount of items introduced, and I spent ridiculous amounts of energy trying to organize and find materials. This is addressed with upgrades in the mid-game, but I still think the player’s starting inventory should be bigger.

Back to the positives, the graphics and artistic style ofI am Future are phenomenal. The art is colorful during daytime and gloomier at night. In addition, each object has a unique design that makes it easy to keep track of.

Character customization is extensive and I spent more time than I would like to admit mixing and matching hairstyles and mustaches. Yet while the graphics bring the flooded paradise to life, movement sinks it again. I am Future has only one movement option — walking. The walk is infuriatingly unhurried, which left me desperately wishing for running or jumping. I did find out about a teleport button, but it was obscurely hidden in the menu and had a ten minute cooldown which rendered it basically useless.

I am Future targets the fans of slower crafty games. Gathering resources, dismantling objects, farming, fishing… it all comes together to make a non-rushed title, and while I wanted to like it, it just didn’t click. Quests ended up feeling like chores, and the story wasn’t exciting enough to make up for the lackluster gameplay. Overall, I am Future offers a pleasant starting loop, but it never evolves into anything bigger.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

— Eddie Guo

Disclosures: This game is developed by Mandragora and published by tinyBuild. It is currently available on XBX/S, PS5, PC and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 6 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E. There is nothing explicit or violent here, and it is safe for all ages.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: There is no dialogue, and everything is communicated via text bubbles. No audio cues are needed for play. This title is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The game has fully remappable controls.

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