LEFT ALIVE: A Future Cult Classic?

You had quality options this month with DMC 5 and Sekiro yet you chose Left Alive. You're a true hero for obscure games and a master of your craft.

"5 or so years from now, buy it for 10 bucks" Bought it two weeks ago at GameStop for 5 bucks

I lost it when the error message popped up. Such perfect comedic timing. Your PS4 deserves an award.

Caution: The enemy is approaching

Biggest enemy in Left Alive : office chairs

ThorHighHeels. you are literally a godbless. In the game community we can only count the positive personality like you on a mutilated hand. Even with left alive i know that you have some positive thing to say. Now, i have not played the game, but the main reason i follow you is that i can find positivity here, even in this cozy dumpster fire.

I just bought this on the psn store a few days ago, i am absolutely loving it right now. I remember watching a review when it first came out and it was ripping the game to pieces but I loved the look of it and told myself I will get it once it’s on special, bought it for $12 and I wasn’t sure what to expect but right now I’m up to chapter 4 and loving every second. I’m playing on hopeless and this is pure survival, you actually have to rely on scavenging everything and crafting anything that can give you a chance, if you go in looking for a fire fight you won’t last long. I don’t think I have ever had to rely on guerilla warfare type combat this much in a game and I’m not even that deep in. I just spent almost 10 minutes in a room debating whether I should discard a bunch of crafting components to pick up a shotgun with 4 shells, first time I have ever thought that deeply for that situation. I can already see the game doesn’t just have choices through the story but you constantly have to make choices through gameplay too, like is it worth saving this person and then guiding them to the safe house, is it better to save all my equipment for the upcoming battle, your supplies are always in your mind, using even a single grenade takes thinking. I realise I’m early in but if the game doesn’t take some sort of drastic change then this might end up being right up there in my personal favourite games. I hope this game does gain a bigger cult following, unfortunately square enix did an awful job with it marketing wise, they also pushed it out way too soon judging from the review I remember watching. I feel like it was misunderstood from the beginning, I remember reviews complaining about the shooting mechanics and one section where you have to take out an entire squad starting with just a shovel, that’s what the game is, the shooting isn’t meant to be great, you aren’t meant to be able to take out a bunch of people in a pure fire fight, the whole point of the game is to use whatever you have at your disposal to survive. Anyone who enjoys survival games should try this.

Problem with Binary Domain comparison: BD was fun to play, if a bit too generic. Left Alive is nowhere near BD level.

This really got me thinking about how much of mechanics can you cram in before you can start actually design the rest of the game. Left Alive clearly has a lot of mechanics, but nothing is given thought to how to design level or enemies. MGS games have a lot of mechanics, but since level design, enemy placement/AI and other things are generally excellent, mastering them feels rewarding. Mechanics make for good back of the box bullet points, but I think true value comes in design and utilization.

One day we will get a definitive stealth/mech hybrid game.

Considering what we consider "cult classics" today, I ask this question about every disappointing/low-quality piece of media I come across.

“Umm uuuh... oh oh” ThorHighHeels (19XX - 2019)

Yes. We need Zone of The Ender 3

So the game is sot of bad but you managed to find a playstyle that made it a bit enrtaining. And you liked it. And that is what makes you a spcial critic: I'm sure I would hate Left Alive but you just made it enjoyable by describing the Y and the X.

Somebody randomly brought this game up to me last week. I forgot it ever existed and never played it, but I remember it being by far the game I was most anticipating when it was announced. The names attached to it made it sound like a dream team I would put together if I was funding a game made entirely just for myself to enjoy. I’ve been a massive fan of every game/anime these people have worked on since I was like 10 years old. I love mechs and have always felt they were severely underutilized in games. I thought this was going to be Square’s big comeback. Then it came out at some point with no fanfare, apparently wasn’t very good, and I didn’t even know any of this until last Tuesday. It’s really sad. I wish this game would have lived up to what I had imagined it to be all those years ago.

Why is this game called Left alive? When enemy Soldierman Mc Dickhead sees you he kills you

I think the thing that REALLY sets this back, even as a Cult Classic, is that the systems don't really work together at all, and even systems that are pushed to you(Like the traps) are just too slow and ineffective compared to running away. And I know that was part of your point, but since running away is not really a system or a solution the game seemed to acknowledge at all, even going against the cinematic tone of some mission setups(rolling away constantly kinda takes that away), that survivalist approach feels more like you're cheating the game rather than a purposeful mechanic. There's a lot of loveable jank in the game that I feel rewards more those willing to fuck around with it's broken parts, feels like less of a Cult Classic that is discovered with no expectations and more like a weird recommendation you give, with some major caveats.

I love this perspective of going in fresh and appreciating a game for the vision the devs had as opposed to what magazines or reviewers told you it would be.

Playing as Steve Rambo is the correct way of playing a video game.

I remember when this game was announced I was actually kinda hyped. It was giving me more classic MGS vibes than any MGS game since MGS4. I'm kind a bummed to learn the game stinks like asshole. I still might play it though to see if I can force myself to like it.