One Last Breath

Crikey, looks a lot like INSIDE, this, doesn’t it? I mean, a lot.

- Adam Grindley

So much so that it’s actually a bit difficult to talk about One Last Breath without first addressing the monumental, copied and-pasted elephant in the room. Still, for roughly the first half-hour of the game, I wasn’t planning to penalise it for being so blatantly derivative. It makes a good first impression, and there’s something endearing about the atmosphere, all majestic nature and heart-warming symphonic swells, even as the world is revealed to be nearing its final hour.

But then it started to annoy me, and I decided to dock half a point. Think of it as my grand protest against copycats everywhere. I always knew I was going to make a difference in the world. Anyway, you might not care the least bit about a spot of harmless plagiarism, in which case, by all means, stick a .5 back onto the review score for a verdict more accurate to your tastes. Free country, and all that.

So, let’s talk about those first 30 minutes that made me feel nice inside because it’s where One Last Breath gets closest to reaching its potential. You take on the role of Gaia, a sort of tree-looking woman created by Mother Nature as a last attempt at survival. We’ll have to take the Steam page’s word for that, mind, as there’s no explanation given in the game. You’ll jump, roll, and crawl your way through a bunch of 2.5D environments, starting with some scenic vistas before quickly descending into the main feature: ominous woods and postapocalyptic industrial zones.