P.A.M.E.L.A by NVYVE Studios, is a semi open world, survival game that doesn’t hold back its punches. From the moment you wake and well into the game, you will have multiple problems thrown at you from the get go. Your main objective is to just.. SURVIVE.

You awake to find yourself in a cryo-pod, in a floating technological metropolis that was once thriving with life, but something has gone horribly wrong. Guided by an A.I., your main quest is simple, find the doctors’ notes to find out what has gone wrong. That is where the simplicity ends.

After emerging from your cryo-pod you’re thrown into the deep end with very little in the way of instructions or a clear path to reach your objective. The power to the seemingly empty city is down to emergency power, leaving it up to your trusty flashlight to illuminate the way through this haunty darkness.

Exploration and looting are your best friends; you will have to keep an eye on your food and water resources and manage them well. Letting them get to 0 will end in your certain death. Throughout your adventure, you will encounter different enemy types ranging from easy to dispatch, to extremely difficult enemies that require strategy and patience. Sometimes, even requiring you to run for your life.

There are elements of base building woven into the game, even an option to plant your own crops. As you explore the city you will find terminals on the walls that when interacted with the A.I. will give you a little information about the city itself or the people that used to inhabit it. Other than these terminals, you know nothing about the strange place you have woken to. Death is a large part of the learning experience in this game, it has a sort of learn as you die system.

When you inevitably die,and that will be alot, you will be taken to a screen that calculates the exp that you have accumulated while you were playing. This is where you can spend points to upgrade your character that will carry over from each death making it a little easier to survive.

Throughout, the graphics and sounds design really develops the sense that you are truly and overwhelmingly alone. With atmospheric sound being a very big part of the game, every footstep from you or an enemy is conveyed beautifully with 3D audio. Different enemies make different sounds too, so you can decide if you want to risk it for the biscuit for a chance at some extra loot or take the easy way around avoiding the danger.

P.A.M.E.L.A is a game I would definitely recommend if you’re a fan of the survival genre or wanting to try out a new experience. When playing I was reminded a little of ‘Prey’ but with a unique twist that really sets this game apart from other survival games. I am extremely excited to see where the developers take this game. I will be keeping an eye out for future updates that add even more depth and things to explore.

Written by: Kyle Emblem