“I Am Future” Review by Nick Navarro
Waking up alone on a rooftop at the end of the world should feel bleak, but “I Am Future” goes out of its way to make the apocalypse feel gentle, inviting, and oddly comforting. Mandragora’s cozy survival game finally makes its way to consoles after launching in 1.0 on PC in late 2024, and on paper, it sounds like something that should be perfectly tuned to my tastes. A flooded city, a chill pace, light automation, farming, robots, and zero pressure to survive at gunpoint? That’s usually my sweet spot. I really wanted this one to click. Instead, I walked away enjoying parts of it but also feeling like it never quite became more than just okay.
The premise is immediately appealing. You play as the last human on Earth, fresh out of cryogenic sleep, starting a new life on an abandoned rooftop surrounded by a submerged megacity. There’s no urgency, no looming threat of starvation or death, and no grim reminders of humanity’s collapse. The world feels calm, colorful, and strangely optimistic. You’re not here to save the planet or uncover a massive conspiracy right away; you’re here to relax, build, and figure things out at your own pace. That relaxed tone is one of the game’s biggest strengths. I genuinely like the art style, which leans into softness and warmth instead of ruin, and the music pairs nicely with that mood. It’s easy to settle into a rhythm where you’re tidying up rooftops, planting crops, fishing, or tinkering with machines while the world quietly exists around you. As a cozy experience, “I Am Future” mostly understands what it wants to be.
Starting from scratch on a rooftop is satisfying at first. Clearing debris, dismantling old-world objects like microwaves and TVs, and turning them into useful materials gives the early hours a nice sense of progress. I appreciated that different objects require different dismantling methods, even if certain items, microwaves especially, start to feel a little overused as you go. Building out your camp, unlocking new structures, organizing power grids, and decorating your space all feel good in isolation, and I enjoyed seeing my rooftop slowly transform into something livable. Farming is another area that fits the game’s tone well. Growing fruits, vegetables, and stranger options like cheese trees reinforces that gentle absurdity the game leans into. Cooking meals, fishing, and experimenting with recipes adds a bit more to your routine, and none of it ever feels punishing. You can also customize your character, choosing between Robin or Chris and adjusting their appearance, which is a small touch but helps personalize the experience of being the last person alive.
Where things start to falter for me is in the game’s long-term loop. While the early hours feel varied and charming, that sense of discovery slowly gives way to repetition. “I Am Future” is packed with minigames, and they’re genuinely fun at first. The problem is that minigames are basically everything here. You’ll be repeating them constantly to gather resources, and since progression relies heavily on crafting and building, that repetition becomes unavoidable. After a while, the novelty wears off, and what once felt cozy starts to feel like busywork. The grind is my biggest issue overall. I understand that some level of grinding is expected in games like this, but certain parts of core progression demand more repetition than I think they should. It starts to feel padded, especially when the tasks you’re repeating don’t meaningfully evolve. A few balance adjustments here could go a long way toward making the experience smoother and less fatiguing over time.
Automation, which should help alleviate that grind, feels underdeveloped. You can build cute robot assistants to handle chores, and conceptually, I love them. Issuing commands and letting them work while you focus on other tasks sounds great, but the system never goes far enough. I kept wishing for deeper automation options that would reduce how often I had to engage with the same mechanics manually. For a game that emphasizes relaxing and chilling out, it still asks you to do a lot of hands-on micromanagement. Expeditions are one of the better ideas in the game. Sending out scouting drones across the sunken city to uncover new locations and bring back resources adds a sense of exploration without direct danger. Overall, I’ve enjoyed them, but the interface could use improvement. I would really appreciate filters that let me sort expeditions by energy cost or potential rewards, because as it stands, finding what I actually need takes longer than it should.
The story is another area that hasn’t fully landed for me yet. There’s clearly a mystery behind the end of the world, but at this point, it feels underexplained. I’m still somewhat confused about the larger narrative, and the world could really benefit from a clearer lore primer to ground everything. Meeting quirky robot characters like Earl the Fridge or Bombshell Barbara is charming, but I want more context for the world they inhabit. There are also mechanics that feel more annoying than engaging, like pest control. Having to keep systems powered and repeatedly repaired just to prevent mutant plants or bugs from messing with your base feels oddly tedious for a game that’s otherwise trying to avoid stress.
When all is said and done, “I Am Future” is a game I like in theory more than in practice. It has a strong concept, a cozy aesthetic, and moments where everything comes together nicely, but it struggles to sustain that magic over the long haul. I enjoyed my time with it, but I kept waiting for it to become something truly special, and that moment never quite arrived. If you’re deeply into cozy life sims and don’t mind repetition, there’s still something worthwhile here; just be prepared for a lot of caveats along the way.
7/10
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Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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