Yep, you read the title correctly. A unique survival experience? After the recent shade thrown at Metal Gear Survive, that’s a statement I wouldn’t be expecting to hear for the foreseeable future but a game recently caught my attention.

One Hour One Life is a game where you take on the task of building a civilisation with other players by living a full life. One minute in real time is one year in game meaning you have to move quickly and develop humanity as far as you can. Starting out as a helpless baby or as a 14-year-old girl you must find a way to survive.

Once you grow older you begin to develop carving a mark in the near infinite world in any way you see fit. I’ve heard of tales where a family has developed who own a carrot farm only to be inhabited by another person after the last generation dies. The game is hard in terms of gathering yet it’s refreshing and keeps you engaged in the aspect of survival.

Now where the concept gets really interesting is the fact you have to work with other players to thrive. Building civilizations are crucial to keeping the wheels of humanity turning and it’s scarily relatable to real life.

It’s no secret that everyone dies and One Hour One Life exercises this idea by illustrating (the game is hand drawn) the point of living which is to reproduce and ensure there’s a next generation. While this may be depressing it really is what life boils down to at the end of the day but does it have to be sad? No. Life is an experience and that’s exactly what this survival gem offers.

The brilliance of this game is not the extreme difficulty or subliminal message but co-operation with other players; without the help of real humans (no bots involved) you are seriously fucked. Remember Foxhole? That attempted the idea of a joint effort and although it did work the community fell apart and became toxic.

So what gives me the idea that this game won’t suffer the same fate? Nothing, nothing at all but I can tell you that it’s a hell of a game and I would go so far to say it’s one that redefines the genre and gives us a breath of fresh air of the stick poking that people call a survival game. One hour to live a life is the kind of feature I want from this genre. I want my sanity to be pushed to the limit and what better way to do that with others?

You can grab One Hour One Life for $20 off the official website here.