One Last Breath

One Last Breath is a 2.5D platform game set in a post-apocalyptic world after the destruction of humanity. It is the first game from indie Spanish studio Moonatic, which also decided that its first project would be a game with a message.

Plot

In One Last Breath, humans disappeared from the Earth a long time ago. They left behind a ruined world in which the few surviving animals have to face widespread pollution and aggressive mutants. In such bleak circumstances Gaia appears, brought to life by the last breath of nature. Blessed with extraordinary powers, she must travel the length and breadth of the world - in the hope that her gift will be enough to save life on Earth.

One Last Breath is not just the story of an entity trying to find itself in a post-apocalyptic world. The developers wanted to show what human greed and neglect of the environment can lead to. In the course of the game Gaia will have to discover the reasons for the downfall of humanity - the downfall for which she herself is responsible.

Game mechanics

It is a game, where the gameplay is mainly about traversing side-scrolling locations, solving environmental puzzles and avoiding hostile creatures.

It may bring to mind Inside by Playdead studio and Little Nightmares series by Tarsier Studios. Gaia is not a powerful hero who can defeat hundreds of enemies without much effort. In One Last Breath even an encounter with a single mutant will quickly end in death. So it's better to avoid enemies and sneak behind their backs (or whatever they have back there).

Even exploring empty locations comes with risks. Humanity left behind a lot of factories, research facilities, etc., and the mechanisms still working in them can prove deadly to the player character.

If we want to safely guide Gaia through the game, it is necessary to use her gifts. The heroine can manipulate the environment, for example, creating bridges from huge roots. Gaia's powers will also allow you to help the animals you meet survive in a bleak, dying world.

Technical aspects

References to Inside are also visible in the audiovisual design, not only due to the side-scrolling view. Although One Last Breath was developed using Unreal Engine technology rather than Unity, Moonatic Studio's team used a similar style to that of Playdead. The 3D graphics use mostly dark, dirty tones - you can forget about the color palette here. Combined with the minimalistic yet atmospheric soundtrack, this makes the game's world, though not devoid of beautiful sights, feel a bit depressing, matching the post-apocalyptic reality of One Last Breath.