She and the Light Bearer
She and the Light Bearer
Game
Game2020
I Am Dead
Developer Hollow Ponds, Richard Hogg
I Am Dead is a puzzle adventure video game from independent British developer Hollow Pond. It was published by Annapurna Interactive on October 8, 2020, for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch. Versions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Series S were released on August 9, 2021. The game follows Morris Lupton, a museum curator on the island of Shelmerston who recently died. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
214 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 12, 2026 · last updated Oct 13, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
77
LovedLoved
146 positive · 43 negative
95% range 71–83%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 146 | 43 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 7 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
235 of 283 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
77% recommend · 148 yes, 43 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 191 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (382 of 468 positive).
Players describe it as a gentle, introspective adventure about memory and legacy. [1][2][3] Many find the gameplay more like an interactive story or hidden object game. [4][5][6] Some reviewers are disappointed by the ending and find puzzles tedious. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [20]
I bought this game because it was part of several online lists of games that deal with grief and loss, as I am unfortunately struggling with that right now. I wouldn't say that's exactly true, though obviously death is a large part of it. This game is certainly charming with several touching moments. The interactions between Morris and Sparky were very sweet, and I feel like the developer did a good job slow-playing …
- [4]
I'd consider this more of an interactive story than a game - the puzzles are on the easier side, I beat the game in under 8 hours, and I don't feel there's a great deal of replayability... ...and yet, I felt more of an emotional connection to the people and places here than I ever recall feeling in other games. This was an opportunity for me to see and experience this small island, its people, its animals, its …
- [1]
I Am Dead is a gentle, introspective adventure that turns the concept of the afterlife into a warm, imaginative exploration of memory, legacy, and the quiet marks people leave on the world. Developed by Hollow Ponds and artist Richard Hogg, and published by Annapurna Interactive, the game opens with the death of Morris Lupton, the late curator of Shelmerston Museum. Instead of slipping into oblivion, Morris finds …
- [19]
I played this entirely on my steam deck, and it ran perfectly and was a solid choice for "too tired for anything else". Beautifully written with some slight emotional tones, but the core of the game are the puzzles and they are simple without being ballbusting or obnoxious. The only con i have is the price and how much you get out of them game, while im enjoying my time and the puzzles, $20 is steep for a simple …
- [2]
I Am Dead was a lovely, cozy "puzzle" game that plays more like a walking simulator (think Firewatch) than an active cozy game (Stardew, Spiritfarer). The narrative is super enjoyable, all of the voice acted lines and easter eggs make you want to keep playing and exploring! I was nervous about the title being a little raw (I have recently lost a loved one), but the view on death in the game is very exploratory and …
Summarised from 34 of the 210 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
I Am Dead sits at 77% positive across 189 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
I Am Dead was met with "generally favorable" reviews, according to the review aggregator platform Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, being recommended by 83% of critics. Nintendo Life's Stuart Gipp enjoyed the game's themes but criticized the writing and simplistic gameplay. "I Am Dead is an at times touching and generally thoughtful exploration of loss, grief and lasting memories that doesn't quite resonate as much as it could due to some occasionally-too-twee writing and gameplay that doesn't quite disguise the fact that it's a glorified hidden object game." Joe Skrebels of IGN felt mixed on the usage of I am Dead's additional…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 214 · most liked firstHere's a film about the making of I AM DEAD, which shows a bunch of Richard Hogg's concept art for that game, and digs into how we drew inspiration from the town of Hastings on the south coast of England, where he lives.
neutral · AI labelView post →I bought this game because it was part of several online lists of games that deal with grief and loss, as I am unfortunately struggling with that right now. I wouldn't say that's exactly true, though obviously death is a large part of it. This game is certainly charming with several touching moments. The interactions between Morris and Sparky were very sweet, and I feel like the developer did a good job slow-playing the growing dread of the situation. I enjoyed the little puzzles of finding…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →All our games are up to 60% off as part of the Steam Summer Sale! That includes our most recent games Wilmot Works It Out and Flock plus cult classics like Hohokum, I Am Dead or Loot Rascals. Grab yourself a bargain until July 10th! store.steampowered.com/developer/ho...
neutral · AI labelView post →In solidarity with the original Annapurna team, I don't recommend anything from Annapurna anymore. Their company was completely taken over by corporate stooges, and they hired the usual group of toxic executives to run the company. The original team left after many of their concerns and complaints went unanswered, and as they saw their company being twisted into another money making machine they left. Don't buy Annapurna games.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ROUND 1 AND I AM DEAD HELLOOOO this is gonna be such a long game
neutral · AI labelView post →REVISED 8/4/24: I have now finished the game and have gone back to accomplish objectives. My opinion that it's "fine" still stands. Without giving any spoilers, the ending was somehow predictable and disappointing: there was no question about where the story was headed as I was playing, but I was frustrated that after all the scrolling back and forth and seeking out secret items that the ending was just stated. There was no interaction or decision-making on my part, the conclusion of the game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An original game mechanic that quickly becomes tedious. Most of the objects you can slice through are there to fill the world and don't add anything to the story. The game is more about finding needles in haystacks than solving puzzles. The world is beautiful and feels lived-in. You can find lots of small details about the lives of background characters. Unfortunately, these details are mostly presented in walls of text.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I Am Dead is a kind of hidden object game, except the objects are hidden inside other objects you can look through with your ghost powers. The game is about exploring people's memories of a deceased person and then finding their mementos hidden around the place. Personally I found the game a bit too slow for my liking. Interacting with everything takes a bit of fiddling, the dialogue is a bit slow, and finding the secondary collectables means also sitting through some short unskippable…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →📜🏺 New blog post is up - once again, I'm talking video games and archaeology (but also fiction and narrative!) with another look at the wonderful "I Am Dead". animalarchaeology.com/2024/09/10/d...
neutral · AI labelView post →I wanted to show my homegirl a bunch of the games on the Annapurna Collection I bought last year, so we're fucking with some of the games I haven't gotten to yet. Rn we're playing a game called I Am Dead and it's fucking lovely, bro
positive · AI labelView post →Lovely art and nice story, but the gameplay, while conceptually interesting, is incredibly boring, requiring more clicking around than actual thought. I really wanted to like this game, and for people who don't care about gameplay or are incredibly patient I imagine it's fine, but I am not one of those. That said, it is obvious a lot of effort was put in to this, and I mean nothing against the developers.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This seemed like an intriguing game at first. It honestly dragged and just didn't have enough to stay enagaging.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →NEW SPEEDRUNNERS GAME I AM DEAD
neutral · AI labelView post →I'd consider this more of an interactive story than a game - the puzzles are on the easier side, I beat the game in under 8 hours, and I don't feel there's a great deal of replayability... ...and yet, I felt more of an emotional connection to the people and places here than I ever recall feeling in other games. This was an opportunity for me to see and experience this small island, its people, its animals, its history, and it was beautiful and rewarding. It's February 2025 in the USA as I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game offers a unique narrative puzzle experience where you play as a ghost, delving into people's histories to uncover hidden items that unlock new areas. The gameplay revolves around the intriguing mechanic of see-through objects and examining more objects to locate the necessary items. However, please note that the game may encounter some technical issues when played on super-ultrawide and ultra-wide screen resolutions, such as 32:9 and 21:9. Apart from this, no other significant…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I AM DEAD AND THE GAME AWARDS KILLED ME
neutral · AI labelView post →Another indie game with great style and good intentions but it falls flat on everything else. The "puzzles" if you can call them that, are basically all the exact same. It is extremely repetitive. Even playing in 20 min chunks to break it up isn't enough to power through this game. The good: Fun style, like Untitled Goose Game, Wattam, GNOG. Great voice acting! Beautiful art and nice music. The bad: repetitive puzzles, clunky controls. You use the mouse wheel and arrow keys to scroll through…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Being able to slice into things to find other things to slice into is a fun and novel concept. But, it doesn't stay fun for long... Sadly, this game drags it out for too long, and tries to support it with emotional story telling. Worse, the conclusion to the story is... confusingly incomplete, and terribly unsatisfying.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Guys, Gals, Non-Binary Pals! It’s that day again — Monday stream day! Still cleaning out the ol’ Steam garage to find junk for the Steam garage sale. Join me tonight, same stream time, same stream station, for I Am Dead, a puzzle game about being dead. I think? twitch.tv/asclearascry...
neutral · AI labelView post →I Am Dead is a gentle, introspective adventure that turns the concept of the afterlife into a warm, imaginative exploration of memory, legacy, and the quiet marks people leave on the world. Developed by Hollow Ponds and artist Richard Hogg, and published by Annapurna Interactive, the game opens with the death of Morris Lupton, the late curator of Shelmerston Museum. Instead of slipping into oblivion, Morris finds himself awakened as a benevolent ghost on the serene island he once called home.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is focused on narration, but the gameplay is rather boring. While the overall story is interesting, the way it's delivered is awful. You just need to 'focus' on portraits with RT/LT until the whole sentence is delivered, after that you need to find, exactly like an hidden object game, items buried in the enviroment.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →feels like half a game - lovely world, interesting mechanic, but just doesnt seem to come together in a satisfying gameplay loop. quite disapointed i didnt like it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Basically unplayable with PC controls, as other people have noted
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not my type of game, but I don't plan on refunding as I really like the obvious effort and care that went into this. I enjoyed it enough to finish the first area and find all the hidden collectibles.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game because the aesthetic and concept are very sweet, but good gravy is this game tedious! All you do is click things and zoom in and out. Sometimes you zoom in and out to find an object hidden in side something. Sometimes you zoom in and out to create a specific design out of the cross-section of whatever you're zooming in on and find a "grenkin." Sometimes you zoom in and out to change put and image into focus of a memory. But that's it! Every different bit of gameplay…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The games does have an intriguing story and cool art style but it lacks gameplay. The actual game is only to find objects which is fine for those who like it but I was expecting good puzzles.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It has a cute story I suppose, but the cons outweigh the pros: -the controls are bizarre -the "memory" sequences are annoyingly drawn out -the ending is the most unsatisfying thing I've seen. It would have been so easy to answer the question of who becomes the next custodian but they cut it short and left it open-ended. Ultimately I can't recommend the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First off.... If i could give this a neutral rating i would.. Cute game, good story and fun puzzles. I can't recommend it however because the puzzles aren't very hard and they start to become a chore. Took me 7 hours to beat and by the end I was ready for it to be over. The ending baffles me though.... So whos the custodian now? Morris?.... Did they let the joint blow up?..... who knows haha. Not sure what I paid but if this were on sale for 3 to 5 bucks and you wanted to kill time, then I'd…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played this entirely on my steam deck, and it ran perfectly and was a solid choice for "too tired for anything else". Beautifully written with some slight emotional tones, but the core of the game are the puzzles and they are simple without being ballbusting or obnoxious. The only con i have is the price and how much you get out of them game, while im enjoying my time and the puzzles, $20 is steep for a simple puzzle adventure, and while i recommend it, i can't recommend it at anything less…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GOD. THE RACING GAME. IF I EVER CALL THE SHOW "WIPEOUT" THEN ASSUME I AM DEAD AND MY PEOFILE GOT ZOMBIED. IN THIS HOUSE WE CALL IT *TAKESHI'S CASTLE*
neutral · AI labelView post →Fun simple game. Lots of clicking around somewhat aimlessly. Exploring small objects and small places for memories. Not always the most intuitive. But cute setting and characters. Don't expect anything fast paced or terribly coherent, it's an exploratory romp.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →15 minutes in and im already sick of everything main characters do and say
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i just finished the game,and wow,it was such an amazing experience. first of all the story was rich,emotional and beautiful,i enjoined all the levels and going through everyone's memories,the prettiest and most emotional level would have to be the last one where u meet Aggie,it was just all well done. And ofc we can not forget about the beautiful art style and the game design,it was just amazing! second of all i loved all the puzzles and especially finding the grenkins and ofc all the Mr.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was promised puzzles, but there are no puzzles, unless you consider looking for a missing item a puzzle. The gameplay loop is as follows: look for a person that has a story to tell listen to the story look for the item related to the story repeat this 5 times to progress to the next area "I am dead" feels more like an interactive children's book, but with an adult theme. There is minimal action or gameplay required. The story is boring AF. Verdict: 5/10.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really cute and short game, I love the concept of being a ghost and finding memories. Annapurna has always been one of the best game studios.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I struggled to finish I Am Dead. The game felt boring and confusing for most of my playthrough, and I spent a lot of time feeling lost and unsure of what I was supposed to be doing. I also had a hard time connecting with or even really understanding the story.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The story is boring and the game plays like an I spy book. Like on part 3 of the game, they're going over some guy lets call V. V is a loser who plays a band instrument, ditches his girlfriend to do something in another city, and his girlfriend was going to go study plants or something at some college. Like V is some boring high schooler on an island doing normal after high school stuff. If I wanted to experience that level of bordom, I'd just look at my own life. Furthermore, the whole…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →4/5 charming interactive visual novel? The game is slow, but the story is kind of interesting, its got a great art style, and alot of heart put into it. I'd recommend this game if one were looking for something to pass the time without needing to use much brain power to engage in some complicated story/puzzle or flashy gameplay. i find it hard calling this game a puzzle game. The extra hidden easter eggs and riddles are almost abit more annoying than fun to solve, for alot of them you can…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I Am Dead was a lovely, cozy "puzzle" game that plays more like a walking simulator (think Firewatch) than an active cozy game (Stardew, Spiritfarer). The narrative is super enjoyable, all of the voice acted lines and easter eggs make you want to keep playing and exploring! I was nervous about the title being a little raw (I have recently lost a loved one), but the view on death in the game is very exploratory and hopeful. Play: You like slice of life shows or anime, you enjoy looking at life…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a very creative and fun hidden object game, that is only possible thanks for the advancement of computer graphics in recent years, and hence it is seen nowhere before. The main mechanics of the game is to search items by passing through objects and viewing the cross sections of objects. Everyday objects have high level of inner details and it is a wonder to see through them. The cutscenes of viewing memories are also done by deforming vector arts and it does have the feeling of forming…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I Am Dead is a love letter to a very British fictional seaside community and everyone in it. You play as the keeper of the town museum, who, as the title says, has recently passed away. He's reunited with his beloved dog, who informs him the guardian of the island, a powerful spirit that kept a nearby volcano dormant, needs to be replaced before the volcano erupts. Yes, a volcano in the British seaside. That and the afterlife crowd are not the only fantastical element: fishfolk and bird people…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You know how death is vile, and tragic, and our last great enemy in this fallen world? Well anyway, that's what it is. But you'd never find out from games like this one: terrified of mortality, capable only of peeking at it through childish platitudes, in a pastel world better suited to games like Animal Crossing where the only thought of death is in 'killing' time. Put simply, for a game about ghosts, it's awfully soul-less. I would recommend, as a trade for the 40 minutes I wasted in here,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quaint Seaside Story about the Afterlife I think my title sums it up well enough. Your the spirit of a dead guy and your hanging out on your beloved hometown/island when your old dog convinces you to assist in keeping the island from volcanically erupting. To do this, you have to find someone to become one with the island to calm down the islands volcano. From here the gameplay loop really starts, in that you will be dropped into an area where you need to search a specific persons memories to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had been interested in this game for a long time just because it's an Annapurna game and I tend to be a sucker for those kinds of games... that said I went into this blind and really didn't know much about it. It really reminds me of GNOG but story based instead of just doing puzzles. It's a decent enough hidden object game sort of, but the controls don't feel intuitive and feel kind of sluggish. Maybe if I had went into the settings I could've fiddled with something to make it feel more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gs, Gs, NBPs — Join me tonight along with a special guest to celebrate my favorite annual milestone. BYO Sad Cake! Then we’ll finish I Am Dead and if there’s time, throw another game on from the pile! twitch.tv/asclearascry...
neutral · AI labelView post →Just finished and collected all the achievements as well. It was a very lovely little game. I really enjoyed the story and voice acting as well. It did feel like a bit of a task/chore based since you can't really "walk around", and also I'd categorize this game as "Point and Click" game, rather than Puzzle, Adventure or Exploration game. So, anyone who's looking for more of those elements, this game might not be it. Time to time, I noticed some typo, but story related conversations were fully…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I. Am. Dead. JFC what a game! Well done 🏴! #MEXENG #WorldCup
neutral · AI labelView post →Sweet game with cool concept and great execution
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a really nice idea, but I found it to be overly repetitive and eventually tiring
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very chill and fun. Very relaxing and a unique puzzle style game. My go to cozy game recommendation.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A cozy game with an interesting premise and unique (albeit repetitive) gameplay. I found the story fell a bit flat, but if you're in the mood for something unique I'd recommend picking it up on sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lovely game. It's a bit like where's wally with 3d objects. Very chill to play and so beautifully put together would recommend giving it a try
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was actually surprised by this one. It looked like an interesting and chill game, it delivers on it as well. It's pretty basic in terms of gameplay but being able to sort of zoom in and look inside objects and seeing the layers they have was pretty cool. Otherwise you're really just moving a camera and cursor around. It has some hidden object elements to it. So basically you'll read tap into someone's memory, then you'll be given a significant item from that memory which you have to look for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beautiful game, both visually and conceptually. Viewing items layer-by-layer is a concept I haven't come across before, especially in game play. I love all of the little touches and easter eggs. Such a pleasant and calming approach to death
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well, it was a nice romp; I'm the sort who would absolutely read every museum placard if I had a whole day at the museum, so this was right up my alley! Like many of the other reviewers, I'm a bit annoyed with having the rug yanked out from under me at the very end, but I don't think it necessarily negates the value of everything that came before. i would like to hug a fishperson please and thank you
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I overall enjoyed the game. pros and cons: + story was interesting; + the world they build is fun, I'd like to see more of this universe with sea-folk; + detailed environments, so much to look at in detail; + voice acting was nice; - the ending was a bit underwhelming; - the riddles were most of the time too hard (maybe for a non-native English speaker, maybe for a non-brit? example: How am I supposed to know what a "banger" is in British slang? ) , the additional very short time limit to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beautiful game. It's got a very lighthearted take on life after death that won't offend anyone. It's a great puzzle game complete with a sweet story. I also enjoyed going after the extra riddles, grenkins, and achievements.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoyed the art style, the gameplay, the world building with the fish people and bird people and robots, the little glimpses into the lives of the island residents... I got so invested and when the ending just trailed off into nothing it was a huge disappointment. I thought it might be an artistic choice to not say how the problems were resolved, but if that was the case it was so completely at odds with the tone of the rest of the game that it felt like a mistake. It pretty much…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's time for a game I've been watching over a year! Flock! Made by the devs of I Am Dead! Published by Annapurna which never has published a bad game! www.twitch.tv/camronjk #furry #vtuber #streamdev
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a game about finding hidden objects game that has a beautiful aesthetic and a cool concept of looking inside the places and object It has a nice concept, but I didnt quite like the story part, it was too slow, tedious and you have to make an easy but boring "puzzle" to keep hearing more about what people have to say before you start finding de items. There is also some extra puzzles to find hidden genkins, but they are either too easy or almost impossible if you dont get the EXACT…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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