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It’s hard to know exactly where to start with this game. On the surface it may appear to be just another addition to the multiplayer survival genre, akin to the likes of Don’t Starve Together, or Rust – but with its own unique, homegrown visual style. I believe the truth of the matter is different though – I think there’s some fairly carefully crafted social commentary beneath the surface of One Hour, One Life. It’s not that “true meaning” is unique to just this game, as many have incredibly personal depth, and messages that can help shape the emotional development of players no matter what age they are when they find these “experiences” (it feels almost too trivial to call One Hour, One Life a “game”) – but this experience manifests small and large emotions, in the strangest of ways, that I’ve never come in contact with before. I’ve been gaming for coming up to 29 years, and there are still firsts, and unique epiphanies to be had from this hobby - this affinity.

I never could have imagined it a few decades ago, but games have become more and more open to being artistic, and meaningful beyond profits and ratings, and sometimes what a developer has to say seems more important to them than all the other concerns one might have when creating something for “the market.” So many movies, games, and musical offerings of the past decade (and maybe a few before, depending on how you see it) have moved farther and farther away from having substance. Instead, they have been all about fooling their audience into losing a quick buck. Copying and pasting worthless drivel. Clawing for 15 minutes of fame, bloated with the hope that people won’t be able to see through the facade before the profits are made, and the product is seen for how broken it is.

So when you instead run into something like One Hour, One Life, and you learn a bit about who Jason Rohrer is and what he believes is important - you can’t help but see the difference in what is being produced, how it is being produced, and maybe even why it is being produced. When we lose sight of the who’s, and why’s, and maybe even the what’s of the world, we can lose sight of the fact that the world doesn’t revolve around just us as an individual, and that other people feel pain, and distrust, and negative feelings as a result of our own greed or lack of empathy. Perhaps even worse than that, when we create things for the sole purpose of making profits, with no soul or real thought put into it beyond the return on investment, we make empty lies, sell empty lies, and create empty societies. When you pour your heart into something - and dedicate yourself to it for love of it, and the hopes that others will love it in turn - you often gift the world something worthwhile that will instead enrich the human condition. You might even remind a few lost, disenfranchised people what it means to be human - to have the free will to do right or wrong, and feel the results or consequences of both paths.

But that may be far out from many players interest, or understanding – I have no idea. I just know everyone is different, and because I played this game, I had these thoughts and typed them out. Maybe that’s meaningful - or maybe meaningless – but that in itself encompasses the human condition: What does it all mean, and why does any of it matter? One Hour, One Life in some weird way has reaffirmed for me that the answer to that question is COMPLETELY different for each of us, and that we’re required to answer it ourselves. What makes others happy may never make you happy, so you need to take responsibility for figuring out what actions to take in this short life we’re given, to make it meaningful for you – even if what you decide doesn’t make any sense to anyone else. And if we can lend a hand now and again, and try to respect and work with other people’s needs and wants while we’re accomplishing that for ourselves, it’s a wonderful thing. There’s a balance there, just as there can be a balance in the playing of this game, which I think emulates said concept’s importance.

So what can you expect from the actual game in question, One Hour, One Life? You yourself will be born into the world by another player – your mother. She has no say in your birth, nor will she have any warning of your arrival. She may be alone in the wilderness, or at home with a large tribe or family surrounding her and supporting her. Now what reason would a complete stranger who didn’t invite you to play with them have to care for you, and feed you until you’re old enough to do these things for yourself? They have to stop crafting what they were working on, or stop foraging for their own sustenance to be a caregiver to you. You’re completely incapable of feeding yourself, and will die of starvation unless your mother or another player takes responsibility for these tasks themselves. The answer to the question is often simply the resulting action or inaction taken. The first time I was born, I never even saw my mother – the player who gave birth to me ran off screen and on with what they were doing before the world even loaded for me. I had no real idea of what to do, other than to try to find food, and when I couldn’t find any I died of starvation less than a minute into my first life. You die, the black screen tells you how you died, and how old you were, and gives you the option of being reborn again, or quitting the application. So what’s it going to be? Are you annoyed? Curious? Dumbfounded? I was slightly annoyed, but also curious to find if I would be now born to a mother that would care I existed. And how lucky we are in such an instance to have a second, thrid, fourth chance, and so on.

My second mother was very thoughtful. She picked me up and carried me to a small group of other newborns, and took turns feeding each of us for the first few years (minutes) of our lives. We can barely speak, but are able to type one letter at a time and press enter, so some people try to type out "F-O-O-D", and the experienced players tended to just type "F" and the mother(s) would know what was needed. When I was old enough to pick up food and other objects, I did just that. I stuck close to some berry bushes that had obviously been planted in rows, and ate when hungry. In between warnings of starvation, I poked around the "camp" (a somewhat organized mess of food, tools, rocks, clothing, and kilns) and tried to learn organically about what I should do to be of help. I was so thankful for having been looked after, I was motivated to do my part. I asked for help in finding a task, and my mother took me north to pick bananas. We took baskets, and could fill them up with three at a time, and eat one ourselves when we were hungry. I ran back and forth, bring food to the camp like this, and it was eaten about as fast as it was brought. On the way back, about the fifth or sixth time, my mother stopped and said she was about to die. I asked how she could tell, and she said due to how old she looked - it was the final character age variation model, so she wouldn't be around long. I honestly felt a mix of sadness just at the fact of it, and empathy for the player because they had worked hard, and now would "die" beyond their control, and we might never see each other in any form again. The world is hugely vast in the game, and often you never see your people, or what you built there again. My mother gave me the clothes she had been wearing, told me how to put them on, and wished me luck. I said thank you, and she collapsed into a pile of bones and was gone.

I have more to say, but there is a limit to how long a review can have. I will continue the rest in the comments section of this review. Thanks!