I Shall Remain: Prologue

I Shall Remain: Prologue is a survival RPG set in a zombie-infested city. Players control a US Marine commander who wakes up with amnesia after head trauma and must navigate the hostile environment. The game combines top-down shooter action with RPG elements like character levels and detailed stats. As the prologue to the full I Shall Remain experience, it introduces players to the infection-ravaged world and the mechanics of organizing survivor teams with limited weapons.

I Shall Remain: Prologue: Review

Introduction

In the saturated landscape of zombie-themed video games, few titles stand out for their sheer audacity and unconventional origins. I Shall Remain: Prologue emerges not from a seasoned studio, but from the mind of Jake Way, an active-duty U.S. Marine developing the game during his off-duty hours. Released in 2011 as a free prelude to a larger saga, this top-down action-RPG promised a unique blend of survival horror, tactical squad management, and deep role-playing mechanics. Set in an alternate-history WWII ravaged by a Nazi-engineered zombie plague, it sought to carve a niche by combining real-time combat with intricate character progression. Yet, as with many ambitious indie projects, its execution tells a story of passion colliding with practical constraints. This review will dissect I Shall Remain: Prologue as a historical artifact—a snapshot of developer ambition, genre experimentation, and the harsh realities of early 2010s indie game development. While its technical flaws and design inconsistencies are glaring, it remains a fascinating, if flawed, entry in the zombie pantheon, offering a glimpse into the creative aspirations of one developer and the era’s gaming landscape.

Development History & Context

The genesis of I Shall Remain is as unconventional as its gameplay. Jake Way, a Marine stationed in Hawaii, began development in 2010, driven by a desire to create a zombie survival RPG that emphasized leadership and squad dynamics over lone-wolf heroics. Scorpius Games, the studio he founded, operated with a skeleton crew, reflecting Way’s part-time commitment to the project amidst his military duties. This context is crucial: the game’s development was fueled by personal passion rather than industry polish, resulting in a product that was technically ambitious for its scope but hampered by limited resources.

Initially, I Shall Remain was conceived as an episodic series. The Prologue (2011) served as a free, standalone introduction designed to build a player base and test mechanics before commercial episodes. This episodic model was a strategic choice, allowing Way to iterate based on feedback while maintaining player interest. However, by 2014, the episodic structure was abandoned in favor of a full commercial release, with the Prologue eventually integrated into the 2015 complete game, I Shall Remain. This shift underscores the evolving nature of the project, as Way aimed to deliver a cohesive 20+ hour experience.

Technologically, the game utilized the proprietary StemCell 3D engine, a choice that allowed for a top-down perspective and dynamic environments but struggled with performance and visual fidelity. Released on Windows, it targeted the indie market of the early 2010s, a period defined by the rise of digital distribution platforms like Desura and Steam Greenlight. The zombie genre was at its zenith, with titles like Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising dominating mainstream attention. I Shall Remain positioned itself as a niche alternative, blending survival horror with RPG depth—a bold move that, in execution, highlighted the challenges of competing in a crowded market with limited resources.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Set in a chilling alternate history, I Shall Remain: Prologue plunges players into the aftermath of WWII, where Nazi scientists unleash the Z0M-31 virus upon American soil. The narrative unfolds through the fragmented memories of Captain C.J. Hodges, a U.S. Marine who awakens with amnesia in a zombie-infested metropolis. As he pieces together his identity, the story becomes a dual tragedy: a personal quest to rescue his brother and a broader struggle for humanity’s survival against a bioweapon born of war. This alternate-history premise—a Nazi-engineered apocalypse—adds a layer of historical dread, framing the zombie outbreak not as a random disaster but as a perversion of wartime ideology.

The prologue’s narrative is lean but effective, focusing on Hodges’ mission to locate and evacuate his brother from a besieged hospital. This quest is more than a MacGuffin; it symbolizes the loss of innocence in a world turned monstrous. The game’s dialogue is minimal, with storytelling conveyed through environmental details—graffiti-laced walls, abandoned military gear, and the silent cries of trapped survivors. The absence of voice acting in the prologue emphasizes its demo status but also lends a somber, pulp-fiction aesthetic to the experience.

Thematically, the game explores leadership, sacrifice, and the dehumanizing effects of plague. Hodges’ amnesia serves as a metaphor for societal collapse, forcing players to rebuild his identity and leadership skills amidst chaos. The squad mechanics underscore themes of camaraderie and responsibility, as players must manage AI teammates who represent the remnants of a fractured community. The Z0M-31 virus itself is a potent symbol of unchecked science and the wages of war, blurring the line between human and infected. While the prologue’s narrative is skeletal, it plants seeds for a larger story about two brothers navigating a broken world—a tale of brotherhood versus annihilation.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

At its core, I Shall Remain: Prologue is a real-time top-down shooter fused with RPG elements, but its mechanics reveal a game grappling with identity. Players control Hodges, issuing commands to a squad of up to four AI survivors while navigating urban streets teeming with the infected. The combat is visceral and unforgiving, starting with a baseball bat and escalating to firearms like shotguns and flamethrowers. Ammo and stamina management are critical, with resources scarce and random drops dictating survival odds.

The RPG depth lies in its progression system. Hodges possesses six attributes (Strength, Agility, Accuracy, Endurance, Intelligence, Charisma) and a suite of skills (e.g., Rifles, Explosives) that improve through use—a “learn by doing” approach that rewards specialization. “Doctrines” act as passive perks, granting bonuses like increased movement speed or damage resistance. Squad management adds strategic layers: players can arm teammates, share items, and issue basic commands (Attack, Defend, Regroup). However, the AI is frequently inept, getting stuck on terrain or ignoring orders, while teammates wield infinite ammo—a questionable design choice that trivializes resource allocation.

Yet, the prologue is riddled with systemic flaws. Collision detection is abysmal; characters and zombies clip through walls, and debris often halts progress. The lack of a manual save system forces reliance on autosaves, compounded by frequent crashes in the full game. Random drops lead to frustration, as key items like flashlight batteries are scarce, plunging players into darkness. Quest design is opaque, with objectives triggering prematurely (e.g., “secure a location” before it’s visible), creating artificial difficulty. These issues transform survival into a battle against the game’s mechanics rather than the undead. Despite its ambitions—a dynamic day/night cycle, weapon degradation, and infection mechanics that require constant serum intake—the prologue feels like a rough blueprint, unrefined and punishing in its unpredictability.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Prologue’s world-building is its most compelling asset, painting a grim portrait of a 1940s America shattered by biowarfare. The alternate-history setting fuses WWII nostalgia with apocalyptic dread, with Art Deco architecture crumbling under the weight of overgrown vegetation and ruin. Urban environments—from hospital corridors to rain-slicked streets—are rich with environmental storytelling: abandoned military vehicles, propaganda posters defaced by warnings of infection, and makeshift barricades hint at a society’s last stand. The dynamic day/night cycle and weather system amplify the atmosphere, with fog-shrouded nights creating claustrophobic tension and thunderstorms obscuring threats.

Visually, the game is a product of its indie constraints. The top-down perspective offers tactical clarity but suffers from murky textures and dated animations. Character models are rudimentary, with zombies appearing as indistinct, shambling silhouettes save for a few oversized variants. The flashlight mechanic, initially atmospheric, becomes a source of irritation as batteries deplete rapidly, leaving players fumbling in darkness. While the art direction leans into gritty realism, technical limitations—poor lighting, pop-in textures, and stiff character movements—undermine the intended horror.

Sound design is equally mixed. Footsteps and weapon impacts have weight, but the absence of a dynamic soundtrack leaves moments of tension feeling hollow. The prologue’s sparse audio cues (e.g., distant moans, gunfire) effectively build unease, yet repetitive zombie growls and a lack of environmental variety detract from immersion. In the full game, music is cited as a strength, but here, silence often dominates, punctuated only by the clatter of combat. Despite these shortcomings, the world’s decay and the ever-present threat of infection create a palpable sense of desperation, making exploration a tense, if visually underwhelming, experience.

Reception & Legacy

Upon its 2011 release, I Shall Remain: Prologue garnered cautious intrigue for its premise but little critical acclaim. Reviewers like Steven Carter of GameBanshee lauded its ambition but delivered a scathing verdict: “a warning, not a recommendation,” citing “basic and low rent” execution. IndieGameMag echoed this, noting its “frustrating pieces” and recommending it only for “hardest of hardcore survival horror fans.” Player feedback was similarly tepid, with the Steam full release (2015) settling at a “Mixed” 67% positive rating, marred by complaints about bugs, AI, and crashes.

Commercially, the prologue achieved its goal of exposure, driving interest in the eventual full game. However, its legacy is one of cautionary example rather than influence. It represents a common indie pitfall: overambition without the polish to match. The game’s development journey—from free prologue to commercial release via Early Access—documents the growing pains of early 2010s digital distribution, highlighting the challenges of marketing episodic content. While it didn’t spawn direct clones, its blend of zombie survival, squad tactics, and deep RPG progression prefigured elements of later titles like State of Decay, though with less finesse.

Historically, Prologue endures as a curiosity—a testament to one developer’s passion and the era’s experimental spirit. Its flaws have cemented its status as a niche artifact, dissected by YouTube retrospectives and forums for its ambitious but uneven design. For Scorpius Games, it served as a learning experience, with the 2015 full release addressing some issues (e.g., improved AI, manual saves). Yet, the prologue remains a snapshot of a bygone indie era, where ambition often outpaced resources, and survival meant battling the game as much as the undead.

Conclusion

I Shall Remain: Prologue is a fascinating, if deeply flawed, relic of indie game development. It captures the raw ambition of a developer driven by personal passion rather than commercial pressure, offering a unique alternate-history zombie narrative and ambitious RPG-squad mechanics. However, its execution—marred by technical glitches, poor AI, and systemic inconsistencies—prevents it from realizing its potential. As a free introduction, it succeeded in building a community, but as a standalone experience, it feels like an unpolished blueprint.

In the grand tapestry of video game history, the prologue’s value lies less in its gameplay and more in its story of perseverance. It represents a moment when indie developers dared to blend genres and tackle complex themes, even as they grappled with the limitations of time, budget, and expertise. For historians, it’s a case study in ambition’s double-edged sword; for players, it’s a challenging, atmospheric glimpse into a world undone by plague.

Ultimately, I Shall Remain: Prologue earns a place not as a masterpiece, but as a bold footnote—a reminder that even in failure, creativity leaves its mark. Its legacy is one of missed potential, yet its very existence underscores the enduring appeal of zombie survival stories and the indomitable spirit of indie developers. For those willing to endure its rough edges, it offers a compelling, if frustrating, journey into a broken world—one where survival, as Hodges learns, is as much about enduring the game as it is the hordes.