In perhaps one of the stranger releases Steam users saw this week, I am Bread is now live on Early Access, letting PC and Mac users fulfill their latent fantasies of controlling an animate slice of bread. Coming from Bossa Studios, the developer that brought us Surgeon Simulator, the experience in I am Bread is surprisingly similar. It's definitely fun to mess around with the physics engine and the clunky controls, but at the end of the day there's still an objective to complete. And it'll take a bit before you get good enough to complete it.
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The first time you get behind the controls of the game, you're liable to get some pretty heavy QWOP flashbacks. The first four number keys control which four corners of the slice of bread stick to whatever surface they're touching while the arrow keys move the rest of the bread around. It takes a good amount of awkward flailing before you start to feel comfortable with the controls, and getting good enough to move around reliably (and in the direction you intend) is an accomplishment all on its own.
The game has one simple goal driving it: Get toasted. Of course, with the first level being the kitchen, you can always make a beeline straight for the toaster (in theory – straight lines are not a slice of bread's strong suit), but there are plenty more sources of heat at your disposal. Even if you do go for the toaster, you might end up needing one of these backup plans when you accidentally unplug the toaster and send it crashing down to the floor in your awkward attempts to hop inside.
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Unintuitive controls aren't the only thing standing between your bread and its toaster. A "grip meter" makes it so that you can't cling to walls indefinitely, and you'll fall to the floor if you run out of juice mid-climb. You'll also have to keep an eye on your "edibility" rating, which falls from 100 to zero as you drag your bread across unappetizing surfaces. This most often comes into play when your slice of bread falls onto the floor, but it can also hurt you when you accidentally step on some fish bones or egg shells. Once you reach zero edibility, it's game over.
This combination makes the game a tough one to master. Your first several attempts just to leave the table you start on will likely end in you falling on the floor then scrambling helplessly as you watch your edibility slowly drop to zero. Over time, though, you'll get the hang of efficiently flip-flopping around (really the only verb that can describe movement in this game).
Once you master getting to the toaster, the levels actually still have a fair bit of replayability. At the end of each level, you can get bonus points if you covered yourself in toppings before. So as you're navigating the kitchen, take the time to smash open some jars of jelly or roll around on a stick of butter. Anything beats just being plain old toast.
As if the whole experience isn't ridiculous enough already, Bossa Studios is throwing in an overarching narrative about a man told from the perspective of his therapist. The man lives in the house that makes up I am Bread's levels, and as the player quickly finds out, he's slowly undergoing a mental breakdown. Seeing your kitchen trashed by a sentient slice of bread certainly takes its toll on the psyche.
The developers have also included screenshot functions that let players easily share their funniest moments over social media. There's even an included gif maker, though the current iteration will tank your frame rate.
I am Bread is planning on releasing early next year after a few months in Early Access. Over that time, Bossa plans to add the rest of the game's levels and fill up the existing levels with more items to interact with.
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The I am Bread Early Access was previewed with a Steam code provided by the publisher. It's now available on Steam Early Access for PC and Mac.
