I Am Bread

Gameplay

I Am Bread puts the player in control of a slice of bread and the aim of each level is to turn the bread into toast. If the bread, before becoming toast, touches certain objects (e.g. the floor), the bread will get dirty and the "edibility" meter will go down. Objects and substances that can make this go down can be water and the floor. To control the bread the player must use the arrow keys or an analog stick. The levels are based on the seven days of the week.

Several other expansions have added various features such as having players play as a baguette bent on destroying any fragile object in the room, a bagel that races around the room, and as a fragile cracker that seeks to find slices of cheese and have them stick to it while avoiding disintegration by repetitive impacts on surfaces. In addition, two other levels were added where the player either plays a piece of bread in zero-g or as a "bread fighter" facing various fighters and ships made of bakery goods in a parody of Star Wars called Starch Wars. Last but not least, another bonus level has a slice of bread seek to find and complete an unfinished sandwich in the refrigerator inside a room with a slumbering Heavy set in Team Fortress 2.

Plot

Mr. Murton is a therapy patient who had a failed business in the past and a divorced wife. He is distressed over alleged break ins into his house with the culprit supposedly leaving behind pieces of toasted bread as a taunt or warning. With each scenario, Mr. Murton progressively finds out that the culprit of the disarranged house are sentient slices of a specific bread, and at the end, throws the bread out in the trash and escapes custody from the therapy building. After a slice of bread causes an explosion at a gas station, another slice of bread confronts Mr. Murton while he is driving away from the scene with the intent of eliminating the bread. Terrified, Mr. Murton suffers from what appears to be a heart attack and faints, resulting in a car crash and Mr. Murton Dies. The watch on the arm that reaches into the car in the end cutscene, as well as the sign that Mr. Murton crashes into, indicate that I am Bread is a prequel to Surgeon Simulator 2013, another game by Bossa Studios.

Reception

I Am Bread received mixed reception from critics, with PC version receiving a 60/100 Metacritic rating, based off 24 critics, the PlayStation 4 version receiving a 51/100 and the iOS version receiving a 58/100. Most criticism of the game came from the poor controls and camera angles.

PC Gamer writer Jordan Erica Webber gave the game a 58/100 score and said commented on the fact that the game is better played in front of an audience, but there is more available than what someone may see at first glance. Kotaku writer Luke Plunkett said that the game might actually have "some depth beyond just laughing at the bread-walking."