I Am Jesus Christ is a 2026 simulation video game developed by SimulaM and published by PlayWay. The player takes the role of Jesus Christ during the events depicted in the New Testament.
| I Am Jesus Christ | |
|---|---|
| Developer | SimulaM |
| Publisher | PlayWay |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Platform | Windows |
| Release | 2 April 2026 |
| Genre | Simulation |
| Mode | Single-player |
I Am Jesus Christ was conceived from the designer's desire to portray Jesus Christ's life from a first-person perspective. The game was announced in 2019, with a prologue released as a free demo in 2022. It was launched on 2 April 2026 for Windows.
Gameplay
editThe player controls Jesus Christ in first-person view. The game interface shows only the character's hands; in general it avoids depicting the face or any canonical appearance of Jesus.[1] I Am Jesus Christ has elements of role-playing games, visual novels, and is a partially open world game.[2][3]
The player controls Jesus through the events of the New Testament: leaving Nazareth, finding his Twelve Apostles, delivering sermons, and performing miracles.[4] The game is set in a series of locations that depict well-known moments from Jesus's life, such as turning water into wine and spending 40 days and nights in the desert.[1] The game ends with the crucifixion of Jesus, though this is depicted symbolically to avoid the depiction of violence.[5]
Development and release
editDeveloper SimulaM is a five-person development team based in Warsaw, Poland.[6][7] Maksym Vysochanskiy, the CEO of SimulaM, is a Christian and familiar with the Bible. The idea of the game was first conceived in his teenage years.[8] Vysochanskiy initially wanted to make a computer animated film about the life of Jesus, but the developer later changed the format to a video game to be able to depict it in first-person.[9][8]
The game was officially announced in 2019.[9][10] A prologue demo was released on 1 December 2022.[11][3][4] The game was featured at IGN Fan Fest in 2023 and released on 2 April 2026.[12][6]
Reception
editThe announcement of the game drew controversy, as some worried the game would be blasphemous or trivialize scripture.[7] A tweet of the game's trailer by IGN racked up nearly 70,000 reactions, consisting of critique from readers.[13] In the launch week, the game received a "Very Positive" user rating on Steam.[14]
Writing for Inven about the released game, Jeong Jae-hoon reflected on the use of intellectual property in games, considering that I Am Jesus Christ used possibly the most well-known IP. They commented that the game might be a good vessel for Bible study, but considered it to be more of a bible study simulator than a game, and also called the implementation clumsy.[15]
4News's Richard Amalfitano considered the game's concept to be unique, finding it hard to evaluate as a video game. They found the concept and some gameplay ideas original, and found that the game translated its source material well into an interactive form. However, they described the gameplay as superficial, and criticized technical aspects including the character animations and the use of artificial intelligence for the game's voice acting.[2]
References
edit- 1 2 Kelly, Charlie (6 December 2022). "I Am Jesus Christ: Prologue is as bizarre as it sounds". Checkpoint Gaming.
- 1 2 Amalfitano, Riccardo (30 April 2026). "Recensione I Am Jesus Christ: un'avventura in prima persona che vuole far rivivere, attraverso esplorazione, combattimenti e miracoli, la vita di Gesù". 4News.
- 1 2 Matt (2 December 2022). "I Am Jesus Christ: Prologue is one of the most surreal things I've ever played".
- 1 2 Contributor, Kaan Serin; Serin, Kaan (20 February 2023). "I Am Jesus Christ looks like a goofy first-person Jesus sim". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ↑ "I Am Jesus Christ". Sector.sk. 2 April 2026.
- 1 2 Livingston, Christopher (26 March 2026). "There are 2 different Jesus sim games launching within a week of each other". PC Gamer.
- 1 2 Moody, Oliver (10 April 2026). "Are you a video game disciple? In this one you play as Jesus". The Times.
- 1 2 Reeves, Ben (2 April 2026). "Answering Six Big Questions About I Am Jesus Christ". Game Informer. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- 1 2 Park, Gene (25 December 2019). "Using the Lord's name in-game: 'I Am Jesus Christ' aspires to be an 'art masterpiece'". Washington Post.
- ↑ McWhertor, Michael (6 December 2019). "New Jesus sim will let you do all the best Jesus stuff in first-person". Polygon.com. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ↑ "Finally, a video game that lets you play as Jesus Christ". EW.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ↑ Reich, Aaron (20 February 2023). "New video game lets you explore Israel as Jesus, die, fight Satan". Jerusalem Post.
- ↑ Frishberg, Hannah (9 December 2019). "Bible-themed video game lets gamers play Jesus Christ | New York Post". New York Post. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ↑ Coulson, Josh (6 April 2026). "I Am Jesus Christ Debuts To Very Positive Reviews On Steam". TheGamer. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
- ↑ "[리뷰] 불(佛)교인 시점에서 본 '나는 예수 그리스도다'". Inven. 7 April 2026.