I had heard good things about Immortality, in particular its lead performance from Manon Gage and the way the game tackles a non-linear narrative. While I somewhat hesitate to call Immortality a "game," I still found it to be a quite enjoyable and intriguing project that had me sifting through fake movie clips until late into the night.
The "gameplay" of Immortality, if you can even call it that, has the player watching, rewatching, fast forwarding, and rewinding old film takes from the actress Marissa Marcel's three unreleased movies. There are also clips of behind the scenes footage, as well as some tapes that Marissa had taken and/or had been in during the time of filming. Players are meant to go through the films and match cut from actors' faces, props, and the environment to discover new clips, all in an attempt to discover the truth about Marissa Marcel's disappearance.
Some people may be thinking this to be a crime thriller. While I do not want to spoil the game for anyone (its best to go in blind), I will say not to expect anything in particular and just go with whatever you discover. Due to the game's non-linear nature, things can sometimes get confusing. But the most fun I had with this title was when I was putting together a timeline of events that took place in this game.
The performances were all great, with Manon Gage absolutely nailing every scene she's in; whether she's playing Marissa or as Marissa playing another character. She sells every scene she's in. Some of the supporting cast isn't as up to snuff, but all of the major players do a great job.
The game tackles many themes, some of which some players may or may not be comfortable with. But it provides a certain vibe and feeling to the game and its narrative that you just don't see a lot. In fact, I'd say this is one of the most unique "games" I've played in quite some time. I haven't checked out Sam Barlow's other work, but Immortality makes me wanna give his experiences another shot.
Even though Immortality intrigued me to no end, I do struggle to give this a recommendation for a lot of gamers. This is a very niche kind of game. Not only is it light on gameplay, but the narrative presented is not one that I think general audiences will get into. This is due to its non-linear nature, and because its true narrative, in particular the true ending, may leave some scratching their heads. I certainly had to do more research and look through the things I discovered several times before I sort of understood what happened? Big question mark there. But regardless, Immortality is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay.
I enjoyed Immortality a lot. Its very unique and has a very interesting and different structure to it. The "gameplay" is a bit too simplistic and full of random trial-and-error, but it is serviceable enough to keep you wanting to play. The performances were fantastic and really sell you on these characters. Its a very unique and interesting narrative "game" that should get some more attention.
The "gameplay" of Immortality, if you can even call it that, has the player watching, rewatching, fast forwarding, and rewinding old film takes from the actress Marissa Marcel's three unreleased movies. There are also clips of behind the scenes footage, as well as some tapes that Marissa had taken and/or had been in during the time of filming. Players are meant to go through the films and match cut from actors' faces, props, and the environment to discover new clips, all in an attempt to discover the truth about Marissa Marcel's disappearance.
Some people may be thinking this to be a crime thriller. While I do not want to spoil the game for anyone (its best to go in blind), I will say not to expect anything in particular and just go with whatever you discover. Due to the game's non-linear nature, things can sometimes get confusing. But the most fun I had with this title was when I was putting together a timeline of events that took place in this game.
The performances were all great, with Manon Gage absolutely nailing every scene she's in; whether she's playing Marissa or as Marissa playing another character. She sells every scene she's in. Some of the supporting cast isn't as up to snuff, but all of the major players do a great job.
The game tackles many themes, some of which some players may or may not be comfortable with. But it provides a certain vibe and feeling to the game and its narrative that you just don't see a lot. In fact, I'd say this is one of the most unique "games" I've played in quite some time. I haven't checked out Sam Barlow's other work, but Immortality makes me wanna give his experiences another shot.
Even though Immortality intrigued me to no end, I do struggle to give this a recommendation for a lot of gamers. This is a very niche kind of game. Not only is it light on gameplay, but the narrative presented is not one that I think general audiences will get into. This is due to its non-linear nature, and because its true narrative, in particular the true ending, may leave some scratching their heads. I certainly had to do more research and look through the things I discovered several times before I sort of understood what happened? Big question mark there. But regardless, Immortality is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay.
I enjoyed Immortality a lot. Its very unique and has a very interesting and different structure to it. The "gameplay" is a bit too simplistic and full of random trial-and-error, but it is serviceable enough to keep you wanting to play. The performances were fantastic and really sell you on these characters. Its a very unique and interesting narrative "game" that should get some more attention.