Game News The Immortal Returns

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: The Immortal

For those who remember the 16bit era of gaming, there's a Port/Remake of one of the first isometric action RPGs, The Immortal over on Steam. However, even though it's on sale, it's even cheaper on GOG by about half. Since I can't find a trailer quickly, there's this:

• 3-D Adventure like you've never seen!
• Fully animated creatures and deaths - watch out or you'll be spiked, slimed, or eaten by giant worms.
• Fight trolls, spiders, and goblins in live action battles.
• Discover the powerful secrets of arcane objects. Use them correctly or perish.
• Unleash magical powers to fly, shrink, and change form.
• Eight levels of challenging puzzles to solve and over 50 chambers to explore.

I remember this game when it came out. I snagged it and it was probably one of the more frustratingly difficult games when I was a kid. Now the frustration can be yours!

 

[Nikanuur]

This is hillariously amazingly true and sad.

 

[mediocrepoet]

I beat this on the Sega Genesis back when the cartridge cost like $90. I remember thinking it was really short and bad, with the main point of interest being the violent death animations.
I think I beat it the same day I bought it.

 

[Haba]

No reviews, no info, no nothing. Dosbox bundle?

 

[Calthaer]

This game played like an evil D&D dungeonmaster who enjoys killing the players. All you do in this game is memorize the location of various unseen threats (either off-screen or hidden beneath the floor) and avoid them. It's about as fun as Simon Says, maybe with better pixels.

 

[Terra]

I was just watching a comparison of the Mega Drive and NES versions of this game last night after getting a nostalgia craving. Great game, god knows how I managed to beat it back in the day though. lol.

 

[Grauken]

I couldn't get past the monster in the water level as a kid, never finished the game

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I almost bought the gog version but... I sucked at the nes and mega drive.

 

[flabbyjack]

Wow. The passion. The style. The mental breakdown at 9:45!

 

[Fenix]

Died at second or third room, fell through shaft, never managed to climb up out of it. Ha.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I couldn't find any finished screenshot maps of the game.

 

[Grauken]

I couldn't find any finished screenshot maps of the game.

https://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/NES/index.htm#Immortal

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Ah... NES!

 

[Falksi]

Used to love this back in t'day. Played it for around 20min the other day on Kega, and I'm actually really looking forward to playing it properly.

Never finished it originally, and it was a slag of a cunter of a game with difficulty, but the theme is so mint I cannot resist.

Didn't they remake Imogen too?.....

 

[Gastrick]

AVGN usually hypes up the difficulty of these games too high. Besides Battletoads, a couple PC ports and a few shmups, nothing on nes is that hard.

 

[Mortmal]

Very frustrating when young indeed, that was one of the most impressive game , with very good animation, i still remember the wizard avoiding death in a pit by using his staff to stop his fall.

 

[Mortmal]

Doesnt seems the steam release change nor improve anything .

 

[Awakened_Yeti]

dude this game was fucking brutal on Amiga

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

It was brutal period.

 

[Falksi]

Been playing it through this week. Fuckinghell, remember it being hard but it's absolutely fucking solid. It murders you at every single turn, and makes the Souls games look like Kingdom Hearts.

I think that this is a good summary.........

This game played like an evil D&D dungeonmaster who enjoys killing the players. All you do in this game is memorize the location of various unseen threats (either off-screen or hidden beneath the floor) and avoid them. It's about as fun as Simon Says, maybe with better pixels.

......apart from the last bit.

I'm loving it. It is just a game about trial and error, and yes it's fucking frustrating and annoying, but it's atmosphere & the satisfaction you get from progressing are fucking mint. I have used a guide for certain sections (something which I'm usually dead against) so that's helped, and some of the puzzles in the earlier levels I remember from being a kid, so that helps too.

I'd say there's enough there to warrant a play through. Just have a guide to hand which you drop on after X amount of deaths trying to solve something.

 

[MRY]

If the game had done a better job of supporting multiple solutions, it would be one of the greatest of all time. Unfortunately, it has the illusion of interesting alternative paths, but there is only viable one, IIRC. But unlike the Dragon's Lair game, to which it bears comparison (learn by dying, cool graphics, inflexible design), it doesn't feel confining until you realize there is only one path. The "evil DM" point is right, but it's not just a criticism. Other than QFG, can't think of any contemporary game that felt like it was actually a crafted role-playing experience -- all sorts of unique interesting things you could do rather than generic systems-based gameplay.

But ultimately the single-path nature of the game consigns it to the dustbin. The trial and error was (and I think still is) too frustrating. It's not like Dragon's Lair where it is an arcade game game that your mastery allows you to wiz through in a zen-like state. The areas you replay pretty rapidly become tedious. The only way I beat the game was with quicksave abuse many years after I played it as a kid.

EDIT: Interesting article re: the making of the game, that makes the outlandish claim that it was initially intended as an online RPG: https://web.archive.org/web/20160730023338/https://www.nowgamer.com/the-making-of-immortal/

 

[Falksi]

Just finished it this morning. Loved it. Easy to see why a game like this was so frustrating before the days of game guides & save scumming, but if you're sensible with how you discipline yourself with those, yet use them when frustration levels ramp up, it's definitely worth a run through.

To me the game's biggest flaw is that it doesn't allow the player to settle before brutalizing him. The first few items you get & steps you take decimate you, and it's off putting. After a few levels traps in the floor stop appearing, and that makes the game far more enjoyable.

 

[Falksi]

Can't stop playing it now. With the game beat and the puzzles solved I want to play it through to soak in the story fully, instead of broken up between sittings.

The dog's not had his walk yet though and keeps fucking farting, so gonna have to take him out first.

A real example of a game which rewards you immensely if aren't a complete Soyboy faggot without the bollocks for a challenge you stick with it.

Souls games? They're for pussies.