Immortality Reviews
A true achievement in game design and interactive fiction, Immortality is a gorgeous and haunting magic trick that sets a new standard for the medium.
Immortality is unlike any other game. It's wildly ambitious, gorgeously shot, well acted, and incredibly unique. You might think you understand the straightforward gameplay, which requires you to match clips together to uncover the story of actress Marissa Marcel, but you have no idea what you're getting into and what you'll be at the end.
Immortality gets under your skin; flickers subliminally in your head. It becomes a part of you, whether you want it to, or not.
I want art to be a place where I can find love, beauty, or truth. Without these things, Marissa Marcel was better off lost.
I think it’s no exaggeration to say that Immortality is often brilliant. The acting, writing, editing and videography are meticulously intentional and if the path through the woods isn’t always clear, the trees are unfailingly interesting to study. While it isn’t perfect, I’m glad that games like Immortality exist. There are so many games that are sequels, copycats, reboots, remakes and retreads that you forget what originality actually looks like. All of Barlow’s games have been excellent but Immortality is probably the richest and most thought-provoking of the three.
Sam Barlow's epic mystery of self-reference and cinema is an elaborate, ingenious enigma - one that would be even better if it didn't want to be solved.
Immortality stands alongside Her Story and Telling Lies as a must-play experience that will leave you with a lot to chew on.
What you’ll end up taking away from Immortality is going to be unique to your experience. The conclusions you draw will be the subject of conversations with friends for days, even weeks, to come. It surprises just as often as it confounds, and that in itself makes this a rather extraordinary experience. It’s also perhaps one of the purest examples of video games as art we’ve seen to date: a piece of art about artists. Does that make for an enjoyable experience? Not always. At times it’s drawn-out, boring, a chore, even, as you obsess over every bit of footage available to you. But are we glad we’ve played it? Absolutely.
The new cinematic horror narrative experience from Sam Barlow is finally upon us. How does it measure up to past work or the genre/industry?
A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage.
In exploiting this fan-like thirst for knowledge as authority and authenticity — even if it occasionally undercuts the storytelling — the game also creates an easy choice for the curious outsider: Either play, or don’t. Immortality embodies the most enticing hallmarks of the “if you know, you know” meme — there’s no quick recap for a politely interested stranger that can adequately sum up the question What happened to Marissa Marcel? The only way to fully appreciate the scope of this project, flaws and all, is to throw all expectations of story and structure out the window, and realize that the simplistic divide between film and games is holding us back from doing so much more with either medium.
Immortality is an astonishing work of interactive fiction that's every bit as unsettling and unforgettable as the films that inspired it.
Sam Barlow has somehow done it again, raising the bar for the FMV / interactive movie genre once more. Immortality is yet another masterpiece of storytelling.
Immortality is easily Sam Barlow's best game to date and, when you consider the delights he's served up previously, well, you get an idea of just how good this one really is. It's a dazzling display from any angle you to choose to admire it; top-notch acting, brilliant writing, a core mechanic that's complex but carried off with style and grace, intuitive controls that draw you into your role...just remember to avoid spoilers, dive into the mystery of Marissa Marcel completely unsullied, and you're in for one of the most exquisite gaming experiences of this year, or any other, by quite some distance.
Immortality is an ambitious and considered look at art, storytelling, film, religion, and many other things, but it doesn't quite catch all the metaphorical apples it throws in the air.
Immortality is Sam Barlow's best, most thought-provoking game yet, and a barnstorming debut for Half Mermaid.
Immortality is an experience in itself. The game is hugely ambitious, but manages to deliver on every level. You will be on the tip of your toes for many hours trying to discover the fate of Marissa Marcel. Immortality is a total success. I guarantee you will be surprised by what you discover throughout the story reels.
Review in French | Read full review
The most ambitious and intense Sam Barlow's game is a brilliant interactive mockumentary about movies and our relationship with the sense of narration.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Immortality is a phenomenal piece of work, filled with great acting and direction, centred around the story of one woman's life in front of the lens in all its fragile yet powerful glory.