Have you ever been so frustrated by a game that you broke your controller? Over the years, I’ve played plenty of difficult games, with FromSoftware’s flagship title Dark Souls being the first game to push me over the edge into full blown anger management class status. During the first “boss” encounter (that gargoyle jerk who is missing his bridge), after dying what seemed like hundreds of times, I finally snapped and pushed one of the analog sticks straight into my Xbox 360 controller (in the controller’s defense, it was one of those crap Mad Catz knock offs). Since this, I’ve exercised caution when playing one of the many DS clones that have hit the market, rarely making it past the first few encounters or areas. The newest in the line of imitations, Immortal: Unchained, is for DS fans/non-DS fans alike. The game offers everything that made the original game great: the winding pathways with secrets tucked away regularly; strange traps that are just waiting for one misplaced step; viciously overpowered enemies that won’t hesitate to get in your face and require you to dodge their attacks at a split seconds notice. However, there’s one game changing element in this – you’ve got guns, and lots of them.

Shotguns, assault rifles, pistols, SMGs, and pretty much any type of artillery you could ask for are present and in huge numbers. With the exception of the range, the guns are an enjoyable means to an end and pack a decent punch at close to mid-range. Unfortunately, even the sniper rifles lack much in terms of their effective distance (shooting too far away made me feel like the guns were loaded with crayons), often requiring the player to get closer than they would like. Knowing this, the assault rifles are likely going to be your default. Meticulous exploration will net you guns regularly (I had upwards of ten before completing the tutorial area), with random drops present, akin to the Borderlands franchise, and you’ll likely never receive the same gun twice. Each of the weapons bring something different to the table, but can feel like situational options as the game handles them in a less than thrilling way deterring experimentation.

At the onset of the game you’ll have to create your character, utilizing a decent amount of customization options while selecting one of a wide range of classes that are more or less adept with certain types of guns. Initially, I went with the Marksman class, assuming that more range would suit my playstyle, allowing me to casually sit back and pick off enemies from a distance. I could not have been more wrong. The enemies you’ll face will gladly take a few hits to the head and keep coming at you like a dimwitted school yard bully who’s had too many steroid infused chicken nuggets. While you can interchange your arsenal with weapons geared toward the other classes, the game tends to drop items early into the game that are more pertinent to the class you choose. After struggling my way to the first boss encounter, dying plenty of times along the way, I came to the realization that my class may not be the best option and started over with a more rounded class. Much to my chagrin, the game only permits you to have one active character at a time, resulting in any progress should choose to sample one of the other classes to be lost. I found this limitation to be a huge disappointment as it discourages leaving your comfort zone.

You’ll spend the bulk of your time exploring the game world seeking out obelisks that function much like the campfire’s from DS, with some pretty hardcore changes. You’ll need to visit the obelisks often to save, change out your loadout (insert sad face), level up, refill your ammo or health potions (only the latter can be found in the game world), and in the event you die, these work as a respawn point. Unlike most games, you can’t manipulate the save system to ease your way into the game world, as each and every time you leave a small room or area, the enemies will respawn in the exact same place, whether you die or not. Like the games that inspired it, death is not the end, but merely a small hurdle that you will face time and time again, with little consequence since your inventory and most of your progression is kept intact, sans your scrap.

Scrap is used to do pretty much anything to your character within the game world – if you want to upgrade your character or gun, you’ll need pretty crazy amounts of it – so much so that you’ll often wonder if you are really making any progress at all. In the event you suffer a premature demise, you’ll lose all of your scrap and be forced to either forfeit it or carefully backtrack to where you died to reacquire it. Dying en route will cause all of the previously stashed scrap to be lost completely, making the loss that much more disappointing. The static enemy placement makes this a bit more forgiving, albeit at the risk of repetition or boredom setting in, since you can easily change up your tactics on subsequent attempts with the knowledge of what you’re up against being available. What doesn’t work as well here is the ammo usage, due to the fact if you run out, you’re out until you find another obelisk and will often have to backtrack, avoiding the same enemies time and time again just to refill it.

Your ammo count is just as important, if not more so than your stamina or health bar. Offering meager amounts that feel more in line with a survival horror game such as The Evil Within or Silent Hill, each and every shot is important. Sadly, the aiming mechanics are a bit clunky and imprecise, essentially requiring the optional aim assist to be turned on to avoid wasting the precious commodity. Because of this, you will have to rely on the not so great melee attacks more than you rightfully should. Outside of the melee attack being sluggish and lacking any true feeling of power, the controls are passable.

It may take some time to become acclimated to the gunplay, as there is no method of taking cover in this. Constant movement and taking your time is the best course of action, dodging and putting as much space between you and your enemies being the flavor of the week.  If you prefer to try the stealth method, you can attempt to sneak up on enemies for a devastating attack from behind on their weak point (head shots do increased damaged but not nearly as much as the big glowing spot). Overall, the sneaking options feel a bit lackluster due to the enemy AI.  It also feels a bit off using the dodge option from a distance when the enemies would perform their pattern of motions prior to attacking, but due to the overly forgiving stamina bar, this will likely become second nature early on. The health bucket is much less forgiving, with each and every attack dealing massive damage to your avatar.

This offers a slightly more detailed story than the other games in the sub-genre, focusing on the sun dying and bringing about the rise of undead hordes that seek to end the world. This plays out via a mix of still images with voice overs and some full motion cut scenes, providing a bit more insight into the lore but never fully painting a vivid picture that other RPGs offer. The visuals are on par with other current gen games, with only minor texture issues popping in and out on occasion.  With horrifying half cybernetic half zombie enemies being the bulk of what I faced, I found the cast to be original, although ascetically reminded me of the love child of the long forgotten gem Too Human and the film Virus. The high point of the presentation is the ability to blow off specific limbs, limiting enemies’ ability to attack, buying you precious time to reload or switch up your tactics. This becomes even more important early into the adventure, due to the deadly, pinpoint ranged attacks exhibited by most of the enemies.

If you’re a fan of Dark Souls-inspired games, you’ll likely find a lot to love here. The reliance on the ranged combat brings something new to the table, while adding some new features that skew the difficulty here and there to make Immortal: Unchained feel new and accessible, yet retain the challenging gameplay the genre is known for. I found the title to be a worthy adversary, despite the fate of a few broken controllers in the past from similar adventures.

9 out of 10

Pros

• Weapon Options
• Accessible Challenge
• Blowing Enemy Limbs Off
• Fluid Dodge Option

Cons

• Melee Combat Lacks Weight
• Too Much of a Reliance on Obelisks
• Only One Character Slot
• Repetitive

Immortal: Unchained was developed by Toadman Interactive and published by Sold Out Sales & Marketing Ltd. It was released on PC, PS4 and X1 September 7th, 2018 for $49.99. The game was provided to us for review on X1. If you’d like to see more of Immortal: Unchained, check out the official site.

 

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