Game Info
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Developer: Sandcastle
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Year of Release: 1991
Game Review & Impressions
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Released in 1990 for the Apple IIgs and Amiga home computers, The Immortal is an isometric dungeon crawler designed by Will Harvey, Ian Gooding, Brett Durrett and Michael Marcantel. I wasn't familiar with the game until I saw James Rolfe cover the game for an episode of AVGN, and I'd been curious to try it out ever since.
You assume the role of a student of magic in search of his mentor, Mordamir, who has gone missing somewhere in the depths of deep, dank dungeon. Descending below the surface, you will encounter all manner of foul beasts and creatures, not to mention warring tribes of trolls and goblins, corrosive puddles of slime, and maybe even a dragon or two.
At its core, the game is a kind of proto-action RPG, interspersed with puzzles to solve on each of the dungeon's levels. Enemies must be fought, items collected and traps avoided, none of which are easy to do. In fact, the difficulty curve and seemingly random deaths are one of the main complaints raised about the game. To put it bluntly, the game is tough, and gamers would probably rather stick pins in their eyes than try and navigate rooms full of invisible pit traps and giant worm monsters.
However, having persevered through the entire game, I found there's actually a lot of cool ideas underneath the rock-hard exterior. The game, location and narrative feel oddly reminiscent of a text adventure, or a "Fighting Fantasy" novel, as popularised by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingston. The claustrophobic setting of the dungeon, complete with its factions of trolls and goblins, feels oddly atmospheric. Despite the fact each floor is only made up of 5 or 6 different rooms, the various interactions, puzzles and combat encounters make the place feel much bigger than it really is.
So, The Immortal is tough, incredibly so at times, but I think it's worth sticking with it because the fantasy vibe is actually pretty cool, not to mention the particularly gory death animations when you win in combat. It might not be for everyone, but there's a fairly immersive fantasy adventure here if you're up for a challenge.
Video Notes
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I added some of the player death animations at the end of the video.
Related Longplays & Videos
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Chapters
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00:00 Main menu
01:07 Dungeon Level 1
07:09 Dungeon Level 2
14:04 Dungeon Level 3
19:26 Dungeon Level 4
23:53 Dungeon Level 5
29:39 Dungeon Level 6
32:17 Dungeon Level 7
36:46 Dungeon Level 8
42:10 Death Animations
Contact Me
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Twitter: / al82_retro
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