Welcome to the Retro Gaming Dads Podcast. In episode 8 we take a look at the Immortal, our second pick for our monthly game club.

Mentioned in Episode 8

• The Immortal

Support the Podcast

The Retro Gaming Dads Podcast needs your help to ensure we can continue to produce a new and free episode each week. If you can spare a small amount to help us with the running cost and purchasing much-needed equipment and hosting costs. 

You can donate by visiting our official website (https://www.retroages.com/support) 

Alternatively, you can visit our Patreon to get ad-free episodes 2 days early (https://www.patreon.com/retrogamingdads) 

All donations will go into the running and improvement of the podcast and will earn you a mention in the high-score table on the podcast and our website. 

Affiliate Links

Using these links will allow you to purchase any items used during the creation of this episode. Using these affiliate links will help to support the podcast at no additional cost to yourself. 

Behringer XM8500 Microphone (https://amzn.to/2OgHzd7) 
XLR to USB 2.8m cable (https://amzn.to/36WqsEe) 
Apple iPad Pro 12.9″ 2020 (https://amzn.to/2MGeAPP)

The post Episode 8: The Immortal appeared first on Retro Ages.

A Test of Patience and Resolve

If you’re looking for a game that will test your patience, reflexes, and puzzle-solving skills, look no further than The Immortal for the Nintendo Entertainment System! This game is a wacky and challenging adventure that will have you scratching your head one minute and laughing out loud the next.

First things first, let’s talk about the graphics. The Immortal has some pretty impressive visuals for an NES game. With detailed character sprites and dark, atmospheric backgrounds that create an eerie and immersive atmosphere. The music and sound effects are also top-notch, with haunting melodies and satisfying noises that complement the gameplay perfectly.

How Does it Play?

Speaking of gameplay, The Immortal is a game that doesn’t pull any punches. From the very beginning, you’ll be thrust into a world of deadly traps, cunning enemies, and mind-bending puzzles. All of which will keep you on your toes for hours on end. You’ll need to use your wits and your sword to survive, as well as magic spells that can help you overcome even the toughest challenges.

But don’t worry, The Immortal isn’t all doom and gloom. There are plenty of light-hearted moments and humorous touches that keep the game from taking itself too seriously. For instance, you might find yourself battling a giant rat one minute, only to be greeted by a friendly goblin the next. And let’s not forget about the hilarious death animations, which show your character getting squished, dismembered, and otherwise brutally dispatched in a variety of comical ways.

All in all, The Immortal is a game that will test your skills, your reflexes, and your sense of humour. It’s a classic NES game that has stood the test of time, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of challenging and entertaining games. Just be prepared to die. A lot.

This review is by our resident M3G4 B0T – An artificial intelligence powered reviewer. Please be aware that it’s views and opinions are not those of any particular reviewer or contributor. It is entirely for entertainment purposes.

The post The Immortal Review (Nintendo NES) appeared first on Retro Ages.

The Immortal, the Marmite of fantasy video games

The Immortal seems to be quite a decisive game. With it’s steep learning curve, unforgiving gameplay and impressively animated death scenes, gamers will either love it or hate it. However, like most sane and rational gamers I can’t stand the Immortal (or Marmite for that matter).

The Immortal takes little time in setting the tone for your entire adventure. You take control of an un-named wizard, seeking out his kid-napped mentor. Taking control of your daring hero you will like head straight for the door in a small room you find yourself in. This is a mistake.

A warning will appear, suggesting that you do not stand in the middle of the room for too long. Failing to heed these words will cause a giant worm to erupt from the ground, dragging your player to a swift death. This is only a taste of what the game has in-store for players as they traverse the deadly labyrinth.

While brutally difficult games still persist to this day, just take a look at titles like Dark Souls and Super Meat Boy, the Immortal never really feels like you ever had a fair chance when playing. Deaths will come out of nowhere, usually with no chance to avoid them short of precognition or memorisation of the game.

This is where titles like the aforementioned Dark Souls differ. While in that title death is common, but also avoidable. You will have likely died due to a mistake that you have made. Deaths in the Immortal usually feel arbitrary, and often as if the game is simply trolling you.

A Trial in Tedium

It’s this inherent unfairness that saps the game of any fun. To get through a stage typically requires multiple game overs as you use trial and error to feel your way through the stage. Eventually players will reach the end of a stage – providing they have the patience to see it through. There is no reward using your skill or creativity to solve problems presented to you.

The Immortal is an extremely linear experience, with very little chance for exploration beyond what the game wants you to do. This turns the game into a memorisation game, with each play through playing out in same way.

Combined with sluggish control these aspects once again add up to a whole that is somehow worse than the sum of its parts.

A Pretty Face But Nothing More

One positive I have to say about the Immortal is that it’s not the worst looking title I’ve seen. For a relatively early Mega Drive/Genesis title, the claustrophobic labyrinth manages to look detailed and convey a sense of hopelessness. From the crumbling floor to the blood stained walls, a lot of effort has gone into imbuing the environments with their own history.

It’s not only the labyrinth that looks impressive. Firstly there’s the animation of your nameless wizard. For a game that will be killing you repeatedly, it thankfully has a variety of well animated deaths. From seeing the wizard eaten, impaled, engulfed in flames, drowned and even his head exploded. Each detailed in all their gory glory.

Secondly there is also the detailed battle scenes. When the player encounters an enemy the game shifts to an over-the-shoulder perspective. In these battles you duck and weave out of the way of your enemy’s attacks, slowly tiring them out. Once they’re sufficiently fatigued you can slice and stab at your enemy, pausing only to dodge their own attacks. Ultimately the enemy will fall to their wounds, at which point the wizard will use one of a number of well animated and gruesome fatalities to finish off their foe.

Unfortunately, the same praise for the graphics can not be said for the music and sound effects. It is worth mentioning that the Mega Drive version of The Immortal is considered to be the best sounding.

Throughout your adventure you’ll be hearing the same grunts and garbled sound effects on repeat. The less said about the music the better. Although if I did have to describe it, I would say a piano falling down a deep pit accompanied by some poorly tuned wind instruments would be a perfectly accurate description.

The post The Immortal Review for the Mega Drive appeared first on Retro Ages.