This review contains spoilers
A treatise on art, artist, consumer, industry, and how everything ties together on the axis of time.
As with all Sam Barlow games, your mileage will absolutely vary, but it's hard to deny that he's crafted his most effective brew in Immortality. In terms of scale and presentation alone, Immortality stands as the most impressive FMV title to date, deploying film-grade cinematography and making good use of Hollywood talent where all others have failed.
This review won't feature any substantial breakdown of the game's overarching themes, as there's enough (literal) content to spend countless essays on...not to mention the Lynchian presentation (thanks Barry Gifford!) which makes breaking down the subconscious metaphors an act far too delicate for a backloggd review.
But regardless, it's hard to deny that Immortality is, if nothing else, very provocative. It has a distinct style and will make use of hours upon hours of video to layer metaphor upon metaphor to very dizzying effect. Most viewers who can sit through most of the thing will probably take away something very different, but I think that speaks to Barlow's ability to use games effectively as an interactive medium.
What I can imagine will bother most viewers is probably a combination of the 'sci-fi' twist of The One as well as the lack of a clear and definitive ending as most people expect it. While I do think some aspects of The One probably should have been toned down (or left a little more ambiguous), I do generally like what it adds to the game and the thematic messaging overall. I just feel like sometimes it can become a little less David Lynch and more...Mark Frost--if you know what I mean.
As for the lack of a clean ending...Much like Her Story I think many people walk away from Immortality feeling that it was under-cooked or lacking in thematic cohesion because Barlow leaves the attempts to 'piece together' the narrative as an exercise to the viewer--it's a part of the game.
Whether or not you find this appealing is a matter of personal taste, but I find that the best pieces of art are the ones that I spend time thinking about long after I finish consuming them--and Immortality has absolutely entered that category. Barlow has created his best work yet in confounding the viewer with tantalizing visuals and narrative without clean resolution. And so, we have our best 2022 entry in 'games this industry doesn't deserve.'
As with all Sam Barlow games, your mileage will absolutely vary, but it's hard to deny that he's crafted his most effective brew in Immortality. In terms of scale and presentation alone, Immortality stands as the most impressive FMV title to date, deploying film-grade cinematography and making good use of Hollywood talent where all others have failed.
This review won't feature any substantial breakdown of the game's overarching themes, as there's enough (literal) content to spend countless essays on...not to mention the Lynchian presentation (thanks Barry Gifford!) which makes breaking down the subconscious metaphors an act far too delicate for a backloggd review.
But regardless, it's hard to deny that Immortality is, if nothing else, very provocative. It has a distinct style and will make use of hours upon hours of video to layer metaphor upon metaphor to very dizzying effect. Most viewers who can sit through most of the thing will probably take away something very different, but I think that speaks to Barlow's ability to use games effectively as an interactive medium.
What I can imagine will bother most viewers is probably a combination of the 'sci-fi' twist of The One as well as the lack of a clear and definitive ending as most people expect it. While I do think some aspects of The One probably should have been toned down (or left a little more ambiguous), I do generally like what it adds to the game and the thematic messaging overall. I just feel like sometimes it can become a little less David Lynch and more...Mark Frost--if you know what I mean.
As for the lack of a clean ending...Much like Her Story I think many people walk away from Immortality feeling that it was under-cooked or lacking in thematic cohesion because Barlow leaves the attempts to 'piece together' the narrative as an exercise to the viewer--it's a part of the game.
Whether or not you find this appealing is a matter of personal taste, but I find that the best pieces of art are the ones that I spend time thinking about long after I finish consuming them--and Immortality has absolutely entered that category. Barlow has created his best work yet in confounding the viewer with tantalizing visuals and narrative without clean resolution. And so, we have our best 2022 entry in 'games this industry doesn't deserve.'