From the creator of Her Story and Telling Lies comes Immortality (2022), Sam Barlow’s next interactive video game. This time it consists of purely live-action imagery namely of film clips, audition videos, behind-the-scenes footage, rehearsals, etc.
You are taken to the 70s and 90s where in 1999 an actress named Marissa Marcel suddenly disappeared from the spotlight. Through hundreds of clips you have to discover what happened to her.
The game becomes very repetitive whilst going through clips but in a way you’re playing 3 parts: film critic, editor and director. You have complete control over rewinding and forwarding the clips and pressing on any image in the clip transports you to a new or old clip.
This mechanic is impressive but repetitive. However, the non-linear story is the game’s biggest achievement and greatest downfall. After I finished the game I had to go through a Wikipedia article to understand the overall plot. I was dumbfounded that I couldn’t digest the game’s narrative without reading about it online. I wish some explanation was given during the game’s running time.
Nevertheless, you’re in for a treat with Immortality especially if you love interactive videogames. Immortality is not on par with masterpieces like Until Dawn and The Quarry but it’s as close as you can get to their stature.
