Developer: Toadman Interactive
Publisher: Toadman Interactive
Platform: PS4, XBox One, PC
Tested on: PS4
Immortal Unchained – Review
In this day and age where the Souls genre has been expanded into many branches, it was only a matter of time before a ‘gun’ Souls would be introduced. While players had a first taste of firearms when playing Bloodborne, this was just a little side dish in comparison with this game. Immortal Unchained is mainly focused on gunplay and uses many elements from the Souls franchise.
Story
The universe has fallen to a powerful evil, the undead, and you, the immortal, are the last hope to rescue us all. There are nine worlds that each need to be freed from the darkness engulfing it all. Your character was chained in a prison but the warden unwillingly unchains you and so the journey begins to recollect your memory and purge the curse of the worlds.
The story is presented nicely and has a good firm flow throughout. In the original Souls games this sometimes was a bit left into the back in favour of gameplay but in Immortal Unchained you feel like you do have a goal and a reason why you are chosen.
Graphics
Colour in the darkness is one of the first things you will think of when seeing this game. Characters can be created realistically or in every colour available. The game has many unique environments which are all nicely represented. The game starts in a dark hall with strong Sci-Fi elements and artificial light blasting through crevasses in the wall. Overall, there is this good dark aura surrounding the map with the futuristic alien elements. Weapons look realistic and from our world, while characters are more tribal and the scenery is futuristic, a great blend of the three time periods represented. Next to all these good points it must be said that some elements feel unfinished and rather rough.
Sound
Nothing special here. The acting voices of characters are good and the fact that there isn`t really music present aids in the setting. Weapons sound nice with normal rifles having the clatter from cartridge fed weapons while enemies have a more futuristic `pew pew` vibe. All the sound effects used in the game feel strong and represent exactly what happens. Hence, extra points here.
Gameplay
Immortal Unchained is an action RPG survival game that is sort of a Dark Souls clone. This is because its core gameplay is almost exactly the same but with a main focus on gunplay. You start the game by creating a character and selecting a class. Each class has unique stats with weapons varying from close range shotguns to long range sniper rifles. A marksman, for example, is good for scoring critical hits across the map but don`t expect him to smash the opponents head in with brute force. We decided to test the wanderer class because this looked the most versatile. When you try out each class you will notice a healthy difference between each choice.
The game controls much like a Souls game in terms of combat and dodging. This also means collecting bits that you get from killing enemies in order to upgrade weapons and level up. Upon death you drop these and get the chance to retrieve them if you make it alive. The biggest change in gameplay is how the inventory works. You can only equip weapons at an obelisk instead of pulling it out your backpack. There is no real armor to equip instead you now get armor shards that increase resistance.
Some of you might think that it is sweet having a Souls-like game with solely guns. While it has some pretty sweet gameplay mechanics there are also lesser sides to it. Starting with gunplay, there is a great variety of enemies that come at you charging with an axe or letting it rain bullets using light machine guns. What makes everything cooler is that when you have a strong character you can stagger or even decapitate limbs, making that pesky assault trooper a helpless victim in a matter of hits. However, there is a tad of a lesser spot regarding ammo; it is rare and initially you don`t have a big pool. This gets refilled, in the same way as your health, at an obelisk, but also respawns enemies in the progress. Another rather pesky thing is something we also noticed in some other Dark Souls installments, namely that enemies love to use traps and grenades, bringing a slightly hurt player to a quick demise.
Conclusion
Immortal Unchained is a fun take on the Souls genre with the guns on the first place. It is good that you are not cramped into tight spots to battle for your life when you can just pick the enemy off at a distance. This game was probably made by a frustrated gamer yelling “wish I could just shoot these f*ckers” when playing a Dark Souls game. It’s quite impressive that this game delivers as it is nice to have gunfights with the undead invaders in various sceneries that bring this good vibe. Although missing some elements left and right, this still is a fun game and a must try if you like the genre.
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[…] calling something hard, a ‘Souls-like’ game. Some completely change the combat aspects like in Immortal Unchained by focusing on gunplay. Others will switch the style from 3D to 2D just like in 3000th Duel. […]