The question at the center of developer Sam Barlow's latest title, Immortality, revolves around the fate of actress Marissa Marcel, and this mystery drives the game's entire plot. Throughout her career, Marissa starred in three films that could have led to major success, but none of them were ever released. In Immortality, players are tasked with scrubbing through the footage of these unseen films to piece together what happened to Marissa and discover what led to her disappearance following the filming of her last movie.
Just as with Barlow's previous titles, Immortality is an FMV game that has already taken Steam by storm and features incredible performances from its cast, with Manon Gage's Marissa being a particular standout. Gage leads the action as players scan through reels and reels of footage in a non-linear narrative that they can easily jump in and out of as the story slowly unfolds. Barlow's previous release Her Story used taped police interviews to hunt a killer in a similar fashion, and his follow-up Telling Lies utilized video calls to expose a tale of undercover cops, but Immortality takes the formula to another level with its story of unexpected revelations, twists, and even a hint of the supernatural.
A Story in Three Parts
Immortality is first and foremost a mystery. Players start with only a handful of footage to review, and they must unlock more as they interact with the clips and are transported through time to see other parts of Marissa's unreleased films. The non-linear narrative may be disorientating at first, but as gamers learn more about this enigmatic model-turned-actress and the people around her, the picture of her life begins to build and creates a complex and hauntingly beautiful tale. The use of FMV – a style that many would associate with older titles with clunky cutscenes – helps to add depth and nuance to Marissa's story, and an uncanny feeling within the player as they watch actors pretending to be actors with only glimpses of what's actually beneath the surface.
In addition to Marissa's three films, there are some clips of behind-the-scenes moments, talk show interviews, chemistry tests, and other supplementary footage that works alongside the more stylized filmic sections. The three films are where Barlow and his team's work really shines, with homages to past movie greats apparent in the 1968 Ambrosio, which is an adaption of a gothic novel, the noir film from 1970 about a potentially murderous muse called Minsky, and 1999's thriller Two of Everything about a pop star's identity crisis. Immortality has received some rave reviews, with many hailing it as Barlow's masterpiece, and it's not hard to see why.
A Compelling Tale
Barlow's impressive and stylish Immortality makes players assemble the puzzle pieces as the plots of the films become clearer even as they're experienced out of order. Marissa may be the focus, but the supporting characters also have their own tales to tell and are often involved in conveying the game's themes like the casual misogyny that crops up again and again as female characters are sidelined, overlooked, and exploited. Alongside the exploration of filmmaking and the meaning of art, Immortality plays with supernatural and horror elements once players notice the creatures that appear in various clips when they're played backward.
These creatures are sometimes nothing more than shadowy presences, sometimes they appear in place of Marissa or other characters, and sometimes they discuss the more meta aspects of the game like identity and art in oddly disturbing dialogues. Just as Marissa disappears into her various roles, so too do these mysterious beings at the heart of Immortality as they inhabit different personas. Feeding off of films as much as off of people, these semi-vampiric entities are never fully explained, but the Other Ones are the key to the Marissa mystery. Amy Archer becomes possessed by the creature that was inhabiting Carl after watching the clip of his accidental murder during Minsky, and players can then see Amy/the Other One burn Marissa alive, who is also secretly one of the creatures.
Scrubbing back and forth throughout the final scene of Marissa's fiery fate reveals more layers as the creatures take the place of the women, further encompassing the themes of immortality through the arts and a sort of parasitic voyeurism that the creatures represent. The fourth wall is frequently broken throughout Immortality, but the ending questions the player's own role within the game and the similarities in their position and the creatures as they also stand for a short while in the shoes of different characters. This twisty, creepy, thought-provoking story will undoubtedly stick with gamers long after Immortality's credits roll.
Immortality is out now for PC and Xbox Series X/S, with mobile ports in development.