Sam Barlow is a developer that isn't afraid to take risks. 2015's Her Story and 2019's Telling Lies both used live action video and nonlinear storytelling to enwrap the player in compelling mysteries, with both games finding well-deserved praise. Now, Barlow is back with Immortality, and it may well be the best thing that Barlow has created so far.
Immortality is the story of Marissa Marcel, a once-rising star of the silver screen whose three feature films were all shuttered. After two failed projects in the 1960s and 1970s, Marissa made a sudden return in 1999, but once that project also fell apart she disappeared entirely. The player must look through a selection of film footage, behind the scenes diaries, script readings, and interviews to try and unravel what happened over the course of her forgotten career, from the 1960s through to the 1990s.
Immortality takes the form of a nonlinear mystery, much like Barlow's previous two games. The player is given a suite of different kinds of footage across Marissa's three projects - Ambrosio, Minsky, and Two of Everything - and can slowly but surely get an understanding of the struggles of each project and eventually discover exactly what happened to her. It's worth noting that the stylistic approach to each film feels very authentic, with Immortality proving particularly successful at understanding the stylistic shifts in cinema from the late 60s to the early 70s, with the Minsky footage in particularly feeling aesthetically similar to 1971's Klute.
Although Immortality follows the same relative structure as Barlow's previous two games, there are some shake-ups to the formula here. From a gameplay perspective, the player's main focus will be looking for patterns across the footage, selecting individuals, settings, or mise-en-scene items within the footage to bring up similar examples. It's a different way of approaching the nonlinear structure, and it means that the player is - more than ever - best served playing this game with a notebook and pen in hand to write down key moments and timestamps across the footage.
Fans of Her Story and Telling Lies should be warned: this is Barlow's most challenging game yet. It's not difficult in terms of solving the mystery - at least not moreso than those older games - but in terms of how uncomfortable it makes the player feel. Immortality gets under the player's skin, equal parts unnerving the player and making them feel as though they are intruding on personal, private moments of the filmmaking process. It's better not to see how the sausage is made, and it's helped by some fantastic performances from the game's cast.
There's also more to Immortality than initially meets the eye. The player will find something darker hidden underneath the reels, that very much turns the game into a totally different experience. Without discussing exactly what happens - it is far better for the player to discover it themselves - the game deliberately breaks its own rules in an expertly crafted twist of tone.
Immortality is thematically rich, delving deep into various interconnected strands, and the storytelling inclusion of Allan Scott, Amelia Gray, and Barry Gifford certainly adds to the experience. Avoiding spoilers, the game touches on the ruthlessness of art, the voyeuristic nature of filmmaking, and the sacrifices people are willing to make. It’s a complex work, steering clear of the bittersweet romanticism of art and creation seen in the likes of La La Land and going after something far sharper and ultimately far more interesting.
That's not to say that Immortality is perfect. From a gameplay perspective, more tracking options for footage would be useful, to help the player help better categorize the scenes they would like to revisit. At surface level, the game's background score - although impressive and tonally fitting - does sometimes feel a little intrusive, and a sparse, primarily silent approach may have helped with the atmosphere - particularly as things begin to shatter.
Immortality is a stunning game overall. It's a truly effective mystery that has a great understanding of the kind of story it wants to tell and the kind of topics where it wants to peel back the skin. It certainly won't be for everyone, but it's a demanding and brilliant experience for those who want something a little more cerebral.
Immortality releases 30 August 2022 for PC and Xbox Series X/S. Screen Rant was provided with a Xbox download code for the purposes of this review.