there has never been anything like it immortal forward. From the unique brainchild of Sam Barlow and his studio Half Mermaid, this quirky interactive experiment blurs the lines between film and gaming like never before. Somehow, it’s three films stacked together, all separated and supplemented with behind-the-scenes footage and clips of the filmmaking process, that end up on the cutting room floor.
At the heart of this tangled web of intrigue lies a chilling and fascinating mystery. It’s all built and artfully woven around a rumination on the nature of fame and a damning indictment of the fractured dynamic between men in power and women of great talent—and what it all meant in Hollywood’s Golden Age and beyond. .
When you start, it’s almost overwhelming; that’s how I imagine Peter Jackson felt when he started sifting through thousands of hours of The Beatles footage to assemble the remarkable Get Back. You’re put in a very privileged position; thrown into an archive of actress Marissa Marcel’s clips, drafts, and non-public consumer footage, and tasked with making sense of it all. Somewhere in all these shots, there’s a whisper about what happened to her—an answer about why she disappeared, why none of her movies were released, and what happened to her doomed career.
There aren’t many games that can compare. Immortal captures the unique form of interactive media and runs with it. The real-life footage (now a staple of Barlow’s games, which he uses expertly) can be stopped, frozen, interrogated. Freeze the frame, zoom in, notice something specific—maybe the director’s list—and select it. Suddenly, you travel through time, peering through the lens of another camera, looking at the same slate from another era. Is it the same person here? Did someone move items on purpose? Is it a coincidence that it reappears in Marcel’s life?
The entire game fits together like a symphony – each piece is extremely well written in itself, and performed with subtlety and virtuosity by actress Manon Gage, and you can tell there’s a lot of her in the character. Racked and constructed from impossible scripts, Barlow tackled every aspect of this interactive, multi-layered and multifaceted project like he was born to do. As you’re drawn into the inescapable web of immortality, you can imagine Barlow smirking in your head, knowing that you’re approaching the dark core of the piece and binding yourself even more tightly as you do.
Immortal is a must-have game for anyone wondering what the game can do while pursuing a non-standard format. Immortality is an unforgettable experience for anyone who loves the silver screen. Immortality is an important message for men who have never considered how the media exploits women. Our Immortal review called it breathtaking, haunting, and detailed. It won several awards – including a Bafta – for innovation, Gage’s performance and storytelling. The fact that you can stream it for free as part of your Netflix subscription makes it just as essential as Squid Game, Stranger Things, Nobody, Knives Out, BoJack Horseman or The Crown.
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A while ago, I wrote an article about how (almost) no one is playing the Netflix game. At last count, that meant more than 200 million people lost access to the library of great games that were at their fingertips. In drawing attention to the likes of Immortality, Into the Breach, Terra Nil, and other classics, I want to make sure that this free service continues for many years to come.
Because — in addition to its well-curated slate of games — Netflix has big plans to get into gaming. We’re bringing Oxenfree 2 to Netflix later this year. It already looks great, and as a sequel to one of the best story-driven adventure games of recent years, there’s a lot to like about it. It will serve as a lightning rod for what Netflix can do at its own studio in the next few years.
For now, though, I can’t encourage you enough to download and play Immortal. It’s three films at no cost, and whether you’re a seasoned gamer or not, will give you a level of introspection you’ve never had before.
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