Xbox Series X

Immortality

Immortality is a 2022 interactive film video game developed by Sam Barlow and published by Half Mermaid Productions. It was released for Windows and Xbox Series X/S in August, while Android and iOS versions were released via Netflix in November 2022.

Point-and-clickSimulatorIndie

Time to beat: about 6 hours
Plays offline: Yes

Overview

The game is based on the fictional model turned actress Marissa Marcel (Manon Gage) who had starred in three movies from 1968, 1970, and 1999 but which were never released. Marcel has since gone missing, creating a mystery for the player to solve. In the same manner as Barlow's prior works Her Story and Telling Lies, Immortality incorporates the use of full-motion video for the player to piece together Marcel's fate. The player begins with one clip from one of the three films, and the player can pause and click on a person or item of interest.

The game is presented as a compilation of previously lost found footage of the filmography of actress Marissa Marcel as well as associated promotional and behind-the-scenes material. Much of the plot is shown through secret footage the player reveals by manipulating the footage from the films, TV interviews, etc.; because of this, the plot progresses in a non-chronological, broken narrative format. This synopsis follows chronological order.

Barlow had announced Immortality as "Project Ambrosio" in 2020 and had blogged about its development over the year. His writing suggested that the game may have more of a horror-themed nature than his previous games, along with several passages marked as if classified or redacted information. Barlow brought on three additional screenwriters for the game: Allan Scott, Amelia Gray, and Barry Gifford.

Immortality premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2022. It was subsequently released on August 30, 2022 on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Game Pass, and Windows via Steam and GOG. It released on Netflix via Google Play and iOS in November 2022.

In an early review due to its print format, Edge awarded Immortality a perfect 10/10 score, the 24th game in its history to do so.