➤ Immortal Planet is another illegitimate son of the Souls 🎮

When a work is successful and enters the collective imagination, it is normal for the market to be crowded with emulators who try to follow in its wake to establish itself. It has always happened and always will. Video games make no difference and, indeed, have normalized this trend, deprecated in other arts, perhaps because it is not concepts that are copied, but mechanics, much less bound by copyright. Immortal Planet is an isometric action role-playing game that remakes, without many mysteries, the verse to the Souls of From Software. On the contrary, it shamelessly copies them, even mentioning them in promotional material. This is the second work of Tomasz Wacławek, now teedoubleuGAMES, who with Ronin had already shown that he had great talent. It tells the story of the Awakewalker, the only one of a society of immortals who can end the eternal cycle of death and rebirth in which she is imprisoned.

When we take control of it, after selecting one of three weapons, we don't know anything about its past or even where we are. After a few steps we come to the first enemies who, despite going down quite quickly, prove to be hard bones. Our big man can attack, dodge or parry the blows of opponents and, finding the right objects, use special powers linked to his characteristics. For example, he can wield firearms, or cast real spells. There are also healing items around, essential to go on in the adventure. The sad truth is that we die soon enough, when we have not yet read all the tutorial boxes that explain the basics of the game mechanics. We had imagined that Immortal Planet would be difficult to tame, but we didn't know how much. Especially the initial part is really brutal.

Anima Souls

We soon discover that the combat system, while very agile, offers more complications than we assumed. For example, you have to pay attention to the stamina bar, which when exhausted does not allow you to attack or defend yourself. This applies both to us and to our opponents. This is a feature that can cause major problems, but can be used to our advantage, for example to push weakened enemies into the numerous chasms that make up the game world with a shoulder, or to slow down their attacks, requiring them to use less expensive techniques (to do this you must have become really good).

It all works so well that, when practiced enough, the fights become real ballets: between dodging, parrying, counterattacking and special techniques. The bosses in particular can be very difficult due to their enormous power and the amount of techniques they have. Let's also assume that at the beginning you have a very small number of healing items and you will understand how tiring it is to get into the game. In short, to overcome certain situations you need to develop an enviable skill so as to be able to anticipate the moves of the opponents and respond at the right time. For example, many enemies throw mines that can be turned against them, causing them to explode when they are nearby, after shooting in a safe area so as not to be hit by the splinters. For each enemy killed we get points that can be spent to improve the characteristics of the Awakewalker by reaching bonfires ... sorry, hubs, where it is also possible to rest to recover all the energy and recharge the objects in our possession. Spending points whenever possible is essential, because in the event of death they are all lost. You can actually try to recover them by returning to where you were killed, but if you die a second time without getting them back, they will be erased forever. This too, what does it remind you of?

Deadly problems

How many of you have had a strong sense of déjà vu when reading the description of Immortal Planet? We see that many have raised their hands. There, perhaps the main problem with the title of teedoubleuGAMES is that it doesn't even try to take a step forward. In short, he is satisfied with being a good clone of the Souls, which he actually is, but without risking anything of his own.

The narrative itself is conducted in the exact same way, with the discovery of details of the story entrusted to dialogues with strange characters, cryptic writings and so on. What does it remind you of? This is the question we have been repeating throughout the review. The story itself is not very clear and the ending does not reveal much, although it seems that it is necessary to complete the New Game + to see the real one, which should provide more details. However, not having clear ideas is not a drama, given the genre, and replaying is almost a duty if you are passionate about it. Another problem, in this case more related to design, concerns progression. As mentioned, the first steps of the Awakewalker are dramatic, but this is not the case throughout the game: the final stages are much easier to overcome. The reason is obvious: greater number of healing items available and a certain repetitiveness of the enemies.

The latter, while varying attacking techniques, after a while become predictable, by virtue of the experience gained by playing. Bosses also suffer from the same problem. To say, we have been killed more times by the initial one than the final one. This is not to say that Immortal Planet becomes a walk in the park, just that as the adventure progresses you become a lot less hostile towards the player. For the rest we point out the good music, which accompanies well in the exploration of a minimalist way made of suspended platforms and evocative and conceptually almost abstract places. Give us a little thought.

PC System Requirements

Test Setup

Intel Core i7-4770 processor
16 GB of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 video card
Windows 10 operating system

Minimum requirements

Windows 7 or later operating system
Video card Any integrated
DirectX 9.0

Comment

Digital Delivery Steam Price 14,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

8.0

Readers (2)

8.4

Your vote

Immortal Planet is a good reinterpretation of the Souls formula, which it copies without too many mysteries, however, placed in a very different playful context. Difficult, sometimes frustrating, it is able to give great satisfaction, especially when the fights turn into real dance with the enemies. The title of teedoubleuGAMES has no mercy on the player and, given the genre, that's okay. Too bad it doesn't take any risks in terms of mechanics, just being a good celebration and nothing more. Keep this in mind if you are looking for a good challenge, but don't expect revolutions.