The Immortal

The immortal is an action RPG developed by Sandcastle and published by Electronic Arts in 1990. The title was initially created for Apple IIgs but was later ported to Amiga, MS-DOS, Atari ST, NES, and Genesis.

The game was designed by Will Harvey, whose only background in video games was creating Zany Golf (1988) for the Apple II. The developer admitted that The Immortal was originally going to be called "Campaign" and that the title was destined to be a multiplayer RPG.

The plot is about a mage who is told his mentor is trapped in a maze. Upon entering it, he must quickly choose whether to befriend a faction of goblins or trolls, antagonizing the group he doesn't choose. The adventure progresses through the protagonist's dreams, which unfold as he sleeps in beds scattered throughout the maze. As the release continues, the player understands that he must make several decisions and that his goal is more diffuse than he thought.

The gameplay of this game runs like many classic RPGs of the time. First of all, it is full of monsters and puzzles that prevent the player from progressing through the story. Battles can take place in two ways. While the protagonist advances through the seven levels of the maze (8, depending on the version of the title), he can throw fireballs to weaken and kill enemies. But, when the opponents are very close, the game switches to a real-time combat mode. Here, the mage must dodge the enemies' attacks while attacking them only with a dagger or a sword. All versions of this installation also have a hidden level in which the mage can interact with the game's developers.

Meanwhile, the graphic part consists of two sections. The main map is characterized by an isometric view in the exploration mode. In this modality, warm and dull colors are vital in the adventure, where rarely another color will appear. Then, in combat mode, the two rivals are zoomed in, and a deep black dominates the screen. This is used to make the main character and his opponent the only focus of the stage, giving more seriousness to their duel.

The game received positive reviews. Its most vital points were the graphics and controls. On the other hand, there was a lot of controversy about the bloody nature of the title.

If you're an RPG fan, you must give The Immortal a chance. Unlike other contemporary titles, this one is much shorter, so you'll want to play it again and get its multiple endings.