A Special Kind of Immortal.
Roguelikes are all the rage these days. At least half of my most recent reviews have been for the trial and error genre, and it’s definitely a saturated market place this year alone. Immortal Redneck, an Egyption themed roguelike FPS, fits under this category of games and features one of the rarer takes on the genre – a first person shooter. Set in Egypt, you’re a total stereotypical American redneck, from ignorant speech to southern drawl to ATVing in the desert. After an ATV mishap near some pyramids, you become cursed by mysterious powers and mummified.
For a roguelike game of this setup, the plot is a bit more thorough than normal, though that’s not saying much. Immortal Redneck, outside of the name and slightly racist character, has the workings of what could be something great. Unfortunately, crude and usually unfunny dialogue mixed with sloppy controls hinder the overall performance of this game. Set in three separate pyramids that you’ll have to unlock in game, your task is to clear each pyramid to make it to freedom. The game is not a total disaster, but we’ll speak about all its strengths and weaknesses below.
Much like Ziggurat before it, Immortal Redneck features fast paced action at breakneck speeds. In order to accommodate this, your mummified redneck flies across the maps. Unfortunately, this is where the controls take some flak. Due to the necessary speed and movement required to dodge and counter incoming enemy attacks, aiming with your character is tough. Most FPS games have refined and tight controls for aiming and shooting, but Immortal Redneck chose to forgo solid controls for all out chaos. Good luck trying to get good accuracy, as you’ll likely miss your targets even when standing still.
With that said, Immortal Redneck features a huge amount of weapons. On every life, I found myself discovering more and more weapons to pop into my arsenal. The best part about it, though, was that each weapon felt and performed in vastly different ways. I went from wielding an AK-47 to a really cool magnum-like pistol to a “potato” grenade launcher to a tranquilizer gun. If there’s one thing Immortal Redneck does that sets it apart from its competition in a positive light is its huge selection of weapons you’ll find in game.
Your goal is to make your way through the various pyramids while battling your way through rooms of enemies and huge bosses. Each playthrough is randomly generated, so no two games will be alike. Upon perishing in one of the pyramids, you’ll find yourself resurrected in a hub like area outside. Here is where you can build your character through a literal skill tree, unlock and upgrade other characters (you have quite a few to choose from), and, with skill, open the gates to the other pyramids. To purchase your upgrades, you’ll spend the gold you obtain from killing enemies, breaking vases, and exploring. Anything you don’t use before you enter the pyramids is taken by the guardians standing tall before the entrance of each pyramid.
Visually, Immortal Redneck is a little bit below average. The colors are a mixture of dusty and bright, fitting well with the desert theme. Enemy types often played as variations of a set of creatures per pyramid, so there wasn’t much to look at as far as creative adversaries go. Still, boss battles featured unique and giant monsters for you to vanquish and provided enough of a challenge to make them memorable. If you can reach them, of course. Sound, too, was a bit underwhelming. Weapons emitted a sort of tinny or boxy sound, which threw me off a bit. It simply didn’t sound right. On the other hand, and while the redneck wielded a pretty stereotypical mouth, the voice actor performed it as you’d imagine. Take that for what it’s worth.
Immortal Redneck does a lot of things well, particularly in regards to level design, challenge, and weapon variety. The pyramids are enormous and offer multiple avenues to explore in each room, leading to a tortuous path to the next boss. With the sheer number of enemies exploding in your direction and the ample challenges from the gigantic bosses, you’ll have your hands full in this trial and error roguelike FPS. While the controls are a bit sloppy and the visuals and sound leave you wanting a little more, Immortal Redneck provides solid value for your $19.99 investment.