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A compelling experience for any rogue-lite arena survival enjoyers | Review - Immortal Survivors

4K View2023-11-28

Immortal Survivors

SurvivalActionRoguelikeRPG

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✨Overview

Immortal Survivors is a rogue-lite arena survival game that was recently released on Android here on Taptap. It takes players on a journey through the demon-infested land of Shenzhou, as one of the warriors tasked to regain back the land

🟩Pros

+Engaging rogue-lite arena survival gameplay
+Introduces “right-stick” aiming mechanics
+Optimized and smooth performance

🟥Cons

-Limited skill and character variety
-Energy system is a bit too restrictive
-English translation could be better

⭐️Score: 7/10

📖Story and Premise

The game is set in the land of Shenzhou, terrorized by the sudden appearance of the Demons. Major sects in the land united their efforts and gathered the greatest warriors to seal away the demons, one of these warriors is our character who has since been under deep stasis for five years and has just recently woken up, she finds the land even more ravaged by the demons, with humans struggling to regain the land.

🎨Graphics and Art Style

The art style of Immortal Survivors is blend of traditional ancient Chinese drawings and cartoon aesthetics. It comes across a bit as kind of amateurish, but I don’t really mind, the game has a unique charm. The visual effects, especially with the different skills still look amazing. The voice acting in the cutscenes are all in Chinese, but there is a low-quality English localization for all the in-game text and dialogues. It gets its point across, but it could definitely be a lot better.

🎮Gameplay

When a game has word Survivors on the title, we used to think of zombies or post apocalyptic settings, nowadays, we now think of rogue-lite arena survival auto-shooter that was initially popularized by Vampire Survivors.

In these kinds of games players just need to control the character’s movements, and that’s the whole control scheme of the game. The player character automatically attacks and defends itself against waves of waves of monsters and have to survive as long as they can.

Immortal Survivors ups the ante though, instead of just having the movement as a one-hand control scheme, you now have to use two hands. Control the orientation of the characters with your right hand as well as an aiming mechanics, and you can also dash now to help avoid damage. Aiming is important and many of the skills you can use are dependent on this.

⚔️The rogue-lite factor

The two-handed control scheme adds an extra layer of skill and strategy, making every encounter feel dynamic. The auto-attack and defense mechanisms allow players to focus on movement, aiming, and skill selection. You gather EXP from fallen enemies on the map and eventually level up, which will allow you to upgrade and choose skills or attribute bonuses from a random selection. Up to five maximum skills can be equipped, from then on, you can either enhance your existing skills or you can replace them completely.

Skills are only specific to that run and are not permanent. They reset every level, which forms the rogue-lite aspect of the game. I found that there’s not a lot of variety of skills to choose from, and I generally got my favorites to pick within an hour of playing the game. Having said that, you don’t always get to pick your wanted skills as the choices are always randomized, and there are many different enhancements for each skill which still makes the game fresh every run.

Pickups in the levels appear time to time; such as instantly destroy all enemies, health pickups, or free randomized upgrades. If you die, you get one chance to revive, and there is an option to do via watching an Ad.

⏫Progression

Progrsesion is centered on advancing linearly through the levels the get progressively harder. There are multiple boss fights on each level that comes periodically, and to defeat them you must upgrade your character and his/her looted equipment. The boss fights are varied enough not to feel repetitive, but it could definitely use some more of it. There are only three characters, one centered on sword skills, one on thunder, and one on frost, although they aren’t restricted to just one element when actually choosing the skills during runs. In addition, you also have the relics tree system that serves as permanent progression globally, for all characters.

As a free-to-play game, Immortal Survivors incorporates standard monetization features. An energy/stamina system limits play — which I found to be a bit restrictive than usual, while login bonuses, weekly events, and ads for in-game bonuses are familiar components. Microtransactions offer players the option to speed up character leveling, acquire resources, or unlock characters without grinding. While there is a pay-to-progress element, it doesn't overshadow the enjoyment for players who prefer not to spend money, at least for a while.

📊Technical Performance

Immortal Survivors delivers a satisfactory performance on my snapdragon 888 device. The game runs smoothly, with a flat 60fps support and I’ve only experienced acceptable drops during intense demon-filled moments. The visual effects during combat contribute to an immersive experience. However, the lack of performance/graphics settings, and the lackluster English localization may be a point of improvement.

⚖️Conclusion

Immortal Survivors offers a compelling experience for any rogue-lite arena survival enjoyers. While the story isn't groundbreaking, it serves as a suitable backdrop for the demon-slaying adventure. Whether played casually or with a more strategic focus, Immortal Survivors provides a decent rogue-lite journey through the demon-infested land of Shenzhou.

Mentioned games

Immortal Survivors

SurvivalActionRoguelikeRPG

Get