Combining genres and themes for games can be a tricky business, and you need to be sure that the direction you take your game as a Developer is the right one. Crema Games have gone and combined the main character who is an undead Redneck with pyramid looting game design in a first-person shooter mixed with a rogue-like mechanic facing off against a selection of enemies that seek to thwart you from your end goal. Loot. Lots and lots of loot.
The premise of Immortal Redneck is definitely going to raise a chuckle from any one who gives it go, and not only that, there’s also the frantic, fast paced action to go along with it. There’s barely any time to catch your breath as you head from room to room, searching for the way up to the next floor and the inevitable boss fights that await. Sure you get to take it easy once the enemies of each room has been cleared out, but at some point you’re going to have to choose the next room to tackle, so why dawdle?
To start with, there’s only Redneck available to choose from as a playable character, so the first few runs will consist of meeting your demise pretty quickly and spending your hard earned cash to purchase your upgrades from the tree in the game hub. This tree will see its branches sprout whenever you buy something new, and believe me when I say that they’re essential for improving our chances with each new run.
The concept is a simple one. Kill and don’t be killed. There’s not really much else to learn in that respect, and as easy as that sounds, it’s not that easy to pull off. Not until you start purchasing all the nodes in the skill tree that is. More health, more ammo, and many more await you. You can find ammo pick ups along with health too, but these are few and far between, which in turn means you can’t just charge in gung-ho and hope for the best, as some of these enemies will rip your health away from you in seconds. But never fear, you can even the odds by finding scrolls that can either help or hinder your progress, and some of which are ingenious. Then there’s challenge rooms that require you complete a certain challenge that rewards you with a treasure chest or two should you meet the requirements. These rooms are certainly worth exploring should they spawn in during the random layouts of each floor every time you make a run.
Next up is the selection of weapons on offer, and boy are there plenty of them waiting for you to find them. My personal favourite is the crossbow machine gun. Needless to say, this will make fairly quick work of most enemies, and coupled with the scroll that awards infinite ammo, you will quickly clear rooms with it. I had my best runs with this weapon and scroll equipped. That’s not to say that you won’t find your own awesome combinations, as getting a quadruple jump bonus is seriously helpful when traversing the many tricky situations you’re sure to find yourself in.
Redneck, Sekhmet, Seth and the others that you can unlock during your playtime all have their own unique bonuses for their stats, and trio of weapons unique to them. As you increase your stats at the tree, they add up for each playable character, and who you’d rather pick, well that’s entirely up to you at the end of the day. Go with who you feel best suits your play style.
In total, there are 3 pyramids that offer a tougher challenge as you advance further into the world of Immortal Redneck. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you consider how challenging the game actually is, along with the exceptional replay value it offers, you’ll be playing this for hours on end. It’s addictive, it’s fun, and it’s a damned good game to boot. Sure, the whole use of the Redneck phrase and the stereotypical voice acting could be seen as offensive, but in the developer’s defence, there’s no offensive or insulting commentary to those who would be considered Redneck or partake in that lifestyle.
Overall, Immortal Redneck is a fantastic game with very few flaws to drop that final score. It’s an addictive romp through almost deserted pyramids in search of loot, and unlocking new characters, upgrades and more along the way. There’s plenty of hours to be spent and plenty of gear to acquire. It’s not a quick blast from beginning to end, so don’t expect to be done with quickly. If an FPS with rogue-lite mechanics are your thing, then Immortal Redneck will definitely tick all the boxes for you.
Overall 9/10
Developer: Crema Games
Publisher: Crema Games
Release Date: 27th February 2018
Price: £15.99
File Size: 4.16GB
Xbox One copy provided for review purpose
Available on Xbox One, PlayStation & Steam