– A Southern Gentleman –

It’s obvious that the creators of Immortal Redneck are fans of old school presentation, and I feel this is important to state up front. The early days of PC gaming are very present in this nostalgic title. Immortal Redneck takes clear inspiration from titles such as Serious Sam, Doom, and many others; all of them staples in the bygone era of FPS PC classics. Add in some rogue-like elements and what has been achieved here is nothing short of an addictive and fun journey. The redneck protagonist isn’t the only scene revitalized in Immortal Redneck but what makes this pyramid stand above the rest?

Developer: Crema

Publisher: Crema Games

12 Hours played // Digital // Nintendo Switch Version– Review Copy // Price- $19.99

– The Mummy Returns –

The story in Immortal Redneck, much like the titles it borrows from, is mostly absent. You’re a redneck just driving his truck along through the Egyptian desert. It’s just a typical day in a southerners life, that is until catastrophe strikes. In almost no time at all, you are swallowed by the sands and you awaken to a mummification ritual, and you are the lucky soon-to-be-mummy recipient. You exit your sarcophagus to find yourself in an Arabian nightmare filled with demons, traps, and pitfalls, all with the aim to stop you from discovering the secrets hidden within. Sound ridiculous? Well it is, but in a perfect way to set up the minimal plot necessary for your fantastic excursion.

– Super Spelunker –

The gameplay is where this title is meant to shine, and shine it does. Like the gameplay from the aforementioned shooters above, this is fast-paced FPS action at its finest. Gone are the typical tropes that plague the action genre we know today: you will find no cover here, no dodge, no unexplained regenerative health, and most of all, no leniency. Ammo and health are limited, and the only way to regenerate either are to find pickups throughout your run. The way to survive in these old school shooters is to never stop moving. It’s a run-and-gun affair to be sure, and it is utterly merciless. So be prepared to die countless times before you can master the pyramids.

Luckily the creators are not cruel. You will find scrolls throughout your journey, and most are perks aimed at helping you survive. From increasing your ammo, to killing every monster in a room, there are no shortage of advantages to discover. A nice variety of guns are hidden away in every run as well, and while your starting weapons are nice, it’s mixing these guns into your inventory that will help you live longer.

After every death, you will return to the hub world, and here you can work on your character skills. You have a standard perk tree where you can increase your stats, but you also have the ability to unlock favor with different Egyptian deities. With every deity comes a different starting weapons, and skills unique to them. Only after building your character will you have any chance of finding everything this game has to offer.

– A Dry View –

The visuals in Immortal Redneck are less satisfying. Compared to versions on other consoles, they definitely had to tone it down for the Switch version. I found that the game looks especially muddy when undocked, and it hurt the experience slightly. Still, it runs smoothly, and the chaos on screen can be intense at times. The design for the various monsters that inhabit the pyramids have a nice cartoonish style, in contrast to the eerie dungeons that surround them. Gunfire is complemented nicely and as shots, and sparks fly, the damage done is very evident.

The rooms shift around for every play-through, so I enjoyed being able to recognize the areas I had previously visited thanks to the unique level design. It helped to build a familiarity, and with it, a plan to tackle the monsters lying in wait.

– A Structure for the Gods –

The game holds up fantastically through all of the onscreen chaos. I never caught the frame rate drop, and no slow down in sight. I find that most randomly generated dungeon crawlers suffer from terrible loading times, but Immortal Redneck is quick to put you back into the action.

The sound, in contrast, is disappointing. While the sound of gunfire works well, the music is barely present. Most of your runs will be played to the same drawn out Egyptian guitar tone, only changing for boss fights or advancing to the next level. It works as far as background noise, but that’s all it really offers. If only it would have borrowed the soundtracks found in its counterparts like the Metal Riffs that electrify Doom, or the creepy yet tense sound of the Quake series.

– The Lost Tomb –

Despite its minor aesthetic flaws, I enjoyed being able to run and gun like I used to during my childhood. While the plot and ambiance may be dry, this desert adventure was well worth the heat. With the influx of rouge-like titles on the Switch, I’m happy we get a FPS experience that puts a unique perspective on the genre.

The world of Immortal Redneck won’t be rid of me until I uncover all of the treasure hidden within!

Thank you as always for reading guys. We have a new podcast coming out this week, so as always we would love to have you tune in. Mikey, one of our amazing editors, has done a review on the eerie Nihilumbra. If you’ve been wondering about that game, I would trust his opinion.