Game: Immortal Life
Genre: Farming, Simulation, RPG
System: Steam (Windows)
Developers | Publishers: Yifang Studio | 2P Games
Controller Support: Yes
Price: US $16.99 | UK £13.49 | EU € 13,99
Release Date: January 18th, 2024
Review code used, with many thanks to Stride PR
Think Rune Factory in a Chinese setting, add some mysticism, and you’ve got a picture of Immortal Life. Your character doesn’t wake up after a shipwreck without a memory, nor do they inherit a derelict farm from a deceased uncle. This time, my YvoAro (a case of a typo when choosing the name…) arrived at the Guiyun Mountains, set on joining the renowned sect that made their home in the Mountains. That’s how our story starts, as does this review. Let’s see what adventure Immortal Life has in store for us!

The Guiyun Sect and Fire Rain
History tells us the Guiyun Mountains, rich in spiritual energy, attracted many cultivators in the past. The word cultivator might confuse you (as it did me), but in Chinese, our translation of cultivator means characters who undergo meditation and training to become transcendental beings. A Legendary Man, skilled in martial arts and wisdom, founded the Guiyun Sect. The Guiyun Sect became renowned for its powerful members and was considered a rising force in the cultivation world until the devastating Fire Rain catastrophe struck. And that’s when YvoAro was at the foot of the mountain to join the sect.

A meteorite struck the Mountains near the Guiyun Sect, obliterating the main peak and causing nearby mountains to crumble. The sect suffered extensive damage, with hundreds of buildings destroyed. At a crucial moment, mysterious lights protected the people waiting to join the sect (and my little YvoAro) at the mountain’s entrance, allowing them to escape to Ferry Stop below.
In the middle of all this chaos, a man, apparently from the Guiyun Sect, fell from the sky, leaving the survivors in shock. Yang Ziqin, one of the people with YvoAro, took control and carried the unconscious Xie Wentian to the Inn. It was then that the survivors decided to work together to restore the sect and do their best to become worthy cultivators.

Farming, Crafting and Cooking Done Differently
The history lesson above is important to understand the premise of Immortal Life. This isn’t your standard farming sim; the Chinese culture and fantasy folklore are very important to understand. It also means the gameplay is a little different than the standard.
Your character gets the task of working the land, trying to feed the survivors. Starting out with just a couple of crops, Immortal Life quickly ramps up its collection of seeds. The seeds can also produce variations, quickly causing you to build additional storage space.

As soon as you have your first produce, you also get acquainted with cooking. Not in your own home, but you can hire the kitchen at the inn. I was surprised at the different approach to that activity. They’ve made it into a little mini-game for which you can earn stars, but I’ve found it more satisfying just to take my time as the recipes are quite intricate. There are many ways to prepare dishes, like cooking, stir-frying and steaming but the recipes always show what’s the next stage of your preparation.

Crafting and farming simulation games like this are often based on requests from your fellow cultivators and the people living in Ferry Stop. Fulfilling them leads to unlocking the crafting part of the game. You’re the one supplying the materials to rebuild the buildings in the sect. And you also get your own Workstation where you can make items from recipes you’ve collected.

Fishing is also included in Immortal Life and pretty much follows the same pattern as fishing in Animal Crossing, to my relief! At least it’s easy and pleasant to do.

Innovative Game Elements in Immortal Life
Aside from the special elements in farming, cooking and crafting, there are some additions to Immortal Life that I haven’t seen before in this genre of games. The characters in the game can send each other messages and do so by paper crane. It’s fun to see little blue paper cranes fluttering toward YvoAro. It’s amazing how these flimsy folded messages can carry presents with them, too!
Right from the first, magic plays a role. You get a Talisman you can use, and you will see the crops grow to maturity. Watering is done with a watering gourd that never empties, and if you have enough MP, you can also create your private raincloud above the fields.

In battle, you can use spells, though it’s only one from the first. It’s a very handy one, as it sends five flying golden swords, causing Metal Damage to the target. There is a cool-down time before you can use it again, but that’s not overly long.
When you just use a sword without magic, you don’t have to be up close and personal with your enemy. The sword works like an arrow, which I like very much. What I didn’t like, though, was the way you target your enemy. I get that you have to use the mouse to point your character to the target. You have to use the combination of the WASD buttons and the mouse to move around in the dungeons, too. Often, she was just doing the sidestep, going from A to B. This felt strange to me, as she had no trouble moving flawlessly outside of the dungeons.

Graphics, Controls and Sound
Immortal Life exudes a very different atmosphere for the Western audience. The background sounds contribute to the oriental feeling of the game, as do the screens you see in between the seasons. And as each season is also broken up into smaller portions of time, you see a lot of these gorgeous images.

The loading screens are equally beautiful. In fact, the entire game looks amazing graphically and adds to the feeling of an exotic game heavily inspired by Chinese folklore.
A special note goes to the characters. In many farming RPGs, the characters can be a bit bland or over the top. In Immortal Life, the characters that you work with, your brothers and sisters in the sect, are distinct. They each have their own personality, and they are very much involved in the story that is told.
Playing on the Steam Deck
Although Steam indicates that they are still learning about how Immortal Life performs on the Steam Deck, that was my main mode of playing the game. And the actions to do on the Steam Deck might not be entirely perfect, it works well enough. The print of text can be small, though, so I get why people would want to play on the big screen.
I have experienced a frozen screen three times now, where I had no choice but to restart. Fortunately, the game saves every night, so I didn’t lose too much.
Conclusion for Immortal Life
From the start, it’s clear that Immortal Life is far from your average farming simulator. With its roots deeply embedded in Chinese culture and fantasy folklore, the game offers a fresh take on the farming/crafting RPG simulation genre. All the elements work well together, and you are totally free to do what you want in the game and progress at your own pace.

I won’t say I’ve finished the game; I think I barely scratched the surface of this huge game. It looks amazing and controls well, even well enough to play it on the SteamDeck. The graphics are wonderful and a joy to look at, even when you’re not pursuing the next quest. The characters of your brothers and sisters in the sect are well-fleshed out and distinct.
I would almost give it our highest praise but for the very small text, a frozen screen now and then and the way of moving in the dungeons. But I can safely recommend this game, many, many hours of fun for a moderate price.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot