33 Immortals from Publisher and Developer Thunder Lotus is an action-packed roguelike co-op game that touts massive battles against tough foes with up to 32 other players. So it’s you and multiple others facing off against some tough cookies and that all sounds great on paper but is the game actually worth checking out?
What’s the catch here and should you give it a go? Let’s find out shall we!
33 Immortals Story and Setting
Taking on the Gods as a Damned Soul
33 Immortals
In 33 Immortals players will take on the role of an eternally damned soul. However, Beatrice has other plans for you and wants you to team up with other damned souls to fight against your unfair judgement and take on Gods himself. How very JRPG-esque eh?
33 Immortals isn’t a JRPG though. It’s a roguelike action co-op game akin to something like Hades. You’ll take on the role of one of 4 different classes of warrior and off you go into the Inferno to essentially wage war against your fate with up to 32 other players.
33 Immortals Gameplay
Large-Scale Co-op Battles
Gameplay in 33 Immortals involves moving your playable character around a large map, fighting off enemies and progressing deeper and further into each level before ascending to a boss battle in a separate arena. It’s not as straightforward as it seems though because you will have to team up with other players if you want to succeed in this game.
If you try to face off against everything by yourself, you’re going to have a rough time. Enemies in 33 Immortals are quite tough and when you’re working together with others, it’s a lot easier to take them down because of the increased damage output you all have together.
Combat, Classes and Co-op Abilities
Combat involves hacking and slashing standard fare with ranged as well as melee weaponry. You have a light attack and a heavy attack as well as a co-op specific ability that you can trigger when you have enough power at your disposal. These co-op abilities are quite varied and are quite handy in a pinch. For example, the sword-swinging tank character can generate a bubble shield for themselves and two others and this is very useful when things get heated in battle.
Communication and Progression
There’s no voice chat in 33 Immortals so you will have to communicate with others with pings and using the in-game communications wheel which uses emotes and icons. In addition to all this, as is the norm with roguelike games, you’ll get stronger with each run that you attempt. As you amass resources such as gems, coins and more, you’ll be able to strengthen your character back at the base camp by speaking to various NPCs and purchasing upgrades as well as cosmetics.
What 33 Immortals Gets Right
Fast-Paced Multiplayer Action
The core gameplay loop in 33 Immortals is very fun and the premise is great on paper. Fight with multiple other people, without saying a single word, take on strong boss enemies and progress to the harder levels. Rinse and repeat. And for the most part, the game is great. However this brings to me my gripes with the game.
Bugs and Performance Issues
Current Technical Problems
As it stands right now, I’ve already encountered a few bugs in the game. One where my playable character just stopped responding to movement commands. They were just stuck in place and couldn’t move anymore despite the game working fine in every other aspect. I could open the map and view the compendium but I couldn’t move my character. It was so bizarre. The second bug happened where after defeating a boss and needing to ascend, we could not do this. Again, very bizarre. I’ve also encountered a bug where the audio would lower itself and wouldn’t return back to normal.
Does the 33 Player Concept Work?
Late Game Challenges
My final gripe also lies with the fact that the game is called 33 Immortals but the latter levels involve 22 immortals and then 11 immortals for the hardest level. This isn’t exactly a massive problem but it does feel a bit misleading when the main chunk of the game doesn’t feature 33 immortals in total. This is also problematic when a lot of players either die or drop out mid-way through a run.
Thankfully the game does seem to scale boss enemies HP based on how many active players are still around but it relies way too much on having other players around for it to be fun. I’ve fought a boss with only 2 other players and the sheer difficulty in getting their health bar to zero is an immense challenge when it’s just 3 people versus one extremely tough opponent. This is especially harder when you’re new to the game and playing with people who are just as new as you are.
Graphics, Audio and Presentation
Stylish Visuals with a Strong Soundtrack
There’s no voice acting here but the game does have a good soundtrack and lots of great sound effects. Visually it’s also very appealing with an art style that fits its theme and setting quite well. Inferno for example is a map filled with fire, bones and scorched sand. The menu and UI also look fine and character designs are appealing.
Final Verdict
Is 33 Immortals Worth Playing?
33 Immortals is overall a very fun roguelike hack and slasher title. If you played something like Hades, you will have a fun time here but don’t expect the same level of polish and quality. This game feels very content low and given the low price it’s selling for on Steam, I can’t be too harsh on it. It’s actually perfect for picking up and playing in short bursts and that’s clearly the main draw to it.
I can imagine this title being perfect for playing on a Steam Deck provided you have a stable enough internet connection. Give it a try, chances are you will enjoy the game just don’t expect too much here. It’s artificially inflated with roguelike elements and grindy upgrade mechanics but each run is quite fun especially when you get a team of players who know what they are doing and play together to defeat enemies.
33 Immortals Trailer
This review was based off a PC playthrough.
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The game was provided to us for the express purpose of reviewing.
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