BOXHEAD:Immortal Review Summary

While its nostalgic feel and roguelite conversion along with multiplayer modes are praised, the experience is marred by numerous bugs, very limited content, and missing key features.

Strong nostalgia factor: A large portion of players emphasize strong nostalgic feelings from childhood, recalling classic flash game eras or specific titles like Boxhead, which drives much of the positive reception.

Multiplayer modes appreciated: Multiplayer support—including local co-op with shared keyboard, online play, and LAN party options—is highlighted as a major positive feature that enhances social enjoyment.

Roguelite conversion praised: The roguelite conversion is well-received, adding progression systems like perks, weapon upgrades, and permanent unlocks that enhance replayability.

Gameplay is enjoyable: The core gameplay is widely praised as fun, playable, and well-executed, forming a strong foundation for the game.

Weapon upgrade system: Players appreciate the expanded weapon upgrade system and variety, including balanced categories and extreme options that add depth to combat.

Numerous bugs and crashes: The game is plagued by many bugs including crashes in endless mode, black screens on startup, freezing, and various gameplay-breaking issues. These problems severely impact playability.

Very limited content: Multiple players report that the game has very little content, including only two maps, one game mode (Endless), and a lack of features. It feels like a rushed or incomplete product with minimal effort put in.

Missing key features: Many classic features are missing, such as base-building, combo weapon systems, rocket launchers, and save functionality. This removes depth and variety that players enjoyed.

Too few maps: The game only has two small maps, which is significantly less than previous titles. Combined with few enemy types, the gameplay quickly becomes repetitive.

Repetitive and dull gameplay: Gameplay becomes monotonous quickly due to repetitive waves, lack of variety, and absence of modes or achievements to add replay value. It feels dull and not engaging.

Roguelike progression and upgrades: The game incorporates roguelike progression elements, including a card-based weapon upgrade system and per-class upgrades. This system replaces traditional mechanics with randomized, replayable progression paths.

Diverse character classes with skills: Multiple reviews highlight that the game features distinct playable characters, each with unique active skills, passive abilities, and attribute enhancements. This system adds strategic depth to gameplay.

Multiple co-op multiplayer modes: Players appreciate the co-op modes, including split-screen, local shared keyboard, LAN parties, and online multiplayer. These options cater to both local and remote collaborative play.

Wave survival and endless modes: The game offers wave-based survival and endless modes, where players fight escalating hordes. This classic arcade-style structure is a core appeal for many reviewers.

Weapon switching and slot system: Weapons are assigned to specific number keys, with a switching mechanic that replaces the first weapon. Players have three weapon slots: a pistol and two limited-ammo weapons.

Endless mode crashes: Players report the game crashing in endless mode, occurring at specific score thresholds like 200k and 850k, or around wave 30. This indicates a recurring stability issue tied to progression in this mode.

Steam Deck compatibility: Multiple users confirm the game runs well and is playable on the Steam Deck, suggesting solid performance on this platform without major issues.

Frequent freezing issues: A player reports frequent freezing and unresponsiveness during gameplay, which disrupts the experience and suggests underlying stability problems.

Black screen on startup: One user experiences a black screen upon launching the game, preventing the game from loading at all. This points to a critical startup failure.

Bad framerate performance: A player notes poor framerate during gameplay, indicating performance optimization issues that affect smoothness.

Strongly not recommended: Multiple reviews strongly advise against purchasing the game, calling it a scam, a money grab, poorly made, and not worth any price.

Recommended for fans: High recommendations come from fans of the original flash games and casual players, with some giving a perfect 10/10 score.

Wait for improvements: Several reviews suggest waiting for improvements or a full release before buying, as the current state is unfinished or lacks content.

Technical issues persist: Several technical issues are reported, including freezing, black screen bugs, lack of polish, and missing window resize option, leading to refunds.

Worth low price: Despite flaws, the game is considered worth the price for its low cost and nostalgic value, earning positive recommendations for support.

Session length: 1.0h.

The game offers immediate fun in co-op and LAN parties, but enjoyment drops sharply around level 50 in multiplayer due to severe lag, while many players find it boring from the start due to repetitive content and technical issues.

Friction: repetitive gameplay and lack of content; severe lag in later multiplayer stages; co-op bugs and disconnects; missing features like bazooka and cluster grenades; no tutorial to explain UI elements; poor performance and framerate lock.

Nostalgic Browser Veteran: compares everything to the original browser games, expects classic features like walls and specific maps, plays to relive childhood memories. Motivation: reliving childhood nostalgia from the browser versions. Stance: no buy.

Co-op Social Player: plays primarily in co-op or local multiplayer, tolerates bugs but demands better multiplayer support (invites, controller, servers), enjoys social chaos. Motivation: shared social experience with friends or family, especially via co-op or lan parties. Stance: sale.

Bug-Weary Skeptic: attempts to enjoy the game but is repeatedly thwarted by technical issues (bugs, lag, black screen) and lack of content; likely tried various modes and found them lacking. Motivation: hoping for a complete, polished product; feels cheated by the current unfinished state. Stance: no buy.

Steam Deck: The game runs on Steam Deck but requires manual controller mapping. Multiplayer co-op suffers from disconnects and Linux invite problems. A reported black screen bug can prevent launch entirely, indicating instability. Tinkering is needed and the experience is not seamless.

Nostalgia-driven purchases: Many players bought the game for childhood nostalgia, as it is a modern take on classic Boxhead or similar flash games. Reviewers express fond memories of playing the originals.

Development appears stalled: Reviewers report that development seems stalled, with the last update in June 2024 and no updates for months. Internal issues have delayed development and the developer treats it as a side project.

Original game has more content: Several reviewers note that the original free browser versions have more functionality and content than this paid Steam version. The original is considered superior by multiple users.

Developer has authorization: The developer has the original author's authorization to produce a sequel, and the game is a licensed product made by Chinese developers who obtained the copyright. Original creator Sean Copper distanced himself from the project.

Looking forward to updates: Some reviewers are looking forward to future updates and are willing to wait for the game to improve. They express hope that the developer will continue to work on it.