WWE Immortals (Android) :: IndianNoob Review

I normally dont do mobile games review. But its a WWE game, and my standards and principles go out the window when we talk wrestling. So let’s enter the squared circle, ring the bell, and get this show on the road.

(+) Kayfabe to the next level

WWE Immortals is so different from regular WWE games and yet feels so much at home with WWE that you wonder why it was not done before. As far as the story goes Bray Wyatt has found a dark lantern, which is rather unceremoniously stolen from him by none other than The Authority. However they can’t control the lantern’s power which results in multiple realities where different WWE superstars exists in different fantastical roles are mashed together, creating a Mortal Kombat esque universe. Hence Roman Reigns is an actual Roman Soldier, Paige is a Sorceress, Undertaker is a Necromancer, Kane is an actual demon and The Rock is a stone watcher golem.

You can check out the intro to the game below:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/mNp3qDfpDsM]

(+) WWE Injustice : Wrestlers among Us

The game play in WWE Immortals is very similar to Injustice (the last mobile game that Nether Realm worked on). You are a given 3 WWE superstars to start with and go head to head in 3 on 3 matches. Each superstar has a health bar and a stamina bar. As expected, the moves that WWE superstars even the moves have received a fantasy overhaul. Kane puts people on fire, Undertaker brings down actual lightning from the sky, and Daniel Bryan spins his opponents into a Tornado.

Taps are used for quick attacks, swipes for stronger attacks, and blocking is done by holding the screen with two fingers. The stamina bar is filled with both damage done and damage taken, which is broken down into 3 sections. As each section fills up, your superstar will be able to pull off more devastating signature moves, accomplished by just tapping on the sections itself.

Every match is broken down into brawls, in which you have to defeat a new trio of Immortals, finally making your way to the boss of that match. Each brawl in the match costs stamina, which regenerates over time. While early on brawls cost just 1 stamina point, they can steadily increase to 3 and higher per brawl soon in the game.

A battle is won by defeating all 3 of your opponents, after which you are rewarded with experience points and some in game currency. The experience levels up your WWE Immortals, which allow them to execute even stronger moves and become better Immortals.

(-) Mindless Swiping

WWE Immortals also offers various chemistry stats. So Kane works well with Paige, but with Bryan in the same team, he loses a bit of his defense. While I haven’t noticed such chemistry actually impacting any of my brawls, but I am still trying to maintain a good balance.

As far as I am concerned, once you have got used to the rhythmic tapping, swiping and the occasional blocking, you will do well in WWE Immortals. But the main attraction of WWE Immortals is not its game play, its the stage which is created by Nether Realms which is so closely associated with the persona of the WWE Superstars. I played the game non stop until I was able to buy the Rock. After that I was discouraged by the poor reward system, until recently I am on a goal to buy the Undertaker.

(+) Card Games

Each of the WWE Immortals playable character is depicted as a collectible card (similar to WWE Super Card, another WWE mobile game) with their picture and name on the front, and their stats on the back. You can win new character cards by completing single player quests or you can buy them from the store using the in game currency. Cards are also classified as Bronze, Silver and Gold, with high tiered cards generally stronger than lower tier cards.

You can check out the entire opening roster in the video below:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/s3RqZMom0fU]

There are also different cards, which provide different buffs to your characters like increased health, damage and defense. Then there are gear cards, which affect the paasive abilities of your WWE Immortals. This is the meta game based around the brawling, and is interesting when not restricted by the poor reward system.

(-) Sore Losing

The grind reward system in WWE Immortals is pretty steep. A silver card is worth somewhere around 40k in game currency, but each single player battle will earn you about 200 or 1k while doing a boss battle. The grind is even more infuriating, when you lose a battle, which rewards you with almost no exp and absolutely no currency. Zero, Nada, Zilt. This after losing out by a sliver of a health bar is pretty annoying.

Also if you run into a team which is too tough for you, going back to lower level matches for grinding and leveling up is a waste. Once again, the rewards for replaying already finished bouts is ridiculous.

(-) Different Suit, Same Moves

Each WWE Immortals also has various incarnations. So Sheamus is depicted in one as an ancient Druid, in another card he is depicted as a Celtic Warrior. HHH is wearing a suit in his Authority avatar, but is dressed like Conan in his King Of Kings attire. While the skins are drastically different and absolutely lovely, both characters share the same set of moves. With a total of 9 move animations per character, one expected the Druid Sheamus to have a different move set from the Celtic Warrior Sheamus. But you know, whatever.

(+) A Diva no more

This is perhaps one of the only games where the WWE Divas are at least as strong if not stronger than their male colleagues. Paige a starting card is also one of the strongest card, and would be forming an integral part of your team for a long time. Some of them are dressed a little provocatively (again highly inspired my Mortal Kombat) but here their costumes makes more sense tying in with their fantasy back stories.

(+) Opening Roster

With its launch, WWE Immortals boasts a collection of both old and new WWE superstars including Rock, Trish Stratus and The Undertaker. I expect that roster to be expanded soon with later updates, with even more characters joining the fore. I would love to see Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose in the game soon.

(+) The Multiplayer I always wanted

The multiplayer in WWE Immortals does not pit you against actual players. Instead you face already created teams by other players controlled by AI. I believe this is a good move, as it allows for mixing up the experience, while not having to worry about lags and pings. The rewards too, are much more better when playing the online matches, though you are heavily penalized for a loss here too.

There are daily quests like playing/winning a certain matches with a certain characters which again offer much better rewards than single player. There are also occasional tournaments with varying rules, which offer rewards based on your performance.

Its a great multiplayer idea, when it works!! The WWE Immortals server are on and off, and the game crashes more often when I am playing the online brawls.

Final Score-(8/10)

NetherRealm has promised that they would keep introducing more characters and new tournaments in the future. The fact that single player allows you to play WWE Immortals offline is a boon in this always connected world, on the other hand though the multiplayer is where the real fun is at. I don’t know what will keep taking me back to WWE Immortals for months even weeks to come, but I do know this, right now, as of today, WWE Immortals is my go to game on my phone.

WWE Immortals may be the best WWE game that has come out in the past 5 years, pity its not on consoles.