Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC

Publisher

Ubisoft

Developer

Ubisoft Quebec

Genre

Action, Adventure

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

14.7 GB

Release Date (NA)

Dec 3, 2020

Purchase From

Amazon

Best Buy

Target

GameStop

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Epic Games

Ubisoft is a veteran developer and publisher that has developed several well-known series such as Assassin’s Creed, Ghost Recon, and Far Cry. Their latest game, made by their Ubisoft Quebec branch, is Immortals Fenyx Rising, an open-world adventure inspired by Greek mythology. Formerly called Gods and Monsters, it was renamed during development and released on December 3, 2020, for the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Stadia, and Nintendo Switch. The main hero, Fenyx, rises to the call to save the Greek gods from a titan named Typhon. The gameplay is a blend of Breath of the Wild and Assassin’s Creed, featuring puzzles, battles with monsters and legends, and more in a vibrant, beautiful, and distinctive setting.

Reuniting the Gods

The story, narrated by a poised and patient Prometheus to the sarcastic and edgy Zeus, begins with a winged demigod named Fenyx being marooned on an land that has fallen under a dark curse. Befriending the mischievous god Hermes, Fenyx discovers that the deadly titan, Typhon, has locked away Zeus, Ares, and other powerful Olympian gods and has turned Fenyx’s friends and family to stone. Fenyx must harness the powers of the gods to save them and the Golden Isle from the grips of Typhon’s wrath. To do so, our hero will travel across the Golden Isle, a land divided into distinct areas named for various Greek gods. From Ares’s War’s Den, a place of sharp and rocky cliffs, ruined stone structures, and marrive arrows and spears, to Aphrodite’s Valley of Eternal Spring, a lush, green, and vibrant meadow filled with colorful plants and streams, the hero must prevail or the world is lost.

Saving the gods isn’t the only thing you’ll be doing. There are a number of side quests, treasure chests to find, and puzzles to solve. In addition, several puzzle-based dungeons, called the Vaults of Tartaros, filled with enemies, traps, and challenges, exist. Completing them yields valuable resources that will aid you in your journey. Of course, Typhon’s minions won’t make it easy for you. Throughout the Golden Isle, a plethora of foes await you, such as minotaurs, harpies, and other mythical monsters.

Hardly Immortal

Shortly after the introduction, it becomes quite obvious how vulnerable the main character is on this island full of monsters. Not far out from the onset is a bear that will make short work of you due to your minimal health, defense, and weapons. While it may be limited early on, your health can be gradually expanded through rare resources called Ambrosia, which can be found in rare chests or in out-of-the-way places throughout the isle. Even with the extra bars of health, the hero can still be quite vulnerable to monster’s attacks, requiring a delicate balance of offensive and defense. When you take damage, you can use health potions to recover, which can be crafted at certain locations.

In addition to your health, you have to be mindful of your stamina. Represented by blue bars that display to the left of the character, stamina depletes fairly quickly with activities such as fighting, swimming, climbing, and running. Your maximum capacity can eventually be increased through a dedicated resource called Zeus’s Lightning. Certain challenges you come across will need to be revisited later in the game once your stamina is better. Moreover, some special godly skills require a great deal of stamina to use, which can leave you vulnerable and unable to perform certain actions for a short time afterward. Fortunately, there are potions that can be used to regain lost stamina, so you can avoid going into the red.

Potions and Resources

A vast number of resources can be collected during the character’s exploration of the Golden Isle. Naturally, some resources are more common than others. You’ll come across more blue mushrooms or pomegranates used for crafting stamina and health potions than Olympian figs or flower nectar, which are used for offensive and defensive potions. Potion ingredients may be concentrated in certain areas as well. Blue mushrooms grow near rocky mountains and hills and near caves, while flower nectar is found near bodies of water.

The potions themselves can be crafted at various stations scattered through the isle, and potion effects can be upgraded at the House of the Gods with the Cauldron of Circe and a rare resource called golden amber. The House of the Gods is also the place where you can gradually increase the number of potions you can carry at one time. Potions are a valuable asset to always have on hand, as they can be a life-saver in pinch when facing tough enemies.

You’ll also find colorful adamantine shards for upgrading weapons and armor in various hidden locations. Upgrading items generally requires two different shard resources, and the requirements to upgrade again increase each time. For example, blue adamantine shards, a resource for weapons, armor, and helmets, can be found as spoils for killing normal enemies, in normal chests, and for breaking large blue shards. Meanwhile, purple shards, a dedicated resource for armor and helmets, are found in epic chests or by breaking large purple shards.

Godly Weapons of War

Battling enemies requires the use of various weapons, such as a sword or axe for close-range attacks and a bow for long-range ones. All three of those weapons are at your disposal throughout the game. Swords tend to provide a quicker attack method. However, they do not cover a large area or work well for shielded enemies. Axes tend to be a bit slower, but they cover a bigger area, and increase the enemies’ stun bar. Once the stun bar fills up, the enemy will be unable to move for several seconds, giving you a chance to wail on them. If you don’t want to get up close and personal, bows let you attack from a distance. You will need to aim each shot, though, and the number of arrows you can fire are limited. Fortunately, they automatically regenerate and do so fairly quickly. The bow also has a special feature called Apollo’s Arrow, which slows time down and lets you control the arrow until hits the target or your stamina runs out.

While it’s said that the best defense is a good offensive, that will only help so much during tougher battles. Dodging and parrying, your defensive maneuvers, will greatly improve your survivability in such situations. Dodging not only avoids damage; it can lead to counterattacks. That said, dodging can only be performed a limited number of times, and it doesn’t always work against all attacks. Parrying works like blocking, but if done right, you can use it to counterattack and/or fill your foe’s stun bar. It can be difficult to master, though, as it requires timing and understanding each enemy’s attack pattern. When you see red glowing attacks, that’s your ticket to parry and bring foes down quicker.

Godly Powers and Skills

There are a number of special god-like abilities and powers that can be quite useful throughout the game. Some of these are automatically acquired during the storyline, while others need to be taught to the hero using currency called Coins of Charon. Your selection can vary based upon preferences and style of play, but the abilities are well balanced. While they are handy in both battle and in exploration, e.g., letting you summon a large hammer to smash enemies or allowing you to leap while climbing, these abilities are not overpowered and require a decent amount of stamina to use.

Alongside the powers of the gods, the hero acquires power bracelets that allow them to levitate rocks and other objects above their head, which can be helpful in battles. Rocks can be launched at monsters, which can inflict quite a bit of damage from a distance. However, the downsides of this ability are that it can take a bit of time to prepare a rock to throw and that it can be interrupted. One of the more unique battle abilities is Phosphor, a glowing phoenix-like bird, which can be used to attack from a distance as well and increase the stun meter.

Myth and Monsters

Monsters throughout the Golden Isle come in various sizes, quantities, and levels of toughness.  While some of them are relatively easy to fell, such as soldiers or harpies, foes like minotaurs or griffins can be more challenging. For example, a large minotaur will throw nearby rocks, charge with horns, and jump stomp at you. Additionally, there are two forms of certain monsters on the isle: red and blue, signified by the glowing colors on each one. Red monsters are the normal type, while the blue variant has more health and deals more damage. No matter what you face, most monsters follow a standard pattern, mixing regular attacks and and red-glow special attacks. Most will also have weaknesses that can be exploited. For example, the clever adventurer will allow the aforementioned minotaur to charge into walls and posts whenever possible.

In certain Vaults of Tartaros and at certain locations through the isle, you’ll encounter more unique and legendary enemies to battle. These creatures hit hard, have significantly increased health, and utilize complex attack patterns. While some of these unique, mythical monsters can be defeated with brute force, many of them require a balance of offensive and defense moves, along with any exploit you can find. These battles can be tough, but they are fair, requiring concentration and patience. Difficulty-wise, on normal setting, these battles are well balanced for the average gamer. Thankfully, there are five difficulty settings available so players of practically any skill level can enjoy the game.

Constellations and Tribulations

What’s a myth without puzzles? The Golden Isle is no different, requiring you to solve many different ones during your quest. You’ll be doing everything from simply moving a rock onto a platform to unlock a door to moving countless boxes to coordinate large balls rolling through obstacles to reach a button on the ground. There are even puzzles within puzzles, such as Constellation Challenges that require the hero to place glowing bluish/blackish balls in a certain pattern on a grid to match the constellation shown. While this may seem self-explanatory at first glance, unlocking access to some of the glowing balls takes some ingenuity and skill. From battling unique enemies to shooting an arrow through a flame and into a hole to light up a torch, you’ll be put to the test. That said, while some require some thought to figure out, there’s nothing overly difficult here. 

Vaults of Tartaros are red, glowing holes in the ground that transport you through the cosmos to an ethereal dungeon filled with puzzles and danger. These vaults range in difficulty from 1-3 Typhon heads. Those of difficulty level 1 may require timed flights or jumps across a level, taking anywhere from five to ten minutes to clear. The more difficult ones, with their harder puzzles and challenging battles, can take up to a half hour. As you’re exploring, make sure to check every nook and cranny, as there are usually hidden treasure chests to be discovered. Of course, finding them and gaining access to them are two different things, but these completely optional chests have useful resources and gear inside them. When you do finally make it to the end of most vaults, you will find one Zeus’s Lightning, which will help increase your stamina and make it a little bit easier to tackle the next vault. Have fun!

Exploring the Golden Isle

Given the expansiveness of the isle, it eventually becomes quite tiresome and inefficient to continue traveling by foot. Early in the game, the hero acquires the Wings of Daidalos, which allows for short gliding across the map in stylish fashion (and gives a bigger incentive to climb to nearby heights). Open bodies of water can be explored for hidden treasures by swimming and diving. However, climbing, swimming, and gliding continuously uses stamina, thus limiting access to certain areas early in the game. After discovering the Halls of the Gods, the hero can tame various steeds which can be summoned on demand to cover ground faster than on foot. These mounts come in a range of designs, from simple brown horses to mythical purple unicorns.

After making several treks across the Golden Isle, the hero gains access to special, quick-travel locations on the map. The quick-travel locations are limited early on, but later on, they become plentiful, which is helpful when you need to quickly grab some ingredients for a certain location. Similar to the Assassin’s Creed series, each zone of the Golden Isle has a scouting perch at the top of a statue of the Greek gods. Scouting opens a camera-like view of the current zone, and you can use a cursor-like button to see around you. When near a special location on the map, such as a chest, Ambrosia, Vault of Tartaros, or constellation puzzles, the fine lines narrow around the cursor box and the controller vibrates. These places can be permanently marked on the map if you press the Reveal button at the exact location. In general, the scouting feature is a bit clumsy due to the sensitivity of the cursor and the need for exact locations to prompt the Reveal function. It can be time consuming and rather frustrating to try to uncover all the locations for a new zone.

You can make adjustments in the UI settings menu, but it can be difficult to navigate and adjust the settings based upon cursor/joystick movements and scrolling with the other joystick. Similarly, you can change the sensitivities, but it will likely require 3-4 adjustments to get the aim/movements closer to a comfortable point.

Customizing your Hero

At the start of the game, you can chose the sex of your hero as well as changes attributes like hair color, hair style, and skin color. It’s okay if you change your mind, though. These can be changed later in the game at the barbershop chair found in the Halls of the Gods. In addition to customizing your physical features, weapons, armor, and helmets can be changed to suit your tastes as well. The stats on the gear will stay the same, so you won’t lose that +40% damage for 6 seconds; it’s only the cosmetic appearance that’s different.

While any gear you get can be used in the customization process, there are some item skins that can only be obtained through Ubisoft Connect/store, which represent a customization skin rather than a physical item with its completely unique stats. There is even the ability to customize the wings, mounts, and the mythical birds accompanying the hero. In short, there are tons of customization options, even for those who are the free-to-play type.

Wise-Cracking Gods

The isle may be golden, but it’s not silent. From the sounds of birds and the oceans near the coast to the clanging of swords or the roar of a monster in battle, you are immersed within this mythological world. The soundtrack matches the gameplay as well. Expectedly intense music accompanies boss battles, while soothing music with synths and a humming/vocal melody plays for a serene meadow.

Each character speaks with a distinctive voice, such as Hermes’s quick, witty style or Aphrodite’s eccentric, sweet canter. Uniquely, the game uses a dialogue between Zeus and Prometheus to provide a third-person narrative alongside the hero’s conversations. This edgy commentary from the gods provides a great deal of comedic relief throughout the game that matches the main character’s quirky mannerisms. Almost a hidden gem, not enough can be stated about the quality of the scriptwriting for these wise-cracking gods. There is funny stuff here. In addition to vocalized commentary, there are similarly witty responses to the various hints and tips that pop up on the screen.

Rising to the Hype

Overall, Immortals Fenyx Rising lives up to the hype and delivers an immersive and wholesome experience filled with countless hours of gameplay. The game feels like a fusion of Breath of the Wind and Assassin’s Creed, which is a fine pedigree in my book. The distinctive and vibrant Golden Isle is captivating to explore, and the edgy twist to Greek mythology gives it even more flavor. With well-balanced gameplay that appeals to all skill levels, players are allowed to carve out their own unique journey as they save the gods. So rise, players. Rise!

A Nintendo Switch review code was supplied by Ubisoft for this review.