Immortals Fenyx Rising is the brand new open-world action-adventure from Ubisoft Quebec. It’s the same team that was responsible for creating Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which also uses an ancient Greek setting. However, in terms of presentation, style, and personality, Immortals couldn’t be more different.
In fact, Immortals Fenyx Rising unashamedly borrows from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in almost every way imaginable. That’s not to say that there aren’t some of the usual Ubi-open world flavors in there too. If you’re familiar with the most recent Assassin’s Creed titles from Origins to Valhalla, you’ll feel right at home with Immortals. Let’s take a look at the best and worst things about the game to see if it sets itself apart from the games that inspired it.
10 Loved: The Fantastic Setting
If there’s one thing that Ubisoft does well it’s creating big open worlds for players to lose themselves in. Unlike the Assassin’s Creed series, however, Immortals Fenyx Rising opts for a world based on mythology and fantasy resulting in one of their best adventures in years.
It’s not a game that’s meant to be taken seriously, yet the level of escapism and enjoyment one can get from exploring its beautifully rich world never gets old. More importantly, Immortals is simply about having as much fun as possible and it delivers in that in spades.
9 Don’t: The Stamina Gauge
One of the most annoying aspects of Breath of the Wild was the stamina gauge. While it did force players to think more strategically. However, it did become something of annoyance when trying to complete tasks like climbing but at least it made sense in terms of the game’s narrative.
Unfortunately, the stamina mechanic has also been replicated in Immortals but the concept doesn’t quite work because Fenyx is a character that has been gifted the power of the gods. He/She shouldn’t feel so restricted when it comes to traversing the game’s massive open world.
8 Loved: Excellent Puzzles
Another area where Immortals takes inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in a positive way is the number of various puzzles that have implemented in the game. They offer a massive relief from Ubisoft’s usual open-world formula and are creative and enjoyable to solve.
The main puzzles in the game are called the Vaults of Tartaros and there more than 60 of them to be discovered. Each one can function as a way to change the world around Fenyx and open up areas that were once un-traversable.
7 Don’t: The Modern Dialogue
Coming from the same team that created Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Immortals shares quite a lot in common with that game even beyond the focus on Greek mythology. However, where it does separate itself from the usual Ubisoft formula is the game’s humor.
For the most, it does hit home and it usually very funny but the game’s use of modern dialogue to convey this can be quite jarring at times. Considering how well the game implements Greek myth into the storyline the very modern use of slang words feels completely out of place.
6 Loved: Great Implementation Of Greek Mythology
Surprisingly, there are very few games that implement Greek mythology as it’s setting for a videogame. Obviously, there’s Ubisoft’s own Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the original God of War games on the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, and Titan Quest but beyond that, it isn’t as well-trodden as the Tolkien-esque fantasy.
Thankfully, Immortals Fenyx Rising is just as good as those mentioned as well as being a game that’s suitable for all ages. The story isn’t as complex or as dark as one would usually expect from this kind of setting and it’s a story that all ages can appreciate without feeling like it’s aimed too much at a younger audience.
5 Don’t: Excellent Combat
There’s a lot of combat and epic boss battles in Immortals Fenyx Rising and thankfully, the combat system in the game is great. It’s very similar to Assassin’s Creed Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla only with a more fantastical twist on the game’s special moves.
The only real difference is the game’s implementation of stamina where players need to time their moves wisely with parries and combos like in Breath of the Wild and to some extent the Dark Souls series.
4 Loved: Looks Great On All Platforms
Visually, Immortals’ art style looks more than a little bit similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild but it still manages to carve out an identity of its own. It’s also worth noting that it looks fantastic on all systems from the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One up to the PlayStation 5.
Obviously, the next-gen systems benefit from higher frame rates, higher resolutions, and longer draw distances but this is the kind of art style that will look good generations from now.
3 Don’t: The Linear Endgame
As the game nears its endgame the game’s open-world nature becomes more driven and more linear. While these moments aren’t bad by any stretch the pacing seems to hit a brick wall as Immortal’s concluding moments begin to drag.
Furthermore, the game’s final bass fight never seems to end and drags on for far too long. In addition, the game’s difficulty suddenly spikes in what is for the most a pretty easy game to play. Thankfully, there’s a lot to do in the world with plenty of opportunities to develop Fenyx’s strength and abilities to be up to the task.
2 Loved: It's Rewarding
With the difficult endgame that’s ahead one needs a character that is strong enough to be up to the challenge as there’s no turning back or returning to Immortal’s open-world once you make your way into the final level.
Thankfully, the game’s open-world is absolutely packed full of challenging puzzles and side quests that will go a long into gaining new powers and abilities. The Wraith battles and the challenges that can be found in the Vaults of Tartaros will reward you with Coins of Charon and Bolts of Lightning.
1 Don’t: A Little Too Easy
With exception to the final battle and some of the more challenging puzzles, Immortals Fenyx Rising is very easy even on the higher difficulties. Even some of the more imposing enemies like the Cyclops have very easy patterns to learn and are easy to defeat without much thought.
In addition, you will very rarely feel like you are in danger of losing your health because of the seemingly endless supply of plants and herbs that function to replenish Fenyx’s health and stamina with ease.