Immortals Fenyx Rising is rounding out an incredibly busy fall for Ubisoft packed with huge open world adventures for gamers to explore. Launching just over a month after Watch Dogs: Legion and several weeks after Assassin's Creed Valhalla (not the mention two new consoles and major releases from other publishers), Immortals finds itself in a peculiar situation as a new IP vying for attention among giants. Adding to that, the game itself has already drawn comparisons to popular titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for its gameplay and more approachable take on the often dark and bloody open world genre.
With competition like that, it's easy to be concerned that Immortals Fenyx Rising is simply more of the same. Fortunately, the game itself has a lot to offer. And while comparisons to other games are inevitable, Ubisoft's latest title has plenty to offer gamers looking to dive into a vibrant and colorful world inspired by Greek mythology.
Immortals relays the tale of a storyteller and inexperienced warrior named Fenyx (whose gender and appearance can be customized) through the eyes of the Greek god Zeus and the titan Prometheus. Another titan, Typhon, has been freed from Tartaros and is seeking revenge on Zeus and the other gods for banishing him. Typhon has already taken down several of the Greek gods, separating them from their essences and imprisoning them in new forms. He has also corrupted several famous heroes like Achilles and Odysseus, forcing them to fight for him.
Desperate and powerless, Zeus turns to Prometheus for help. Prometheus, who is chained to a boulder for the crime of defying the gods by helping humanity, believes that a human can save the world, while Zeus has no faith in mortals. To prove the king of the gods wrong, the titan tells him the story of Fenyx, who finds themself stranded on the Golden Isle after an accident and now has to rescue four of the gods from Typhon to help defeat him.
Prometheus and Zeus serve as unreliable narrators throughout the journey, and their banter is one of the most interesting ways Immortals makes itself stand out. While Prometheus tries to tell Fenyx's story as a means of redeeming himself (after all, if a mortal is able to save the world, then Prometheus' transgression was actually a good thing), Zeus fights him at almost every turn. Especially early on, Zeus refuses to believe Fenyx is capable of anything, and the disagreements between the two legends is entertaining to witness.
As for Fenyx, they're a pretty compelling hero in their own right. After finding out their entire crew has been turned to stone -- and learning that the gods they grew up hearing stories about are real -- Fenyx is the only one who can save the world. Despite some moments of self-doubt, Fenyx has the confidence and intelligence to succeed even when faced with insurmountable odds and powerful mythological beings. Fenyx's knowledge of the gods also comes in handy and makes them the perfect hero to restore their severed essences. In general, the story is engaging and should be enough to hold players attention, though it does drag on a bit towards the end.
While the characters and world stand out, the mechanics of actually traversing the Golden Isle -- which include finding interesting areas to explore, fighting (or avoiding) enemies as you come across them, climbing (nearly) everything and gliding through the air -- are where the game really wears it inspirations on its sleeve. On your journey, you'll come across a variety of puzzles to solve, which will earn you collectables you can use to upgrade Fenyx's health, stamina, potions and weapons, as well as unlock new skills that make travel, combat and puzzle solving more efficient.
The gameplay loop and story structure of traveling to new areas and freeing four divine beings while becoming more powerful along the way might sound incredibly familiar, but Immortals Fenyx Rising's use of mythology makes for an exciting twist on the formula. Everything in the game, from its characters to its monsters to its puzzles, takes inspiration from the massive world of Greek mythology. Even side challenges, like recreating constellations or playing tunes on giant lyres hidden throughout the world, serve as nice references for those familiar with these ancient stories.
The other major factor that separates Immortals from similar games is its tone, especially its sense of humor, which keeps the game from taking itself too seriously. Zeus and Prometheus' commentary in particular keeps lonely stretches of exploration and story progression light. Their conversations also serve as ways to relay Greek myths, especially lesser known ones, to players who may be unfamiliar with them.
These also can be rewarding for players who, for example, understand why Prometheus feels the need to correct Zeus' safe-for-work version of the birth of Aphrodite. And while, as the only human stranded on the Golden Isle, Fenyx spends much of the game alone, their interactions with the gods show they are as witty as they are resilient.
It's also worth noting that Immortals Fenyx Rising has a wide range of accessibility options that allow players to customize the game's difficulty and controls at any time. These include fairly standard options, like remapping button inputs or inverting controls, as well as game-specific ones that affect how certain abilities work or that provide additional assistance for puzzles. While we can't speak to how useful these actually are for players who rely on them, recent Ubisoft games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion have garnered praise for their accessibility options, so it seems that inclusivity is (rightly) a focus for the developer.
Perhaps the most unfortunate thing about Immortals Fenyx Rising is the timing of its release. Not only does it have to compete with massive franchises, highly anticipated holiday titles and the launch of brand new consoles and the hype cycle that comes with it, but it's also releasing at a moment when Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is refreshing Breath of the Wild's spotlight and Supergiant's Hades is getting plenty of attention for providing gamers with another (differently) quirky take on Greek mythology.
Overall, Immortals Fenyx Rising isn't doing anything particularly revolutionary. While it does put it own spin on a tried and true formula, its gameplay and structure still feel familiar. Calling it more of the same isn't entirely inaccurate. However, when that "same" is an engaging open world action-adventure that reminds players of some of the best games of the last few years, then it's fair to call Immortals Fenyx Rising more of a good thing.
Developed by Ubisoft Quebec and published by Ubisoft, Immortals: Fenyx Rising releases December 3, 2020, for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X. A review copy was provided by the publisher.