Immortals: Fenyx Rising

Just beat the intro, which was like an hour and half so it was substantial. The game is a children’s game for sure. The tone, writing and style is clearly aimed towards children and it’s trying to be a bit of a Zelda BOTW clone I think (although I’ve never played BOTW I’ve seen enough to get the gist). The intro was fine but didn’t draw me in. I’m worried the gameplay will be too simple, even on hard. I anticipate the gameplay loop will be the only thing drawing me in so if that isn’t fun I probably end up bailing on this at some point. We will see. Games like this only really start when they open up the map and let you explore so maybe my opinion changes.

Also, super dumb name for a game. I hate it. It’s awkward.

Much more fun once it opens up. I have no idea yet how long it will last but the early portions have been decent. Now that I know what all the various resources upgrade it’s more motivating to find the chests and do the challenges and all that. 

I like the climbing and flying stamina mechanic. The physics puzzles have been pretty fun so far. I’m not a big puzzle guy but I haven’t hated these yet.

I like the format and mechanics of the game. I don’t like the “skin.” I think the graphics just look bad. And it isn’t just because they went with a cartoon art style. You can have cartoon style graphics that look nice. These look pretty dated and this game isn’t that old.  It isn’t a deal breaker by any means but I wish the world and everything looked better. 

6 hours in and I’ve really enjoyed the past few hours. It picks up. The gameplay is pretty fun. And I like some of the customization. My guy looks like Batman but with a hog head. 

12 hours in and it’s been fun. Surpassed my (low) expectations. The puzzles and challenges have been fun. The combat has been fun. I’ve enjoyed how much upgrades there have been to start. I suspect when that slows down I will also probably slow down. At this point I’ve been doing most of the POIs. But I think they’re too much so I’ll probably shift to mainline story at some point in the future. Not sure when.

This is a great game to play when you have like an hour or so to kill and you just want a low key fun puzzle game to relax to. I’m around 15 hours in and I’ve noticed I start to get bored if I play for too long but it’s a really good pick up and play for a bit kind of game. I do really wish the “flavour” of the game was better. It’s aimed for children which is part of it but then also I just don’t like the look or style or humour or really most of the personality of the game.

This game found its place. It’s easy to pick and play whenever and the puzzles and challenges have been decent, although some are trivialized with some later character unlocks.

Around 27 hours in I’ve started golden pathing the game. It’s a long game. There’s a ton to do and it’s starting to get repetitive, plus I’m ready to play new games. I’ve enjoyed immortals more than I expected, especially based off my first impressions which were not very good.

Last stretch I was kind of over it but I wanted to finish it because I knew I was close. Golden patched the final stretch. The middle section of the game was the best. After awhile the game was too easy, combat was a breeze and even the puzzles become more trivial once you get the heavy lift and the decoy upgrades.

Ends a low ish B+.

Final Score: B+

It's a damn shame that Immortals: Fenyx Rising didn't get the attention it deserved. Initially it may seems like an obvious riff on Nintendo's Breath of the Wild, but after some time with the game it really shines with its own unique take on the open-world sandbox style, wrapped in a witty narrative centered around Greek Mythos.  

The premise is strikingly similar to Breath of the Wild. You've got a large world with four main regions which can be tackled in any order you choose. You can climb anything, you have stamina, health, a bow, armor and horses, you receive "God powers" to solve puzzles with and use in combat, and there are "Vaults of Tartarus" with self-contained mini-dungeons. In my opinion, all of these things are executed with more finesse than Breath of the Wild, with tons of quality of life improvements.

The combat is more akin to the likes of God of War, Bayonetta, and Darksiders. It flows extremely well and integrates Fenyx's God Powers seamlessly. Once you have access to your full kit, combat is flashy and satisfying in ways I haven't experienced since Darksiders. 

The open world is dense and full of content. The environmental puzzles are smart, with alternate solutions depending on what skills you've chosen to acquire. They have meaningful rewards and I never felt like I wasted my time solving a puzzle. Dungeon design is mostly great, with new mechanics being introduced in each major dungeon.

The presentation is top notch. The story, while relatively straightforward, is full of character. Zeus and Prometheus narrate your adventures and provide comedic relief. Sometimes I wish it had taken itself a bit more seriously, but the tone hardened for the final acts. Animations and voice acting really pull together the experience in a way I hadn't expected. The world is full of bits of Greek Mythos, with secrets and stories in every corner of the map. I was initially dissatisfied with the ending, but looking back on it now I don't have any particular complaints. 

If you were a fan of Breath of the Wild, or maybe found its combat and dungeon design lacking, Immortals: Fenyx Rising scratches the same itch. The developers have shown enormous support, updating the game, adding daily challenges, weekly dungeons, and other event quests.