It’s been a little while since we’ve seen a new open-world Action Adventure from Ubisoft. Immortals Fenyx Rising (formally known as Gods & Monsters) is made by the team behind Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and the influence of this is evident straight away, but an even larger one is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, in a good, but obvious way.
I got to spend about four hours with the game, and moments after jumping into the demo, I came across one of the game’s 60 vaults. These seemed to be heavily inspired by Breath of the Wild’s shrines. From the three or four of them that I played, a lot of puzzles ranged from using Herakle’s strength (think Stasis) to lift blocks or push balls through obstacle courses, each of them felt unique enough, provided a decent challenge and were a nice stop-gap between combat. Completing each shrine rewards you with Zeus’s Lightning which will increase your stamina, which will be important as you explore the world.
Coming back out to the open-world, if you’ve played an Assassin’s Creed game, you’ll know what to expect. There’s things to do all over the vast map, which you’ll be exploring on a horse that can be called at any time. Throughout the world there’s missions to take on, large boss battles, challenges and things catching your eye left, right and centre. Given the gorgeous art style, and story that sucked me in, I did find myself wanting to explore far and wide.
The map is laid out of seven regions, each which are based on a Greek god. I only got to explore one in my playthrough, but going off a trailer that I was showed prior to the demo, they all looked to differ greatly in the flora and fauna that each region possesses. Exploration works in a very similar fashion to that of Breath of the Wild as well. Fenyx has a glider, that is essentially for getting around quickly, whilst he can climb anywhere that’s visible, he has a stamina counter that’s fairly brutal.
As far as I can gather, the main goal of the game (which is set to last somewhere between 20-30 hours) is to get to Typhon who is placed in the Gates of Tartaros which is placed in the middle of the map. As far as I can tell, you’ will have to complete missions in each of the seven regions before progressing to the end of the game.
When it comes to combat, Assassin’s Creed fans will feel at home. Battling against an incredible array of mythical creatures including Cyclops, Minotaur and Medusa using Godly powers such as Apollo’s Arrows, which lets you guide an arrow in slow-motion, Hephaisto’s Hammer, which was deadly against larger enemies or Are’s Wrath which shoots several spikes out of the ground to take out multiple enemies. The game promotes combos more than the Assassin’s Creed games do, with Fenyx being much more agile and being able to take her enemies into the air.
Whilst it wasn’t unlocked in my demo, you’ll be able to improve your weapons, such as swords, axes and your bow as you go, and then further upgrade them with resources. The same goes for your armour, which you’ll be able to replace as you explore and upgrade as time goes on. You can also craft potions for health, stamina as well as defense.
When it comes to visuals, Immortals Fenyx Rising is downright one of the best looking games that I’ve ever played. The graphics are vibrant, enemies are incredibly detailed and the entire world is bursting with creativity. Particularly when in battle, the amount of effects that are flying around on-screen are impressive, although it can be hard to keep track of what’s going on. The soundtrack is similar to that of Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey with Fenyx’s little bursts of attacks giving me serious Link vibes.
Whilst Immortals Fenyx Rising feels like several other games, there’s enough here to have me excited to play more of the game come launch time. The fact that it’ll look absolutely stunning on PS5/Xbox Series X, but it’s also playable on Nintendo Switch is also interesting. Releasing just under a month after Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, it’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out.
Immortals Fenyx Rising releases on December 3rd for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC.
