I will admit that I let Immortals: Fenyx Rising slip under my radar for longer than it deserved. My first thought was that it was a rip-off of the smash hit Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and to me, not too many developers could top Breath of the Wild’s incredible gameplay and open-world exploration. The fact that Ubisoft was making it didn’t help with my perception of the game either since I have been used to the bloated open worlds with repetitive objectives and gameplay, but Immortals: Fenyx Rising is actually something much different, and to my delight, a whole lot more fun. 

Fenyx Rising’s graphics were initially not so appealing to me, but I quickly grew used to them. They have a very “cartoony” look to them and made me question whether or not this game was for kids, but I realized it didn’t matter as I entered the open-world. The immense swaths of beautiful scenery were incredibly rendered and full of vibrant color. Each area on the map was a joy to discover and the lore of the Greek mythos seeped out of every location with petrified people, shrines, temples, and mythical beasts. Ubisoft knew this so Fenyx’s draw distance spans the entire map encouraging exploration. It was hard not to admire the obvious work put in by the design team and programmers. The character models are a little boring though, almost everyone looks mildly related to each other and despite the cartoonish nature of the game,  some animations can feel a little stilted in cutscenes. The customization is also somewhat lacking especially when my character reveals his weird face every time a cutscene starts. Despite these issues, I was completely enamored by the world’s look and all of its beautiful, varied, colors.

The sounds of Immortals: Fenyx Rising were immersive and most importantly unobtrusive. The ambient music while in the open world is fitting and conducive to adventuring. The Pits of Tartaros have mysterious notes floating through the level as you solve your way through the puzzles and platforming. Although the music is decent, it’s hard for me to recall specific songs because they tend to be a little bit forgettable. On the other side of sound is the voice acting, which for me felt a little bit underwhelming. Fenyx’s voice grated on me a bit as well as another story character after the tutorial. Zeus and Prometheus however became one of my favorite parts of Immortals. They narrate a pretty big chunk of the game here, and I fully welcomed it. Some players may not enjoy it, but when I hear Prometheus chime in with a note about a certain location or event, I sat back and absorbed the corny but endearing humor. Zeus played a great character as well with his inaccurate renditions of classic Greek myths, which Prometheus promptly corrected. The combat sounds were great as well. Hits and clashes sounded impactful and made successful parries that much more satisfying. 

The spoiler-free version of the story is that the Gods have been scattered across the Golden Isle by the god Typhon. Fenyx is a mere mortal destined to reunite the gods with their essences and defeat Typhon. The whole game is narrated as you set out on your journey to save the gods. Some may not enjoy the narration, but I think it gives the game more character and something interesting and funny to listen to while you move through the game. Greek myths are thrown in here in there as you explore different locales. I must admit that I sort of ended up losing a little interest in the story since there are so many other things to do. The story isn’t bad by any means, but it sometimes gets lost as you head in the direct opposite direction of a main quest. Luckily it’s simple enough to follow even after long periods of not touching it. To its credit, a huge and complex story would likely lead to losing my interest due to having no idea what’s going on in the timeline. Immortals sticks to a relatively formulaic story of “power-up and beat the big bad guy” that helps keeps things simple and easy to follow. It’s not particularly memorable, but it serves just fine as a vehicle to deliver solid gameplay and enjoyable exploration.

The shining star of this game is the way it feels. Gameplay is immensely satisfying and incredibly fun. Combat is smooth and I personally feel it might even be a little bit better than Breath of the Wild’s combat. Parries, perfect dodges, and striking were all smooth and a ton of fun to do. Gliding, sprinting, and moving around, in general, all looked and felt great. Using Hermes’ wings really drove home the “cool-factor” of having equipment built by Greek gods. The Pits of Tartarus, essentially puzzle and platforming levels to earn lightning for stamina upgrades, were decent too. Some of them were super engaging and a blast to go through, but others really fell flat for me. The tedious nature of a couple starting grating on me pretty severely as I continued to grind out health and stamina upgrades. Feynx’s god powers were also amazing, especially Ares’ spear attack. These added a lot more depth to the combat since you could choose options like chucking rocks at enemies’ heads from far away or slamming down a massive hammer on them. The variety of combat styles keeps the game fresh enough to not get bored. Some of the optional mythical beast mini-bosses felt a little bit too easy since many of them share move sets, especially after I discovered I could parry the projectiles of aerial enemies. 

The best way for me to describe Immortals: Fenyx Rising is just a big bag of fun and discovery. I can’t help but fall in love with the environments, lush colors, graphics, gameplay, and endearing humor. If you haven’t picked this up, you’re missing out big time. Immortals is so much more than a “rip-off” of Breath of the Wild. It’s a game filled with amazing lore and a whole lot of heart. 

Rating: 8.5/10