Ubisoft Quebec has dared to tackle a new brand – and this is highly commendable of the developers. Fenyx Rising Immortals, which originally Gods & Monsters What it should be called is an action-adventure game that sounds much more ambitious on paper than its generic name suggests. After all, it takes itself very bluntly The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a true milestone in gaming history, as a model. And let me say this upfront: anyone expecting Zelda-level quality here will be disappointed. Nevertheless, Fenyx Rising Immortals Currently not the worst way to pass the time while waiting for the promising gaming year of 2021.
Heroes, gods, and bad punchlines
In Fenyx Rising Immortals We slip into the role of the eponymous heroine or hero – we can choose our gender – Fenyx. We are shipwrecked on the so-called "Island of Gold," a mythological realm where the villain Typhon wreaks havoc and holds several Greek gods captive. So we set off to free them and, with their help, defeat Typhon. In principle, it's the typical hero's journey straight out of the fairytale cliché box. There is one potentially interesting twist: The plot is framed by dialogues between two narrators – Zeus and Prometheus – who comment on the events. These off-screen conversations are presumably meant to lighten the already very child-friendly story and add a touch of humor. Every conversation between the two ends with a punchline. But not a single one of them is good. As we scamper through Greek mythology, Zeus and Prometheus discuss rental prices on Mount Olympus, the lack of elevators, and whether Aphrodite's child is male, female, or non-binary. It sounds entertaining in theory, but in practice it has an unparalleled cringe factor. It should be noted that... Fenyx Rising Immortals It's quite obvious that this game isn't primarily aimed at an adult audience, but rather at the Fortnite generation. This is already evident in the character editor, where – even though the story is set in antiquity – you can equip your hero or heroine with colorful hair, dreadlocks, and cool undercuts. So, as a player over 30, you're not necessarily part of the target audience. But I'd venture to say that even my twelve-year-old self would have found the dialogue too silly.
As mentioned at the beginning, one must Fenyx Rising Immortals the comparison to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Don't let it go. After all, the developers have cobbled together numerous gameplay mechanics from the Nintendo adventure in a modular fashion and adapted them to what has already been around for some time. Assassin's Creed Origins The existing framework of the Anvil engine was grafted onto it. There's now a stamina bar that depletes when climbing, sprinting, gliding, or swimming. You can tame mounts. Gliders are shown on the left. Breath of the Wild is replaced by the Daedalus Wings, with which Fenyx soars through the air. The Zelda-typical puzzle shrines are here "Typhon Rifts," the Blood Moon Nights from Breath of the Wild These are called ghost zones here. The list of parallels could go on for quite some time. But this isn't meant as criticism. Being inspired by good games isn't wrong. The crucial question is: Power? Fenyx Rising Immortals Something from this blueprint? And more importantly: Is the game fun? I'd like to spoil the answer to both questions right here with a "yes and no".
Collectibles and switch puzzles
Fenyx Rising Immortals The game places a strong emphasis on puzzle-solving. These puzzles are scattered throughout the open world as side activities or take place in the aforementioned Typhon Rifts, which are essentially dungeons. Don't expect creative puzzle design, though. And generally, the different puzzle types are quite limited. Sometimes you have to activate switches, sometimes hit targets with a bow, or light torches with burning arrows, sometimes move crates, and sometimes place objects on pedestals. Essentially, after just a few hours of gameplay, there are no more surprises. In most cases, the solution to a puzzle is obvious within seconds. Nevertheless, and this is the biggest criticism, they often feel unnecessarily tedious. Let me illustrate this with a concrete example: You see a structure with several points, some of which glow blue and form a pattern. You have to recreate this pattern by placing balls on the ground according to it. The principle is therefore clear in two seconds. And yet you're now stuck with this highly trivial puzzle for another ten minutes because you first have to gather all the balls that are scattered around. That feels like a lot of padding out the playtime, which Fenyx Rising Immortals I didn't actually need it at all.
At least there are rewards at the end of each puzzle, and in most cases, they actually feel like rewards. There's plenty of collectible gold to upgrade Fenyx. Completing Typhon Rifts grants stat points, which can be used to learn new abilities. Treasure chests contain weapons or armor, each with its own unique advantages. Unlike in Assassin's Creed Odyssey Collecting equipment is actually quite fun because it's not something we can just pick up and buy everywhere, and each piece is unique. There are also a whole range of items we can use to improve Fenyx, increasing her health or stamina and crafting buffs. The character development options are quite extensive and encourage exploration of the game world beyond the main storyline.
As the game and character progress, the battles become more complex, but they never really ignite. The combat system feels almost identical to... Assassin's Creed OdysseyFenyx can perform heavy and light attacks, shoot a bow, and learns new attacks as the game progresses. But the imprecise controls, the lack of hit feedback, the clunky animations – all of this is likely to be a problem. Assassins Creed-will seem very familiar to veterans. I would even go so far as to say that Fenyx Rising Immortals Here, it even takes a noticeable step backward. When you hit an enemy with a bow and arrow, they do take damage, but there's no tactile feedback whatsoever. And the sound design lacks impact as well. When you hack at your adversaries with your sword, it sounds like you're throwing pudding against a wall. Good sound design sounds quite different. Even the PlayStation 5's Tempest engine can't work miracles here.
The variety of enemy types also leaves much to be desired. While the boss fights, in which you battle creatures from Greek mythology like Cerberus or Medusa, could have been highlights, these—like the puzzles—are more tedious than exciting. Be prepared to spend ten minutes whittle down the health bar of an uninspiring boss who endlessly repeats the same two attack patterns.
The game world, however, fares somewhat better. At its best, it's quite beautiful. The densely vegetated and verdant center of the "Golden Island" has a certain magical quality. This impression fades considerably in the barren wasteland and mountainous regions of the island, and the dungeons in the Typhon Rifts exude monotony because they're all identical. If there were a photo mode, though, you could easily take wallpaper-worthy screenshots of the pretty scenery. All in all, Fenyx Rising Immortals Visually, it's a successful overall package with a distinctive style. On the PlayStation 5, you can choose between a performance mode and a graphics mode. The performance mode runs at a smooth 60 frames per second, likely with dynamic resolution. The graphics mode is higher resolution. Without counting pixels, I'd guess native 4K. However, it's a bit of a shame that, despite the high resolution, some of the landscape textures appear muddy. According to the publisher, the graphics mode will receive an update before the game's release. So, it's possible that a patch with UHD textures will be released. That would be welcome. The power of the PlayStation 5 is enticing. Fenyx Rising Immortals That's definitely not the case. But that's okay – it's cross-gen and should also run on the PlayStation 4. The DualSense's audio-haptic feedback, by the way, is not used on the PlayStation 5.
The open world of Fenyx Rising Immortals It's a pleasant size. It's significantly more manageable and less bloated than the game worlds of recent games. Assassins Creed-Iterations, but large enough to keep you occupied for many hours. You can expect to spend 20 to 30 hours on the main story, and those aiming for a platinum trophy can spend considerably longer exploring the "Golden Island." Ubisoft makes it pleasantly easy for trophy hunters on the PlayStation 5: The "Activities" feature of the new PlayStation 5 user interface provides hints about the objectives you need to complete for a trophy, and you can jump directly to the corresponding point in the game from the home menu. Nevertheless, Fenyx Rising Immortals It becomes tiring as playtime increases. The typical Ubisoft formula oozes from every pore: after two to three hours, you've seen everything the game has to offer. The rest is redundancy. This might be satisfying for those who enjoy collecting small items and ticking off icons on the map. Perhaps you just have to accept it. The fact that Fenyx Rising Immortals The fact that it seems very soulless overall and doesn't bring any original ideas to the table doesn't necessarily make things easy.
