Next week, it\u2019s Immortals Fenyx Rising<\/em>\u2019s turn. It\u2019s a new franchise in Ubisoft\u2019s stable, made by the team formerly responsible for fan favorite Assassin\u2019s Creed Odyssey<\/em>.<\/p>\n Like AC Odyssey<\/em>, Immortals<\/em> takes place in ancient Greece, but this time it\u2019s more like a Saturday-morning cartoon version of the lands described in ancient greek mythology. You play as Fenyx, a young soldier who can either be male or female depending on the player\u2019s choice in the opening sequence.<\/p>\n At the start of the game, Fenyx gets stranded on The Golden Isle, and is tasked with rescuing the Greek gods from the hands of Typhon, a monster looking for revenge after being banished to Tartarus.<\/p>\n Immortals Fenyx Rising\u2019s is incredibly similar to the Assassin\u2019s Creed games, with a bit of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild<\/em> thrown in the mix. After a lengthy introduction to explain the combat and climbing mechanics, you\u2019re thrown into the open world and you\u2019re free to explore the huge island as you see fit.<\/p>\n The Golden Isle is littered with dungeons, challenges, collectables, and other stuff to collect. Like in Breath of the Wild<\/em>, you climb up to a high point and take out your binoculars to scout points of interests you want to navigate to. And like in Breath of the Wild<\/em>, you then jump, glide down, land, mount your horse, and make your way to your objective. Sometimes you\u2019ll have to scale a cliff or a mountain, and like in Breath of the Wild<\/em> you have to be careful not to run out of stamina while doing so.<\/p>\n The Breath of the Wild<\/em> comparisons don\u2019t end there; the challenge dungeons are extremely similar to BotW<\/em>\u2019s. Some of them are combat focussed, others have you dragging around big objects to complete puzzles, and some are more platform-heavy.<\/p>\n There are a ton of these dungeons scattered throughout the world and it\u2019s obvious that Ubisoft Montreal put a lot of effort into crafting them as they are very elaborate, but I can\u2019t say I enjoyed them much. I often found myself seeing the solution to a puzzle, but having to fight with the game\u2019s fiddly controls in order to complete it.<\/p>\n The combat, on the other hand, feels a lot more satisfying. Immortals Fenyx Rising<\/em> has a very active combat system that allows you to build up your damage as you string long combos together without getting hit. You can\u2019t block, but you can dodge and parry, so you\u2019ll be zipping around the battlefield, trying to get strikes in without getting hit.<\/p>\n Immortals Fenyx Rising<\/em> might look like a kid\u2019s game aesthetically, but it\u2019s no slouch on the default difficulty setting. The combat is often punishing and simple button mashing won\u2019t get you very far. You become more resilient as you upgrade your stats and unlock more moves, but the combat stays challenging as you face more powerful enemies. The fact that healing items are scarce, especially in combat areas, doesn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n Overall, Immortals<\/em> ranks somewhere in between the phenomenal Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla<\/em> and the disappointing Watch Dogs Legion<\/em> in the pantheon of 2020 open world Ubisoft games. It\u2019s very derivative and frustrating in some parts, like the puzzle dungeons, but satisfying enough in others.<\/p>\n I had higher hopes for a new franchise made by the people behind the critically acclaimed Assassin\u2019s Creed Odyssey<\/em>, but that\u2019s not to say Immortals is bad<\/em> per se. It\u2019s decently enjoyable. It has its moments. I\u2019m sure people who crave a big open world with a ton of (side) activities will not be disappointed. Personally though, I\u2019d rather put some more time into Assassin\u2019s Creed Valhalla<\/em>.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/11\/IFR_screen_GriffinBowArrow_20200910_945pm_CEST.jpeg\")
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