Immortals Fenyx Rising

[DisturbedSwan]

Played the demo of this on Friday and thought I’d give my thoughts on it.

 

Played around 40 minutes to an hour and I definitely would’ve liked longer with it which is a good sign. 
 

Graphically it’s very colourful, it reminded me quite a bit of the game Rime mixed with a more cartoony AC Odyssey with a sprinkling of Zelda.

 

To play it’s immediately reminiscent of AC Odyssey. The way the combat system works with all the special abilities is very familiar, but it is definitely more flamboyant and less grounded, it feels like the system has been jazzed up and some of the moves you can pull off are a little closer to DMC than the weight of AC:OD.

 

The way all the landmarks and points of interest are pinned to the top is very similar to AC:OD as well but then a lot of games use that system nowadays. 
 

The most interesting aspect to me was the puzzle aspect. I only came across one in my short time with the game but it was a nice surprise, reminded me a bit of some of the puzzles you’d come across in BOTW and was satisfying to complete. 
 

The way Fenyx moves is very familiar to BOTW too, there’s a stamina bar that depletes as you run and climb. She sprouts wings when you Glide which looks and feels very similar to Link’s glider in BOTW.

 

It has a playful sense of humour to it as well. The way the demo plays out is that Zeus and Prometheus are narrating a story but keep getting it wrong, so things change on the fly for Fenyx as they adapt their stories in an attempt to get things right. The two have a lot of character and are nowhere near as stoic or uptight as some of their other interpretations in games over the years. 

 

Overall I was impressed with it but needed more time real to nail down a recommendation. It’s a lot of fun though and I think it will be a great world to get lost in but I can’t shake the feeling that it might be a little bit unoriginal and not doing a lot of new things per se. Saying that, I’ll definitely keep my pre-order after playing the demo, I love new IP and want to play some more after this brief taste.

 

Spoiler

 

[Maryokutai]

I've been playing this quite a lot over the weekend. I'm surprised a lot of people have been, well, surprised by this. I think it is pretty much exactly what the trailers suggested, both in how it plays and works and as far as its quality is concerned.

 

A lot of comparisons are being thrown around as well and while it certainly borrows heavily from certain franchises there are till some rather important differences to note. In regards to Assassin's Creed in particular, I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding going on, because this really doesn't feel like an AC game. You might have stealth as an option, but since enemies are usually bundled up your stealth kill is usually just a way to turn the tables for the unavoidable combat scenario happening afterwards. It is not, like in AC, a working alternative to get rid of entire enemy groups.

 

Combat works really well though and is miles ahead of AC combat, funnily enough. It doesn't reinvent the wheel; last-minute dodges activates witch time, parries give you a bit of breathing room. Enemies have both health and a stun gauge à la Street Fighter and if you fill up the latter they are open to big punishment. You can unlock a bunch of cool moves and additional standard attacks like launchers, longer combos or spikes summoned from the ground. I particularly like the skill to pull yourself towards flying enemies, feels very much like a DMC move.

 

Traversal too is more BotW than AC due the stamina gauge. You need to think about which paths to take when trying to get higher ground but can safely glide off wherever you go since unlike BotW, a depleted stamina gauge will still let you glide down to earth, albeit vertically instead of horizontally.

 

The favourable comparisons to BotW unfortunately don't extend to the puzzles. They aren't bad, but they're hardly as cleverly build around a unique set of systems as in its obvious influence. A lot of puzzles are, in fact, not really puzzles per se but rather ask you to find a certain pressure plate or switch you need to activate to turn off a barricade. Others ask you to rebuild a picture out of four pieces (I wonder if those will become more complex later on), set torches on fire with your guidable arrow and so on. It's unobstructive and fun but, again, not remotely as clever as in Zelda.

 

It can also be rather hard to find spots of interest on the map, which is simply put very convoluted. You can certainly find your way just by looking at prominent landmarks on the horizon, but god luck finding the Tartarus Vaults without stumbling on them by chance. The way BotW let the shrines emit en orange glow before and a blue glow after having beaten them was a clever way to both make them stand out in the world and let you know whether you had completed it already or not. Immortals needs you to climb on a vantage point, switch to a first person view and scan the area for secrets which will appear on your map after tagging them dring this process. It's extremely cumbersome and so far the only aspect of the game I really don't like.

 

You need to do those Tartarus vaults for multiple reasons though. Firstly because they're genuinely fun and combine a bit of platforming with puzzle elements (which are more complex than those found in the open world). Secondly because you can find both optional equipment there as well a Zeus' Lighting, which is used to level up your character.

Well, technically not, since there aren't any levels. Skills can be unlocked by spending a certain amount of coins. And while those coins are basically just another way of having XP, you only get them by doing to open world puzzles, or other challenges found around (the puzzle-pictures I mentioned, or other little things like time trial races). It a system that works and shaves off some unnecessary numbers, even though the process of going back to the temple to level up can be a bit tedious thanks to a lengthy loading screen in between (on last-gen at least).

 

Overall it's not really a game that will set the world on fire I think but it's very, very enjoyable and doesn't throw any kind of obstacles in your way. You can just play and have fun and find some secrets or unlock new abilities in a very motivating tempo. I particularly like how free-flow navigation is. Aside from the usual stuff like gliding mentioned already, you can for example summon your mount out of thin air mid-run, meaning there's no awkward pause to saddle up and get started. Dismounting can be equally seamless in that you could for example steer towards a cliff, jump off the back of the animal and glide towards the island in the distance. As a bonus, these mounts might be the first horses (etc.) in a game that aren't just a massive pain to control.

 

I'd also like to point out that the game looks absolutely fantastic, even on a standard base Xbox One. The artstyle might not be everyone's cup of tea but it's very sharp and clear, not visible aliasing at all, barely any noticeable pop-ins. The screenshots below are made in photo mode and the game looks exactly like this when playing. Certainly reconfirmed that I don't need next/current-gen quite yet, n my 1080p TV this is more than enough to make me happy.

[Jimboxy]

Edited out the Stadia demo bit in the title.

[bellow]

Definitely be playing this if it was for cyberpunk coming out. It looks great.

[Maryokutai]

I don't think there's much to forgot about here, it has a mostly standardised control scheme and you could always activate those horrendous potion and combat move icons on the HUD to get back into it.

 

Also, it seems like you unlock an AC bird companion with an early quest I didn't want to tackle just yet because it sends you to another area. Bit of a weird way of incorporating that feature but if it means I can stop using that "look around and tag secrets" thing, I'm all for it.

[Maryokutai]

I'm close to finishing off the second (of 6, if you don't count the tutorial area) map and while it's certainly easy to dismiss this as yet another UbiSoft open world I think this game is actually more than the sum of its parts. I think the reason for this is that, unlike AC for example, some of the side content follow the same overarching template but comes with its own unique set of feature. To be more specific: yes, you're going to do a bunch of Tartarus Vaults but they always come with a different puzzle element. 

 

Another reason is the combat. I've unlocked most of the moveset now and it's just really fun and very versatile. You can pull yourself up to a harpy, do your basics sword combo which knocks them away, fire an arrow at them mid-air (thanks to a slowmo-skill you can unlock) and then pull them back at you and plunge them into the ground with Hephaistus Hammer, which also sends a shockwave along the ground to catch other enemies standing around. In AC, whenever you see enemies, you kind of hope you can kill as many during stealth and/or with the bow to avoid melee combat as much as possible. Here I usually hop right in with a little extra stealth in the beginning because it's just a lot more fun to actually play.

 

The weapons and armour you find also have some very noticeable side effects, not like the usual "5% more damage when wielding spears" or "10% more damage if you have played 10 other UbiSoft games". My current bow for example has a 40% chance on freezing enemies when I land a headshot. My axe gives me a big damage boost for a short while when I land a perfect parry and my Sword replenishes my stamina the longer my combos get, so I can keep using special skills.

 

Speaking of equipment, one thing this game does really well is how it streamlines weapon and armor upgrades. If you level up your swords, all of your sword do more damage. In fact they all do the same damage and only differentiate themselves through those special effects and buffs mentioned above. I think that's an excellent system. It removes that "I'll hold off with upgrades until I find the perfect weapon" mentality you usually find yourself trapped in in those games, because you don't want to waste resources on a sword you might not use anymore after the 30 hour point. Here the only choice is whether you want to focus on one weapon/armour part or slowly level them up in parallel (which I'm doing, seems to work fine).

 

I think more people should check this out. It's a good way to pass the time until CPR has finished developing Cyberpunk.

[Maryokutai]

Stumbled upon an optional boss I most certainly shouldn't have yet yesterday, considering that he could almost one shot me and the damage I inflicted per hit was about as wide as a single pixel on my screen*.

 

If this was AC, that fight would have been unwinnable. I did eventually beat him after a solid 10 minutes of whacking (*in fact this might actually be close to the truth - I have a 1080p display and the health bars take up around 7 or 8/10th of the screen so I must have hit him around 800 times which seems about right) and using up every potion in my inventory, which shows how much more free this game actually is. He wasn't immune to my freeze arrows, he could still be stunned etc. No arbitrary progress blocks just because I didn't have enough upgrades yet. Really refreshing to see this in a UbiSoft game. And it makes me wonder how open this actually is, i.e. could I have gone all the way up to the north right at the beginning already?

[bellow]

This has gone to 30 quid at game on switch and PS4. I've took a punt on it. Would have been rude not to. Will start tonight.

[bellow]

I didn't like this at all. I traded it in and lost 12 quid.?

 

I think I'm done with buying new games now. With this and Cyberpunk it just seems like an expensive punt prone to misfiring.

 

The gamepass (or PS now) option is where it's at for me.

[retroed]

Late contender for game of the year, here. I'm around 7hrs in and loving it.

 

 

[bellow]

13 minutes ago, Nag said:

(although The Medium might get played too)

 

I was looking forward to that. Now I've nothing to play it on. I blame this forum to be honest. For unanimously cajoling me into buying that XSS.?

[DisturbedSwan]

On 29/12/2020 at 19:22, bellow said:

For unanimously cajoling me into buying that XSS.?

???

[mmmark]

First hour is crap. The worst thing is the two idiots narrating, they sound like the meerkats from compare the market and the humour is just as “simples”.

 

The character really seems floaty and not grounded to the world too. It looks how you know it’s made like it needs more smoke and mirrors.

 

Replacing filling the map with icons to having to stare at everything and hold down a button for it to appear on the map? I’m not sure that’s much of problem solver? You don’t even have to be high to do it either you can scan and have icons appear at ground level looking through terrain.

 

Climbing really needs a jump. Knowing you have enough stamina to use to climb faster makes all the difference. Here you can only drop or kick away so climbing feels like a slog.
 

Only an hour in though. Has potential? I guess? I hope it improves. 

[retroed]

2 hours ago, mmmark said:

 Climbing really needs a jump. Knowing you have enough stamina to use to climb faster makes all the difference. Here you can only drop or kick away so climbing feels like a slog.

 

There's an ability for that which you can choose to unlock a little way into the game.

 

And you don't have to scan to put the icons on the map, you can just explore ala BotW and discover things naturally as you come across them.

[mmmark]

Oh that’s good about not having to scan. 
 

Anyway after that initial bad impression it’s like someone hits the graphics and gameplay button after the prologue because suddenly all the colours pop and it looks wonderful. It’s still very much a tomy my first botw clone, similarities on paper but not execution, but quite enjoyable now. 

[Maryokutai]

The Stadia demo is now available on every platform. I wonder if that deal didn't backfire as the game is really rather good but a lot of people dismissed it as an unoriginal Zelda clone pressed through the UbiSoft filter. If everyone had access to the demo pre-release it might have become a bigger success.

 

Just for the heck of it I decided to try it on the Switch to see how it performs there compared to the Xbox version. I was pleasantly surprised, it looks really, really good and the biggest difference is probably the pop-ins and a slightly worse framerate (seems to run around mid to high 20s). In handheld mode the visuals take a bit hit, wouldn't want to play it there. But a solid job on the docked mode.

 

I also think this is kind of the ideal way of doing a demo. It shows you what to expect from the main game by unlocking quite a few of Fenyx' abilities but it doesn't spoil anything since it's a completely unrelated quest on an island that doesn't appear in the main game. Of course barely any studio has the time and money to build an extra demo like that but still cool to see.

[Maryokutai]

I always take breaks from open world games. I just can't grind through these 60-100 hour games without anything else in between. 

 

I've continued playing this after a month away or so and I'm still enjoying it. I think you sort of need to plan ahead which areas you tackle in which order. Ares' and Hephaistos' lairs are visually a bit bland so I wouldn't keep those for last for example. I've done those and are now in the Grove of Kleos which is rather pretty again and more motivating to explore.

[regemond]

Bump.

 

I started this (again) a couple of days ago. Didn't get too far in on my last attempt back in... Jesus, October 2021... So I overwrote my save with a new game. I'm enjoying it so far. It's basic and by the numbers, but it gives nice feedback and the gameplay loop is enjoyable enough.

 

Still gorgeous to look at, too. I think that's one thing I really like about stylised games; they never really age. Like, Wind Waker is still beautiful to look at, but Twilight Princess is meh. Assassin's Creed 2 trilogy is meh, but Black Flag looks awesome. This has a really nice sheen to it, and it's bright and personality-filled, so even almost half a decade on it looks really cool to me.

 

Whether it holds my attention or not, I have no idea, but I had plenty of fun playing around in the first section, at least. Let's see how far I get this time!