Immortals Fenyx Rising
Gliding through cotton-puff clouds and galloping through lush meadows… Ubisoft’s open-world adventure has catapulted itself straight into our hearts
It’s tempting to write off Immortals as a sort of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Lite: a place for Ubisoft to dump its spare Greek-flavoured assets.
Yes, it shares plenty of the same DNA, but the mythical Golden Isle offers much more – it’s stuffed with colour and charm, and littered with secrets and opportunities. You play as Fenyx, a hero handed the task of liberating the world from Typhon, a monstrous beast who has turned all mortals to stone – including Fenyx’s brother and, even more unforgiveably, some chickens.
We played as the female Fenyx. Likeable but feisty, she’s everything you want in a reluctant hero, and the customisation options – while limited – anchor you that bit more firmly to your wayward warrior. As the cast expands beyond the (hilarious) double act of narrators Zeus and Prometheus, you’ll find yourself sincerely caring for the Isle’s cursed inhabitants.
It doesn’t matter where you venture – this world is yours, with plenty of enticing treasures and battles to distract you. You’ll see similarities with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, only Immortals feels more accessible. Plus this is an open world in the truest sense: once you’ve completed the introductory missions it doesn’t matter which region you choose to explore first, and you can indulge your every curious whim.
Evolving the character involves collecting ambrosia to boost your life meter, completing vaults to unlock Zeus’s lightning for better stamina, and upgrading weapons and armour as you go. Resources are plentiful and there are countless power-ups to collect.
Yes, this open-world RPG very clearly wears its Zelda-shaped inspirations on its sleeve; but don’t let that mislead you, because Immortals has plenty of charm of its own. The near-perfect blend of challenging combat and delightful puzzling is wonderful enough, but chuck in engaging characters and a stunning open world, and you owe it to yourself not to skip this game.
Vikki Blake