Immortals Fenyx Rising (Xbox Series X)

Greek myth is often treated with an air of reverence, this classic period of gods and myths ripe with intriguing tales that have been adapted in many ways over the centuries. However, a broader cultural awareness has emerged that if you look at the substance of the stories being told, they can actually be quite strange and ridiculous. Zeus, often portrayed as a serious, powerful, and fatherly god of gods also turned into unusual animals to romance women and his own daughter emerged from his forehead. To hear the action-adventure game Immortals Fenyx Rising is based on Greek myth might conjure images of a stuffy and composed story of gods and heroes, but instead it chooses to take this more humorous approach to Greek myth and because of it, seeing how it approaches such ancient stories ends up one of the best parts of the experience.

 

Immortals Fenyx Rising tells of the monstrous being known as Typhon who has begun to overthrow the selfish and fickle gods of Grecian myth to let the world decide its own fate. At the same time though, the mortals of the land have been turned to stone, and with his fellow gods falling one by one to Typhon, Zeus seeks out the prophetic powers of Prometheus, the titan who once gave mortals fire and now suffers in chains for it for the rest of his days. Zeus hopes only for a quick look at how to solve this pair of problems, but Prometheus insists on telling the tale in its entirety with a wager with Zeus that if its mortal hero defeats Typhon, Prometheus will be set free. Zeus accepts, and so begins the story of Fenyx, and while their appearance and gender is yours to customize, their tale of rising up when no one else is left standing thanks to the stone curse will unfold in a similar manner. Four gods have been robbed of their godly essences and you must set out to restore them to normal, all while exploring the Golden Isle that has brought together creatures and characters from across myth and legend.

 

What makes this tale more interesting is that comedic bent applied to this hero’s journey. Prometheus reciting the tale isn’t just a set up for the adventure, he and Zeus are frequent commentators on it, Prometheus taking it seriously while Zeus is almost like an excitable child contributing his thoughts or objecting to elements he doesn’t like. Sometimes this can manifest in gameplay elements like Zeus’s interjections leading to enemies appearing or the two gods bickering by way of changing whether or not a boss ahead actually poses a threat to Fenyx, but the game quite wisely doesn’t go overboard with this so it’s more interesting when it does arise. Instead, the narration provided by the pair instead is a fun way of introducing concepts from classic myths and draw attention to how absurd some of them sound or acknowledging the actual implications of such events. The gods in Immortals Fenyx Rising are often capricious, self-centered, and dismissive of mortal affairs, and while this is played for laughs at times, it is also highlighted as an important element of how Typhon’s begun to tear them down. While Fenyx is the main character and the one you control and they have a story about rising to be a hero despite self-doubt and living in their heroic brother’s shadow, Zeus is perhaps the more richly realized character.

Beginning the tale as an egotistical hedonist who cares little for how his actions impact others, the running commentary throughout the adventure allows Zeus to gradually realize the underlying themes and recurring elements of many Greek myths as well. Rather than just pointing a finger at strange stories of this particular pantheon’s antics, by focusing more on a layman’s interpretation rather than a historical reverence, we also have Immortals Fenyx Rising creating a narrative arc for Zeus as he comes to see many of his own drastic divine acts for the often selfish or destructive actions they are. Part of this comes from that core goal of restoring the four gods, Fenyx needing to assist the diminished forms of the god of love Aphrodite, god of war Ares, the goddess of wisdom Athena, and god of the forge Hephaistos and Zeus naturally having caused problems for his family that he can now reflect on. In fact, aiding these gods often has Fenyx trying to help them overcome some of their personal issues as well, although at the same time, the game sort of loses its way in some of its messages as they become muddled or even subverted the deeper into the story you go.

 

For example, in assisting Aphrodite you find her diminished to a caring and generous tree, and to restore her to normal you have to actually reintroduce her selfishness and critical nature. You do also address some of her insecurities, but even after restoring a god to normal you’ll often find they’ve slipped back at least somewhat into their old ways, leading to an unusual message perhaps best embodied by Hephaistos’s problem where the thing Typhon removed from him was his memories of pain and torment. While there is an idea that we need negative emotions like doubt to ensure we approach moments with the proper level of caution, you are also restoring some aspects of his former life with less justification and once he’s back to normal the other gods resume bullying him and criticizing him. Not every one of the four gods has been reduced in such a manner either so it’s not always a message of people needing both good and bad traits, each of them having some physical impediment or alteration to personality that would invalidate their normal aid and the issues occasionally just skin-deep. You do at least have the element of humanizing these godly beings that helps with Zeus’s growing understanding of the value of mortals and how gods aren’t so above them after all, but messages outside of Zeus’s character development can sometimes seem muddled and thankfully a heavy dose of effective humor can steer the narrative ship away from depending on making statements on morality.

 

The Golden Isle that Immortals Fenyx Rising takes place on is an open space where you can tackle the trials before you in whatever order you please, different regions of the island divided to match the god you help in that area. Aphrodite has beautiful plains, Ares’s region is made up of the remains of a battlefield, and Athena’s has structures that lean into classical Grecian architecture, and with your ability to climb most any surface, glide far across the land, or ride mounts you can easily tame in the wild it’s pretty easy to cross and explore it even before you start to get more instant fast travel options from your map. It can be a lovely world at times and the orchestral music playing behind it feels like it takes the world more seriously but sounds quite good for it. Most of your activities will tie to assisting the gods in a series of quests, but there are other actions to take while out in the world. Some like making the constellations have you exploring a nearby area to solve little ability-focused puzzles to grab orbs and build a constellation, the fresco tile puzzles unfortunately are basic slide puzzles you need to push around but they’re small in scope so you can get them done and get the nugget of lore tied to the image quickly enough, and there are plenty of small trials like needing to guide a flying arrow through axe handles that test your reflexes and time management a bit in quick and lightly rewarding diversions. Some objects like Ambrosia that goes towards health upgrades are out in the open but require you to figure out how to reach them, but the Vaults of Tartaros are instead small puzzle dungeons you enter and need to figure out how to overcome their specific gimmick like avoiding lasers on a moving platform or using wind to help guide spheres to their right slots.

You have a small range of abilities that ends up being tested in both combat and puzzle vaults. A double jump, your glide, a bow and arrow that also fires slow motion shots you guide with the control stick, and the ability to lift and move objects from afar end up being your usual tricks in all situations, and depending on the situation the interactions involving them can be surprisingly simple or fairly good challenges. In fact, sometimes you can concoct your own solution, such as a time I was fighting a cyclops much stronger than me and I hurled all the nearby rocks into him during the fight, leaving me with nothing to hold down a button nearby that needed a certain amount of weight. Luckily there were trees nearby though, and after cutting them down I could weigh down the pressure pad and get my reward. Sometimes though instead your gliding ability or a later acquired powers can invalidate some puzzles while others at least make sure to make good use of barriers or object requirements to prevent such things. Few puzzles get particularly complex but there’s still a wide enough range that still touch on interesting ideas like needing to guide a ball through a poisoned maze you can’t personally enter that show at least some creativity was brought to them to keep them fresh. Each god has their own expansive dungeon to top off their segment too that usually introduces a new gimmick like cubes that float or fall when hit to give them new life and an appropriate sense of gravitas for their elevated importance over normal vaults.

 

Exploring and grabbing goodies for upgrades to your character is perhaps the more compelling part of Immortals Fenyx Rising, because the battle system, while having its moments, also faces an issue down the line. When it begins you have a swift attack with a sword and a slow heavy attack with an axe, enemies having stun meters that leave them open to attacks when filled that your axe is better at filling on top of being able to break enemy defenses. You have a dodge roll where timing it right slows down time and your bow gives you a way to attack from range, and when things start and you’re on an even enough level with enemies, you will consider your tool kit as well as later acquired abilities to take down tough foes or manage groups. Different abilities can be bought with the rewards from side activities like the constellation challenges, vaults will give you the means to up your stamina since abilities draw from that resource that is also used for climbing or gliding, and you can acquire new weapons from treasure chests and the few side quests the gods give you that can give you new edges in battle. Fighting above your power level can be tense and there are special monsters out in the world to take down for rewards, but the rewards can come in a bit too quickly even if you’re grabbing them more along the way rather than devoting yourself to them.

 

You are able to brew potions for healing, stamina restores, and buffs, and with the abundant mushrooms and plants for them all over the world you don’t really need to save them, especially as you up their potency and carrying capacity with goodies from side activities. This makes buffing potions easy to slip into regular combat, but it also means even when you fight legendary beasts or heroes of legend like Herakles and Achilles, you can often power through with potion use a bit too much. The game does start to throw in foes who teleport or pack very powerful strikes so you can’t just focus down enemies without a care for yourself, but it also gives you a helpful bird companion named Phosphor who can do things like apply heavy stun or even restore some health for you. Phosphor’s attacks recharge surprisingly quickly too so it’s not just a singular helpful boost in combat but something you can use with only a few seconds break between activations, making it perhaps too powerful for little cost. You can even get equipment variants with gradual healing as well, and this isn’t necessarily late game gear either not just because the island is open to explore but because it can be grabbed in the early areas before you’ve even helped half the gods. Luckily fighting isn’t a huge focus and there are a few tricks left in the game’s back pocket to keep the battles from becoming stale and mindless, and fortunately there is a bigger emphasis on the puzzle solving and world exploration elements so even when you get a few tricks to simplify some of those, they aren’t so easily weakened in substance.

THE VERDICT: The open world of Immortals Fenyx Rising is more appealing for what you do in it than the fiends you face in combat. While the battles don’t become completely brainless, the game is a little bit too generous in its rewards and the fighting loses some of its edge a bit too early, but the beautiful world filled with many entertaining quick side activities and vaults with interesting ability puzzles keeps the game going. The personality is perhaps its greatest charm though, and while it muddles some of its messages in how the story unfolds, getting to hear the incredible amount of comedic dialogue from the gods still makes progressing the story a rewarding prospect. Zeus on commentary duty with Prometheus especially shines with the god of gods having a well done arc on top of amusing anecdotes and contributions, Immortals Fenyx Rising able to borrow beasts and characters from myth but still have its own identity thanks to the deconstructive lens it applies to the old stories.

 

And so, I give Immortals Fenyx Rising for Xbox Series X…

A GOOD rating. While giving the player appreciable rewards in terms of expanding their combat abilities over time is what ensures the side activities in Immortals Fenyx Rising are more than busywork, the fights losing their edge is what holds it back from being a better rounded experience that would easily earn it a higher rating. The game’s amusing approach to its mythological origins is surprisingly well handled, with things remaining accurate in appearance in details but the gods and characters have a greater awareness of their own strangeness or approach them with more modern mindsets, Zeus even whining that Herakles isn’t using a better name in an allusion to Hercules or talking about how the goddess of victory Nike feels like a good fit for sportswear. The game has a good sense for pulling back to let Zeus have moments where he can reflect on his actions in a more serious light without fully breaking away from its light tone, and while Fenyx does end up having the more standard story path of growing to be confident in themselves, there is also the weird but sometimes effective message about needing some negative emotions and character traits at times to ensure things get done. It also unfortunately contrasts some with the examination of the gods as sometimes callous and amoral and while some character examinations like Athena’s troubles with gelling her own wisdom with other’s advice works when viewed independently, you don’t get as cohesive a message as one might expect. It all does work towards helping Zeus out though and he does end up a likeable character despite his early moments of being the awful god of old, and by having well constructed puzzles and a good world to host them you’re not just relying on the narrative elements to carry it. Hearing the gods talk is sometimes the stronger reward though so perhaps the improvements to Fenyx’s power could have been reined in some, but Immortals Fenyx Rising can still remain entertaining even when things go quiet because it cooks up enough different ability challenges and a few good fights to keep it lively.

 

While not every player might have the deep knowledge of Greek myth to appreciate every subversion or examination present here, the game does at least bring them up to speed some before applying its skewed perspective on them so they can be amusing for all. Knowing these come from actual stories definitely makes their twists more enjoyable and reshaping it all into a tale meant to move Zeus into being a better person gives them an extra weight and purpose. It does feel like it doesn’t have a perfect handle on what it wants to be at times, it doesn’t gel with its themes perfectly and it has some blatant similarities to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in terms of open world design and puzzle construction. However, it feels like this identity built from pre-existing ideas doesn’t hurt it as it tries to rethink them and apply them in new ways, Immortals Fenyx Rising built on the shoulders of giants and having some entertaining ideas on what to do with them even if that makes it iterative by design rather than a fully unique experience.