Immortals Fenyx Rising is a game being developed by Ubisoft Quebec. This is Ubisoft’s take on an open-world Greek mythology epic, inspired by the like of Zelda and the original God Of War games. The game was originally known as Gods and Monsters and is set to release in December of this year. The trailers and gameplays are showing some promise, and it has become one of our most anticipated games this year, alongside Cyberpunk 2077. We are optimistic about this game, but we also have some concerns nevertheless.
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Concern #1: Too Much Inspired From The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Ever since the game was announced last year, everyone has been drawing comparisons to the Legend Of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. Even the developers have gone on record saying the same. For starters, it is neither uncommon nor bad to get inspired by a piece of art. All FPS games can trace their roots back to Doom, all Soulsborne games are inspired by Dark Souls.
Also, keep in mind, we are talking about Zelda, a gem that was exclusive to a limited audience. Immortals Fenyx Rising consists of dungeons, puzzles, and encounters set in a varied open-world. Some puzzles are shown in the gameplay footage also show striking similarities between the two. Our concern is that it is resting too heavily on its inspirations and not doing enough to carve out its own identity.
In Response To Concern #1
From what we have seen from the game so far, the game has some differences to its inspirations. The game has a lot more robust combat system, along with skills and abilities to provide buffs and characterize your playstyle. One more curious piece of information is that Immortals Fenyx Rising does not seems to have a systemic world. Zelda: BOTW is known for having a world where things in the game world, such as lightning can have a huge impact on how you play. The reason this is interesting because Ubisoft was one of the first ones to implement systemic game worlds in titles such as Farcry 4.
Concern #2: Quest Structure
The game’s larger narrative involves around you rescuing Greek Gods from the Titan Typhon. Immortals Fenyx Rising boasts a non-linear quest structure, again from the inspiration from the likes of Zelda. The idea of putting content everywhere on the map and everything advances you further and further in the main quest, but I do have some concerns. Ubisoft isn’t entirely new to the concept, having done somewhat similar things in Farcry 5. It was an alright game, but it lacked a lot in the aspect of quest structure.
All quests you tracked would give out XP on completion, and bring you closer to fighting the bosses. Most quests were repetitive, not memorable at all, and had production quality issues, lacking dialogue and cutscenes. On top of that, sometimes you would run out of quests and be forced to do camp liberations and stashes which were tedious. We fear that Immortal Fenyx Rising may tread the same route when it comes to quests.
In Response To Concern #2
What happened with Farcry 5 and other Ubisoft titles around the same period can be traced back to its corporate structuring. Ubisoft had a group of executives that would control the creative vision on these titles. These games had been reduced to unauthentic, compromised, and repetitive products for reasons beyond our understandings. After a series of allegations on these individuals, the company has been through some restructuring and things are changing. Their newer titles are showing promise. When it comes to Immortal Fenyx Rising, critics who were given some time with the game have positive reviews. They are praising the game for it’s fun and interesting open-world and meaningful and engaging side content.
Concern #3: The Larger Narrative
Immortals Fenyx Rising will feature character customization. You will be allowed to choose between a male or a female protagonist and customize their traits according to your liking. I am not a fan of the customizable character features as it is a one-size-fits-all-needs approach. We would only appreciate this feature in RPG games where player choice is a big part. In games such as this one where you embark on a set journey, this doesn’t just feel right. Ubisoft has done a fair job with character customization in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey but their game worlds are a lot different. Where Odyssey is bustling with NPCs and key figures, Immortals feature a torn apart empire with little in the name of NPCs. We fear that this character customization may strip the game of its character depth and personality.
In Response To Concern #3
In response to the above concern, we can only imagine that our player may be a lot less significant to the narrative that we may think at first. The devs have said many times about the Greek Gods telling the stories and the quest is a part of a foretold prophecy. This is somewhat similar to Dark Souls and that game relies heavily on its lore for more information and world-building. Immortal Fenyx Rising might just be trying to do a similar type of storytelling and character customization might just be a way to help players immerse in the game world.
Final Thoughts And Conclusion
As you might have read above, our thoughts on this game are contradicting themselves. Most of this can be attributed to Ubisoft’s previous track record. But, we are also very optimistic about this game and looking to get our hands-on with this title as soon as possible. We genuinely want this game to surprise us and prove to everyone that Ubisoft is just as good as it was back in the early 2000s.
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