Immortals: Fenyx Rising really impressed me when it released at the back end of last year. Whilst some had dismissed it as a Breath of the Wild wannabe, it actually offered a vibrant and enjoyable adventure that brought with it some fantastic puzzle design, a wonderful world to explore, and genuinely deep combat that allowed players to string together all sorts of fascinating abilities. Sure, it might have borrowed a few ideas along the way (and I’ll NEVER like having to manually find all areas of interest from high points), but it made for a really good time.
It didn’t feel as bloated as other open-world adventures either. Whilst it had plenty of optional content to complete and collectibles to find, doing so wasn’t imperative to your progress in the game. Me? I did it all… there’s nothing quite as satisfying as hitting that 100% mark in an open-world adventure.
Still, there was certainly room for more Immortals: Fenyx Rising in my life after that, so I was especially happy when the first DLC content for the game launched last month. Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God brings with it a continuation of the story and an all-new area for players to explore, with a strong emphasis placed on solving puzzles and completing devilishly difficult platforming challenges. It makes for a really fun way to carry on your adventures with Fenyx too, even if the tough difficulty and lack of meaningful combat may put off some players.
I’m about to give away a spoiler (although it’s a pretty obvious one) for Immortals: Fenyx Rising, so look away if you don’t want to read it.
Ok… you’ve been warned.
Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God carries on directly from the end of the main game, with Typhon vanquished and peace brought to the land once more. Fenyx’s reward for her victory is a place amongst the gods, but hey, this is a video game… it’d never be as simple as just earning that place by beating the big baddie, right? Instead, Fenyx has to explore Olympos and complete new challenges brought forth by the four main gods from the previous game before she can take her seat amongst them.
You can expect the same humour from the main game to be present in the narrative, so if you like snarky banter and plenty of witty remarks, you’re in for a treat. Unfortunately, Zeus and Prometheus don’t play a prominent role in narrating the tale (which is a big shame given how much of a delight they were in the main game), but there’s still plenty of fun to be had simply interacting with the denizens of Olympos – especially since Fenyx is now expected to stand among them as a god.
Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God takes place in Olympos, the mythical home of the gods in the skies that players might be familiar with if they’ve ever watched Disney’s Hercules. This means you can expect a LOT of clouds, plenty of pretty architecture, and some striking godly sights that span over you… it’s impressive. It’s a lot smaller in scale when compared to the Golden Isle in the main game, but it’s still split between the same four gods and brings with it an emphasis on epic traversal with your wings as you glide through the air. It just feels like a really nice area to be able to explore; whilst the Golden Isle was vibrant, there’s something more delightful about Olympos that brings with it an almost harmonious presence.
Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re in for an easy ride though, with the challenges of Olympos proving a hell of a lot more difficult than those found in the main game. As mentioned, puzzling and platforming is very much the crux of Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God, with the experience catering itself more for the players who thrived in the Vaults of Tartaros. Of course, you’re in Olympos now so you shouldn’t expect the purple haze and ominous vibes of those vaults, but rather more luminous locales that’ll make you really feel like you’re up there in the clouds.
A lot of the same puzzling tropes appear again in Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God, though some fresh innovations such as magnetism, electric currents, and warping portals do more than enough to test your mettle throughout. You can’t use potions in the game either, so there’s no cheating your way through some of the challenges by hitting a fresh dosage of stamina midway through. They’re something that you’ll ESPECIALLY miss during some of the platforming based sequences that’ll see you flying through hazardous obstacle courses whilst trying to use your abilities at the same time, though some neatly placed stamina orbs do even the playing field a little.
Whilst they’re undeniably more difficult than what players faced in the main game, Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God’s puzzles and challenges are incredibly well designed and bring with them more than enough variety to feel significantly different from one another. Sure, there’s plenty of ball rolling and weighing down platforms, but there’s always some new idea brought to the mix to keep players on their toes and ensure that the constant bombardment of puzzles still remains enjoyable by the time they reach the end of the roughly eight-to-ten hour escapade.
There’s a stern test of your brains and reflexes as players solve puzzles and complete platforming challenges, but how does combat fare in Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God? Well, there’s nothing that you wouldn’t have seen in the main game really, with it taking a backseat when compared to everything else. You will face off against foes and there can be some exciting moments, but it’s clear throughout that it isn’t the priority of the experience. That may be something that will put some players off, especially if they weren’t the biggest fans of the main game’s puzzling – it does take away some of the sense of variety found in the main game too, especially since the world is a whole lot smaller here.
Whilst I was a fan of Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God, there were a few niggling issues that prevent it from striving towards DLC greatness. For one, the abilities and extras you unlock are exclusive to this alone, with nothing carrying over to the main game. Whilst this is understandable in some ways (especially when it comes to puzzle-solving and not breaking some of the main game’s challenges), it would have given an extra incentive to try and find everything if players knew they’d be able to use them in future playthroughs of the main game. At least you come into Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God with a fully buffed up Fenyx regardless of how much you upgraded them in your main playthrough, so no players will be at a disadvantage when starting.
The other issue I came across was some lack of consistency with the physics of the puzzles. Now don’t get me wrong, instances of this were few and far between so I can’t complain too much, but there were times where I’d interact with an object whilst solving puzzles only for it to do something completely unexpected and force me to start over. Believe me, there’s nothing more frustrating than leading a ball through a challenging set piece only for it to spasm out of control when trying to hit it into the path of a gust of wind or for it to launch in the completely wrong direction when hitting it into the air. Throwing objects could be a little inconsistent too and there were PLENTY of times where I’d see something I threw bounce away and become unusable. Sure, I’ll admit that some hiccups were probably down to my own little mistakes, but there were certainly occasions where things went wrong for no apparent reason.
Summary
Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God offers an enjoyable way to continue Fenyx’s adventure thanks to its clever puzzle design and charming new world. It’ll really test both your puzzling and platforming skills too, with the challenges here easily surpassing those found in the main game as far as difficulty is concerned. Thankfully, none are ever frustrating in design, with the innovative ideas each one brings offering a satisfying sense of triumph upon completion.
It’s worth noting that puzzle-solving and platforming is very much at the forefront here though, so those hoping for some challenging combat or deep exploration might be disappointed. There were a few niggles here and there with the physics during some puzzles too, whilst the fact that unlockables don’t carry over to the main game felt like a bit of a missed opportunity.
Still, there’s a heck of a lot of content to enjoy in Immortals: Fenyx Rising – A New God and its puzzling-focused romp will certainly be an entertaining one for player to dive into. It might not always hit the satisfying highs of the main game, but it’s still a worthy addition to the world of Immortals: Fenyx Rising.
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
