On the occasion of Ubisoft forward we were guests of the French software house to try what it was originally known as Gods & Monsters, aka Immortals Fenyx Rising. The location chosen for the event is certainly unusual, but given the current times everything is lawful: in fact we were able to try the title directly from our home with all the comforts that come with it. Our gameplay session, lasting about two hours, took place completely remotely by connecting directly to the developers' PCs.
Despite this, our experience was not altered in the slightest: the streaming was in fact very fluid and the input lag really low, equally guaranteeing us an excellent gaming experience.
Without delaying too much, let's get to the part that interests us most, namely the game. Immortals Fenyx Rising is an open world action title with RPG elements, conceived and developed by Ubisoft Quebec, the same team that makes Assassin's Creed Odyssey. In this new epic, also set in Greece, we will take on the role of Fenyx, a valiant warrior whose task will be to save the Greek gods from a terrible enemy, all using her own sword and the same powers of the gods of Mount Olympus.
Other than that we know nothing of the narrative, but in these two hours, in addition to carrying out some missions of the campaign, we had the opportunity to explore one of the five portions of the game map. The game world will in fact be divided into different areas, all characterized by a unique style, completely different from each other: of course we post to move between the various areas without the aid of various loads, unless we use rapid movement.
Under the mighty voice of Prometheus, our test begins Forgeland, home of Hephaestus, god of fire and forges, our task will be to cleanse the area of a terrible corruption that is sending the whole of Greece into ruin. In the missions carried out we had to go to different points of the map to free areas from the corruption that is infesting the whole of Greece: here, in addition to fighting different types of enemies, we also have to solve several mini puzzles in order to continue the purge. . In all we faced four main missions that eventually led us to the forge of Hephaestus, where a very tough boss was waiting for us.
The game map of Immortals Fenyx Rising, in addition to presenting the primary quests, we also find several secondary activities, such as nice paths to do with the arrows shot from our bow, where upon its completion we will be provided with coins to spend later to perform upgrades, or flight challenges that will see us face obstacle courses all gliding, so as to to improve both our flying styles and to receive a reward. In addition, we also find different dungeons, paths of varying intensity that will test our skills, where at the end we will unlock or enhance a new power.
The gameplay, although at first glance it may be simple, it is very effective and fun. On Immortals Fenyx Rising our warrior will have at his disposal five types of attack, two relating to the sword and three to the bow. As imaginable, the sword features attack classes: light, faster but less effective in terms of damage, heavy, slower but more effective. The bow instead presents the quick attack, the slow attack that will allow us to better aim in order to inflict more damage and a third mode that will allow us to control the trajectory of the arrow. In addition to this Fenyx has 4 skills available, or the powers of the gods, to be used in combat by pressing the appropriate command: these attacks will however consume the Stamina of our heroine, so we will have to use them sparingly. Obviously, the parade cannot be missed, this unlike what has been seen on other titles, will have a limited duration because it will consume our stamina.
On Immortals Fenyx Rising we will have different ways to move around the playing area. In addition to walking, we can run, until we run out of stamina, glide and ride a horse. We will have to get the mount by exploring the map, just approach the horse slowly, calm it down and mount it: once this is done we will always have it at our disposal. Fenyx also does not know fear, in fact it will be possible to climb anything, from the rocky wall to the highest building, the only problem will be the stamina, once finished we will fall causing us damage or death. Our warrior will also be able to swim and dive underwater and guess what, even here we will consume the stamina bar and, once finished, we will drown.
As mentioned Immortals Fenyx Rising has RPG components. In fact, we can modify Fenyx's armament in order to increase its defense and damage, we can unlock new abilities through the use of the skill tree and enhance the powers of the gods by carrying out the dungeons scattered around the game map. Life and stamina will recharge automatically, but not during the fight: here we will have to use some potions or fruits that we will find scattered around. There are crafting stations scattered around the play area to create potions.
On the graphics sector we do not feel like giving an opinion because, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, we tested it in streaming and therefore between bit rate compression and reduced resolution, we could not try the title in all its glory. But we can tell you one thing: during the test of Immortals Fenyx Rising we did not encounter any type of glitch or bug that could compromise our game. The level design, on the other hand, is truly inspired and unique, with landscapes, as far as we could see, really well done, with many elements on the screen and many elements to climb on. Plus, the title gave us a great feeling, as if we were truly in ancient Greece.
Immortals Fenyx Rising was a pleasant surprise, characterized by a really fun gameplay that is unlikely to tire, all combined with a good dose of difficulty, especially when we find ourselves in front of the boss fight. Although two hours are few to give an opinion on the title, for the moment we can be satisfied with the work done by the guys at Ubisoft Quebec. Obviously, all that remains is to wait for the release of the game, set for December 3, 2020 for all platforms, including the upcoming consoles and Nintendo Switch.
