The larger vaults on the main path are substantial and challenging, too, and they all have their own gimmick like floating blocks or blocks that are strung together by magic. That also led to some frustrating moments in which switches don't properly activate when they should or blocks line up in wonky ways, but the physics are mostly consistent. The physics-based nature of some of these puzzles can lead to some fun improvised solutions, like using my upgraded stamina to brute force a jump or throw a block with myself on it over an obstacle. Some require that you upgrade Fenyx's short skill tree, relying on a spear move that can act as a third jump or an upgrade for your object-holding power that lets you move heavier blocks (the game tells you when you stumble into a puzzle you can't solve). Entering one might have you solve a block-and-switch-puzzle, fight a series of encounters, or take on a platforming time trial, and they're consistently clever enough that I loved hopping into each vault, even when they were brutally difficult or I got stuck. The best activities, though, are vaults, which are tiny thrills to tackle. And thanks to Fenyx's dynamic movement and ability to glide, seeing a collectible atop a giant cliff is more of a challenge than a chore. As telegraphed as every activity is, you're not just doing fetch quests that take you from point A to B and back the sliding puzzles in which you move four tiles to create fresco paintings get old fast, but Odysseus challenges, Hermes time trials, memorizing notes played by small, magical lyres so you can fast-travel back to another, comically large lyre in each area to play those notes back for a reward are small, satisfying challenges even beyond the rewards you get for doing them. But I still lost myself in the loop of pinging an icon on the map and then working to check it off. They may as well have a neon sign that says "SOLVE ME" over them.įenyx Rising sands down Breath of the Wild's pricklier edges (weapons breaking, sliding off cliffs in the rain) into something less interesting. If a torch, chest, or other part of the environment is part of a puzzle, chances are they'll be covered in a red glow with a lock icon above them. Chests and vaults emit pillars of light immediately visible from far away collectibles are huge and shine distinctly Odysseus challenges, which have you shoot an arrow through a series of hoops, cover so much ground they're hard to miss. Instead, everything worth doing on the Golden Isle could not be more clearly visible, which takes away some of their wonder. I wasn't paying much attention to the world around me because nothing is really "hidden," which is disappointing only because in its early hours, Fenyx Rising did remind me of the spacious Hyrule of Breath of the Wild, where every rock formation or tree stump hinted at some surprise worth telling someone else about. I never got the sense I was "exploring" the Golden Isle so much as I was beelining it to all the icons I'd already marked, which told me exactly what I would find when I reached them. You're rarely lost, since the first thing you do in every region is head to the nearest vantage point, scout the area to reveal it on your map, then mark a bevy of collectibles and activities to chase. Fenyx Rising, for example, lacks a real sense of exploration. At first, it was hard not to treat every similarity I spotted as a point of comparison. Now Playing: Immortals Fenyx Rising Reviewĭespite all the borrowed elements, Fenyx Rising hews closely to Ubisoft's flavor of open world. The list runs deep.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's You can climb your way up just about any solid surface if you have enough stamina one of your four major abilities lets you magically float objects above your head and move them around to solve puzzles the Golden Isle is littered with vaults, one-off puzzles that take place in self-contained parts of Tartaros. Their tale doesn't always impart that lesson, but it's able to deftly take its own flaws in stride and, while not reaching the highs of the gods it worships, earn its own praise.įenyx Rising sets the bar high for itself by borrowing heavily from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In their quest to reclaim those essences, Fenyx, a lowly soldier in search of their brother Ligryon, argues those flaws should be celebrated, not forgotten. Aphrodite loses her passion, pettiness, and jealousy Ares his rage Hephaistos his suffering Athena her self-righteousness. Typhon, its big bad, is obsessed with perfection as he overthrows the gods of Mount Olympus and strands them on the Golden Isle, he strips them of their essences, and with those essences, the flaws that made them legend. Immortals Fenyx Rising knows perfect is the enemy of good.
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