Why Immortals: Fenyx Rising PC may be Ubisoft’s Best Game in Years

We don't even need to say it, but, Ubisoft makes a lot of games. Most of them are - in our book - pretty darn awesome. Just this year alone, we've gone over some of Ubisoft's finest work, but none of the highlights so far seem to match the greatness of Immortals: Fenyx Rising PC.

Now, Fenyx Rising is an all-new IP for Ubisoft, and it's a given that fans of the publisher's existing franchises might've missed it entirely. Today, though, we'd like to highlight the game's key features. Really, if you're on the fence about not having anything exciting to play, you're going to want to pay attention to this one.

The problem with existing, established franchises is baggage. Assassin's Creed games need to center their core philosophy on the Human vs. Isu clash. Ghost Recon games need to be about, well, Ghosts operating behind enemy lines. Far Cry, too, is always going to deal with "regular" people becoming freedom fighters. You get the point, either way.

Immortals: Fenyx Rising on PC is Ubisoft's clean slate. This is an all-new release that's genuinely not tied to anything else. It does, however, push Ubisoft's core game development philosophies forward in the best way possible.

What makes Immortals: Fenyx Rising PC so good?

As some of you are bound to recall, Immortals: Fenyx Rising wasn't always known as such. Its original title was the arguably more appropriate Gods & Monsters, which Ubisoft ended up ditching along the way. The game was developed by the same team who produced Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which is particularly important for our description of the game as a clean slate.

Really, Odyssey and Fenyx are sister releases. The two games share heaps of DNA, from mobility options all the way to character gearing and progression. A major difference between the two, however, is that the developers had free reign on what direction to move Fenyx into. The end result, then, is a lovely sandbox experience that showcases the very best parts of modern Assassin's Creed games without being weighed down by their downsides.

Immortals: Fenyx Rising on PC received almost unanimously positive reviews, with coverage citing great humor, fun puzzles, and a unique take on classic Greek myth we all know and love.

Players are effectively left to their own devices with their very own custom avatar, and they simply need to assist the gods with their tasks in an extremely spacious open-world environ. In turn, when all is said and done, said gods - Zeus, Prometheus, Aphrodite, Ares, Atalanta, etc. - will empower the protagonist on their own quest for vengeance.

Simple and effective! This simplicity is, in fact, the game's strongest suit.

A new take on Greek myth: one that aims to make you have fun

There's no incomprehensible conspiracy behind Immortals: Fenyx Rising. There's not a prolonged character growth arc to deal with before the real narrative begins to unfurl. Fenyx is, instead, fully self-contained. We'd go so far as to say that it's inspired in its straightforwardness.

Within the first couple of minutes, you'll already be running and exploring. The level itself - Golden Isle - is a huge fantasy affair. One where you can climb, fight, explore, and fly to your heart's content. What makes the experience special is that the game doesn't take itself too seriously. It's funny and charming wherever you turn, and it's perfectly fine if gameplay takes precedence before narrative cohesion.

Fenyx's whole schtick is that it's built from the ground up just to be fun. Strange as that might sound, most games don't take this lesson to heart.

There's the awesome Season Pass, too

True to form for a major Ubisoft release, Fenyx Rising on PC also has a bunch of post-launch content for players that want more. There were three major expansion packs featured as part of the Season Pass, and it's worth pointing out that value-minded players can splurge on the Gold Edition to get all content at a lower price.

Namely, the three DLCs are the following:

• A New God
• Myths of the Eastern Realm
• The Lost Gods

While 'A New God' features the baseline player character - Fenyx themselves - the two other DLCs are set in all-new locales and, in the case of Eastern Realm, even features a different mythological pantheon.

The end result, though, is clear as day - loads of content wherever you turn, and then some extras once you're done with it all. We don't think the game is going to get any further expansion packs, as there's nothing been announced as of late 2021. A sequel, though, may enter production over the next couple of years if luck would have it.

Breath of the Wild on PC, natively? It's already here!

Open-world action adventures with light role-playing elements come a dime a dozen nowadays. We can't blame you if you can't think of a reason to play Fenyx Rising based on its genre alone.

The thing that matters the most, however, is that there's practically no other game in this particular niche. Not even the likes of modern Assassin's Creed games, no. And the niche we're talking about is that of completely free-form travel-oriented sandboxes - much like Nintendo's very own Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Naturally, there are ways to play Breath of the Wild on PC, but if you're looking for a native adventure game of this caliber, you just don't have anything else to choose from, other than Fenyx Rising on PC. Of course, we're thrilled to report that the game is amazing. It sure would be more interesting if we had a few more games to choose from, however.

This is why Immortals: Fenyx Rising is as important as we're making it out to be. It was a way for Ubisoft to try something new and different, yes, but it could very well be the trendsetter for a new kind of ARPGs. Ones where puzzling and exploration are every bit as important as loot-farming.

So, if you're even remotely interested in trying out this kind of game, do not sleep on Fenyx Rising. It may well be a breath of fresh air for you, as it were.

Don't forget about other Ubisoft franchises, though

So, will you be joining us to defend the Pantheon from Typhon? We sure hope so, because Immortals: Fenyx Rising PC is one of those games that we absolutely want to see matched and surpassed in the future. Make no mistake, this is franchise material right here, and with there being no proper AAA Breath of the Wild equivalent on PC, Ubisoft is in a unique spot to position itself as the authority in this niche.

Time will tell whether they agree, of course. The good news, then, is that at least we'll always have Fenyx Rising itself. It's a joy to play no matter what you're doing, it's absolutely loaded with content and things to do, and it's not directly connected to any other major Ubisoft IP. In effect, it does its own thing, and that's quite refreshing indeed.

If you'd like to read more about some of Ubisoft's recent successes, we've talked about them earlier this year:

• Is Valhalla the right Assassin's Creed to play in 2021?
• Ubisoft's The Division 2 is way better than you probably think: here's why!
• Ghost Recon Breakpoint in 2021: Retrofitted and reinvigorated!

There's a good reason why Ubisoft is as popular and ubiquitous in gaming in this day and age, we feel. The content we've prepared about their products here at 2Game illustrates that perfectly, if you're interested in learning more. In the meantime, we'll be seeing you around!

Play Immortals: Fenyx Rising on PC today - right here at 2Game!