DLC updates for Immortals Fenyx Rising came quickly and generally expanded into the best parts of the game. The first, A New God, was a continuation of the already great story and featured some of the most difficult and complex puzzles in the game. game. The second, Myths of the Eastern Realm, was essentially a bite-sized sequel with an all-new setting based on Chinese mythology.
The latest DLC, The Lost Gods, attempts to remix the core gameplay of Rising, taking things from a third-person action game to an aerial brawler.
It's definitely a great swing and a weird one.
Combat in Immortals Fenyx Rising is already perfectly fine. While it's fast-paced and well-animated - albeit a bit simplistic - the core focuses on well-done climbing and exploration mechanics. Tackle the massive world of the Isle of Gold as Fenyx draws players into a perfectly silly story, and the perspective brings it all together.
Unfortunately, The Lost Gods' new take on things doesn't quite live up to the base game and other DLC released so far. It still says a strong subplot, but it's ultimately a step backwards.
Immortals Fenyx Rising: The Lost Gods Review – Something (A Little) Different
The Lost Gods returns to the Fenyx storyline after switching to a new protagonist in Myths of the Eastern Realm. The newest addition to the pantheon is in trouble as the world continues to suffer from all kinds of natural disasters.
Fenyx and Athena believe it's because Zeus has alienated some of the other gods, including his brothers. The Olympians themselves cannot interfere directly, so they recruit a mortal champion named Ash to bring Poseidon, Hades, and the rest of the gods back into the fold.
Ash is friendly enough, but she looks way too much like Fenyx, especially if you played the female version of the character in the base game. It looks a bit like a retread; she is smart, sarcastic, and completely dumbfounded by the task given to her by the gods.
A New God was all about Fenyx's transition from mortal to joining the pantheon, and The Lost Gods is her first foray into flexing her newfound powers as an Olympian. She's as well-acted as ever, and she has some strong banter with Ash.
Beyond that, the writing and voice acting are still damn excellent. If you're fascinated by the way Immortals Fenyx Rising has handled its characters and depictions of Greek mythology, there's plenty of new content to check out in The Lost Gods.
However, by essentially starting from scratch with a deadly new character, The Lost Gods feels like starting all over again, especially since the combat hasn't evolved much from the base game despite the change in perspective.
The DLC is slowly handing out upgrades once again leading to a bit of frustration after playing the main game. Movement feels slow for a while as you have to relearn abilities like double jump and reclaim your mount, and everything that made Myths of the Eastern Realm's "fresh start" is completely ignored here.
There are a few customizations you can do this time around; as you progress through the DLC you get different “blessings” that focus on certain combat areas. Enemies drop items that you can pick up and use to further enhance these abilities. For example, an item can be added to your swordfighting blessing to allow you to swing through the air. The add-ons get a bit more complex as you progress through the DLC, but it's a system that, in theory, allows you to boost the weapons and styles you like to use.
In practice, however, it takes far too long to get to the same point you are at the end of the base game. You get a few fancy tricks up your sleeve as you work your way through, but it's just a really weird thematic choice to completely turn off your character by continuing the game.
Ultimately, this is The Lost Gods' biggest downfall. The other two DLCs find ways to build on the successes of Immortals Fenyx Rising, but this expansion feels like a simplified retread of things. The Lost Gods feels too similar despite its deviations to really come close.
Immortals Fenyx Rising: The Lost Gods DLC – The Bottom Line
Benefits
- Modifies the game formula
- Continuation of a strong history
- Excellent voice acting and introduction of likable new characters
The inconvenients
- Looks like a simplified version of the main game
- Also feels a bit like a retread of the main plot
- Aerial camera makes it hard to appreciate or orient yourself in the world
- The combat gets a bit numbing, and there's a lot of it
The other DLCs for Immortals Fenyx Rising aren't anything spectacular, but they add significant value to the game and provide new ways to explore the world. The New Gods takes the biggest risks of any post-release content by completely changing the way things play out, but those risks ultimately don't pay off.
It's commendable what The New Gods is aiming for, but it's not something most people will be interested in unless they're very interested in seeing the story of Immortals Fenyx Rising through to the end.
[Note: Ubisoft provided the copy of Immortals Fenyx Rising: The Lost Gods DLC used for this review.]
