Immortals Fenyx Rising's final piece of DLC unexpectedly changes the traditional perspective and progression of many previous Ubisoft games, making The Lost Gods a genuine treat for the new IP's conclusion.
The Lost Gods does one of the more admirable feats I’ve seen a piece of DLC accomplish in recent memory.
Immortals Fenyx Rising has felt like experimental ground for Ubisoft ever since I played the game last December. As a Breath of the Wild-like, it hit the right notes while fitting nicely into the Ubisoft mold of open world games. The first DLC, A New God, integrated the base game’s challenging puzzles into a more complex gauntlet but ditched most of the story. The second piece of DLC, Myths of the Eastern Realm, swapped Greek mythology for Chinese. Though retaining most of Immortals‘ identity, Myths didn’t change too much and instead acted as an opportunity to explore a near-untouched setting for games.
The Lost Gods is the biggest experiment done on the part of Ubisoft in quite some time. Though DLC content for other games like Assassin’s Creed, Ghost Recon, and Watch Dogs acts as story expansions with new characters or a new gameplay flourish here and there, they stick with the established core of the game they are expanding. Players are likely going to find the same third-person action they’ve been used to.
For Immortals‘ final piece of DLC, Ubisoft Quebec decided to again have a different main character featured in a new locale. This time, however, the gameplay perspective and progression system have been redone. Players won’t encounter an expansive open world they can fly through on magic wings. Instead, The Lost Gods shifts to an isometric viewpoint akin to Diablo or Hades, transporting players into something entirely fresh.
While The Lost Gods at its core is not far removed from Immortals, the dynamic shift is rewarding for players seeking out new ideas. No, The Lost Gods is not a dungeon crawler focused on scouring the world for continuously improved loot. Instead, the familiar powers, eccentric humor, deep exploration, and wild combat have been remodeled, fitting into a mold that surprisingly excels at trying to remove itself from the pack.
For those lamenting Myths of the Eastern Realms‘ departure from Fenyx’s story, The Lost Gods should come as a treat. Picking up after the events of A New God, players will find the Greek pantheon of gods divided. Several gods have broken off from Olympos and Zeus’ reign, starting their own kingdom called the Pyrite Islands. Of course, their departure is causing chaos and natural disasters back home so Fenyx, as the newly christened God of Unity, must find a way to make things right. Because Fenyx is being closely watched by Zeus, she can’t directly interfere and calls upon Ash to help. Ash is a devout believer of the gods and follows Fenyx’s guidance with some direct help from Owlthena–a cute name for Athena’s owl form–to bring peace back to the world.
The Lost Gods is much more comical than the previous DLC. Where the relationship between Ku and Nuwa was softer and a bit more maternal, Ash, Fenyx, and Owlthena are constantly cracking wise and lightening the mood. Ubisoft Quebec has often excelled more times than it has stumbled when writing the comedy bits of Immortals. If this was never your kind of humor, a third piece of DLC is going to do little to sway you from the opinion of the main game’s writing.
For those that don’t care as much about the tone, The Lost Gods is also key because it introduces a number of gods missing from Fenyx Rising. Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, and more show their faces and are fully voiced with their own unique personalities and tasks for Ash to accomplish. I wonder if the intent was always to hold these gods back for the DLC or if Ubisoft planned to introduce them in this smaller way so they can play a larger role in a potential sequel. Either way, the expanded cast actually makes The Lost Gods‘ narrative feel robust. It may not rival the run time of the main game but there is certainly a lot to do.
The most noticeable thing players encounter will be the isometric viewpoint. No longer can the camera be pointed in a direction and wings will take them there. Ash has to hoof it across the Pyrite Islands and doesn’t even start out with a double jump! At first, I found this transition to be jarring. I constantly was jerking the camera around trying to peek over a ledge or get a glimpse at a distant spot. Rather than being an open world, The Lost Gods is more guided and linear. Players are certainly able to travel off the beaten path but they won’t get far. Navigational powers are slowly unlocked over time to help Ash scale heights and traverse impossible distances.
It may feel awkward at first to have the playable character in this game feel so grounded. Yet it isn’t trying to be a clone of itself. The Lost Gods isn’t Immortals Fenyx Rising 1.3. And while the Pyrite Islands features the same biomes as the Golden Isle, approaching them one at a time as the story dictates makes them feel more intimate as players will have to spend more time on them before progressing. This DLC also features Vaults and puzzles just like in the main game and the isometric viewpoint is different enough that it incentivizes Ubisoft Quebec to try new methods of challenging the player with an old bag of tricks.
To further twist the formula, progression isn’t exclusively tied to upgrades and roaming the map for collectibles. The Lost Gods features a mild loot system that focuses on the player collecting ingredients from the world and defeating enemies to acquire specific items. Mushrooms and pomegranates are now grouped with olives and figs and ember. Killing enemies will reward eyes, horns, feathers, talons, and other trophies. Covering the world are altars where Ash can combine these ingredients (and fast travel). To refill their health, earn buffs, rest, or even save, players will need to use these finite ingredients. After a day/night cycle has ended, all but the rarest resources will reset, meaning that a save or more health isn’t far away.
What makes this system more interesting is how it is integrated in the combat skills brought over from Fenyx Rising. Ash has the same godly powers as Fenyx and they function nearly identically here. But each godly power, weapon attack, and skill has nodes that can be unlocked with the right amount of items. Unlock one node and the skill can be used in the air. Unlock another and apply a specific colored buff that can increase Ash’s loot drops, stamina regen, critical chance, or other stat. A few dozen nodes can be unlocked across every skill, allowing players to turn Ash into a specific kind of fighter based on their playstyle.
This new system comes in handy during intense combat encounters. Fighting from this perspective forces players to somewhat rethink how to approach specific enemies. Not only do new enemies add a few twists, old fiends don’t seem as easy when players have less control over the camera. The Lost Gods features several lengthy fights where enemies will keep spawning after the first mobs have been defeated. However, health and stamina orbs drop more frequently, allowing Ash to survive longer.
The formula used in The Lost Gods isn’t perfect. Stripping Ash of the faster navigational abilities does cause the game to have a slow start. Players might not always be sure if they are going to land a jump or not, especially when they can’t have full control of the camera. A horse becomes an incredibly useful method of traversal but it will buck Ash when running into enemies. The frequency of coming across new altars means that players can fast travel and upgrade with ease and I appreciated how progression was barred until collecting the right ingredients to unlock a bridge or jump pad.
Fenyx Rising‘s battles were fun because their hack-and-slash nature was elevated by the godly powers that allowed players to take advantage of groups of enemies. While it may not be as flashy here, it’s obvious the moves fit the mold of this genre.
Immortals Fenyx Rising: The Lost Gods is a great piece of DLC because it’s entirely unexpected. Who would have thought an open world game of this nature could be distilled into an isometric platformer with great combat? As far as experiments go, this is one of Ubisoft’s stranger ones. And I really hope its a sign of things to come. Personally, I probably won’t ever reach a point of fatigue with open world games. They are easy to get lost in or put down for a long period of time and come right back to. The Lost Gods isn’t short by any means but it’s also unique enough that it may act as proof that new genres and new IPs can amount to something special for the publisher. I truly believe Fenyx will be back in all her godly might.
