In Ubisoft's new Immortals Fenyx Rising, exploration is one of the best features the game has to offer. The Golden Isle is a stunning world, filled with magical creatures and mythical relics, and players get thrown into it nearly from the beginning. Just as Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild began with the player free to roam and figure it out, so too does Immortals, though in a bit more of a hand-holding way. Regardless, it's a lot to take in at once, and between the challenges and story missions and resources to gather, there's a lot for players to learn about from the start.
When it comes to fighting the monsters of ancient Greek myths, it's always a good idea to have a few tips to help navigate the magical and perilous Golden Isle.
10 Sidestep! Avoid! Dodge!
Alongside various weapons to use, players have plenty of options to effectively fight against the creatures of the land. Dodging, as in any game, is a skill taught to the player early on, and as always, it proves effective. However, once players are taught how to parry, or later on when they're given God Powers, it becomes easy to forget about dodging. In some games, it doesn't matter and this is especially so in games where a counter can be a guaranteed kill every time (some fans will recall Assassin's Creed II).
Yet, in Immortals Fenyx Rising, dodging is a mechanic that comes in handy not only in boss battles that require it, but even against hordes of small enemies when stamina or health is just too low. It might not be the flashiest, but it's certainly effective.
9 Mushrooms
When players are being led along Story Road in the beginning, it's important to stray from the path a bit. Going too far will lead to fights new players just can't win, but by giving into the temptation and exploring the gorgeous world a bit, players can find a rather large amount of resources. They're not quite the big value items, but stocking up on even the basics can prove extremely helpful when things get sticky–and there's plenty to do as soon as the story kicks off.
Look around and fans will find a plethora of blue mushrooms. There's plenty to go around, and Fenyx will need them as the stamina bar is super low to begin with.
8 Marking Up The Map
Not far into the first bits of exploring the map, players will be requested to climb up to a vantage point (minus the trademark Assassin's Creed crouch) and familiarize themselves with the area. The story will point towards a specific event happening in the distance and urge the player to go. Of course, Fenyx will have to go–her heart of gold can't ignore any bad situation–but stay back for just a moment and scan the rest of the area.
Points of interest will pop up as players hover over them, so it's important to do a good scan of Fenyx's surroundings before taking off to go help the poor soul. Repeat at every vantage point after that.
7 All The Ambrosia
With a beginner stamina bar, players will feel inclined to avoid large climbs for a while. Some veterans from Breath of the Wild still remember those horrible falls endured at the last moment. However, at the top of particularly challenging climbs likely lies Ambrosia, which Fenyx can use to upgrade her health bar one chunk at a time.
The health bar is a decent size to start with, but that won't prove true for very long into the game. Ambrosia can be found nearly anywhere in the Isle, but challenging climbs are a really good place to start. It might take a few extra blue mushrooms to get up there, but health is a thing more precious than gold.
6 Exploring With Caution
Adventure is out there! It certainly is, but depending on how far "out there" is, there also lies death and frustration. While the Golden Isle is an open world, it's not as open as it may seem. Worked well into the landscape (sometimes) are terrain challenges that naturally stop players who haven't advanced enough from treading any further. However, a little creativity and some boosts can bypass those, and players can find themselves in a much more treacherous land than the one the story had led them to.
The game doesn't rely on levels or experience, but there certainly does seem to be scaling of some sort because enemies in those far lands can be extremely damaging and dangerous. If players want to minimize deaths, by all means explore, but do so cautiously.
5 Light & Heavy Combos
In combat, players have two different weapon styles: heavy and light. The light weapons are pretty much swords, and the heavies are essentially axes. Fenyx begins her story with light attacks and after a puzzle or two, she's then taught how to use heavy weapons and attacks. Heavy attacks will fill up an enemy's stun bar (the blue bar beneath their health) and this is perhaps the most useful against large enemies.
However, against hordes, the heavy attacks also have a nice area of damage, but chances of stunning all of them at once is actually a bit of a challenge. Rather, players would be better served by attacking once or twice with a heavy weapon to stop hordes in their tracks, then quickly single one out for a fury of light attacks. The results will be quite successful.
4 Sneaky & Stealthy
The comparisons made of this game to Assassin's Creed: Odyssey are typically because of the games' settings and certain game mechanics, like the previously mentioned vantage points. Yet, in Immortals, perhaps the most reminiscent of Assassin's Creed is the stealth mechanic. When Fenyx crouches in tall grass or remains out of sight of an enemy, she has the ability to go for a stealth attack.
Depending on the size of the enemy, this attack can either be a one-shot or take a good chunk of health. As the game progresses and things get a bit more fast-paced, it's easy to feel like one can't be bothered with trying for the stealth attack. False–one can be bothered, and it's always well worth it.
3 Using The Skills
Some players skip through tutorials or info boxes in games, even if they haven't played it before. In this game, it's not a habit that's really rewarded. In fact, Immortals Fenyx Rising does an amazing job of incorporating all of the skills and tricks that players learn through the course of the game. These are mostly tested in the various challenges scattered across the Golden Isles, and while some of the lesser puzzles might not incorporate much, the larger challenges will use nearly everything Fenyx has learned up that point.
So it's important to pay attention to those skills learned in even the most mundane of moments. Chances are, it's going to come back and refuse to let Fenyx pass until she gets it.
2 Catching Like Herakles
Herakles, as everyone knows, is revered for his strength, and Immortals celebrates this by naming one of the God Powers after the very same demigod. Called Herakles' Strength, it allows players to pick up and handle objects from afar, essentially by telekinesis, even allowing them to hurtle large objects at enemies. As players learned in the Bioshock series, hurtling objects at enemies can do a large amount of damage, and this is also very true in Immortals.
Throwing rocks at a Cyclops won't necessarily blind him, but he won't see the major health-loss coming. It's important to note that creatures can also throw objects at Fenyx. In that case, Herakles' Strength allows players to catch those objects mid-air and toss them back. No reason to get hit by anything again.
1 Fighting Mikros The Adorable
The first real boss that players encounter is a little-but-not-little cyclops called Mikros the Adorable. Despite his name, he's a mean bastard and he's got Fenyx in his sights. Here's where players should use all that was previously discussed: dodging, hurling objects, and light attacks when he staggers back. Toss a stone brick at his face, then speed in for the flurry of light attacks, and make sure to quickly dodge out of the way, otherwise Fenyx will get the wrong side of Mikros' swollen red arm.
With these skills, players will be ready to embark upon the Golden Isles and save the world from the evil that lingers deep in Tartaros.