Immortals Fenyx Rising turned out to be a good game, but the add-ons for it were mediocre. The first is a passable set of puzzles with a couple of interesting ideas, the second is an exact copy of the game with a changed setting. Hopes remained for the third DLC, The Lost Gods, where not only a new hero has been added, but the location of the camera has also changed – now it hangs from above, and not behind the protagonist’s back.
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The events of the final expansion take place after the end of the first one. According to the plot (beware, spoilers!) The Golden Island was saved, Typhon was defeated, and Phoenix finally became the goddess of unity. But the incident with Typhon did not unite the gods, but quarreled – they began to reproach each other for the fact that none of them helped the others in trouble. Zeus drove all dissatisfied gods from Olympus, which led to chaos in the human world. Phoenix, as the goddess of unity, seemed to have to reconcile them, but Zeus forbade her to do this – let them come on their own.
Obviously, the proud gods will not return with an apology, so together with Athena, Phoenix came up with a new plan – to find a mere mortal and put this burden on her shoulders. The choice fell on Ash, a workshop worker who agrees to help the celestials and goes to Pyrite Island. It was raised from the bottom of the sea by Poseidon, after which the departed gods settled there. Phoenix gives his assistant a sword and an ax and sets a difficult task – to find the gods and convince them of the need to return to the Pantheon.
Precisely because we are watching what is happening from somewhere above, in The Lost Gods the camera is located above the ground. This does not completely change the gameplay, but at least refreshes it: the compass has moved to the lower left corner, you no longer need to scan the area, and many locations have become more “flat”. In most cases, this angle does not cause problems, but from time to time there is a strong desire to raise the camera and see what is above your head. Either this is due to habit after the main game, or because of the open world this happens. Be that as it may, it should be noted that when climbing rocks, the camera rather gets in the way – you just can’t see where you’re climbing.
Otherwise, the transition to isometry seems very successful. This is especially true for episodes with platforming (the dungeons of Tartarus are back in this add-on) and puzzles. Still, puzzles in which you need to roll a ball to a certain location or move cubes by placing them on buttons are more convenient to complete when you see the whole picture. IN The Lost Gods at such moments you don’t feel any discomfort – the riddles were clearly created taking into account the new perspective, and therefore you get the same pleasure from them as with the third-person view in the original.
Not all puzzles can be https://luckylouis-casino.co.uk/mobile-app/ solved immediately. Since Ash is mortal, she doesn’t really know how to do anything – she doesn’t even have the strength to move an iron box. So you can only dream about a double jump, gliding after a fall, even running and climbing at first. On the one hand, I don’t want to waste time re-unlocking skills from the original. But on the other hand, while you receive them, you visit new locations, collect resources and get acquainted with the gods, so you won’t be bored.
There are almost no animated videos here, the dialogues are designed like in isometric action games like Hades , but the humor remained in place – and the characters were voiced well, and the jokes were successful. Particularly funny are the dialogues between Phoenix and Ash – an experienced traveler through the ancient Greek lands who is familiar with the gods, and an inexperienced beginner who had previously seen these gods only carved from stone. And when Athena joins them, appearing before Ash in the form of an owl, you listen to the conversations with even greater interest.
Made from what was
The change in perspective also affected the combat system. You can jerk to the side, but for some reason the slowdown does not work, although a familiar effect appears on the screen. Despite having both a sword and an ax in the arsenal, enemies do not have a stamina bar, so strong attacks simply deal more damage. But parry remains in place – using it is not much more difficult than with the previous camera. Gifts of the gods work in the old fashioned way (when you receive them, of course) – they consume energy and cause a lot of damage to enemies – but at the same time, one of the main innovations is associated with them.
From now on, all the skills and gifts of the gods can be upgraded – each of them has several divine influences. You buy them for resources and you can apply elemental essences to them – they drop out of enemies in huge quantities and quickly fill up your inventory. The effect of essences depends on the chosen influences: the same red essence can either increase maximum health or give a small chance to stun the target after hitting it. Can increase stamina or reduce target’s defense when hit. Four essences allow you to “hang” on a sword, another four – on an ax, three each – on the double jump skill, planning, and so on.
It turns out to be a very interesting system that offers much more flexible character customization than in the original. But here the equipment also has power-ups that open up as you upgrade your helmet, armor and weapons. You may find armor that freezes enemies for a few seconds after you parry. Or an ax that deals damage to everyone in a small radius when you are focused on only one target. Those who like to meticulously select characteristics will certainly like all this – you don’t feel a lack of resources here (if you don’t ignore plants and chests, of course), so you can experiment freely.
The main thing is that this system manages to open up. There are many locations on the map – among all the additions, the largest territory is represented here. The duration is quite long – at least ten hours. There is an incentive to complete side quests for spirits – they are quite simple, but the rewards for them are enhanced versions of the entities. If the usual one gives one cell of stamina, then this one gives two at once. Or if the chance of something for a normal one is 30%, then for an enhanced one it’s 45%. So the DLC rewards exploration of locations: resources are often hidden in chests, and those require solving a puzzle or defeating all enemies; large deposits of materials are indicated by a colored icon on the compass; It makes sense to carry out additional tasks.
It’s worth paying attention to pumping, if only because The Lost Gods often does not spare the player and expects him to be ready to fight back against any dangers. Often, groups of enemies are just the first wave, after which another pack of larger monsters will appear out of thin air: cyclops, four-armed giants, big birds – you name it. The only annoying thing is that sometimes there are too many fights – sometimes you can’t even run a hundred meters without meeting someone on the way. In addition, defeated creatures do not vacate the territory forever, but are revived when the game sun rises, which makes returning to old areas more difficult.
But the further you go through the expansion, the more willing you are to meet groups of all sizes. Once you’ve pumped up your stamina and installed essences that allow you to save it or deal bonus damage with gifts, it becomes easier. There are no potions to replenish health or energy – you need to hope that the corresponding spheres will fall out of your opponents. Or put an essence with vampirism on some object and take away the health of your enemies drop by drop.
Another minor problem relates to the altars that are placed in large numbers throughout the island. Everything here depends on them: you can only customize your character’s characteristics there, and fast movement around the map is impossible without them, and you can’t even save the game until you come to one of them. All this costs resources, but after a few hours you collect so many of them that there is no need to save. Therefore, it is not clear why the player should be so limited – saving is still okay (although it’s a shame to die and load a relatively old “save” if you forgot to record your progress), but trying different builds with new entities is not as convenient as it could be.
Generally The Lost Gods – the best supplement for Fenyx Rising. Its developers took the most responsible approach to offering players something fresh. The isometric camera solution doesn’t always seem to work, and there are a few obvious problems with the gameplay, but this DLC is catchy. As in the original, you enjoy solving puzzles, eagerly clear the map, and listen to the dialogues with interest. And the updated leveling system allows you to customize your character and gives you reasons to explore the world – I wouldn’t be surprised if this idea is transferred to the sequel (which there will probably be). It’s a pity to finally part with the game, but the adventure ended on a positive note.
Pros: an interesting idea with changing camera angles, which works in most cases; funny characters and dialogues; large map and good duration for an expansion; excellent leveling system that allows you to customize your character to suit your needs.
Cons: the camera sometimes gets in the way; too many fights; Altar-related restrictions seem inappropriate.