Rumours of a sequel to 2020's Immortals Fenyx Rising have been about for a while now, but on the Games Mess Decides podcast, Giant Bomb journalist Jeff Grubb has expanded on those rumours with new information suggesting that the next game in the Immortals franchise won't be a conventional sequel as such, but more of a spin-off. It's is also claimed that it will get a "visual reboot", with the art style looking less like Breath of the Wild.
Flagged up by VGC, this podcast had Grubb quoting a Ubisoft source who claims that the upcoming game will feature a Polynesian-theme, a change in direction from the Greek myth-inspired original.
Here's a transcript of what Grubb said during the podcast discussion with Mike Minotti (with the original timestamped video below):
Ubisoft Quebec‘s sequel to Immortals Fenyx Rising is not a proper sequel. It’s more of a spin-off in the same way. The production name of the game is called Oxygen.
It’s based on Hawaiian Polynesian culture this time around. It still has a God narrator. They try to still be visually stylised but it’s less of a copy of Breath of the Wild. They talk about a 'visual reboot'.
It’s in early pre-production, seen some concept art, it’s coming maybe 2025.
The promise that the spin-off will attempt to forge its own identity and move away from the colossal shadow of Breath of the Wild is certainly promising to anyone who thought the game formerly known as Gods and Monsters cribbed a little too much of BOTW's style. In our review of the original game, this was one of our top complaints: 'The game is the off-brand cereal version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, mixed with a large helping of Assassin's Creed and a generous dash of God of War.'
Although there is still much to learn about the Immortals: Fenyx Rising follow-up — and it seems likely it'll be a long wait until we hear more — news that the spin-off will aim to create a much-needed unique identity is certainly encouraging.
Fly on over to the comments below to let us know what you think of this news.
[source youtube.com, via videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 41
Please get rid of the terrible "humour" that the previous game had. It was so damn grating and ruined and decent enough game.
The first one was a great game , hope the sequel will be as good.
Really enjoyed the first one. Loved that I could play it on my Xbox, upload the progress, and then continue on Switch when in the go.
The gameplay loop was fun, but ya it was a little too similar in a lot of ways. I would prefer if they made less vaults and more stuff in the open world like dungeons, also lean into the godly weapons and have more of them from other gods.
Personally I think "copy" of BotW was always overstating it by quite a bit anyway. Overall the game has a very different feel, especially in terms of the combat. The stamina system is similar but it omits many features that make BotW what it is and also borrows from Ubisoft's existing catalogue in other areas. Fenyx is far from perfect but to keep suggesting that it is little more than a Zelda clone does it a disservice.
Am I the only one who is okay with games being similar or copy cats as long as the game is good?
So being cel-shaded in the 2020s is looking like Breath of the Wild? That sounds kinda embarrassing even for someone like Jeff Grubb.
@hadrian the humour is one of the game's definite highlights in my book, so I'm afraid we're looking at yet another "ruined decent game" funeral disrupted by the power of varying mileage. And expecting the humour to appeal to everyone would be farfetched for any work - I, for instance, loathe that of Happy Tree Friends, but that doesn't enable me to deny its objective functionality.
The fact it was similar to 'Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' was one of the main things that drew me to the game in the first place and while I didn't think it was as good I enjoyed the game and would love a sequel but 2025 is a long time to make fans wait especially when the first game came out 2 years ago. I don't mean to sound impatient but with this not being a long running established franchise like 'Legend of Zelda' I think by holding the sequel off for too long it could affect its sales because with all the games that come and go there is a chance people will have forgotten about it by then or won't be as interested as they would if it had come out sooner after they played the first game.
Found a super cheap physical copy of the first game a few months back so figured I might as well finally grab it. Played it not too long ago, was a pretty fun time.
@dojmin
Yeah, I hate how people have turned the games that are essentially clones into a bad thing. I mean, crash team racing, multiverses, and even standee valley can be considered clone games. They are still great games though.
@dojmin No. That is usually one of the things that makes me want to buy games and as somebody that grew up playing video games like Pokemon, Mario, Sonic, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Rayman, Alex Kidd, Wonder Boy, Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Banjo Kazooie, Legend of Zelda and Metroid I always look for games that are similar to those.
Fun game. Honestly I have not played BotW so I cannot compare. Found the combat in Immortals FR is one of its highlights. Also liked the humor which is probably a hit or miss depending on one's taste. I will probably get BotW sometime in the future but there's just so many games keeping me busy.
I like the game enough and I don't really care they aped BOTW a bit but it still falls into the typical UBI map full O' icons game trope.
It's like that's all those guys can make anymore. Just a map full of icons.
The original was the game everyone pretended BOTW was.
I loved this game. So much fun! The first DLC was great too! The second and third parts lost me a bit but still a must play for the main game.
I read the title and started to comment this was a quick turnaround after the first game. But then I read the projected 2025 date in the article, and...oof, that's quite a ways away. Not that I've even played the first game yet, lol. There's just been too much other stuff to play. It's always going on a massive sale though, so I need to pick it up at some point.
I really like how they've been shining a spotlight on different cultures that don't always get a lot of representation in gaming media. Greece, the China DLC, and now apparently the Pacific Islands. I feel like 95% of games out there are based on either feudal Japan, modern America, or Medieval Europe. It's quite tiresome. While I've never played it, I know Ubisoft is also responsible for the Prince of Persia games, so that's another culture getting the spotlight.
I hope we see more thematic diversity like that from triple-A publishers. I know there's quite a bit in indie games, but most of those just don't really appeal to me. I want grandiose, large-scale 3D environments that make me feel like I'm actually a resident of these countries. Tchia for PS5 is another Pacific Islander game that looks really interesting.
I'd like to see a major studio tackle Mexican culture next. I've always been curious about Guacamelee, but I'm just not a metroidvania guy at all. So, again, I'd love to see something in 3D. I don't think Samba de Amigo or Viva Piñata would do it for me, though. I really think Pixar's Coco would be an AMAZING locale for a video game. I guess for now, I'll have to stick with Mario Odyssey's Tostarena and Rayman Legends' Fiesta de Los Muertos, lol.
How about the African savanna? Nintendo sorta dabbled in that space during the Wii U era with Tropical Freeze and 3D World, but they haven't really gone back to it. While many would consider them mediocre platformers, I can't help but adore Ty the Tasmanian Tiger and Legend of Kay for their painstaking attention to detail in capturing the beautiful landscapes of Australia and China respectively.
I'm a white American, but as a resident of Appalachia, I've never really seen my culture (positively) represented very much in media, whether movies, TV, or games. It was never one of my favorite tracks in the DS game, but I actually have quite an affection for the Shroom Ridge remake in Mario Kart 8 DX as it reminds me a lot of the mountainous roads around these parts--complete with the deadly drop-offs with no safety railing, lol. The familiarity is quite comforting.
Anyways, there's more to human history and civilization across the world than Renaissance Europe and ancient Japan. I'm so bored to death with those same tropes. I'm just now remembering Ubisoft also does the Assassin's Creed games. Ubisoft might have a lot of other ethical issues, but a lack of cultural representation is not one of them.
I really enjoyed the first game, but I had to switch audio language to Italian, lol. I couldn't stand the fake accents in the English version.
First one was excellent, please don't change style/gameloop. It only needs a bit of a tweak to humor, and it will be perfect.
@dojmin I love Breath of the Wild and I want as many knockoffs and copycats as possible. That's how game genres develop!
I've been really disappointed by how few BOTW knockoffs there have been. Apparently "create a world that is interesting and readable enough that you don't need map markers" is so hard that developers don't even try. Fenyx is definitely the standout.
(I think Fenyx would have gotten better reception if they had been bold enough to follow BOTW and gotten rid of the map icons entirely, rather than just making them optional. Turning them off completely reshapes the gameplay loop into something much better, but a lot of players don't know to do that and for them it's just yet another map icon game.)
@sword_9mm the game's biggest mistake was making the icons optional rather than just getting rid of them.
I was disappointed until I stopped using them, and suddenly it was a totally different and much better game.
Psyched that Immortals may be getting a follow-up! I'm sure it is a minority opinion, but I actually enjoyed the first one much more than BOTW. I never really got on with the survival/crafting elements of BOTW and found that Immortals kept a lot of what I wanted (dense world with lots of puzzles, traversal challenges, etc.), but had a combat and art style that resonated more with me. Certainly, BOTW was better as a work of art, but I just found Immortals more fun.
It is also a great game for exploring varying cultures and religious traditions. Polynesian will be interesting (if rumor is correct).
Although it was havily inspired by BOTW, it had its own thing. The characters were charming and the goofy gods were nice to be seen. I didn't enjoy the last part of the DLC, though. I hope they go back to something more similar to the first part.
People will still call a Botw rip off regardless lol.
@riki_sidekicks
I search and do all the icon stuff but I have read some just turn em off and play.
I'm not a fan of BOTW (more for the dumb weapon breakage than the 'no direction' gameplay) so for games like that I'd rather have a handy map marked up.
I ain't got time to search every nook and cranny in these things.
I was more just opining about how this is pretty much all Ubi does anymore. Assasin's Creed with different skins is about all they make.
First game was just "another ubisoft"
maybe this one will have some style
@dojmin I agree. I'm very okay with clones, as long as they're good. Immortals falls in the good category, imo.
first game was awesome!
the dlc have gotten worse to the point that the last dlc sucked so much, that i didnt finish it
thus im not so excited for a second game, im expecting it to be way worse
Awesome news. I absolutely loved everything about Fenix rising (playing as the female, the voice actress did such a great job, made Fenix one of my all time favorite protagonists). To me it was soo sooo much better than BoTW. The entire world was just stuffed with things to do and find unlike the vast wasteland of BoTW. Much more enjoyable combat with weapons that didn't snap after 3 swipes. Way better characters that had actual life to them. Just everything that made me sorely regret buying the generic-open-world-game-with-Link-slapped-in that was BoTW, is in this and done great. Plus the puzzles were so much better and varied.
While I would want a more direct sequel, I'll most likely pick this up since the world they made was just amazing and all the characters were memorable.
Wish they wouldn't worry too much about the BotW comparison. Anyone that plays it could tell you that's sort of an unjust comparison. What I would've liked to have seen with a proper sequel is the ditching of that annoying constant Zeus VO. Jesus that gets annoying quick. Understand that they wanted to make the game distinct from like the old GoW ges, but my God I hate that wacky wise cracking Zeus character. If that were gone I personally would like to see another Greek based immortals game. I've sunk well over 60 plus hrs on the 1st one, and still have yet to conquer the 3rd realm. Just enjoy the explorations aspect and the art direction. While it doesn't break new ground, it serves that game well, but I digress.
@dojmin
Darksiders 1 and 2 played a lot like a traditional 3D Zelda game but I was always ok with that because they did it well and were fun.
This game clicked with me in a way BOTW still hasn't (still trying after all this time too. I really loved Immortals. I think the storytelling and attempt at humor was really top notch.
Gameplay was great. First game I've actually loved and looked forward to the combat on. Amazing set of options on what you can toggle. Loved the leveling up system and I looked forward to getting the resources to level up.The puzzles in the world were spot on. But the vaults got old. They got hard just for the sake of it instead of advancing gameplay.
This game truly rose to one of my all time favorites though. And I thought it looked truly beautiful on the Switch, and primarily played it on my old 65 inch plasma. I did start the game a long time after all the patches had been applied. DLC was just so so though.
Sorry but to me, Fenix was the superior experience. Despite having zero towns, the game had way more personality. Between the narration of Zeus and Prometheus (a match made in Hades usually), the fact FENIX CAN AND ACTUALLY CHOOSES TO SPEAK, and the gods themselves. The humor ran from campy to "you may need to look up some Greek mythology to get this one", meaning it had laughs for any crowd (some didn't land well, sure, but name any fiction whose every joke does land well).
I DO enjoy BotW, but it took a second playthrough, and it still feels just devoid of personality or one simple and frustrating reason: Nintendo is absolutely terrified of actually TELLING a story. No, they just like to hint at it and let us do the work (then like the split timelines from Ocarina, plagiarise fan theories and claim it was the true story all along). Look at their lineup: Kirby, Samus, Mario, Link, DK. All silent or mostly silent enough to be called silent protags. Other M doesn't count, nor does the paper Mario games, bc they outsourced those: afraid to try to tell a story. Think that's also why the Champions in BotW had to remain dead: Leaving even one in might require a bit more story than, "Oh thank you for saving me. Don't mind me while I just sit here doing nothing more." (Hyrule Warriors/Calamity was also outsourced, so doesn't count either!) Everytime they try to introduce story to their characters, they outsource it. It ends up leaving games like BotW just...feeling empty and dead w no personality. The villagers from town to town felt like a theater troupe that changed clothes and ran quickly to whatever town you visited. Meanwhile everyone is turned to stone in Fenix, but it never felt dead.
@Not_Soos not sure if you’ve played Psychonauts but that game has a brilliant level inspired by reminiscent Spanish culture called Black Velvetopia. It’s also a 3D platformer and, at least from your mention of Odyssey, I assume you enjoy those!
@MajorasLapdog Absolutely--3D platformers are my bread and butter! Psychonauts is a series I've been interested in for a very long time now, but I only really own Nintendo consoles. I just started my first job, though, and I'm planning to save up for a PS5. Psychonauts will absolutely be one of the very first games I purchase for it! I grew up with a few games like Crash, Spyro, and Jak and Daxter on my brother's PS2 as a kid, but that's the extent of my non-Nintendo gaming experience. I look forward to finally trying other franchises I've missed out on for far too long like Kingdom Hearts, Sackboy, Astro, Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper...pretty much all 3D platformers. It Takes Two is another one I can't wait to play. Very excited! 😀
I picked up the original new for only 15 bucks at GameStop without having even heard of it a couple months ago. I've really enjoyed it! I took a break from it to play some other games, but having just finished FF7 (first playthrough in 20 years), I think I'll get back into this today. I'll look forward to the sequel!
@Not_Soos funny you say that - I only saved up for my first non-Nintendo console this year and splashed on a Series S! Psychonauts was one of my first to go to after having heard so much about it, but It Takes Two was actually the very first! I played it with my partner and it was honestly one of my greatest gaming memories in recent years. Happy gaming to you and have fun jumping into all sorts of new worlds when you get that PS5!
@nhSnork There is no cell shading on immortals.
@Gus_Campos then the comparisons are even more baffling.
They tried to do "same game but based on different mythologies" with the DLC already and it didn't really work for me. It felt like I was playing a fan mod or cheap reskin. One reason for that might be that most of your abilities are already unlocked, so if they make a full game instead of a 5-10 hour DLC it might work better.
@Dizavid Yes! Overall the humor was hit and miss, but the Greek mythology in-jokes were awesome. Most of them were genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
Also I found the Greek accents of the English narrators a bit grating, so I switched to the German dub and it was mutch better! So if anyone finds the narration annoying and speaks another language besides English I encourage you to try a different dub.
Yeah agree they attempted to be too close to BoTW with none of the charm. The “humor” was also cringe as hell
Great, so they're going to take the best game ubi has made in years and change it into something else.... Botw was good but fenyx took the formula and made it better. And the dad joke humor was fun. Idk what people want in humorous video games but I wonder if the people that think this isn't funny thought the pot jokes in g5av were hilarious.
@Ambassador_Kong So much truth in that.
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