Immortals Fenyx Rising: Zelda Breath of the Wild’s Cousin

Related by blood just not directly.

(Photo saved from Nintendo)

Hello, you guys. I hope everyone is having a fantastic day. Today, we’re digging into another Ubisoft game. Immortals Fenyx Rising was released by Ubisoft and developed by Ubisoft Quebec on December 3rd, 2020. Its older cousin, Zelda Breath of the Wild, was released and developed by Nintendo on March 3rd, 2017.

For Ubisoft, this was the first original yet not-so-original franchise since Watch_Dogs. And for Nintendo, Zelda Breath of The Wild was one of the launch titles for the Nintendo Switch. So, I’ll quit the history lesson. Let’s see The Similarities between BOTW & IFR, The differences, and what this game signifies about the gaming community.

(Photo screenshot by Nia🫧)

(Photo screenshot by Nia🫧)

The Similarities

Right off the bat, I couldn’t help but notice the game’s release dates. December 3rd,2020 & March 3rd,2017. Three years & 9 months apart precisely. The traversal and combat were the most similar mechanics between the two games; however, Immortals is the inferior one in this aspect – the type of encounters you have with enemies. For example, You see Cyclops roaming throughout the map similar to Hinox or you can run into a hoard of undead warriors similar to a hoard Bokoblins.

Their are Rifts similar to the Shrines you would find and complete in Zelda. Herakles’ Strength is similar to the classic Telekinesis rune on your Sheikiah Slate. Taming horses and them having perks of different levels. Finding speed or arrow challenges from the Gods throughout the map is similar to Korok seed challenges. You can earn different weapons and armor and mess around with them to see what works for you. For my final similarity Gahon and Typhoon both are the big bad you have to traverse the whole map in order to get stronger to beat.

(Photo edited by Nia🫧)

(Photo edited by Nia🫧)

The Differences

Based on the earlier section, you’re probably thinking…

“Well, damn, is their differences at all?”

Well, yes, absolutely, some better than others. For example, The art while almost similar they are absolutely different. Zelda has more of a cartoonized style, while Immortals has a more classic animation style. Also, climbing is another; in Zelda, you can press X to jump to cover more ground as a pose to Immortals. You have to eject and double-jump to do the same.

In immortals, your horse isn’t scared wherever you tell it to go, so no more getting stuck on small ledges like in Zelda. The stories are different as well. Breath of the Wild revolves around Link, who has lost his memories but now must save Zelda and stop Ganon. In Immortals, Fenyx, Our main character, sets out on a journey to save our brother by destroying Typhon, and it tells us Prometheus to Zeus. I’m not going to lie. These two make up for this game's lack in terms of story. I cant tell you how many times I just would bust out in laughter hearing them bicker as they narrate.

Anywho, weapons in Immortals don’t have weapon degradation, so you don’t have to drop or break weapons every 5 seconds like in Breath of the Wild. Also, Immortals has many more perks and powers to mess around with than Zelda. Finally, Link has been a silent protagonist the entire time he’s been a part of the Zelda franchise. Fenyx is a voice-acted character. We don’t talk very much.

(Photo screenshot by Nia🫧)

(Photo screenshot by Nia🫧)

What this Game Signifies about the companies as a whole

So we reviewed the similarities and differences, but what does all this mean anyway? Well, not much, honestly; Zelda Breath of the Wild and Immortals Fenyx Rising sold well. Zelda sold more, with approximately 31.15 million copies, and Immortals selling about 1.8 million copies.

This post was supposed to draw attention to the relationship between these two games, both for the better and worse. However, I did want to shine a light on one more significant issue that has become more prevalent over the years: the lack of creativity from gaming as a whole. And this doesn’t even apply just in this case, either. Think about how many other Souls-like or Metroidvania games you’ve stumbled across. Hell, these names are from already-established games.

But remember guys, I’m not saying these are bad by any means, and all these games do have their merit. In the case of these two games, Immortals is scratching the itch for those who will probably never own a Switch. However, these are some things to remember when buying games, and we should not let these companies get away with quantity over quality.

(Photo screenshot by Nia🫧)

Conclusion

I hope you guys play both of these games for yourself. Throughout today’s post, I might have sounded cynical, but I did enjoy both games. Although Zelda’s Breath of the Wild is the better choice & is my most fantastic game of all time, it’s that good. As I mentioned earlier, both these games have their merits. I especially recommend at least playing Immortals Fenix Rising because you will more than likely find it on sale. Finally, I thank you guys so much for reading. As always, the week is going to be a little different. I’m challenging myself to post every day, so turn on notifications so you don’t miss any of this week's posts, and as always, I’ll catch you guys in the next one :).