STACK #195 Jan 2021

STACK

GAMING REVIEWS

visit stack.com.au

Out now at

IMMORTALS FENYX RISING ACTION ADVENTURE MULTIPLAYER? OUT NOW

Previews for ancient Greek myth romp Immortals Fenyx Rising showed a lush, stylised and colourful open world that instantly brought to mind The Legend of Zelda: Breath of theWild . Developed by the same team that created Assassin’s Creed Odyssey , this semi-RPG

shamelessly borrows from Nintendo’s acclaimed game in multiple ways, from the oil-painterly visual style and

abundant cliff-climbing to the giant monuments you scale to open up the world. But fear not – this isn’t a wholesale rip-off by any means. The premise is simple, but the setting isn’t. Deliciously evil monster

RETITLED ZEUS GAME! Immortals Fenyx Rising started life under the title Gods & Monsters , however according to game director Scott Phillips, the new name “evokes the timeless nature of not only gods and magical creatures, but also the thrill of mythology itself – stories and legends that live forever through storytelling.”

The core gameplay is triple-sided – exploration, combat and puzzles – and Immortals Fenyx Rising excels at all three. A light-hearted tone, along with a colourful and cartoony game world and characters, might suggest this is a game for kids. But while it’s certainly great for younger gamers, there’s plenty here for seasoned players. Freed from taking itself anywhere near as seriously as the Assassin’s Creed games do, Ubisoft clearly had lots of fun mixing up their usual formula. Immortals Fenyx Rising is a cracker of a game, owing much to the game that obviously inspired it, but with tons of personality and cleverness waiting behind that Zelda -like framework. With superb combat, clever puzzles and a wonderfully crafted world to climb, swim and jump over, it’s one of the year’s best surprises. AH

Typhon has defeated the great Greek gods of myth, kidnapping four of their souls and jeopardising the pantheon of the Gods, with humanity turned to stone. Fortunately, low- ranking sole survivor Fenyx washes up on the shore of the Golden Isles, and sets out on a quest to liberate the trapped gods… and solve a whole bunch of puzzles along the way!

KINGDOM HEARTS: MELODY OF MEMORY

RHYTHM MULTIPLAYER?

OUT NOW

The Kingdom Hearts series is much loved for many reasons. Some adore the Disney meets Final Fantasy collision, others the wild stories, or maybe it’s the music. If the latter’s your thing, then Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is just for you. Considering Yoko Shimomura’s incredible musical works for the series over the years, as well as some of the seriously classic Disney tunes that have been used, a KH rhythm game makes perfect sense. Well, as much sense as anything Kingdom Hearts ever can! There’s much here for both rhythm game fans and hardcore KH or Disney acolytes. Beyond progress unlocking innumerable collectibles, a story that follows events of Kingdom Hearts III unfolds to those who conquer the World Tour, while the trip there delivers flashback story visuals from right through KH history. It all happens in classic rhythm game style. Your team – the default being Sora, Donald and Goofy – trundles along a sheet music

WHAT A SURPRISE?! Each level has a selection of sub-challenges – don’t get hit, whack all of some form of foe, etc – and there are also “items” that you can craft which

highway, with various assailants heading towards them to be whacked in various manners. As you’d expect, timing is critical to scoring big. Everything’s locked from the get-go, so completing the extensive story campaign is necessary to unlock more modes and songs for individual play. Worlds visited feature so many Disney classics that we’d run out of magazine listing them all, but pick a favourite and it’s likely here. The key to why this is just so, so good is that, unlike many rhythm games, it isn’t super-stressful. Sure, if you miss too many hits then you’ll bomb out, but soothing music combined with relatively chilled visuals keep frustration at bay, and there’s strong play-again pull to better previous scores. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is an absolute delight. AF

you’re then basically chastised for actually using. Erm…!

74 JANUARY 2021

jbhifi.com.au