When Zeus banished the evil Titan Typhon to Tartarus, an endless abyss of torture and suffering, he thought it would end there. But Typhon escaped, and the gods who imprisoned him were stripped of their power, wreaking havoc on their homeland, the Golden Isle. It was then left to Phoenix, a lowly Greek soldier, to save them. Why? Because it's a good story. Phoenix is an ordinary man suddenly thrown into a ridiculous world of gods and monsters. This grounds things nicely and makes for a fun and extreme, fish-out-of-water story.

"Immortals" is a big story with big stakes, but it is not a Greek tragedy. It is a comedy that takes an overused element of Greek mythology and adapts it in a self-consciously light-hearted way. The dialogue pokes fun at legends, repaints familiar characters in hilarious ways, and quotes anachronistic pop culture references. It is charming and often funny, if a bit grating at times. Prometheus narrates during play, but the droll Zeus rudely interjects, making fun of his storytelling, praising himself, and demanding that things be made more exciting. As a result, things frequently change around Fenix, such as Cyclops suddenly doubling in size.

The mythical Golden Isle is a vivid and beautifully realized setting, with each region reflecting the gods who live there. The Valley of Eternal Fountains, a corner of the island inhabited by Aphrodite, goddess of love, is an idyllic paradise surrounded by sparkling rivers, shimmering temples, frolicking animals, and colorful plants. Vogelland, home of Hephaistos, god of metalworking, is a mountainous region in autumn, littered with crumbling ruins, workshops, and rusting automata. And in the center of the island is the Gates of Tartarus, a volcanic chasm spewing lava, where, once the four gods are rescued, they will face Typhon for the final battle.

This is one of Ubisoft's most beautiful open worlds, a wonderful alternative to the somber realism of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It's as bright and striking as a Saturday morning cartoon, with a Studio Ghibli feel to the swaying grass and petals fluttering in the wind. Climb to the tops of the island's many giant statues and you'll be impressed by their scale. The breezy art style fits perfectly with the lighthearted tone of the game, and there is something truly charming about this world. It makes you want to dive in and explore every nook and cranny.

There are several ways to move around the Golden Isle, all of which are stamina-based. As long as your stamina meter lasts, you can climb any place. When your stamina meter gets dangerously low, you can drink a potion to go a little further. You can sneak up on animals such as blue unicorns or horses made of gold and tame them into horses. Animals have a stamina meter, the size of which varies from animal to animal. Also, if one discovers Icarus' wings early in the game, he can glide long distances as long as he has stamina left.

But the biggest problem with Immortals, however, is that none of the means of transportation feel particularly good. Jumping is one of the worst I've experienced in a third-person game. It is frustratingly floaty, inaccurate, and makes jumping between small platforms a chore. Gliding with the wings also doesn't feel as graceful and smooth as it should. Also, when riding and sprinting, the screen feels too smeared with motion blur and you feel like you have to fight the controls to turn. It never felt comfortable in my hands.

While on the subject of things I don't like, there are too many collectibles. Ambrosia, Zeus' lightning bolt, Karon's coin, golden amber, blue, yellow, red, and purple adamantine, flower nectar, Olympian figs, blue mushrooms, pomegranates, etc. There is also an avalanche of loot, including four different potions to make, several large skill trees to work through, weapons, armor, and skins for the bird's companion, Phosphor. It's an overwhelming amount of stuff, and a step backwards from Ubisoft in terms of elegant open-world design.

All of these objects at least have a purpose. Zeus' lightning bolt is worth investing in, as it increases stamina and allows you to run, slide, and climb for longer. Figs, mushrooms, honey, and pomegranates scattered around the world can be brewed into potions, which provide useful buffs such as increased defense and attack power. If you need a particular item, you can climb somewhere high and activate far sight, which scans the horizon and tags the object, making it appear on the map. The downside to this mode is that the map will fill up with icons while you are tagging.

Immortals is at its best when you are following the story, caught up in the neuroses of fallen gods. It's a nice touch that most of the gods and mythological figures we meet are troubled, quirky, or just plain weird. This is a very human pantheon of gods, and the screenwriters have a lot of fun with them indeed. However, if you have any knowledge of mythology, you will find many of the jokes difficult to follow.

The quests in the game are varied, and many of them are biased toward solving puzzles. In fact, I was surprised to find Immortals to be a puzzle game. Scattered throughout the map are self-contained challenges called "Vaults of Tartaros," which appear as volcanic openings and contain elaborate physics and environmental puzzles. Some are brilliantly designed, others seem forgettable, but you are more likely to hit them than miss them. Puzzles are also involved at key moments in the story, including a large and intricate dungeon at the end of each god's quest chain. Ubisoft's wide range of accessibility options also deserves praise. Ubisoft is really getting good at this.

Many of the game's puzzles involve the "bracelets of Hercules," which allow the Phoenix to grab and throw heavy objects. Dropping boxes onto pressure plates is common, as is shooting arrows through a brazier, setting things on fire, or rolling a giant ball. The puzzles are made from relatively shallow interactions, but they are combined, remixed, and repurposed in quite clever ways. The vault consists of multiple sections, connected by checkpoints. The first puzzle teaches the basics, and an important test of skill awaits at the end.

There is also quite a bit of combat; Immortals combat is dramatic and fast-paced, with a mix of melee weapons and bows. Phoenix can attack slow and heavy with his axe, fast with his sword, and instantly switch to his bow if he needs to shower his enemies with arrows. Dodging or blocking at the moment an enemy attacks slows time and allows an opening to attack. You can also unlock special abilities, such as smashing enemies with a giant hammer. The end result is quite uninteresting, but enjoyable enough and simple enough to control. I rarely looked forward to the combat and much preferred the puzzles.

If much of what you read here sounds familiar, you've probably played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; Immortals is heavily inspired by and places particular emphasis on Nintendo's acclaimed Switch game. But that's a good thing, considering that BotW will most likely never be released on PC. Immortals' puzzles aren't as clever, the art isn't as polished, and the world isn't as engaging. However, it remains a strong attempt to create a game in the same vein, and is probably the closest thing to a PC version of Zelda at this point.

Don't be fooled by the art style, however; despite its simpler, more stylized textures than Watch Dogs or Assassin's Creed, Immortals is quite challenging. There are shader effects, reflections, and other high-end details that one would not expect from a game with this kind of vibrant cartoon aesthetic. I managed to maintain a steady 60 fps at 1440p using an Intel i7-9700K and RTX 2080 Super, but even with this setup I experienced some distracting stutter when looking at really dense vistas.

It's easy to love Immortals. It has an infectious energy, a great sense of humor, and a world full of color and life. I just wish the mechanics behind it all were more finely tuned. The unsatisfying, weightless character movement is a real let down. The game is constantly running, flying, climbing, and riding horses. But the unique Greek mythology, impressive characters, and fun quests do their best to make up for it, even if they don't always work.