Topic: Pure Xbox Game Club Double Bill - Banjo-Kazooie / Solar Ash (Apr)

Hi there everyone!

Like @Banjo-, I didn't get stuck during my play time.

But I understand the comments by @LtSarge and @Lup about the open world exploration. I don't know, but I sometimes feel Immortals would have worked best as a classic adventure/platformer game. Maybe it is because I play it as such, without doing some much exploration and mainly going for the main story missions, with some side quests to level up.

Don't get me wrong: I love Immortals, but it would have worked well with a smaller/less bloated open world.

@HarmanSmith Yep, I haven't had issues this far. Actually, I found a legendary mount on my own while doing regular stuff. My only doubts were how would I upgrade my stats and items but the Hall of the Gods is available early on to answer that.

Just started this today. Seems like a fun game

How does the game compare to Recore? I am getting a bit of de ja vu with some of the comments here and they sound very similar to what people said about ReCore

@Lup @Dr_Devious04 hello and welcome!! Do you both wana be added to the tag list for this thread? It just means you'll get a notification each month when we change game. I occasionally use the tag list a second/third time if there is a tie or if there is something else we need to vote on

No obligation to join the tag list, you are welcome to just join in on the conversations in this thread 👍

@ralphdibny yeah sounds good

@Lup The concept behind BotW is that you start out with all the powers you need and then you're free to set off in any direction you'd like. There's minimal story and the focus is primarily on exploration. There are no restrictions at all. Granted, there are tough enemies and obviously the final boss, which get easier the more you progress. But you can still tackle them whenever you like.

Immortals on the other hand follows the AC formula of offering skill trees but in this case some skills are required to clear certain challenges, which contradicts the BotW formula of allowing you access to all skills/powers right from the start. Mind you, BotW does also offer unlockable powers but they aren't tied to challenges and instead are there to enhance the gameplay (such as reviving you once every 20 minutes if you die, which is similar to Immortals' blessings). That's why Immortals comes with glaring flaws.

@HarmanSmith I wholeheartedly agree. If they'd cut down on the amount of puzzles, made the vaults shorter (dear lord they take such a long time versus the rewards you get) and removed the requirements of having certain powers for certain challenges, then this game would be phenomenal.

@ralphdibny ReCore is on a whole other level compared to Immortals lol. The issue with ReCore was the difficulty spikes because you basically had to grind in an area before moving on to the next one. The issues with Immortals don't ruin the overall experience as much as the ones in ReCore. I still very much enjoy Immortals but it could've been much better.

I think this summarises my thoughts about Immortals perfectly: If you look at the game for what it is, it's great. But if you look at it for what it tries to be, it's not as good.

@Dr_Devious04 cheers, added!

@LtSarge ahh fair play, sounds decent and the botw comparisons have piqued my interest but the Ubisoft comparisons have un-piqued them. The last open world Ubisoft game I played was blood dragon and it was sooo tedious despite its appealing aesthetic. I think the last non-splintercell/Mario Ubisoft game I played was freedom cry and that bored me to tears.

However, I did enjoy the brief time I spent with starlink and I've been planning to go back to that for a long time. That another playthroigh of splinter cell cos I love it 😅

@LtSarge Hopefully Ubisoft green lights a sequel for Immortals and they can build on the solid foundation and improve on your gripes with it. I think it did well enough, especially with word of mouth after release. People were raving about it for a while after it came out, just not right away as it came out at a bad time (a few weeks before Christmas in 2020).

I will probably miss the window to play this as part of the Game Club, which is a common thing as I think I've actually participated once or twice at most, but I look forward to finally playing it (I have owned it for a long time).

@KilloWertz Part 2 has been rumored for a while. It's supposed to be some spinoff/prequel based on Polynesian culture. I really hope that's true and a new one is in production, part one, even though it has some rough edges and some things it can improve on, was a very good game.

@KilloWertz The thing is that I was really enjoying the game during the first ten hours but then it started becoming repetitive.

I really hope they come out with a sequel because I love Ubisoft open world games. I love Assassin's Creed. But Immortals doesn't feel as much fun due to the emphasis on puzzles, which are everywhere. I loved Odyssey for example because it was fun exploring, gathering stuff and fighting enemies. The vast amount of puzzles in Immortals kinda ruin the pacing of the game. Not to mention the vaults which take forever!

Sorry I haven't been on here much this month, rest assured I am getting through Immortals though. I am enjoying it, the puzzle element is quite good.

Is the season pass worth it? I have heard mixed things.

@TuckNorris85 imo the season pass isn't worth it. It's like 3 stand alone pieces of dlc that just more puzzles and not really connected to the main story. I played all of them but they were nowhere near as good as the main game

I'm really loving it. Where Breath of the Wild was shallow, half-empty, repetitive and soulless, Immortals Fenyx Rising is packed with amazing vaults, hidden (and worthy!) treasure and phenomenal creatures and powers. It has a huge amount of Greek mythology, so that alone makes it worth playing. The controls and physics are smooth and combat is easy yet deep and fun. The graphics are awesome. It has things from Breath of the Wild, yes, and from Assassin's Creed, Monster Hunter... I mean, just like BotW also copied those games, Immortals copies others, but the world here is much more endearing. The characters are great. Noble Fenyx is, too. Gameplay is perfect.

I recommend trying to get most stuff in a region before moving to the next one. Yes, you could get more ambrosias to upgrade life in faster ways and, of course, you could try to rush the game, but I don't think it's worth it. I'm playing in normal mode and have 999 pomegranates, the fruit used to heal, after meeting three gods. I didn't shoot many trees, and when I did, it was relaxing. Gliding/flying is nicely done. Accidentally, I'm completing the supposedly fourth area as the third and don't have any issues. Combat is mostly fair. The game is magnificent.

Looks like Immortality is currently the front runner for October with 3 votes

I cast my vote for Yakuza 0 @ralphdibny

Votes added

@Banjo- I'll stick your vote in but we tend to shy away from longer games for this club due to the month long time restraint

I did well over 100 hours on Yakuza 0 when I played it a couple years back! And since then I've probably done about 700 hours on the series as a whole 😆. I'm actually currently playing Fist of the North Star on PS4 which is made by the same studio and has the same voice cast

@ralphdibny I checked the whole list of Game Pass games and my vote remains. I wanted to suggest Psychonauts too but both games have been part of the thread before. I'm glad that you liked Yakuza, I haven't played any title yet. If it's not selected I'll probably play it anyway, or Psychonauts...

@Banjo- IMO, you can't go wrong with Psychonauts. Finished that one last month (finally!). I haven't played any Yakuza (now Like a Dragon) games, so I will probably check one in the near future.

@ralphdibny I would like to vote for Immortality too, even if I didn't understand it at first . This seems like a one to try, at least once.

BTW, Is Fist of the North Star good? I played one of these, I think, on the NES ages ago.

@HarmanSmith Thanks! I might try Immortality, too. I don't know if I'll like it and finish it but that's the great thing about Game Pass.

@HarmanSmith Fist of the North Star is a good game.In a lot of ways it is like the other Yakuza/Like a Dragon games. It is bases on a popular 80s manga Hokuto no Shinken. The protagonist was bases on Bruce Lee and the world on Mad Max. RGG, the studio behind the Yakuza games, made a game based on it which came to the west in 2018 on ps4. In a lot of ways it is like the Yakuza games with a lot of side content and fun mini games. Open world and a pretty good story. You can play it fully seperate from the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games.