Immortals Fenyx Rising’s Myths of the Eastern Realm DLC should have been a full-blown sequel

Myths of the Eastern Realm, the second DLC for Ubisoft’s surprisingly solid Immortal Fenyx Rising, is something of a return to form. The more condensed experience of the first DLC is gone, and instead, we are once again exploring an open world. 

Gone too is the cast of Greek gods from the original game, replaced with a realm inspired by Chinese mythology, although it’s one that’s undergoing a similarly tumultuous fate as Greece. Heaven and earth have been sundered, and all the humans have been turned to stone. Ku, the main protagonist who replaces Fenyx, is the only person who has escaped this fate, and he teams up with the Goddess Nuwa to try and reverse whatever is happening. 

While the setting and cast are new, everything else plays out in a very similar fashion. While some of the combat abilities you will use throughout the DLC have mild mechanical changes, they are pretty much identical in function to the base game. 

In many ways, Myths of the Eastern Realm is a very welcome flex by Ubisoft. Developed by Ubisoft Chengdu, it’s a joy to play through a game that explores new mythology instead of just throwing a few more of Zeus’ one-liners our way. What holds it back is that it had to be built on the already existing Immortal Fenyx Rising framework. Unfortunately, despite Ku being a likable character, the DLC simply lacks the depth of cast that made the main game such a joy. It attempts to hold onto the sense of mirth that makes Immortals special, but without Zeus and Prometheus narrating events, things fall a little flat. 

Combat-wise, Myths of the Eastern Realm is actually more enjoyable than the base game. There is some refinement to the abilities, with additional mechanics that make things a lot more fun. While the enemies may be very similar to those you’ve faced before, the extra refinement of combat does give extra depth to these encounters. 

Without a doubt, Myths of the Eastern Realm is a fun DLC that will undoubtedly appeal to Immortals Fenyx Rising fans. Unfortunately, it also leaves us with some big what-if feelings. It’s hard to ignore that this concept and premise, if built upon further and with room for the developers to really dig in and rework the game’s mechanics, could have made for an excellent full sequel. 

While it is a testament to the size of Ubisoft that it can dedicate an entire team to exploring a new setting and cast for a DLC, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the result could have been stronger if it was able to be a little less in thrall to the main game.