Silly and arbitrary barriers keep blocking the player, and when a fight breaks out, invisible forcefields spring up as the simplest way to keep everyone penned in. It’s just that kind of game. And, sadly, it’s when Jason gets into a fight that the game really falls flat.

Never mind the lack of interesting combos or weapon upgrades; fundamentally, the button-mashing never rises above busywork. The animations are slow and repetitious, the blows never fall into a rhythm or add up to a combo chain, and a handful of enemy types repeat throughout the entire adventure.

Each boss is a one-trick pony, and while mythological games typically offer spectacular god-sized monsters, only one of your opponents is larger-than-life – and during that battle you’re likely to struggle as the camera keeps getting lost behind a giant snake.

User-interface problems push the game even further into the ‘budget’ category.  Key elements are mysteriously hidden by default, the slow-mo finishing blow animation cannot be switched off, and most frustrating of all, there’s no mini-map – forcing the player to keep clicking through the game menu to find their way through the twisting and nondescript levels.

Argonauts’ best feature is its skill-levelling system, which offers separate skill trees based on four of the Greek gods. You can cash in your accomplishments to Apollo to earn powers of healing, while worshipping Ares helps you whack people with a mace. Likewise, many of the conversations include dialogue options that are keyed to each god’s nature: a wise choice follows the example of Athena, while a clever comment earns favour from Hermes.

Unfortunately, none of this shapes the story or builds Jason’s character. His disposition barely budges no matter what he’s saying, and your efforts to roleplay will do nothing but tweak your stats. It’s the lead character’s blandness that’s at the root of Argonauts’ problems. Die-hard roleplaying game fans might have shrugged off its technical flaws and turgid combat if only the story had a pay-off.

But instead of a tragic hero, Jason’s a dud. Pushed into a mad quest by a horrible loss, he winds up marching through it all like the errand that it is. There’s no rage, no regret, and most of all no sense of tragedy in Rise Of The Argonauts. By dumbing down what was a perfectly good myth, it loses the drama – and then squanders the bloodshed for good measure.

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