Immortals of Aveum Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, & PC)

What happens when you combine Call of Duty and high fantasy? Well, you get the Immortals of Aveum, give or take a few things. Immortals of Aveum is a first-person shooter game. However, none of the weapons in the game are guns, as is tradition. Rather, elemental spells spat out of a magical right-hand gauntlet. Still, it feels and plays a lot like a first-person shooter. So the only things that have changed are helicopters for dragons, grenades for fireballs, guns for magic… You get the idea.

Except for Immortals of Aveum being Ascendant Studios’ first AAA title and Electronic Arts picking up publishing as part of its “Originals” banner, there isn’t much I could draw my expectations for the game from. But that’s perfect because I could strip it apart and compile my unbiased first impressions, “thumbs up” features, and letdowns in our Immortals of Aveum review. Here’s a deep-dive breakdown of the game to help you decide whether it’s your kind of party.

The Chosen One

We’ve all heard the story of “the chosen one” more times than we can count, albeit told in slightly different ways. Immortals of Aveum follows that familiar story arc, too, in a Hollywood-esque writing and cinematic visual style. Also, there are a whopping number of star-studded Hollywood casts. Darren Barnet, Gina Torres, Lily Cowles, and Antonio Aakeel, to name a few, – all brought their talent and exceptional artistry into the game.

The story follows a young, unforeseen boy called Jak. The “unforeseen” are people who, in a world where sorcerers are commonplace at birth, live their lives as normal folk. Until, in some unexpected and often violent ways, they manifest magical powers. Jak had been a teenage street urchin. Only to discover that he could not only wield one but all three of the blue, red, and green mystical powers of Aveum.

Meanwhile, an ageless war, Everwar, rages on among the nations of Aveum, each seeking control over magic. The war seems to, after millennia, be gunning for a catastrophic end. Until General Kirkan, as Gina Torres, discovers Jak’s “Avatar” nature and enlists him to fight alongside the special high-ranking wizard ops team, the Immortals, made up of the most powerful wizards of Jak’s home country’s army. And so the battle begins.

I Didn’t Ask for This

Jak is being prepared for what is to come by General Kirkan. She describes how wizards are masters of one skill. Jak, on the other hand, is determined to disprove her. To be honest, I had lost track of the story's progression at this point. To begin, why is magic so important to these nations? Aside from tossing friends into the air or playing beer pong with a spectral ball, magic does not appear to be capable of any significant outcomes. 

Warfare is one thing, but the war between wizards has been going on for millennia. So, it seems a little hollow to want to hoard all the magic for the sake of “greed.” There’s also the fact that the story is nothing new or innovative. We’ve all heard a version or two of “the chosen one” plotlines. Where a lowly guy stumbles upon mystical powers. As a result, he reluctantly enlists in an ongoing war to become the hero who saves the day.

Hollywood Yet Again

A lot of the writing is more laden with popular Hollywood tropes than natural conversation. It feels, at certain points, like a Marvel movie. Precisely, the snark, quips, and quirky writing that blockbuster movies like to use. Whether it’s a good or bad thing depends entirely on personal preference. I found some corny lines a little too grating, probably because of the tons of Hollywood movies I have binge-watched lately. 

However, the characters are strong enough, with unique backstories and personalities, to help you see it through to the end. Plus, you do get to see a moderate amount of twists and turns that, despite predicting some of what’s coming well before it does, manage to keep the narrative moderately fun and exciting.

Welcome to Aveum

Fortunately, the world of the Immortals of Aveum is anything but lackluster. You can see the sheer beauty of Unreal Engine 5 cascading down its walls and floors. Much of the playthrough is linear, with odd chances to stray from the beaten path. You won’t find a single open world but rather interconnected segments of one another. Each segment is distinct, with intriguing world-building and lore, from jagged crystal caves to giant lava pools. 

Environments are often large, wide spaces that have vertically raised platforms and bottomless pits. You can double-jump across platforms, teleport dodge, hover to float from above, or dash between points. You can use hook joints to pull yourself up, all of which present exciting flavors during combat. 

Iron Fist

Most of the game has Jak’s right arm wrapped in a magic gauntlet, extended out in front of him. From his arm gauntlet, he shoots out magic spells, much like you would in an FPS game like Call of Duty. In fact, the actual shooting feels as thrilling as firing an actual gun. Where Jak almost always shoots enemies, fires chests for loot, or blasts off little colored shapes to solve puzzles.

At first, you start with three of the most basic spells. The red magic shoots out like a laser for close-range combat, much like a shotgun would. Green shoots out rapid projectiles, like an assault rifle or machine gun. And blue for long-range shots, effectively like a sniper or single-shot rifle. As you progress, Jak gains more buffs and abilities. These include traversal ones like hovering after a double jump or lashing to drag enemies closer for melee kills.

Each spell has its own variations. So, as you progress, you can upgrade a spell's fire rates, damage output, or shots per reload. That, and secondary attacks that allow you to unleash blast waves, missiles, or even combine all three in a single, destructive torrent. You can choose to master everything the game throws at you. However, Immortals of Aveum won’t punish you for sticking to your favorites.

Jack of All Trades

Enemies are susceptible to one spell, either blue, red, or green. And since they often attack in hordes, you’ll have to quickly adapt to shifting from one to the other on the fly. It can be frantic, which forces you almost mindlessly to smash buttons on the controller. At some points, the game feels like a test for multi-tasking, which, at its most hectic, can lead you down a panic pathway.

The good news, though, is that even when you’re hanging by a thread, Immortals of Aveum still looks spectacular either way. In general, though, the sooner you can color-code enemies that pose the most immediate threat and fire the spell that can break their armor, the sooner you can come out of it alive. A quick tip is to maybe watch out for situations like a red armor creature running towards you because only the close-range shotgun-like red magic can take them down.

Verdict

Immortals of Aveum isn’t anything you might expect. Sure, it copy-pastes the gameplay and political propaganda of games like Call of Duty, enlisting you in warfare you want nothing to do with and sending you off to slay as many enemies as you can. But over and above the similarities of the first-person shooter genre, Immortals of Aveum far outdoes itself as a game worth playing. 

For starters, it packs lots of fun, crisp, punchy combat sequences that only grow more complex the farther down the rabbit hole you go. It doesn’t let you settle; rather, it always pushes you to switch up your game, frantically moving about fighting arenas and switching between spells on the fly. 

The world, as well as the combat, looks spectacular, with distinct environments and large open spaces that take a minute to appreciate. Although it isn’t a single open-world game, you never quite feel claustrophobic, as there are a variety of ways to move around, both horizontally and vertically. Traversal ties into combat, too, with “lash” allowing you to drag enemies closer for the kill and “hover” allowing you to take out enemies on high.

Although the narrative isn’t anything new or innovative, it still offers a ride thrilling enough to stick around till the credits roll. Not to mention the unique personalities of the star-studded Hollywood cast you’ll definitely know and love. Perhaps the major caveat is in how the story ultimately falls flat on its face, even after infusing it with deep lore and personality. 

All in all, if you’re a fan of blasting enemies and want to move from traditional firearms to bullet-inspired spells, Immortals of Aveum is for you. However, it comes with its own worries that, depending on your personal preference, are easy to ignore.