Immortals of Aveum Review

Immortals of Aveum is the debut title of developer Ascendant Studios with the assistance and publishing of Electronic Arts. You take control of Jak, an unforeseen Triarch that embarks on the Everwar to stop Rasharn and its soldiers from controlling magic.

As the self-proclaimed Immortals of Aveum most excited fan before release, I've finally had the opportunity to check out this spell-slinging title that I'd been waiting for since its original announcement. Though this is Ascendant Studios' first title to release, it's priced and treated on the AAA scale. With a hefty entry fee of £49.99, is this title really worth its asking price?

As a person who followed the game throughout its early announcement days (I watched the first trailer pretty much the day it was released and followed the title closely ever since then), I would like to say that going in, I was well-versed in the world of Aveum. From the characters to the story and gameplay, although I might have thought myself an expert at one point, it's worth noting that of all of the mistakes that Ascendant Studios made, their biggest one was advertising this experience entirely and wholly wrong. 

For a title whose entire trailers and Steam page sell itself as a spell-slinging experience that "defies FPS conventions" wherein you take control of a battlemage, Immortals of Aveum doesn't really meet its promises. Though the magic-focused combat is still within the roots of the title, and there is a wide variety of spells and talents, what seemed like an exciting shooter where you'd need to combine your spell to fight through hordes of foes is... really far more tame than that.

Immortals of Aveum takes you throughout the entire playthrough by telling you a story, and you — as Jak — must traverse the world from point A to point B, wherein the shooting and FPS happen. While many might believe, due to the trailers, that it will be a fast-paced action title (rightfully so), it plays like more minor skirmishes. The big-scale fight that takes place in the trailer actually occurs quite late into the game, and it even seems toned down from its origin.

A more realistic look at Immortals of Aveum, then, is a narrative-focused title with action elements sprinkled in between cutscenes, dialogue, and a story to unfold. Even whilst playing through the second-hardest difficulty, I faced few struggles and issues throughout the experience, and my death count was certainly within the single digits.

But the difficulty isn't exactly what this game is advertised for, and as a narrative experience, the point of feeling epic and powerful is vital, which it does phenomenally. Wielding three different types of magic, you'll need to use a combination of those, your various items, schools, and six spells you can acquire to combo enemies to meet their maker. While I focused more on blue magic, I received enough points to give all of the three schools of magic some love and ensure that I was capable even in fights that demanded I used green or red.

The spell-hurtling is stupidly fun, which is almost a shame considering the skirmishes could be so short and with such few enemies. I loved every encounter (even the tedious ones) because using spells and mixing, matching, and adapting to enemies was an enjoyable gameplay loop that didn't get boring. Even 25 hours into my experience, when I finally finished the narrative and was left to explore the world or start NG+, I was enjoying the game as if I'd just started.

Combat is frustrating because it's thoroughly fun and there seems to be so little of it at times. Though enemy variety isn't the greatest, this doesn't come as a surprise in a world where God of War (2018) and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice exists, and even then, Immortals of Aveum still had quite a few foes up its sleeves to face against. The more challenging encounters boil down to fighting tougher combinations of foes that verges on frustrating but never outright crosses the boundary. When enemies can break your shield, close the gap, and deal tons of damage from far away, it can nearly feel aggravating, but adapting your fighting style and even changing your build can — and will — solve any and all issues. 

Quite plainly, Immortals of Aveum gives you room to explore and experiment to your heart's content, with three different magic types that each have three different shooting styles, for a total of nine "guns" you can use throughout your run. With talents, spells, and different weapons, your build could realistically be entirely unique and give you a slew of challenges distinct from my own, giving the title a bit of a customised experience, even if you're following the same narrative.

Even once the credits have rolled, you can find so many different things to do — I am likely only about halfway done with the game despite the fact I did spend my time looking around and exploring. As you progress through the story, you unlock a slew of abilities and powers that give you the capability to complete new puzzles and open new areas (similarly to a metroidvania), which could be frustrating whenever I thought I could finish something to no avail. But once you learn to catch what's a puzzle that's outside of your reach, it gets easy to move on and remember to come back at a later time — with six optional, post-game bosses to defeat; 130 golden chests, which include the most significant rewards, to find; 26 Shroudfanes (think trials) to complete; and 80 talents to unlock, you won't run out of things to do if you enjoy the game. Post credits rolling, I genuinely wanted to explore and complete more of Aveum, with even the NG+ option calling out to me.

Then, finally, there's the narrative. The main issue with Immortal of Aveum's narrative is that whether you like it or not will be entirely different from player to player; my wife (who accompanied me throughout the entire journey) and I loved it. There are a slew of lovable characters, exciting stories and plot points, and it never gets dull and boring. Though it's guilty of falling into tropes, it's been a while since I played a title that I genuinely don't want to end because I want to experience more of it.

It isn't without its flaws, with some jokes falling flat or being misplaced in moments that should have otherwise been serious. It tries to capture the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its unique skill to mix in jesting with serious moments through even the grandest of doomsday scenarios — Avengers Endgame. Though Immortals of Aveum doesn't nail this, it does a good enough job. Talking narrative is hard when you don't want to spoil it, but the fact of the matter is that if the trailers made you chuckle, then the rest of the game is bound to get a few laughs out of you. It manages to capture its same energy and essence throughout the story, but it tends to take it out the other side a bit too much at times.

I'm pretty finicky about narratives, and truth be told, Immortals of Aveum left me pleased with what's on offer. If Ascendant Studios had leaned on its strong side more — its narrative — or given more focus to its gameplay, it might not have felt as disjointed as it does at times, wherein I expected an action-packed title with a lot of FPS scenarios only to get a lot of dialogue and cutscenes. But this isn't a bad thing, as, out the other side, I genuinely cherish a lot of the moments and characters, and it's one of the games that's made me laugh the most in a while.

This leaves me with one final point to touch on: the pricing. As previously stated, Immortals of Aveum lies out the other side of a £49.99 price tag and recommended system requirements that, frankly, most people won't meet. Though it's a staggering entry fee, especially for a debut title, there is a lot to back it up, but there might not be a lot for everyone. There are a lot of collectibles, and depending on whether you like them or not, it can feel like content bloat plagues this title at its very core.

The value of a game will vary from person to person. As a fan of the MCU's first three phases, Immortals of Aveum scratches an itch that I long yearn for. Though it still is not perfect with its delivery and incapability to read the room, it's a step in the right direction for MCU-esque titles.

At just 25 hours into my playthrough at a leisurely pace, I cherish Immortals of Aveum. From my personal experience, it remains as one of my favourite releases of the year, even if it isn’t without its quirks and niggles. It may not be an experience for everyone, and it’ll likely live as a divisive title that you either love or hate — but ultimately, I wasn’t done with it by the time the credits rolled, and that says a lot about it.

Ascendant Studios still has a couple of things to learn and a lot to master, but at the same time, it shows that the team is capable of a lot. I’m eager to see what lies in the future as the developer finds its identity through its Dead Space and Call of Duty origins.