There is a familiarity when playing Immortals of Aveum. Sure, the characters and setting are new but it is a game that generally treads safely. That’s no bad thing, and that familiarity feels welcome, though it is mixed with the thought that Immortals of Aveum is just short of being elevated to the top of its genre. Armies are at war, the world is moving towards destruction, and you are the unexpected hero that could bring the Everwar to an end.
Immortals of Aveum takes us to the Everwar, a war that the five kingdoms have been fighting to control the magical leylines that span the world. In this world, magic is behind the social divide with the great dynasties having the most power while those in the lower classes, the Lightless, have little magical ability. The war is coming to a major point with Sandrakk, our main antagonist, close to gaining control of the magic and hence the world. You are Jak, a Lightless, who after an attack unexpectedly unleashes a blast of powerful magic. It turns out Jak is a Triarch, the rare kind of magni (mage) that can control all three types of magic.
Those three types of magic are best described in standard FPS terms. Blue magic can either be a pistol or rifle, green magic is your automatic rifle or SMG, and red magic is basically a shotgun. To use each of these magics, Jak has to wear a Sigil. These channel the magic and offer different firing modes, damage, and range. As you play through Aveum you will find different sigils, as well as forges where you can use gold and essences to upgrade your equipment.
Sigils are not the only things Jak has. There are also totems which grant additional abilities. Blue totems give Jak the lash ability, which can pull enemies towards him or, eventually, traverse different areas. Red totems can be used to disrupt enemies and also refract in crystals to solve environmental puzzles. Green totems provide limpets which can slow down enemies and certain elements of the environment allowing access to new areas. Jak also has a magical shield to stop incoming damage. Rings and bracers can be equipped too and these improve stats such as the impact of your magical abilities and armour stats. The three magic types can all be upgraded too and this is done by earning ascension points through exploration and defeating enemies. These upgrades will unlock better stats as well as abilities for your powers.
Immortals of Aveum is a mix of linear levels and more open hub areas that contain optional areas to explore. There are not many side missions, bar hunting down The Six, but you can find chests filled with gold and additional gear. The world looks really good, with the graphics highlighting a universe full of environmental diversity as well as the destroyed areas. It does feel a bit empty in some places though, and the world feels like it could play host to a few more side activities. Even the Palathon, which is the main hub, feels very quiet despite it being filled with soldiers.
Immortals of Aveum’s story is fine. As mentioned, Jak is the unexpected and out of place hero, thrust into a world he did not originally belong too. One issue is that the start of the game begins with a major loss for Jak, but the scene doesn’t have a huge emotional impact. However, the characters in and of themselves are fully-realised and acted well by the collected vocal talent including Firefly’s Gina Torres. The story draws on themes of betrayal, different worlds colliding, and it could be an allusion to climate change with the impact of human actions on the natural world. However, the story is missing that true “oomph” moment.
Immortals of Aveum is fun, especially when you lash an enemy towards you and then hit them with a close quarter shot, however it does become repetitive too. You see the majority of enemy types by an early stage and then there’s not much variation after that. The other issue is that as you get towards the end, enemies become more bullet (magic?) spongey, and that’s with the upgrades to the sigils and other gear.
Immortals of Aveum took approximately 22 hours to get through, and that included doing some exploration in the world. When you finish the main story, there is an epilogue so you can continue exploring Aveum and clearing up any activities that you did not complete beforehand which is a nice addition to keep you playing a little longer.