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EA’s new sci-fi fantasy FPS is unlike any game I’ve played before - Immortals of Aveum Quick Review

3K View2023-08-27

Immortals of Aveum™

Fast-pacedFPSActionAdventureFantasySingleplayerMagicShooter

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SHOULD I PLAY IMMORTALS OF AVEUM?

Play it. Immortals of Aveum is a beautiful sci-fi fantasy first-person shooter that features RPG elements in the form of exploration, loot-hunting, and equipment leveling. It’s also boosted by a well-written, voice-backed narrative full of emotion. Despite a few frustrating technical issues and some rushed pacing, Immortals of Aveum is one game that I’d recommend everyone should try.

TIME PLAYED

I played Immortals of Aveum for five hours, completing six of the game’s twenty or so chapters. I’ve also reached magnus rank 15 and leveled my entire equipment set to above level five.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT IMMORTALS OF AVEUM?

• Using magic to control magic to fix magic. The story in Immortals of Aveum deals with a world where two factions are fighting each other for the control of magic. It’s the typical zero-to-hero tale, where the protagonist must face tragedy and rise above it to save the world. This heroic tale begins a bit linear but eventually opens up and becomes increasingly suspenseful. The twists and turns in the narrative kept me on my toes, and they’re definitely the best reason for anyone to jump into the game.

• Shooting spells is fun. Though Immortals of Aveum plays like a first-person shooter, the main character is wielding a variety of magical abilities rather than guns. I learned new spells as the story progressed or as I found them across the world. Many of the spells had uses for environmental puzzle-solving in addition to their destructive capabilities when fighting. And because enemies weren’t too easy to take down, combat felt challenging and fun.

• Personality-filled voice acting. Without the star-studded cast of voice actors imbuing these characters with emotion, Immortals of Aveum’s story wouldn’t be remotely as compelling. Voice talent like Darren Barnet (protagonist Jak), Antonio Aakeel (Devyn), and Gina Torres (Grand Magnus Kirkan) really bring the game and its gorgeous world to life.

• A beautiful world of magic. Speaking of the world of Immortals of Aveum, it features some of the best-looking environments I’ve ever witnessed. The characters are realistically rendered, but the real pull is the world itself and the way it blends magic with advanced technology.

• Exploring for goodies. While the main plot kept pushing me forward, I regularly got distracted searching for puzzles to solve or secret caves to prospect in Immortals of Aveum. Though technically linear, the game features massive levels filled with surprises. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say I spent an embarrassingly large chunk of my time gleefully looking for treasures and spells.

• A unique experience. Immortals of Aveum is the type of a game that I couldn’t put down. It completely absorbed me in its adventure, and I absolutely must see this journey to its end. It’s a singular game that doesn’t feel quite like anything I’ve played before. And given all the world-building and compelling characters and gameplay, I could easily see it becoming a wider franchise in the future.

WHAT SUCKS IN IMMORTALS OF AVEUM?

• The plot can feel rushed. Usually the story progresses perfectly, but there are some moments—like at the start of the game where Jak starts training, or a few hours in when Jak becomes an immortal—when the narrative suddenly feels like it’s being pushed along breathlessly. These awkward moments undermine all the detailed world-building that the game does so well elsewhere.

• Delayed animations. During some of Immortals of Aveum’s cutscenes, the animation fell out of sync with the dialogue. This resulted in characters moving their lips and hands at the wrong moments which looked awkward and broke my immersion.

• No mini-map or limited enemy alert mechanic. With environments so full of color and texture, I sometimes struggled to figure out what direction an attack was coming from. A lot of the enemy designs in Immortals of Aveum are pretty, but they’re also very detailed and can be hard to see against the colorful backgrounds. On top of that, the alert indication for incoming attacks doesn’t stand out enough either. Immortals of Aveum could benefit from a small mini-map on the screen or better alert features to make combat easier.

• A lot of technical issues. If you’re planning on playing this game, make sure your hardware can handle it. Even on the lowest settings on the PC version of Immortals of Aveum, the game hitched up constantly for me and occasionally full-on crashed.

💬 Will you play Immortals of Aveum or are you going to skip it? Let me know down in the comments!