There used to be this phenomenon called the Hollywood Summer blockbuster. It was usually a movie that’s all about the visual spectacle with a far less memorable story that’s supposed to keep you entertained for as long as the movie is running. That’s what Immortals of Aveum was for me – a visual spectacle with fun run-and-gun mechanics and not much else to offer.
The story centers around Jak, a Triarch, or a magus that can use all three forms of magic at will. He reluctantly enters a war that doesn’t appear to have an end in sight, on the losing side that barely has a hope to win against an enemy that has literally pushed them to the very brink. Now as a newly minted magus of the Immortals, he must work with his fellow Immortals to stop Sandrakk’s advance and swing the tides of war to their favor. The story is told through chapters but you are free to explore previously unlocked areas to further your skills to prepare yourself for the next operation.
Immortals of Aveum is a First Person Shooter that tries to do things a little differently from the norm. Instead of using rifles, we get blue magic that deals in precision damage from long range and the added ability to conjure shields. What are supposed to be shotguns and grenades, we get as red magic that does a great amount of damage but is limited by range. And in the place of SMGs, we have green magic which also has the added ability of healing over time.
These three elements, along with the support forms of magic, contribute to the bulk of the gameplay. General combat is fun for the most part. Matching energy types adds a layer of tactics that are far more preferable than just running into every encounter with a single damage type. The novelty quickly wears out in the late game where you fight an ever-tankier version of the same Archon boss multiple times and beefed-up grunts that do the same repetitive attacks. The only thing that kept the game from going completely stale was finding more powerful gauntlets and unlocking traits that improve your overall damage.
To Immortals of Aveum’s credit, it is not a strictly one-and-done FPS. After your formal induction into the Order, you will gain the ability to backtrack to previously unlocked locations. You can then put to use your collection of unlocking magics to uncover hidden paths that lead to Shroudfanes and Golden Chests. Accessing them usually involves acquiring abilities that are unlocked via story progression.
Gear score is by far the biggest stumbling block of this game. I’m somewhat okay with it as an idea. But the game constantly wants you to travel back to previous locations for some goodie you couldn’t get the last time you were around. That doesn’t even hold up from a gameplay perspective because success is determined entirely by how powerful your gear is and not how you use the equipment you are supposed to collect. This renders backtracking almost completely moot save for leveling up to invest in skills or grabbing up what’s left of the Legendary Essence.
And then we go into this game’s movement. Probably my biggest gripe about this title. There’s no “Coyote-time” when you accidentally walk off the edge. Compare this to Destiny 2’s Hunter where you’ll have half a second to react to do a double jump to get back on a walkable surface. In Immortals, you walk off, chances are you won’t have time to do another jump to save yourself. And even if you do a double jump, you don’t get enough boost to get yourself back on solid ground.
Even worse, grappling to a higher point doesn’t usually give you the elevation you need to get up to the platform without the need for additional jumps. I have zoned out entire platforming sections and just hoped to brute force my way through as quickly as possible.
I couldn’t get a read of the soundtrack while I was playing the game. For me, the soundtrack sounded generic at best. If it isn’t techno-music, it’s some nature track on very low volume. It lacked a strong musical identity. I found myself just ignoring it for entire stretches at a time. Oftentimes, I don’t realize I’m supposed to be in battle. The enemy can spawn right on top of me and I wouldn’t even notice it. That’s how indifferent I am to the change of music.
Subtly is not this game’s strong suit. Listening to the dialogue was an exercise in patience and it got even worse as the game introduced more characters. I have to give them credit though. As much as I disliked the writing, it was consistently cringey throughout. And that kind of consistency, I prefer over a surprise 180 out of left field.
In terms of character, I found Zendara to be the best out of everyone. Devyn is a close second because I like the back-and-forth between any character who talks to him, especially a smart mouth like Jak. At first, I was expecting characters to be wholly one-dimensional like Grand Magus Kirkan, yeehaw retired Grand Magus Thaddeus, or the Evil Emperor Sandrock (I mean, Sandrakk. Sorry not sorry.) I was glad to be proven wrong in some small part.
The most fun I’ve had in Aveum was when I was fighting Sandrakk and his minions. The individual boss battles are a definite highlight. Despite the fact that they were repetitive, in retrospect. They did succeed in shaking things up a bit. The same can be said about the six optional bosses but finding all of them is too much trouble for what mager rewards await you at the end of the fight.
Pressing triangle to cycle through modes isn’t something I’m used to. In fact, it’s been years since I last played a game that had this cumbersome system. It’s not really the worst thing ever, especially when it is evident that a lot of work went into making the gauntlet look good. At the same time, I really like small details like equipment showing up on your person when you equipped them. So, I can’t hate it that much.
Ultimately, Aveum is a fun time while you are in combat and quickly forgettable once you’re out. If you’re into lots of colorful explosions or particle effects in general, this game’s for you. For everyone else, it might be better to wait for a hefty price cut before playing it over a weekend. Admittedly, I had a bit of fun. But those moments are clearly highlighted after suffering entire segments of monotony and absolute boredom. There’s a good game in here, somewhere. But it is drowned out by meaningless mechanics meant to artificially extend playtime.
