Immortals of Aveum Review

Initial release date: August 22, 2023

Engine: Unreal Engine 5

Developer: Ascendant Studios

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows

Genres: First-person shooter, Role-playing video game, Adventure game, Adventure

Mode: Single-player video game

Publisher: Electronic Arts

"Review Copy Provided By EA"

Ah, the once-beloved single-player first-person shooter. Remember when that was all the rage? Today’s gaming scene feels like every shooter wants to toss you into an arena and watch the last avatar standing. You can almost hear them shouting, "Who will be the ultimate winner of the...battle royale of battle royales?" Amid this chaos, Bethesda Softworks has been the guiding light for solo FPS lovers. But lo and behold, Ascendant Studios steps onto the scene with their glitzy debut, "Immortals of Aveum". Instead of the usual gunfire, they're offering magical gauntlets. It’s a breath of fresh, albeit mystical, air in a genre that desperately needed some new charm.

Picture this: the strategy of "Call of Duty" but sprinkled with a liberal dose of wizardry, think Ghostwire: Tokyo meets Forspoken . As a Triarch, you 're no ordinary gun-slinger. Your arsenal? Three spell types, each color-coded for your convenience. Blue's your precision tool, green's for when you then 're feeling a tad trigger-happy, and red? Ah, for when you want to see fireworks. And just when you think it couldn’t get more nuanced, they introduce variants and a gear system to layer on complexity. Yet, thanks to the clear color-coding, you started dating Hogwarts Legacy and had a kid with Bulletstorm and you'll have a good idea of what this is like.

The controls deserve a special mention. Fluid, responsive, and simply a joy. Whether you're unleashing the earth-shattering "Furies" spells or scouring the battlefield for mana crystals, the game ensures you're having a blast. Control spells, though initially understated, quickly prove their mettle, especially when the odds stack up. The gameplay mechanics, particularly the dash, shield, and hover, beautifully blend strategy with agility. It’s less about rapid button mashing and more about crafting a strategic symphony of destruction.

But Aveum isn’t just about setting the battleground ablaze. It offers intriguing puzzles that strike that golden balance - not too easy to bore you, but never so tough you'd want to rage quit. The movement capabilities, while not turning it into a parkour extravaganza, do add a layer of exploration and discovery that’s delightful. Narratively, Aveum dives deep. It's not just another “good versus evil” yarn. No, this tale touches upon societal complexities like classism, the shadows of authority, and even delves into the dark arts of propaganda. It weaves a rich tapestry that merges the mystical with the relatable. And the characters? Multi-dimensional and flawed, making them oddly endearing. From the brash protagonist, Jak, to the surprisingly nuanced antagonist, Sandrakk, every character pulls you deeper into Aveum's world.

Now, not everything's rainbows and unicorns. Visually, while Aveum often delivers stunning vistas and awe-inducing titans, there's an occasional softness, a lack of crispness. Perhaps a sacrifice to ensure seamless gameplay, but it sometimes makes enemy-spotting a game of "Where’s Waldo?"

In conclusion, "Immortals of Aveum" is an odyssey of magical proportions. A dazzling dance of combat choices, beautifully complemented by a narrative that refuses to stick to clichés. Here’s to Ascendant Studios – you’ve set the stage, and I’m eagerly awaiting the next act.