Immortals Of Aveum - Hands-Off Preview
When Immortals Of Aveum premiered at The Game Awards it was fair to say that the game appeared to be visually impressive, but we knew little more than that. The EA Originals name plastered across the opening told us that budget was of no concern, and it has afforded the team 5 years of COVID-affected development time, use of Unreal Engine 5, and a platform that few start-up developers ever get.
With all of the luxuries that it has been provided, it seems that Ascendent Studios have spent those resources wisely, with Immortals Of Aveum looking every bit the next-generation game utilising Unreal Engine 5 that draws on many of the developers history working on the likes of Halo, Borderlands, and Call Of Duty. Immortals Of Aveum wears its Call Of Duty influences on its sleeve, with studio founder and CEO, Bret Robbins being an integral pillar to a number of the franchise’s biggest entries to date. Robbins was gazing upon a standard battle scene when he suddenly started envisioning dragons replacing helicopters, and magic spells replacing bullet shells, and it was this moment that eventually drew him off the Call Of Duty hamster wheel and into the independent AAA scene founding Ascendent and leading development on Immortals Of Aveum.
We were fortunate enough to get an hour long presentation about the game which included a historical look at the studio, but also a deep dive into the game, something that the December 2022 trailer lacked. You’re a Battlemage, a magically imbued wrecking ball who can harness the three different forms of magic, Force, Chaos and Life, colour-coded blue, red, and green respectively. It looks to be incredibly easy to switch between magical powers with the player rapidly alternating between each branch of magic within moments. Swapping bullets for magical spells opens up more options for the player in terms of what the player can do. There’s no need for slower movement from one piece of cover to another, as you can create your own, that slows your movement, but doesn’t root you to a single spot like traditional cover does. You can utilise a range of other powers including “Shatter” to destroy opposition shields, “Lash” to pull enemies closer, and the standard shot, “Fragfire” to end the day. There are 25 spells and 80 different talents.
There’s much to like about Immortals Of Aveum from this preview event, from it’s incredible looks, and how it looks to play. Of course, much must be reserved until we can go hands-on with the game properly ahead of its impending July 20 release date. For now though, Immortals Of Aveum has me well and truly interested.
