Immortals of Aveum Is Far More Than Your Typical Debut Game

Play Immortals from Aveum, you’d be forgiven for not realizing this is a studio’s debut game. Walking onto a castle balcony, seeing bizarre science-fantasy architecture peppering the horizon, the scale of the magical battle happening beneath you, and the polish of it all shows a level of scale we don’t typically associate with a first game.

It is deliberate. Bret Robbins is the founder and CEO of Ascendent Studios. He has worked on a number of projects. The following are some examples of how to use big games in the past, and he didn’t want to take a step back in his new venture:

“I wanted to make a big game right from the beginning,” he tells me. “I’d worked on a lot of big games – I’d worked on Call of Duty for nine years before I started Ascendent, I’d worked on Dead Space, I’d worked on Lord of the Rings, and James Bond. Then I felt comfortable with the idea of doing something big. I knew that games had gotten so great – so big – these days that, for us to be competitive, I needed to make something big.”

The ambition is evident after an hour of a demo. The demo takes Jak to the frontlines in the magical war. Fizzing particles fill the screen with every move. I get picked up by the Howler dragon and dropped into the subterranean Temple. Next, I fight a team of Rasharn warriors and finally get my revenge in the boss battle. It’s a Lottery Tickets.

How has this debut studio, with a team of 100 people (a modest number for a title this large) managed to achieve something so big? The key is focus – Immortals from Aveum wants to be a narrative, single-player FPS, heavy on combat systems and high-fidelity effects, and it’s focusing completely on that goal.

“Some of the best games have that level of focus,” says Robbins. “I certainly had that when we were working on Dead SpaceWe were aware that we needed it to be extremely contained, scary and do certain things well. Early on, I wrote down some key pillars for the game. [pointed to having]To hit and to do these things well. Having that level of focus and consistency of vision is super important, especially when you’re starting something new.”

Vision is evident from the start. This is a classic FPS in wizard’s clothing – your three key magical ‘Strikes’, separated into Red, Blue and Green magic, broadly act in familiar fashion. The red blast is short range and shotgun like. Blue, which is similar to a rifle repeater and offers precision strikes at long distances. Green fires a rash of weaker bullets, similar to an Uzi. This makes battles tactical and tight, as you are forced to quickly switch between spells. Fury spells are powerful, damaging, and tied to the mana bar. They give you more control over large, crowded areas. This palette will change over time, as it includes talent trees that cover each magic color, gear to alter stats, and Sigils which affect the way each Strike is used.

There’s a lot working behind the scenes, but you might have expected – based on trailers so far – for this to be a throwback FPS campaign, a linear shooter focused on set piece and spectacle. Robbins is quick to dispel that notion:

“I wanted that to be a Part of the experience, and we’ve certainly got some linear cinematic levels – like what you’ve played today – that are delivering on that more immediate [feeling of], ‘I’m in the middle of a war, I’m in the middle of this crazy situation’, but the game’s quite a bit more expansive than that. Large hub areas are available that do not follow a linear path. They also include full exploration zones. There’s a lot of the ability to revisit previous areas and unlock new areas with new abilities; there’s a whole dialogue system where I can walk up and talk to a lot of the characters and get more of their backstory and more information; there’s puzzles – there’s a lot of optional content.”

Robbins estimates that, for a playthrough taking in all of the game’s optional content, players are looking at a 30-40 hour experience. Coming out of my interview, I’m even more impressed by the scale of what Ascendent is working at here – and so is Robbins:

“The fact that we’ve accomplished what we’ve accomplished, in the time we have, with a new team, new technology, during a pandemic – all the challenges that we had – the fact that we’re here about to launch this thing, I’m just so proud of it.”

Immortals from AveumXbox Series X|S on July 20.

Immortals of Aveum™ Deluxe Edition

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$79.99

$71.99

Pre-order* Immortals of Aveum™ Deluxe Edition and get the Ancient Relics of Aveum Pack, containing:

– Purified Arclight – a unique blue sigil that will unleash more power for Jak’s blue Strike spells and Shatter Fury spell!
– Triarch’s Wrath – can be equipped as either Jak’s red, green, or blue sigil and boosts critical hit damage.
– Immortals Ring – increases Shred against all three colors of magic.
– Ring of Rasharn – increases spell damage for all three colors of magic.
– Aristeyan Ring – boosts Fury damage for all three colors of magic.
– Bracer of the Colossal – bestows increased Armor and Healing Crystal recovery.
– Sky Island Gauntlet – increases Armor and Shield Health, while decreasing Dodge cooldown.
– Dresnyr Lens – increases Spellbreak damage and boosts the overall power of red magic spells.
– Lucian Chain – increases the overall power of blue magic and decreases the cooldown of Lash control spells.
– Vial of the Pentacade – increases the duration of Limpet control spells and boosts overall green magic power.

Immortals of Aveum, a first-person magic shooter for single players that follows Jak’s journey as he becomes a member of an elite battlemage order to save a planet on the brink of destruction.
He must unravel the secrets of Aveum’s turbulent past with legions of soldiers from both sides of Everwar if he hopes to save its future.
Play a FPS game where you can master the three powers of magic.

Battlemage
Jak the elite Triarch Magnus is a member of the Order of Immortals – the champion protectors for Lucium.

Master Your Magic
Fast, fluid, first person spell-based combat that’s easy to learn and satisfying to master, where players are rewarded for clever chained attacks and well-timed counters.

Use Your arsenal of spells
Upgrade and unlock more than 20 spells. Find, craft and upgrade hundreds of magical items to enhance your playing style across the three powers of magic.

You can save a world on the edge of abyss
Jak and Lucium’s elite Immortals must race to uncover the mysteries of Aveum’s past, if there’s any hope of saving its future.

Immortals of Aveum is developed by Ascendant Studios, an independent AAA team led by Bret Robbins, creative director of Dead Space™ and Call of Duty®, and published by EA Originals.

*Conditions and Restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/games/immortals-of-aveum/immortals-of-aveum/disclaimers for details.

Immortals of Aveum™

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$69.99

$62.99

Pre-order* Immortals of Aveum™ and get the Purified Arclight, a unique blue sigil that will unleash more power for Jak’s blue Strike spells and Shatter Fury spell!

Immortals of Aveum, a first-person magic shooter for single players that follows Jak’s journey as he becomes a member of an elite battlemage order to save a planet on the brink of destruction.
He must unravel the secrets of Aveum’s turbulent past with legions of soldiers from both sides of Everwar if he hopes to save its future.
Play a FPS game where you can master the three powers of magic.

Battlemage
Jak the elite Triarch Magnus is a member of the Order of Immortals – the champion protectors for Lucium.

Master Your Magic
Fast, fluid, first person spell-based combat that’s easy to learn and satisfying to master, where players are rewarded for clever chained attacks and well-timed counters.

Use Your arsenal of spells
Upgrade and unlock more than 20 spells. Explore, upgrade and create hundreds of pieces magical gear that will synergise your playstyle with all three elements of magic.

You can save a world on the edge of abyss
Jak and Lucium’s elite Immortals must race to uncover the mysteries of Aveum’s past, if there’s any hope of saving its future.

Immortals of Aveum is developed by Ascendant Studios, an independent AAA team led by Bret Robbins, creative director of Dead Space™ and Call of Duty®, and published by EA Originals.

*Conditions and Restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/games/immortals-of-aveum/immortals-of-aveum/disclaimers for details.