At The Game Awards 2022, audiences around the world were given a teaser from EA of a new first-person shooter with a unique twist: instead of guns and grenades, you’ll be shooting with magic. Now developer Ascendant Studios has given us a first-hand showcase of their new game Immortals of Aveum, including a new trailer to introduce us to a fantastical world of spell-slinging action.

They have further announced that the game will be launching this summer on the 20th of July 2023. You can pre-order the game now.

The world of Aveum

The game takes place on the planet of Aveum where there a thousand-year “Ever-War” is raging on between the countries of Lucium and Rasharn over the control of magic. 

You take the role of Jak (Darren Barnet), a young man that wishes to become a “Magnus” aka a Battle Mage. While it starts off as an “Unforsceen” (meaning he has no magic) after a traumatic event he manifests a huge amount of magical power as a Tri-Arc, a being that is able to use all three types of magic: red, blue, and green. 

He is recruited by General Kirkan (Gina Torres) to join the Immortals, a special force of Lucium who can use the most powerful magic. Other members of the group introduced include Devyn (Antonio Aakeel), the youngest green magic master in Lucium’s history, and Zendara (Lily Cowles), a red magic master from Kalthus who is secretly royalty. 

They must join forces against Sandrakk (Steven Brand), the king of Rasharn who wishes to gain all the power of magic. As the story begins, he has driven his forces further in Lucium alongside his lieutenant, known as The Hand (Yvonne Senat Jones).

Exploration

The game’s graphics and animation are high quality with a great amount of expression from the motion-captured actors and smooth transitions between cutscenes and gameplay. The world likewise shows a lot of promise with a variety of locations from forests to snowy mountains, to fields of lava. The developer has also mentioned that the game will feature a lot of exploration and puzzle areas to break out all the shooting.

They explained that the magical energy lines you see in the picture above are “leylines”, conduits that transfer magical power throughout the land. At the center of Aveum is the womb, a giant bottomless crater in the center of the land. It grows larger every day

Becoming a Magic Gunslinger

The gameplay of Immortals of Aveum is a fast-paced single-player FPS that uses magic instead of guns. The combat is fast and frantic. It has a lot in common with shooters like Doom with the player constantly on their toes moving and stringing together combos to take out enemies. There are three main types of magic in Immortals of Aveum:

• Blue: regular blasts, like a handgun
• Red: like a shotgun, short-range but powerful
• Green: automatic fire like an assault rifle. It can also home in on targets.

Each will be necessary throughout the adventure especially as certain enemies may only be weak to one type of magic. It is also mentioned that he can upgrade and obtain certain “talents” through a skill tree. The developers encourage players to select skills that can customize Jak to their playstyle whether that’d be fast, hard-hitting, or more defensive.

Further Uses of Magic

Addiotnally, Jak’s magic is focused through his sigil (the gauntlet-like device on his hand). He can buy or find more sigils throughout the game that will alter the three magic types into different attacks. He can also find equipable rings, bracers, and totems that increase his power.

Another important part of your arsenal is Jak’s Shield. This acts as a form of mobile cover. You can shoot through the shield which gives him extra defense but will also restrict your movement. The shield also shatters if it takes enough damage. He can also use a teleport ability to dodge oncoming attacks. 

Finally, Jak also has more powerful attacks called “furies” that can unleash a load of damage on opponents. For example, one Fury is called the “shatter spell” which shoots an explosion of magical spikes. These however will drain your mana bar and you’ll need to find more mana crystals to restore it.

Immortals of Aveum

While shooters that make use of supernatural weaponry have been done before, The scale and vision of Immortals of Aveum are certainly noteworthy. The game takes a lot of recognizable traits from action shooters and makes them feel unique in its world of magic.

I suppose we’ll see more of what spells these battle mages can sling when Immortals of Aveum launches on the 20th of July. It will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

For more information on the behind-the-scenes creation of Immortals of Aveum, check out our interview with the lead developers at Ascendent Studios.