Immortals of Aveum is an intriguing new shooter that isn’t following the traditional path for the genre. The game tosses guns for magic with a sole focus on story. No multiplayer. No Battle Passes. No Battle Royale. First-person shooters with stories are rare these days. Good ones are even rarer. The folks at Ascendant Studios want to tap into this underserved part of the genre.
Their CEO, Bret Robbins, has quite the resume with Creative Director credits for Dead Space, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and Call of Duty: WWII. 100+ developers from other big franchises, including BioShock and Borderlands, hope the company’s first game is just as big a hit.
Immortals of Aveum is being published under the EA Originals arm. This part of EA has been known for focusing on more indie-style games in scope. That’s changed with the release of Wild Hearts earlier this year and now with Immortals of Aveum.
A new trailer gives us a look at what we can expect.
It’s a stunner, that’s for sure. And according to the developers, it’s the first AAA game to be released on Unreal Engine 5.1. “We’re making full use of its newest capabilities like Lumen, Nanite, World Partition and Metahumans,” says the devs.
Flexing the latest version of Unreal Engine also means the game will not be coming to older console hardware. When it releases on July 20, it will hit PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
The trailer shows plenty of ways to dispatch enemies across its fantasy world. We can expect to unlock and upgrade over two dozen spells and 80 talents. Spells are split into three categories: Red, Blue, and Green Magic.
Blue Magic, in particular, will also power your ability to grab and pull objects and enemies. The devs also describe how different spells can be used for “chained attacks and well-timed counters.”
The game looks great and could be a welcome breath of fresh air for the shooter genre. Focusing on single-player only is a risk, but so would trying to take on a genre dominated by games like Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, and Call of Duty.
So, how many hours will it take to beat Immortals of Aveum? The devs are expecting a playtime of around 25 hours. That’s a solid length for a game with a AAA price tag. Plus, it’s smart to get the game out the door during the usual slower Summer release schedule.
Immortals of Aveum is coming on July 20 and will retail for $69.99 on Xbox/PlayStation and $59.99 on PC. And just like all EA games, it’ll be there day one on EA Play Pro ($14.99/month).