Immortals of Aveum Review – Endless Chromatic Conflict

Immortals of Aveum Review

FPS games don’t have nearly enough magic, I’ve always said. Why not swap out that AR-15 for a trusty fireball? Train your soldiers in the mystical arts! Anyways, Immortals of Aveum solves that problem for me. It’s a first-person shooter with 1000% more magic beams, bolts, and missiles. The spells are gorgeous, the action is blistering, and the world is enchanting. There is also a story. It’s a slightly corny one, but that’s alright.

You play as Jak, a wayward youth with incredible magical powers. Once said abilities are awakened by an awful tragedy, you’re immediately recruited into the magic army. No time for tears, soldier, there’s a war on! I love the insane worldbuilding on display here. Every line is stuffed with crazy new jargon, to the point where you can barely keep up. Case in point: the conflict you’re fighting in is called the Everwar. It’s utterly ridiculous, and it never, ever gets old. Not only that, but the visual worldbuilding is equally bombastic.

Battlefields are blasted hellscapes, pockmarked by smoking craters and gorgeous ruins. Your base of operations is a gleaming citadel, complete with automatic doors and towering halls. Dungeons and caves are slashed with color, crammed with monsters, and dripping with atmosphere. And magic is absolutely everywhere. Every battle is bursting with magic spells. Your own skills are a technicolor symphony shot from your hands. Enemy strikes are a constant barrage of brilliant colors. Even static constructs like weapon forges and treasure chests are juiced up with colorful effects. To call Immortals of Aveum beautiful is a hilarious understatement. This game is oozing color from its every pore.

Crazy Colorful Combat

But the combat doesn’t just look great, it feels good too. As a Triarch, you’ve got access to all three kinds of magic. That means a massive array of spells and skills to master. Thanks to the type matching system, every magic class can feel powerful. Monsters that shrug off heavy red strikes and seeking green ones will get shredded by blue shots. In fact, the only way to really unbalance the game is by staying laser-focused on one-third of the tech tree. Like I did. Listen, red magic is basically the shotgun, which it turns out is terribly alluring. Don’t make my same mistakes, unless you want a magical sawed-off that chews enemies into glittering shards.

Beyond the magical murder you can do, there’s a host of spells for traversal and puzzle-solving. While the triple jump and the grappling hook are rad, their implementation is also well-crafted. I never felt overwhelmed by the amount of skills (and there’s a lot of them). Instead, I was given just enough to time to master the use of one before another was dropped in my lap. My only major grievance on that front is the dodge skill. It comes with a cooldown, which is utter hogwash. If you’re gonna bombard me with endless waves of neon obliteration, at least let me dodge with impunity. Otherwise I just forget the skill exists, since I’ve no interest in navigating yet another cooldown.

Free The Dodge

Immortals has a healthy dose of puzzle-solving served up alongside the combat. I appreciate the change of routine, honestly. Too much magic murder would be almost overwhelming. Better yet, most of the real brain-teasers are optional. As someone who blazed through the game for review purposes, that’s a huge relief. On the flip side, several of the tougher fights are quite puzzling themselves. I had to run them several times to nail down the exact order of operations. Things like which enemy to take out first, using what skills, and when to spend your shield/health crystals were critical information. Solving these combat scenarios ended up both fun and frustrating.

Although I loved the corny worldbuilding, the quippy dialogue threatened to tip the balance. Too many self-effacing comments and dry one-liners can ruin the goofy charm, you know? I was disappointed at how flippant Jak was in the face of tragedy. He did eventually chew up some scenery (to my delight), but a lot of the runtime is spent on snappy wit and smarmy deflection. A world this over the top, this wonderfully ridiculous, deserves dialogue that’s equally sincere. While I found myself charmed by Jak’s insufferable wit, it almost felt out of place. The writing shines brightest when it’s just as crazy as the setting.

Just a Few Less Quips, Please

I had a ton of fun with Immortals. The combat is snappy, explosive, and smooth. Everything looks amazing, just a colossal colorful assault on the senses at every turn. The puzzles are a pleasant distraction. The writing has its ups and downs, to be sure, but the story itself is a proper ride. I truly can’t get enough of the word Everwar. I could have used a bit less quipping in the dialogue, however. While the combat occasionally got frustrating, it’s nothing a little practice (and difficulty adjustment) can’t fix. Traversal is a good time, even if the dodge cooldown feels excessive. If your first-person shooters have felt too serious lately, take heart! Immortals of Aveum is a magic-soaked, colorful romp that grips hard and doesn’t let go.

***A PS5 code was provided by the publisher***