Commissar SFLUFAN Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 Yeah - I'm gonna call it a "caster" instead of a "shooter" because apparently unlike the writers of these preview articles, I can actually use a completely different verb which more accurately describes the gameplay interaction. Official trailer which features an "unfortunate" framerate for the actual gameplay segments: Hands-off previews: Immortals of Aveum Is a First-Person Shooter Without Guns - IGN WWW.IGN.COM Our first look at an upcoming single-player shooter that equips you with magic instead of machine guns. Quote Unlike some shooters, combat is only part of the picture in Immortals of Aveum. The developers say there’s plenty of room for exploration, and those who poke around the levels might discover hidden areas and helpful items. There’s also an emphasis on puzzle solving. One of the gameplay demos showed Jak, the protagonist, in a room with no apparent exit. To proceed, he had to figure out how to raise two pillars, use the Lash spell to reach an otherwise inaccessible area, and solve a light beam puzzle. His reward for doing all that? A giant, terrifying golem-like creature rose out of the ground and attacked, starting a tense battle before the demo came to an end. An Interesting Narrative Twist Might Be Hiding In Magical FPS Immortals Of Aveum - GameSpot WWW.GAMESPOT.COM Ascendant Studios' debut game sees you play as a battlemage in an endless war for magical resources. Quote Bret Robbins (known for his work on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Advanced Warfare, and WWII) serves as Immortals of Aveum's game director, which likely informs how a game that sees you play as a battlemage matches the action hero exploits of a Call of Duty. The game's magic is certainly more colorful and flashy than any Call of Duty gun, but Jak carves each spell out of the air with runes that seem to explode with the same frenetic punch as a bullet, and Jak responds to orders barked over a magical sending stone with the same dry sarcasm as a soldier speaking into a radio. So while it looks quite different from a military shooter, there's a familiarity to the whole thing as well. The art direction is what struck me most during Immortals of Aveum's initial reveal, and that fascination continued as I watched the game in motion and got to see how its magic system works. Magic is a tricky thing--by its very fantastical nature, it should be able to do anything. It rarely can in the best pieces of fiction, however. Instead, its power is best conveyed in how casters creatively work within a magical system's rules to accomplish impressive feats. Immortals of Aveum has its own set of magical rules--there are a total of 25 spells that Jak can acquire, each of which fits into three primary categories: Force, Chaos, and Life. Force magic speeds across the screen in a bright blue, Chaos magic crackles with fiery red, and Life magic oozes with a sticky-looking green. Each style of magic has its own strengths and limitations, and I'm impressed with how well the colorful art direction for the magic conveys how each one works without the game needing to spell it out for you. Immortals of Aveum preview: a magic FPS that wants to be more than "fantasy Call of Duty" | GamesRadar+ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM There's more to this war-torn realm than meets the eye – and its goal is to be "unpredictable" Quote Looking back at the pages of notes I'd taken during my hands-off preview of Immortals of Aveum, I still struggle to describe what this game actually is. Aside from stating the obvious – it's a first-person shooter where you channel magic instead of loading up firearms – you could say that Immortals of Aveum is a dark fantasy, pseudo-historical sci-fi adventure to another world. At least, that's partly true. It's neither an open world RPG nor a straightforward looter-shooter, though it does borrow some elements from each in its "hub and spoke" approach to exploration. The combat is a frenetic blend of Dr Strange-like magic shields offset by a roster of color-coded spells, but despite its magical underpinnings, you won't find wand-wielding wizard-on-wizard combat as in Hogwarts Legacy. Immortals of Aveum defies all sense of genre type-casting, and it does so proudly. Launching on July 20th for PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, it's the debut title from developer Ascendant Studios – and although its CEO is Call of Duty: WW2 creative director Bret Robbins, he's made it plain during the preview event that this is "not fantasy Call of Duty – we're our own game." Here’s what ‘Call of Duty, but with magic’ looks like in action WWW.POLYGON.COM Sometimes the simplest description is the awesomest Quote Without bogging this down too much in detail, Aveum has three ribbons of magic rippling through it: Chaos (red), Force (blue), and Life (green). In basic weapon terms, Chaos is like a shotgun, blue is a more accurate, longer-range rifle, and green is akin to an SMG. The sound supporting all this is definitely more FPS than magical, with explosions, and the thudding report of your “guns” resembling energy weapons from sci-fi shooters. “We made a lot of decisions around magic, and how we wanted it to feel different than traditional guns,” Robbins said. “For one thing, I didn’t want to make a traditional cover shooter; I didn’t think the fantasy that I was trying to create involved you hiding behind the bush and firing the wand over it.” Hence the shield, which can be fired through while raised; it just slows the player down some. It also has its own health and can be broken when depleted. Robbins added that the “Call of Duty but with magic” label, while a good shorthand or elevator pitch for its appeal, leaves out some other gameplay aspects that Ascendant wanted to implement in Immortals of Aveum, which is developed in Unreal Engine 5. “We have a lot of world exploration, a lot of puzzles and puzzle mechanics,” he said. “It’s a huge game. If you’re just trying to play it straight through, it’s well over 20, 25 hours. And if you want to really explore and do a lot, it gets quite a bit longer than that.” Buddy, that's really not necessarily the selling point for the game that you think it is! Immortals of Aveum: Introducing a world of wizards and warfare BLOG.PLAYSTATION.COM A first-person shooter with a special kind of magic. Quote Augmenting these magical abilities is an in-depth gear and character enhancement systems. Jak can find or buy Sigils, a crucial focus for his magical power. These Sigils grant stat boosts and buffs and can also alter how certain spells work, effectively changing loadouts. Totems are another piece of magical kit that apply various boosts, though they’re focused more on movement abilities. Magic Rings augment and transform the grenade-like Fury spells. Finally, there are Bracers, gauntlets that boost Jak’s defensive abilities. Combine all this gear with a Talent Tree to power up different magic colors, and you’re looking at a considerable amount of customization. But finding everything will take careful exploration—the stages are packed with secrets, puzzles, and hidden areas, so you’ll want to take time to look around. Robbins was eager to tell us all about Aevum’s hidden treasures. “When you get a new spell, you can return to previous areas and unlock new things. We’ve also got the Shroudfanes: mini-dungeons hidden throughout the game that have specific challenges or unique bosses—they have some of the best gear in the game.” Immortals of Aveum Preview - An Impressive Magic Shooter With Call Of Duty Credentials - Game Informer WWW.GAMEINFORMER.COM We recently visited Ascendant Studios to learn about, and play Immortals of Aveum for the first time. Quote I was able to play an early portion of the game that put me through the basic tutorial before dropping me into the sequence that plays out right after the Immortals’ Game Awards teaser, and was impressed with the fluidity. Instinctively, I pulled the left trigger to try and aim down sights just based on how combat and movement generally felt, but that trigger activates a Lash ability that lets you pull most enemies closer for a well-timed red magic blast. “Not including [aim down sights] was a big decision. We talked a lot about it,” Robbins says, “Ultimately, it came down to the fact that we really wanted the dual hand spell casting where we had left hand and right hand and spell casting, and we want you to be able to use that really easily and fluidly.” Alongside the impressive magic shooter gameplay, there are opportunities to explore and solve puzzles. Call of Duty may be a relevant touch point for the action gameplay, but moving around and progressing the story looks to other styles of games. “The architecture is a hub and spoke game. You've got a couple of large, non-linear exploration spaces, and you also have a headquarters, and then you have our more linear cinematic missions that branch off of those,” Robbins says. “An analogy would be something like the more recent God of War games.” Preview: Immortals of Aveum Looks To Scrach That Magic Shooter Itch, Releases On July 20th | MMORPG.com WWW.MMORPG.COM Ascendant Studios pulled the veil back on their upcoming first-person magic shooter, Immortals of Aveum. We had the chance to check out the game in a hands-off demo, and the world and its premise have Bradford excited to scratch that magic FPS itch left by the 90s shooters in the same vein. Quote I remember growing up loving old spell-slinging shooters like Hexen and Heretic. I would play these for hours, even though they weren’t the deepest games from a story standpoint. There was something inherently satisfying about taking the role of a mage and fighting against the denizens of evil with spells and magical items. Interestingly enough, the vibes I’m getting from Electronic Arts and Ascendant Studios’ upcoming Immortals of Aveum are those same vibes. A first-person magic-slinging shooter, Immortals of Aveum takes players on a journey in the role of Jak, a Battlemage. 'Immortals of Aveum' Could Be the “Marvel Movie” of Video Games WWW.INVERSE.COM 'Immortals of Aveum' is a brand new IP that hopes to marry Call of Duty bombast with magical exploration. Quote “I made a decision early on that the tone of the game wouldn't be the standard fantasy tone that you're used to. This isn't Lord of the Rings,” Robbins tells Inverse in a recent interview. “My touchstone was more something like a Marvel movie, where even if you have a movie like Guardians of the Galaxy, that takes place in a fantastical setting, the characters are very relatable and speak like you and I do.” That's...not a particularly original concept these days, my man. Immortals of Aveum preview: DOOM meets Lord of the Rings in creative new shooter - Dexerto WWW.DEXERTO.COM Immortals of Aveum brings a fresh take to the FPS genre, mixing DOOM-inspired gameplay with Tolkien-esque world-building. Quote Combat is all about flipping through your various magical powers on the fly. Certain enemy types may be more susceptible to a certain type of cast, keeping you on your toes as you look for the optimal path through a room full of otherworldly foes. With an emphasis on heavy-hitting weapons and fluid movement, the gameplay we were shown felt quite reminiscent of Bethesda’s latest DOOM reboot and its sequel. Jumping from one platform to another, finding the openings for counter-attacks, and cycling through a wide range of weapons, in this case magical spells, as you dodge incoming fire in a hectic and deadly dance. Although we obviously didn’t get to experiment with the flow of combat ourselves, what we saw was definitely engaging on the surface. Preview: Single Player Spell-Based FPS Immortals of Aveum Looks Like Pure PS5 Magic WWW.PUSHSQUARE.COM Spellbinding first gameplay blows us away - What if Call of Duty was set in a fantasy world where wars were fought with ma... Quote Adding depth and variety to the combat is a leash you can use to reach higher terrain or to pull enemies towards you, as well as a shield you can utilise to defend yourself – and also fire through. This impedes mobility, so you can’t have your shield raised at all times, but obviously it’s necessary when you’re underfire. You’ll unlock new gear and skill points as you progress, which can be used to buff certain characteristics. Some spells, like the ability to slow time, are also used to solve puzzles. As alluded to above, Jak can wield three different types of spell, with red acting like a shotgun and green having homing powers. Blue is the more traditional assault rifle, and there’s a colour matching element to the combat, where some enemies will be susceptible to certain types of powers. All of this will ensure you have to switch up your approach frequently, and clearly different mixes of enemy types will challenge you in unique ways. Immortals of Aveum is Ghostwire Tokyo meets Doom, and that’s good | The Loadout WWW.THELOADOUT.COM In a hands-off preview for magic-based FPS Immortals of Aveum, we finally found out more about this new IP which is being published by EA. Quote However, after seeing and hearing more about the game, my expectations are high. From this first look at Immortals of Aveum, it seems like a unique blend of Ghostwire Tokyo and the recent Doom games, both of which are some of my favourite titles of the past few years. However, what makes me even more excited is the fact that Bret Robbins, former creative director for some of Sledgehammer Games’ Call of Duty titles like Advanced Warfare, is the man in charge. Calling it an inspired mix of a few games is unfair though, as Ascendant Studios is definitely set on making it different enough to warrant a resurgence of battle mage-like games. In an interview with me after the event, Robbins says that “we aren’t making just a magic Call of Duty, we’re making something pretty unique Immortals of Aveum riffs on CoD, Doom, Doctor Strange, and more – and it looks awesome WWW.VG247.COM The list of franchises that Immortals of Aveum carries the vibe of is long indeed, but that may be exactly what this shooter needs to establish a firm foothold. Quote There’s a Dr. Strange feel in conjuring up big sigil-clad shields and the like. There’s the spectacle of Call of Duty in how levels are structured, but in a much different sort of universe. Magical energy bursting through pulsating hands definitely evokes BioShock. In aggressive movement and attack-focused combat, one sees ripples of DOOM. There’s even low-key Metroid Prime vibes, when the action ebbs off and gives way to small magical puzzles to progress or unlock optional areas and rewards. Role-playing DNA is on display not just in the lore, but in character progression and upgrades, too. The titular Immortals are basically the special forces of this magical world. There’s a whole detailed lore that’s been constructed, but the elevator pitch is pretty simple. There’s a big Sauron-lookin’ bad guy, and they’ve designs on conquering the whole world by controlling all magic. Most other nations have already fallen, but you now stand as the last line of defense for your people – and the world at large. All of this is obviously secondary to how it plays. And it looks fascinating. Naturally, the obvious comparison to make is to shooters. There are three core ‘types’ of base weapons, and they’re handily color-coded. Blue magic offers single longer-rance piercing shots, almost like a sniper. Green is rapid fire but less damaging, more like a submachine gun. Red magic functions like a shotgun blast. In addition to their differing functions, some enemies have color-coded shields – so you’ll want to shatter a red shield with red magic, and so on. Interview: How Immortals of Aveum brings CoD bombast to the fantasy realm | VGC WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM Game director Brett Robbins tells VGC how his years on Call of Duty and Dead Space influenced his new title… Quote While a first-person magic game isn’t entirely revolutionary, with games like Tango Gameworks‘ recent effort Ghostwire Tokyo adopting a similar mechanic on the surface, Robbins’ days in the Call of Duty trenches led to the team thinking about the real-world mechanics of magic as deeply as if it were a Dragunov sniper rifle. “It was difficult, because we’ve seen that magic sometimes doesn’t feel as good as a gun,” Robbins explains. “We all understand what a gun feels like and how it should shoot, you know? Inventing what a spell feels like a difficult thing to do. Bret Robbins' Immortals Of Aveum is a showy, fantastical FPS, by Bret Robbins WWW.ROCKPAPERSHOTGUN.COM Ascendant Studios want to make a magical splash with mage FPS Immortals Of Aveum, which looks fun but begs a hands on. Also, it was Bret Robbins' idea. Quote When Immortals Of Aveum was first revealed in December last year, there wasn't a lot to know. After a hands-off preview last week, I can tell you it's a singleplayer first-person shooter but with magic, which would sound a lot like Forspoken if I described it without context, and it actually looks pretty cool. Mainly, though, I can tell you that I'm never going to forget whose idea this game was. Am I being facetious? Probably! But also, I don't know how else to be when your game preview starts with a ten-minute video that was notionally about Ascendant Studios but seemed actually about lionising one man's career. It's also the strongest impression the preview left on me, both because the point was laboured and because we didn't see that much of the game. The video, which I wouldn't raise except it'll be made public for your enjoyment tomorrow, includes a greatest hits of all the stuff Robbins has worked on, lingering on Dead Space in a way that if I didn't know better might suggest they're after a bit of all the Dead Space-related coverage Glen Schofield got during The Callisto Protocol's marketing. This all made it quite funny when the voiceover later described the studio as "ego-less". Maybe it's unfair to criticise someone for being proud of their accomplishments, but there's a line between being proud and making me laugh, and that was crossed when the VO said "when Sledgehammer games came calling, Bret answered". OLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO Finding Solace in the Familiar with Immortals of Aveum - Hardcore Gamer HARDCOREGAMER.COM Familiarity and similarity may sound the same, but if there's ever a case where the former can pay off better than the latter, a game like Immortals of Aveum Quote In fact one can say that Immortals owes its familiar traits of linear level progression, closed-off combat encounters and hard-hitting, fast-moving, first-person gameplay to a multitude of names from Western gaming’s past. Not just a remarking on the experience the developer’s head-count has from past successes — the likes of Call of Duty, Halo, Bioshock, Borderlands and even Dead Space get a mention — but so too where Immortals lands itself in so far as its pitch. Both in terms of gameplay, but so too its proposed narrative and all-round aesthetic. Settling on that murky “fantasy but not that kind of fantasy” brand of the genre happy to indulge in swords, dragons and villainous leaders with not-too-pleasant motivations, but doesn’t entirely rule itself out on the reliance of technology from time to time. As non-descript and ill-defined that balance seems from an early glance. Immortals of Aveum: We played 2023's best surprise WWW.GAMEREACTOR.EU Ever wondered what a single-player magic-based Call of Duty and Destiny would be like in an incredible new fantasy world filled with enticing lore? You'll get the very promising answer in July. Quote The first thing that caught me by surprise was the great visuals. Being an EA Originals game, I kind of expected a decent-looking fantasy title with characters we've seen many times before because of the indie-label and smaller budget. What I got was a beautiful world filled with enticing details that drew me into the universe and made me want to explore and learn more about it. And this isn't just in terms of pixel count, already near-flawless 60 fps and such, but its design. This isn't one of those exuberant, overly designed places that just ends up feeling "gamey" and artificial. Giant statues, old ruins, temples reclaimed by nature and other mysterious structures all tell a story and make sense while still being suited for combat and exploration. I have some concerns though. While the story and world seems fantastic so far, I still can't stand watching a cutscene for several minutes before getting ten seconds of gameplay and then get another cutscene. It just ruins the flow even if it's a small pet peeve. An aspect that will annoy more out there is that the rewards for exploring seem very lackluster. Too many chests in the world just give you gold and resources that can be used to buy or upgrade gear. Somewhat disappointing when the Sigils (simply put the game's different weapons), rings and such I found usually changed things up significantly. It's a bit more understandable in a game like Destiny where missions can be replayed over and over again, but Immortals of Aveum is a single-player, more linear metroidvania game without a random loot pool. On the other hand, each item and spell I found both looked and felt unique, so there's that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 Reminds me of this game of which I am convinced that I'm the only person who has ever played it: Lichdom: Battlemage on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Play the first game where the Mage is a total badass! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPCyric Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: Reminds me of this game of which I am convinced that I'm the only person who has ever played it: Lichdom: Battlemage on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Play the first game where the Mage is a total badass! Only person on this forum at least (maybe on Era too) This looks cool (Immortals not Lichdom) naming is questionable though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 2 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: Reminds me of this game of which I am convinced that I'm the only person who has ever played it: I have it in my steam library but haven't played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 6 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: Reminds me of this game of which I am convinced that I'm the only person who has ever played it: Lichdom: Battlemage on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Play the first game where the Mage is a total badass! Came to post this! Well done sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 Its not just the framerate. The resolution during gameplay segments looks awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 10 hours ago, DPCyric said: Only person on this forum at least (maybe on Era too) This looks cool (Immortals not Lichdom) naming is questionable though. 10 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said: I have it in my steam library but haven't played. 5 hours ago, Mr.Vic20 said: Came to post this! Well done sir! Make no mistake: the very best that I can say about Lichdom: Battlemage is that it's very much a game that exists. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fizzzzle Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 6 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: Make no mistake: the very best that I can say about Lichdom: Battlemage is that it's very much a game that exists. It's got some fun concepts, but not really enough reason to keep playing them, imo. I gave up on it after a few hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 19 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: Make no mistake: the very best that I can say about Lichdom: Battlemage is that it's very much a game that exists. Did it exist better than Mad Max? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 Just now, Keyser_Soze said: Did it exist better than Mad Max? It definitely exists at roughly the same level as Mad Max. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPCyric Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: Make no mistake: the very best that I can say about Lichdom: Battlemage is that it's very much a game that exists. He hasn't played it clearly just got it in some bundle (I think I own it as well) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted April 20, 2023 Share Posted April 20, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted April 21, 2023 Author Share Posted April 21, 2023 Steam :: Immortals of Aveum™ :: The Bleeding-Edge Tech Powering Immortals of Aveum™ STEAMCOMMUNITY.COM The developers at Ascendant Studios reveal what Unreal Engine 5.1 brings to the world of Aveum. Quote From the start of development, the team here at Ascendant Studios wanted Immortals of Aveum™ to be a truly next-generation (now current generation) experience on a technical level—something that pushes our development craft further than we’ve gone before as a team. We’re proud to be releasing one of the first AAA games on Unreal Engine 5.1, an engine that provides us with the tools and technology to make something we feel is truly special and hope players do too. If you follow the more technical side of game development and what it can do for visual fidelity and gameplay, you’ve no doubt seen some of the incredible work the team at Epic Games has done with their UE5 tech demos. Immortals of Aveum, however, is one of the first examples to take this technology and bring it into a fully featured playable experience. Lighting, video effects, physics, and more have all been tuned to provide a breathtaking experience designed to bring the player on a cinematic journey through Aveum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 3, 2023 Author Share Posted June 3, 2023 Immortals of Aveum: Why single-player matters, and how Unreal 5.1 is making this a true new-gen shooter WWW.VG247.COM Coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, Immortals of Aveum can really show us the power of the current generation of machines. Quote Immortals of Aveum is a big budget, first-person magic shooter from Ascendant Studios, a new team built from industry veterans who have worked on the likes of Call of Duty and The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series. In fact, the Call of Duty inspirations are clear in how the game is trying to target magic and mystery – but realise it in a big, triple-A shooter sort of way. But this isn’t just a corridor shooter; Ascendant Studios is weaving many genre strands together to make something unique. We sat down with Tyler Sparks, lead level producer at Ascendant Studios, to discuss the new project – what Ascendant thinks makes this unique title stand out from the pack, how to get players on board from the off, and why single-player games are still important. Call of Duty meets magic and action: Immortals of Aveum is trying to fill the MCU cinema void this summer WWW.VG247.COM Immortals of Aveum is a visually spectacular epic, but how does it play? Here's what we thought during our hands-on preview! Quote Apparently conceived as “what if Call of Duty, but dragons”, the three colours of magic are based around familiar archetypes of weapons. Red is close-range and analogous to shotguns, green is fast-firing like an SMG, while blue has longer range options more similar to marksman rifles or hand cannons. Because of this, I’m not convinced that the magic-shooter gameplay is quite as unique as Ascendant is asserting, since there’s not a lot of tangible, mechanical difference in firing off spells instead of the weapons they’re reminiscent of. But with that said the magic definitely adds a lot to the action. Visually, Immortals of Aveum is fantastic, with vibrant, shattering particles filling the screen with violent confetti as you bounce around, constantly swapping between spells to exploit your enemies’ weaknesses. Enemies aren’t as versatile as Jak, so they usually only use one colour of magic themselves. But that also means they’re weak to that colour, allowing you to take them out more easily by juggling your equipment efficiently. This tactical layer adds an extra element of complexity to fights, which can contribute to scraps becoming properly tough and hectic. Immortals of Aveum feels like EA’s next big single-player franchise | VGC WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM It's not quite magic Call of Duty, but the stellar production and exciting action isn' Quote It’s an extremely fast-moving game and ran well during our play session on PC. Enemies are also very readable, something that when we asked creative director Brett Robbins about, his eyes lit up talking about how much of a focus that was for the team. There’s an obvious issue as soon as you’re fighting mystery enemies on a foreign planet using weaponry that you can’t recognize from the real world. In most games, the only way to really find out what they do is to get hit by them, but from what we played, it appears that the enemies are similarly colour coded to the players’ attacks, meaning if you see something red, you know you’re in for some up close and personal trouble. Immortals of Aveum is beautiful. The facial animation stands right alongside the juggernauts of the industry, which took us by surprise considering how little it was mentioned in the presentation ahead of our time with the game. It’s very cinematic, as you might expect from something with so much Call of Duty in its blood, but at least as far as we could see, it’s far less reliant on borrowed imagery and homage, the world of Aveum feels very bold and very original. Immortals of Aveum hands-on: If boomer shooters are '90s, does that make this a Gen-X shooter? | PC Gamer WWW.PCGAMER.COM Confusing genre shorthand aside, the spirit of the 2008 singleplayer shooter is alive in this wizard FPS. Quote Immortals of Aveum feels old-fashioned, but not in the way "boomer shooters" feel old-fashioned. Those games revere the speed and simplicity of '90s shooters, whose plots are usually some variation of "moon's haunted," whereas Immortals brings a distinct Xbox 360 vibe. Clusters of baddies spill out of dropships like Halo 3 grunts, and the path through each linear level is dotted with cutscenes featuring scheming villains and earnest heroes who just want to make a difference, dammit. We appear to be reenacting the transition from corridors and keycards to the Hollywood storytelling ambitions of the 2000s. I'm not opposed to it: Although today's fascination with old-school arena shooters suggests a kind of contemporary FPS fan who rejects all post-Quake values, I think most of us are also suckers for the immersive simmy abilities of 2000s shooters like BioShock and The Darkness. Immortals is a fantasy game with spells rather than guns, which gives it a good excuse to stuff your keyboard with magic powers. By the end of the few hours I spent previewing it at EA's offices recently, I could: Double jump Hover Yoink enemies off cliffs with a grapple spell Cast stun and slow spells Raise a shield to mitigate incoming damage Dodge (a disappointingly short distance) Equip three types of primary attack spell Bust out big specials with the number keys, such as an energy wave that terminates with spikes of earth, good for breaking shields Bust out an even bigger ultimate spell My impression of Immortals as old-fashioned extended to the less fun bits of my demo. Invisible walls keep you from having too much fun double jumping, and the speed of your progress through the linear levels is regulated by busywork: locked doors that are opened by hopping around in search of color-coded switches and shooting them with the correct kind of magic. Aiming my blue spell at the blue switch (and the glowing blue weak point of a boss, at one point) feels awfully quaint at the same time as I keep seeing clips of Zelda players solving problems by building bizarre automatic torture machines. Immortals could benefit from some more exciting environments, in my view: The architecture I saw was pretty drab, and I kept thinking of another upcoming Unreal Engine 5 game, the Lords of the Fallen reboot, and how its cavernous gothic structures crawl with detail by comparison. But I've gotta respect the uncomplicated approach here, and it feels genuine. Immortals isn't self-consciously old-fashioned: It's just designed by someone who likes a particular style of singleplayer shooter campaign. Immortals of Aveum preview: A potentially enticing evolution for first-person shooters | Windows Central WWW.WINDOWSCENTRAL.COM A generic "save the world" story takes a backseat to fantastic gameplay. Quote Overall, I'm left with mixed impressions on the story being sold in Immortals of Aveum. While the shift to something more modern in dialogue and tone is bold and appreciated, it's not coming together, at least based on the two hours and some change that I've seen so far. It's entirely possible that the characters will get to shine better in the full experience, but that's something that can go either way. What isn't up for debate is just how fun it is to play. Chaining spells together and figuring out the optimal way to clear the battlefield never got old and was always a joy to watch unfold. Even days later, I'm thinking about different ways I could've tackled some of the bosses and more challenging sections of the demo, and I hope the full game feels as fresh and frenetic as the slice I've played. Immortals of Aveum hands-on preview - Of magic and majesty GAMINGTREND.COM What Bret Robbins and the team at Ascendant Studios have accomplished thus far with Immortals of Aveum is nothing short of absolutely astounding. I was recently invited out to EA Headquarters in Redwood City, CA, to go hands-on with the game, and what they had to show has me completely blown away. I Quote The impact of Unreal Engine 5 is on full display here. The ruins are absolutely gorgeous, with steep cliff faces, various flora and fauna, intricately designed structures, and so much more. As I started to make my way, it was hard to not just stop and stare, to admire the scenery. In terms of world design, Julia and company took inspirations from worlds like Middle-earth and other more romantic fantasy ideas of castles and dragons, like in the Elder Scrolls games. This has certainly worked out well, because every area I visited had me in awe. There’s a sense of majesty on such a grand scale, making me wish so badly to learn more about the land’s history and its people. Each kingdom is said to be so unique from the next that it really is a shame that we won’t get to visit them all, though we can always hope to see more in post-launch content. We really are just scratching the surface here with what Immortals of Aveum has to offer. This preview was really a showcase for what Ascendant Studios has up their sleeves, and I am truly impressed with what they had to show us. The game is mostly linear from what I’ve experienced, kind of like the Star Wars: Jedi series of games. I personally appreciate this as I am easily distracted and get sidetracked a little too easily in big open-world games. You’ll still get to see a lot of the world, but mostly as you peer out into the distance to admire the scenery. I feel like I could ramble on and on about this game already, even given the short amount of time I had with it, but we’ll leave that for the full review as we get closer to launch. 'Immortals of Aveum' Preview — a Promising Premise That Falls Short on First Glance WWW.DISTRACTIFY.COM 'Immortals of Aveum' is Ascendant Studios' debut title, but can this first-person magic shooter live up to its promises? Here are our first impressions. Quote Even on the easiest setting, Immortals of Aveum shows no mercy to its players. Boss battles are challenging, forcing you to really think through the moves and decisions you make while up against, say, a fire-breathing dragon. Despite the tradeoff of guns for sigils and other pieces of armor to enhance your magic, the game truly feels like a first-person shooter in all the best ways, while offering plenty of variety that forces the player to truly master the magic in their hands. But for all of the ways Immortals of Aveum succeeds in its promises, there are also some hangups I couldn't quite move past. The developers have replaced the basic dodge feature with "Blink," a movement that allows you to zip out of the way of enemy fire. But unlike your standard dodge, Blink has a cooldown period that severely limits how often its used. Despite my various hangups, I'm hopeful for Immortals of Aveum, but how the studio executes is final vision will determine whether this game will be worth dumping tens of hours into. So much of this title is riding on Jak's narrative — but with just the little slice Ascendant Studios was able to share, there are plenty of gaping holes in the story and the gameplay that I can only hope will be answered in the final product. Immortals of Aveum: The Final Preview - IGN WWW.IGN.COM Quote I love first-person shooters. Always have. Always will. And in particular I love single-player first-person shooters. Mix a compelling narrative in with some great set pieces and repeatable fun gameplay that makes me feel powerful in some way and I’m all-in. I also love something that feels fresh and new, which is harder to come by in this expensive-to-build, risk-averse genre. That’s why I was intrigued to spend a few hours playing Immortals of Aveum, whose Mad Libs-sounding name belies a great idea I haven’t seen in an FPS in a while: it has zero guns in it. By now you’ve already seen that magic takes its place. It’s a smart choice that allows plenty of depth and variety between its three magic types, and the result thus far is a game that mostly had me smiling the entire time I played. I say “mostly” because, well, let me get Aveum’s big blemish out of the way now: its dialogue and main character are not good. You play as Jak, a generic cocky rookie who has developed the rare ability in this universe to wield all three types of magic: red, blue, and green. Neither Jak nor the words that come out of his mouth match the tone of this fantasy universe at all. Maybe this was on purpose to try and avoid being Yet Another Fantasy Game, but it just doesn’t work. I’m not looking forward to an entire campaign’s worth of Jak’s cringey dialogue with his superior officers in their Everwar against The Bad Guy. As an over-40 gamer, Immortals of Aveum does remind me of something near and dear to my heart: Raven Software’s long-ago fantasy first-person shooters Heretic and Hexen. It’s a spiritual connection at best, certainly, but I feel like I haven’t seen magic and first-person shooting blended this well since those ‘90s classics. I’m not optimistic that the full context of Jak’s story will make his or anyone else’s dialogue in this game any more bearable when I get my hands on the full version, but I’m quite confident that the magic-fueled combat will keep me hooked until the end. Immortals Of Aveum Preview: Weilding Magic In The Unweildiest Way WWW.THEGAMER.COM Immortals of Aveum is a Doom-like spell-slinging shooter that might be trying to cram too many mechanics into one game. Quote Immortals of Aveum wants so badly to be Doom Eternal, and at times it almost pulls it off. When I’m darting around an arena slinging spells and trying to outmaneuver a horde of evil wizards, it’s the same kind of frantic, adrenaline-infused experience the modern Doom games are known for. Combat is similarly puzzle-like with a skosh of resource management. Hurling the right spell at the right time to shatter your enemies’ defenses is the key to managing the battlefield, and spending mana efficiently can be the difference between easily controlling the crowd and getting overwhelmed. But unlike Doom, Immortals overloaded me with more abilities than my mind - or keyboard - could handle. The momentum of magical battles and the constant splash of colorful particle effects makes Immortal shine in trailers and livestreams, but it doesn’t feel as good in the hands as it looks on the screen. Much has been made of Immortals originality in the FPS genre, and while I do think it’s largely just an arena shooter with different coat of paint, some of the spells give you decent control over the battlefield. You can’t be as creative and free-wheeling as Doctor Strange, but the combat is a lot more layered than Hogwarts Legacy. Based on only a few missions, I don’t expect much from the narrative. The setting is a fairly cookie-cutter fantasy world where magic is a natural resource that several factions fight over, and your character is yet another white guy chosen one who’s naturally more gifted than everyone else (he can use all three magic colors instead of just one or two) but needs to get his ego checked before he’s worthy of becoming the hero he’s destined to be. His name is Jak. We’ve all been here before, and it’s easy to see where this is going. The dialogue is smothered in Marvel-branded ironic detachment that even an exceptional performer like Gina Torres can’t make sound fresh. I will say though that the models are remarkable. Between the character animations and the stunningly magical particle effects, this one won’t have any trouble passing the next-gen sniff test. Immortals of Aveum is a sophisticated and spellbinding single-player FPS that deserves more than to be named "Call of Duty with magic" | GamesRadar+ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM Hands-on | EA Originals' single-player throwback shooter works like magic Quote In the four hours I spent playing Immortals of Aveum at EA's San Francisco headquarters, never once did I think, this feels like Call of Duty with magic. That's not to say the description doesn't work as an elevator pitch, the debut title from Ascendant Studio is a single-player first-person shooter with spells after all, it's just that it sells it terribly short. There are parts of Immortals of Aveum that remind me of classic Halo, like its dramatic set pieces, sundry assortment of combat options, and linear level design. Its epic fantasy boss fights and "hub and spoke" exploration invoke God of War, while the relatable characters and quip-laden dialogue bring to mind Forspoken's Frey and Cuff – only slightly better-written, thank the heavens. The player character's color-coded spells take me back to battling Yokai in Ghostwire: Tokyo, though it's worth noting that Immortals started development years before Tango Gameworks' supernatural action game launched. And, finally, yes, the precision-based 'gunplay' can feel a lot like Call of Duty but with elemental powers instead of bullets. But what continues to impress me as I recall my hands-on time with Immortals of Aveum is how it manages to blend so many influences and gameplay elements into a cohesive whole, and one that has the potential to exceed the sum of its parts. Immortals of Aveum Hands On Preview | MMORPG.com WWW.MMORPG.COM Ascendant Studios is building a new magic-based first person shooter, Immortals of Aveum. Having gone hands-on last week during a press event, Bradford shares his thoughts. Quote The visuals help sell the moment-to-moment fluidity so well. Built using Unreal Engine 5.1, Immortals of Aveum takes advantage of features such as Lumen and Nanite to bring the world to life. The sci-fi meets fantasy setting feels right at home in a struggle over the magical energies that fuel the world itself, its Magitech flair feeling unpredictable at times as well. One moment I’m seeing large ships flown by Rasharnians in the sky, the next a dragon - yes a dragon - is swooping me up and carrying me off and away from the front lines. Each character design feels rooted in this world that mixes fantasy elements with science fiction in this beautiful blend of the two. Chainmail accents seamlessly fit more futuristic-looking armor, while the individual sigils the Magni wear seem to blend with that character beautifully. But the helmets are my favorite. Taking inspiration from Japanese robot cartoons, Battlestar Galactica’s Cylons and more, Bogan has created some of my favorite character helmets I’ve seen in a game in a long while. I especially love the Hand of Sandrakk’s almost sea-monster meets TMNT’s Shredder vibes that just feel both foreign and familiar at the same time. Immortals of Aveum is like Call of Duty in a fantasy game | hands-on preview VENTUREBEAT.COM Immortals of Aveum is the new single-player "magic first-person shooter" game coming from developer Ascendant Studios and EA on July 20. Quote But mastery comes with things like chaining attacks together and timing your counters so that you can unleash spells like Shatter, which can destroy an enemy’s shield, followed by Lash. There are more than 25 Spells and 80 Talents to improve your fighting skill and style. You can collect coins, sigils and totems along the way to grow more powerful and kill stronger enemies. There are also puzzles involving the spell colors. You can shoot targets above doors to unlock them, but sometimes you have to find all of the colored emblems in a level before the door will unlock. The Unreal Engine 5 environments have a lot of variety, including the lush forests of Lucium, the snowy peaks of Kalthus and the lava caves of Calderas. There are a dozen different biomes filled with enemies, side quests, puzzles and boss fights. Immortals of Aveum Hands-On Preview: More Than Call of Duty with Dragons GAMERANT.COM After three or so hours with Immortals of Aveum, it's clear that EA and Ascendant Studios have something truly special on their hands. Quote It's the small things that make the spectacle of any game worthwhile, and that's certainly true in Immortals of Aveum. Equipping a different spell in any slot (green/red/blue) not only functions differently, but the runes that appear when casting them differ. The gauntlets players equip (known as Sigils in-game) take on a different appearance and design for most spell set-ups, and it's easy to gear Jak to one's personal liking. Beyond those, players can change their totems, equip bracers and rings, and so forth. With equipment, it's easy to foresee some criticism that it's taking these looter shooter elements and applying them loosely, but devs promised that these can have serious impacts on a build in Immortals of Aveum. We can't speak to that from personal experience, but what we can add is that Talents are truly in-depth. Each Talent tree—corresponding to one of the three magic colors—features about 27 abilities players can pick and choose to tailor their builds. And in some scenarios, Talents not only give players more options when it comes to their abilities but can fundamentally change how they work. As one example, we could upgrade our lash ability to decrease cooldown times, add another lash before we need to recharge, and more. And that's only one of many, many options. There are dozens of other previews for this game that were released in the last couple of days, but they all pretty much say the identical thing: it's "Call of Duty with Magic". 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Keyser_Soze Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 9, 2023 Author Share Posted June 9, 2023 "Particle Effects: The Game" or less charitably, "Can't See Shit: The Game". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 8 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: "Particle Effects: The Game" or less charitably, "Can't See Shit: The Game". Play on PC and turn all particle effects off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 9, 2023 Author Share Posted June 9, 2023 1 minute ago, Keyser_Soze said: Play on PC and turn all particle effects off. In the somewhat unlikely event that I actually play this game, that's precisely what I intend to do. Hell, I turn off EVERY post-processing effect to begin with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 August 22nd now A message from Bret and our team - Ascendant Studios ASCENDANTSTUDIOS.COM Please take a moment to read a message from Bret and our team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I’ll probably wait for a big sale on this one anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 Lol the requirements have upscaling baked in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 I’ll be getting this to see the first full featured UE5.1 retail release in action. Comes out 9pm, same time as the reviews :P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 I know @Commissar SFLUFAN is PUMPED for this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 21, 2023 Author Share Posted August 21, 2023 3 minutes ago, stepee said: I know @Commissar SFLUFAN is PUMPED for this I'll quote what I posted in the "Hype Check" thread for this game on ResetERA: Quote My interest level in this game is so negative that it's actively detracting from my interest in other games. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 31 minutes ago, stepee said: I’ll be getting this to see the first full featured UE5.1 retail release in action. Comes out 9pm, same time as the reviews :P Not worrying at all! But hey, I'd be lying if I said I haven't purchased a game or two simply as a tech demo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 1 minute ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: I'll quote what I posted in the "Hype Check" thread for this game on ResetERA: That post is why I @‘d you :P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 1 minute ago, Mr.Vic20 said: Not worrying at all! But hey, I'd be lying if I said I haven't purchased a game or two simply as a tech demo! I mean, I bought Bright Memory! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 1 minute ago, stepee said: I mean, I bought Bright Memory! I did too... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 Just now, Mr.Vic20 said: I did too... And I beat it twice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 This game looks like its going to fail hard, but hey, who knows! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 21, 2023 Author Share Posted August 21, 2023 Here's a bunch of trailers: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 21, 2023 Author Share Posted August 21, 2023 Here's a bunch of screenshots from the PS5 version courtesy of a ResetERA poster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 21, 2023 Author Share Posted August 21, 2023 More PS5 screenshots: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 21, 2023 Author Share Posted August 21, 2023 Yet more PS5 screenshots: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 looks like a game I'll check out once it hits gamepass. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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