August was a gigantic month for new games in both quality and quantity. The biggest standout of that month was Baldur’s Gate 3 which demolished all expectations and set up a new standard for RPGs as a whole. During that time, another game came out that was aimed to be a fresh and interesting spin on the first-person shooter genre, Immortals of Aveum.

Immortals of Aveum was honestly one of my most anticipated releases of the year, with its unique art style and fast-paced gameplay that seemed like a marriage between Hogwarts Legacy and Doom. While I did play it in August, I never got around to finishing it or even writing this review. Just recently I saw that Immortals of Aveum got a massive update called “The Kollectors,” and I thought that this would be a brilliant time to jump back into the game.

For most gamers, a cold shiver runs down their spine whenever a game is being published or developed by EA. Much of that is down to the fact that most of them tend to be deep-fried in micro-transactions, which could theoretically fund an entire city. As I said, when Immortals of Aveum was initially announced, I was quite excited. When a game is stamped with the statement “Call of Duty with Magic”, my imagination ran wild as to what a bonkers multiplayer game this could be.

Things became a bit confusing for me when I realized that it was a single-player game. Sure, Call of Duty often has a campaign, but rarely is that the selling factor for them. On top of that, EA has been rather wishy-washy over the years about whether single-player games are viable in the gaming market these days or belong in the past. With all of this weirdness, I had no idea what to expect. The only thing that I knew was the fact that Immortals of Aveum was one I had to check out.

Immortals of Aveum is a true single-player experience in the sense that there isn’t a cosmetic store, story expansions, or significant pay-to-win features that tend to creep into EA games. There is a Deluxe Edition that provides you with some gnarly weapons to start the game off with, but these are somewhat standard in most single-player games these days. Plus, the weapons that they provide are only useful depending on your play style and are replaceable before you even get halfway through the story.

Speaking of story, in most of the trailers that I saw for Immortals of Aveum before release there wasn’t much explanation as to what the story was about. After playing it, I can see why the marketing team might have shied away from promoting the story. You inhabit an individual by the name of Jak, an absolute nobody who discovers that he has a unique set of skills to use the magic that exists within the world of Aveum.

As soon as you discover these powers, the military that you live under whisk you away and train you to become a battlemage called Immortals. While this doesn’t seem too complicated, the rest of the plot is, and involves so many twists that you’ll think that you are on a roller coaster designed to break your neck. The only bit of good news on this is that the twists take long enough that you don’t get confused but come quick enough that you don’t see them coming. It is an interesting balancing act that I quite enjoyed.

In terms of gameplay, whichever developer coined the phrase “Call of Duty with Magic” was just as spot on as Adam Kovic was when he called Far Cry 3 “Skyrim with Guns.” I would argue that the gameplay is certainly that of the older Call of Duty games, which to some CoD veterans will either be viewed as nostalgic or absolutely boring.

I prefer to think of it as Doom without Heavy Metal music since Immortals of Aveum seems to have a similar level design and gunplay to that of Doom and even Shadow Warrior 3. While the music is certainly there, it isn’t anything to seek out in my opinion. It does the job of giving a bit of atmosphere to the game, but that’s it. I don’t ever see myself driving to work or exercising to the Immortals of Aveum soundtrack, at least not at this time.

The thing that I quite enjoyed about Immortals of Aveum is that it can easily be picked up after a long absence. The controls on both keyboard and mouse or controller are very easy to pick up after just a minute or two. How to properly use all of your weapons and tools might take a bit longer as there are a variety of best practices for many of them.

It will also take a fight or two before you remember how each enemy differs from one another. There are still a handful of glitches that seem to mess with things from time to time, but they are mostly visual and don’t break the game. So if you are at all interested in being a wizard in another world, I would suggest checking out Immortals of Aveum.

A PC review copy of Immortals of Aveum was provided by EA for the purposes of this review.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!

Immortals of Aveum

$59.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Fun gameplay
• Story that has moments
• Takes elements from Doom

Cons

• Occasional Environment Glitches