At a recent remote presentation organized for the press, EA and Ascendant Studios have pulled the veil on Immortals of Aveum, the new IP announced at The Game Awards 2022.

　　First things first. The magic-themed first-person shooter will be released very soon, on July 20th, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X. Pre-orders are available now at $59.99 on PC and $69.99 on consoles for the regular edition, while the Digital Deluxe Edition is priced at $10 higher in both cases.

　　Powered by Unreal Engine 5 graphics (it'll likely be the first game outside of Epic's Unreal Fortnite to be released with that technology), it offers stunning graphics and a fresh take on the shooter genre. Ascendant Studios was founded five years ago by industry veterans who worked on triple-A games like BioShock, Call of Duty, Halo, and many more. The CEO and Game Director is Bret Robbins, who worked on games like The Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Dead Space, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Advanced Warfare, and WWII before leaving Sledgehammer Games.

　　Robbins had the first idea about Immortals of Aveum during the reveal of one of those big Call of Duty single campaign setpiece levels. That's when he first wondered, what if there was a dragon instead of a helicopter, and what if fireballs were being thrown at the players instead of rockets? What if the main character was a battlemage, firing awesome magic instead of regular ammunition with rifles?

　　After a lot of discussions and brainstorms, Robbins was able to find investors and assemble a team, which includes some of the Telltale Games talents that became available after that studio's closure. Even more developers from other talented teams flocked from everywhere, especially after the studio went remote following the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, Ascendant Studios had more than 100 developers.

　　The story of Immortals of Aveum sees Jak, who used to live in the streets of Seren, suddenly gain the magic powers of a Triarch Magnus after a traumatic event. That title means he has the rare ability to use all three types of magic: Force (blue), Chaos (red), and Life (green). As such, Jak is recruited to fight the so-called Everwar, which has been raging for a thousand years for the control of the magical ley lines, on behalf of the Immortals, the strongest protectors of the kingdom of Lucium. The main antagonist, Sandrak of the Rasharn kingdom, is pushing back the forces of Lucium and Jak becomes a key figure in the ongoing effort to stop his advance.

　　The world of Aveum is peculiar in that it has a science fantasy feel to it rather than just being classic fantasy, as you can see in the new trailer below. Additionally, this planet is characterized by the Wound, a massive and bottomless crater in the center of Aveum. It grows larger every day, too.

　　The narrative is clearly a big focus for this game, as Robbins said they want to create many memorable moments across the huge, 25+ hours long campaign. The studio also hired some big acting talent to help with that, including Gina Torres as General Kirkan (Firefly, Suits), Darren Barnett as Jak (Never Have I Ever), Antonio Aakeel (Slow Horses, I Came By) as Devyn, and Lily Cowles (Roswell, New Mexico, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War) as Zendara.

　　That said, Immortals of Aveum won't be as linear as a Call of Duty campaign. There will be side content in the game, including Metroidvania-style puzzles, and various RPG elements, such as loot and the ability to unlock over 80 Talents. The amount of available spells is over 25, which is not as large as Forspoken's but should still be more than enough.

　　Combat seems fast, fluid, and punchy, though of course we didn't get to play the game yet to say for sure. Ascendant Studios said players would be rewarded for well-timed blocks with the Shield spell and for chaining together the most effective attack spells in any given situation. For example, you can pull enemies closer with the Lash spell to finish them off at melee range.

　　Beyond the aforementioned three colors of magic, Jak is also equipped with the so-called Furies, stronger spells that expend mana when used. These will have to be saved for the most appropriate time.

　　All in all, Immortals of Aveum was a pleasant surprise. For more about this promising magic first-person shooter, check out Wccftech's interview with Executive Producer Kevin Boyle.