Immortals of Aveum first released on PC and consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X) during August of 2023. I recall a big marketing push leading up to the game’s release. There were large billboards and banners in big cities, ads on TV and YouTube, the game was even featured during Monday Night RAW.

“Immortals of Aveum is a single-player first person magic shooter that tells the story of Jak
as he joins an elite order of battlemages to save a world on the edge of abyss.”

-from Electronic Arts

My original thoughts were, that looks interesting, but not quite enough to pull me away from [whatever game I was currently playing]. I’m sure many other gamers felt the same way. Also, the name was a bit silly — IMMORTALS OF AVEUM! What’s an Aveum?

Immortals of Aveum did not sell so great, and I bet there are many reasons why. Was the game released at the wrong time? Baldur’s Gate 3 had just come out weeks prior. Was the marketing too in your face? I definitely saw a lot of it. Was no one in the mood for a first-person magic wielding game set in a brand new world? The concept sounds interesting.

I don’t know the answers to why sales were so low, but I do know that Immortals of Aveum was granted a second life thanks to PS Plus. Back in April of this year, Immortals of Aveum was one of the featured FREE monthly games for PS Plus subscribers. I added it to my library, downloaded it, and let it sit on my homescreen for a couple of weeks before finally diving in.

Over the past few months, I’ve managed to make my way through about half of the story of Immortals of Aveum. I see it as a good game — just not a great one. The world feels futuristic and ancient at the same time. I enjoy exploring the world, but the story doesn’t hold my attention for too long at a time. This is why I find myself jumping in and out of Immortals of Aveum.

As gamers we always seek new experiences, yet we also find ourselves going back to something familiar, or games we already know we like. My constant gaming cycle consists of something new (some big adventure game), something familiar (a metroidvania/indie game), and something repetitive (an online shooter/multiplayer game).

For fans of first-person shooters (FPS) Immortals of Aveum should have been a slam dunk. The FPS magic-wielding feels new, yet familiar due to our experience with the universal FPS mechanics and control schemes used today (Call of Duty, Destiny 2, and so many others).

Immortals of Aveum has slowly slipped into the category of absent minded games. That first week I really paid attention to the story, now I find myself moving from objective to objective trying to get through it. It’s quite sad since such a large team worked so hard to create every aspect of this brand new world to explore. 

When other teams get to create in existing worlds (like with the Star Wars Jedi games or Hogwarts Legacy), there are franchise fans that will blindly jump in. There is something magical about playing a game set in a world that you already know and love. Of course, not every established IP game is great, in fact so many of them are terrible — especially the movie tie-in games from my childhood — but they do start with a leg up.

Why I’m Still Playing (Possible Spoilers!)

Immortals of Aveum started off pretty neat, with the main character, Jak, and his group of friends working together to survive. When everything went to shit in his town, Jak lost his friends and ended up in this new magical world, where he was told he is special.

As the story progresses things may not be as they seem in Aveum. Is Jak fighting on the right side or the wrong side, or are both sides wrong and right in their own ways? I’ve been waiting on a big twist that was set up. 

[Warning: Possible Spoilers Below!]
Jak’s best mate, Luna, may have died in the beginning of the game, but I have a feeling that she will return on the other side. This is the main reason why I sort of want to see this thing through to the end. I want to know what happened to Luna and uncover the secrets of Aveum, but I also don’t care so much and might quit altogether.

Should You Play Immortals of Aveum?

If you happened to add Immortals of Aveum to your PlayStation library back in April, or if you find it in the bargain bin this Black Friday, I think it’s worth a try. It’s a nice, big beautiful world to explore and I’m curious to hear other people’s thoughts on this game.

Overall, Immortals of Aveum was a flop due to poor sales and mediocre reviews. I’ve played plenty of games that were poorly received by the masses, but perfectly fine to me. We are all allowed to have our own opinions on games. My best friends and I have very different taste in games, so when we do find a game to play together it feels like magic.

I will call Immortals of Aveum a good game, but with so many games releasing each day we don’t have time for every good game. We don’t even have time to play every great or amazing game. My backlog is full with games of all genres, and my wish lists across multiple platforms as well. With so many games to play and so little time to play games it has become harder and harder to choose what’s next.