Summary
From well-worn fantasy settings like crumbling castles to dragon-like beasts swooping down from the skies to carry off unsuspecting victims, Ascendant Studios’ magic-filled shooter,Immortals of Aveum, isn’t afraid to trade in the tropes of the fantasy genre. But despite its inclusion of some standard staples of the genre,Immortals of Aveumwisely avoids putting protagonist Jak in an all-too-familiar box. WhileJak’s Triarch Magnus powerscertainly make him a formidable foe for the forces of antagonist Sandrakk, he never crosses the line into becoming the archetypical Chosen One character at the center of so many stories.
Rather than making Jak a long-foretold hero destined to deliver victory inImmortals of Aveum’s Everwarto the titular order of magical warriors, Ascendant Studios instead chose to put players in the shoes of a decidedly more down-to-earth protagonist. This decision keepsImmortals of Aveum’s story feeling fresh even as it retreads some familiar ground from both the fantasy and FPS genres and helps give narrative weight to Jak’s actions that would be absent if he were simply fulfilling a preordained destiny.
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Rather Than Being His Birthright, Immortals of Aveum’s Jak Has Heroism Thrust Upon Him
When it’s revealed at the end ofImmortals of Aveum’s opening mission thatJak is an Unforeseen, a person suddenly and inexplicably gifted with an immense amount of magical power, it looks like the game is setting him up to be the sort of Chosen One protagonist gamers are familiar with. But as Jak slowly learns to control his newfound abilities it quickly becomes apparent that, even taking his powers as an Unforeseen into account, there’s nothing particularly special about him. The fact that, behind the powers, Jak is just an ordinary person trying to do good when thrust into an extraordinary situation is what makes his character feel so refreshing.
Both the fantasy and FPSgenres that inspiredImmortals of Aveumare awash with protagonists who were preordained to save the world. From the Dragonborn inThe Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimtoDoom Eternal’s menacing Doomslayer, players are regularly placed in control of a character tailor-made to thwart the end of days. Jak stands in stark contrast to these sorts of Chosen One characters, with his biggest wins often being achieved only through sheer grit or, occasionally, dumb luck. This emphasis on Jak’s unyielding determination, rather than unavoidable destiny, driving the events of the story gives his actions more narrative heft than they might otherwise have.
Immortals of Aveum’s Imperfect Protagonist Is What Sells the Story
Seeing Jak grow as a person over the course ofImmortals of Aveum’s storyis what makes him more relatable than the typical video game protagonist, even if his quippy dialogue may not land with everyone. Although he ultimately prevails against the forces threatening the world of Aveum, as one would expect from any video game, that victory only comes after Jak makes many missteps and some astoundingly poor decisions along the way. Even when he stumbles, though, Jak remains determined to do what is right for Aveum despite facing opposition from all sides.
Tracing Jak’s transition from a hotheaded street kid unconcerned with the wider world to a hero intent on bringing balance back to Aveum reveals far more character growth than players typically find in an FPS game, especially givenImmortals of Aveum’s relatively short length. By creating an imperfect protagonist in Jak, Ascendant Studios successfully bucks the Chosen One archetype and delivers a character that feels far more human as a result. When paired withImmortals of Aveum’s cast of similarly nuanced leading characters, this results in a narrative that feels refreshingly new despite drawing heavily on gaming’s past.
Ascendant Studios’ choice to avoid the Chosen One archetype with Jak was the right one, andImmortals of Aveumis a better game for it. Even though the spell-slinging shooter occasionally embraces familiar tropes of fantasy and FPS games, its atypically average protagonist thankfully does not.
Immortals of Aveumis available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
