Immortals of Aveum is a brand new IP coming out of Ascendant Studios and the EA Originals label, in which players step into a world at war over control of magic. Many nations once fought in this Everwar, but the tide has been slowly turning for the worse. Now, two major nations are duking it out for control: Rasharn and Lucium. Players take on the role of Jak in this first-person shooter based on magic, who awakens his magical powers later than most Magni, but also adopts becomes one of the most powerful kinds of magic users in the world. He is a Triarch, someone capable of using green, red, and blue magic, whereas many folks are limited to one.
In awakening and mastering his magic power, Jak finds himself joining the Order of Immortals in Lucium to help defeat Rasharn, who appears to be winning the Everwar. He'll be going up against Rasharn's Elite, the Order of the Masks, and its leader and Tyrant of Rasharn, Sandrakk. A lot of Immortals of Aveum's marketing has been focused on Jak and the Lucians so far, but Game ZXC recently sat down with senior art director Dave Bogan and lead combat designer Jason Warnke to learn more about the game's antagonists.
Immortals of Aveum: Who is Sandrakk?
Sandrakk is the leader of the Order of the Masks, which is an Elite Strike force akin to the Order of Immortals. He is also the Tyrant ruler of Rasharn. Not much has been revealed about Sandrakk to players so far, but it's clear exactly how powerful he really is. However, his rise to Tyranny has certainly impacted Immortals of Aveum's Everwar. Of the five countries in Aveum (Oremen, Lucium, K'Ley, Kalthus, and Rasharn), Lucium and Rasharn have always been the most rivaled, with bitter animosity between them. Sandrakk's rise saw Rasharn among the last standing in the Everwar, with Sandrakk seeking to control the leylines of magic and use it to reshape the world as he sees fit. A powerful Magni himself, a powerful group of elite, and a powerful army to boot, Sandrakk is a threat to the very balance of the world, as well as the player.
The Order of the Masks will serve as primary antagonists throughout the game, with many boss enemies being derived from this order. However, Warnke and Bogan ensure us players won't see them all. As Warnke said, "We don't have like numbers, but there are a lot. We show a number of them in the game. You don't get to meet all of the Immortals in this game. You don't get to meet all of the Order of the Masks in this game, but you get to fight quite a few of them." Therefore, it sounds like the Order of Masks is bigger than one might expect.
Fans haven't gotten a lot on these other Order of the Mask members yet, save for one. Standing alongside Sandrakk is The Hand, a powerful Magni who is among the most feared in the Rasharnian army. Her lightning raids have been the end of many a Lucian, and her power is as daunting. She'll likely play as big a role in the game as Sandrakk, but fans will have to wait and see how her story unfolds. Game ZXC briefly encountered both The Hand and Sandrakk in our Immortals of Aveum hands-on preview, with there clearly being a huge power difference between us and the two. Sandrakk seemed controlled and unnerving, while The Hand seemed to literally be his right hand. If anything, what little we saw was both terrifying and enticing.
It should also be noted that Sandrakk is voiced by Steven Brand, who fans may recognize from The Scorpion King, Teen Wolf, and/or Hellsing.
How Sandrakk Changed Throughout Immortals of Aveum's Development
Of course, game development is an iterative process, and it's no surprise to learn a detail or two about Sandrakk changed throughout the game's ongoing development. Originally, Sandrakk was a full green magic user, which is important for a few reasons. Thematically speaking, green magic in Immortals of Aveum represents growth, death, and change, with magic able to bind objects, misdirect foes, or ensure enemies cannot be healed. Gameplay-wise, green magic operates much like SMGs in standard first-person shooters. The game telegraphs players what types of attacks enemies will use based on their design and color association: a blue enemy will obviously cast blue magic, which tells players they'll hang back and snipe. This would have telegraphed to players how Sandrakk works, but at some point, the Immortals of Aveum team decided to make him a Triarch.
Given a Triarch's sheer power, this makes sense. It also works on the level that Jak is a Triarch, meaning they have a similar versatility in magic, but also some form of reflection or association with Sandrakk. As Warnke said,
Sandrakk was originally a green character before going full Triarch, which is pretty cool...Sandrakk is the most powerful Magnus in the world
Immortals of Aveum: Sandrakk's Imposing Armor Design
It's one thing to say Sandrakk is the most powerful Magni in the entire game, but the Immortals team also delivers on this in design and combat. Speaking of the general Lucian and Rasharnian armor designs, Bogan said,
"Right from the get-go, we wanted the Lucian faction to be utilitarian, kind of gritty with no frills. With the Rasharnians, we wanted something high class, almost like an armored peacock or something."
Armored Peacock is an interesting phrase, but it makes sense. Peacocks stand out, hence the word peacocking, and that's exactly what the Rasharnians do. Each member of the Order of the Masks is less associated with their name, and more associated with their battle prowess, magic, and masks. As explained by Warnke,
"Their identity becomes the masks they wear, and the way their enemies see them is by that title and that mask."
Warnke and Bogan also both laughed at the fact that some masks or helmets absolutely would not fit human heads. However, it is explained in the game as a sort of magic metal. When these characters do remove their masks, it's like a magic fade away. For Sandrakk's design specifically, it began with freelance concept based on a 1987 Yamaha Virago motorcycle (that belonged to Bogan's dad). From there, it turned into chromatic flame armor and eventually settled down into a "mish-mash of old-world medieval armor with a nice sci-fi twist and simplified shape language, like the grill of a Rolls-Royce on Sandrakk's face."
The Power of Sandrakk Is Not Even 'Subtle'
Of course, players will face Sandrakk at some point in Immortals of Aveum, but Warnke and Bogan would understandably only say so much. Speaking to the Sandrakk's raw power, Warnke said "when you fight him, you'll feel it. It is bad. It's not even subtle." Bogan was also excited about the arena surrounding this boss fight, calling it "bonkers" and "amazing." Ultimately, the boss fight is where Warnke's experience comes in. Warnke has worked on everything from Tank Nation to Call of Duty, but saw this boss fight with Sandrakk as a chance to flex.
"Designing Sandrakk's boss fight has been a lot of fun. I've been doing boss fights for most of my career, and I feel like this was a chance to stretch those muscles a little bit and do something really fun. I don't want to go too deep into it, I really want you to play it, and I want to watch you play it, but the player learns a lot about the magic systems in the game. Sandrakk puts you to the test."
Fans will be able to face Sandrakk for themselves soon enough, but there's no doubt regarding the amount of care, detail, and attention the Immortals of Aveum team has paid in making Sandrakk as powerful, as daunting, and as terrifying as possible.
Immortals of Aveum launches July 20 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
