Highlights
- Immortals of Aveum portrays the protagonist Jak as an Unforeseen, someone with untapped magical abilities that disrupt the magical hierarchy of Aveum.
- The game uses Jak's position to reveal the extensive magical world of Aveum and the societal threat that Unforeseen individuals pose to the most powerful figures.
- The existence of Unforeseen individuals challenges the social order of Aveum, where magical abilities are inherited and concentrated among elite families, creating an existential threat to those in power.
Much of the marketing for Ascendant Studios’ fantasy FPS Immortals of Aveum has placed an emphasis on main character Jak’s role as an Unforeseen. With their ability to tap into powerful magic without requiring the years of training or carefully cultivated bloodlines of other Magni, Immortals of Aveum’s Unforeseen represent an unexpected wrinkle in an otherwise strictly enforced magical hierarchy. Living up to their title, one which the inhabitants of Aveum utter with a mix of fear and contempt, Immortals of Aveum’s protagonist Jak and his fellow Unforeseen are widely viewed as dangerous aberrations from the norm.
Placing players in the shoes of a member of this scorned subset of society isn’t just a convenient way to explain Jak’s powers as a Triarch Magnus, though. Ascendant Studios uses Jak’s unique position to give gamers a glimpse of the wider world of Aveum and how magic has infused practically every part of its society. As gamers make their way through Immortals of Aveum they’ll not only learn more about the Unforeseen and their role in society, but also why their very existence is seen as a threat to some of Aveum’s most powerful people.
Jak and the Unforeseen Upset Immortals of Aveum’s Balance of Magical Power
The opening mission of Immortals of Aveum does a good job of introducing players to the game’s magical world, where the most powerful wielders of wizardry serve as Magni fighting for the various kingdoms engaged in the Everwar. When players first meet protagonist Jak he, like many of the inhabitants of Aveum, only possesses a small level of magical ability. But after an encounter with the forces of Immortals of Aveum’s antagonist Sandrakk, the extent of Jak’s previously unrealized potential quickly becomes apparent as he lets loose a torrent of magical attacks on his foes.
Recruited by Grand Magnus of the Immortals, General Kirkan, in the aftermath of his unexpected explosion of magical ability, Jak is informed of his unique position as an Unforeseen. Unlike the Immortals and other Magni who must train for years to harness and master their magical abilities, the Unforeseen are individuals who suddenly and unexpectedly display the ability to wield powerful magic. The unchecked power of the Unforeseen makes them a danger to those around them and, in the eyes of Kirkan, a potentially powerful weapon in Immortals of Aveum’s Everwar. But even as the characters and forces that seek to use these rare individuals to their own ends, the mere existence of the Unforeseen presents a looming threat to Aveum's strictly stratified society.
Minor story spoilers ahead for Immortals of Aveum
The Existence of the Unforeseen Represents a Threat to Aveum’s Social Order
While characters like Immortals of Aveum’s warrior princess Zendara are wary of the Unforeseen due to their potential for destruction, with previous manifestations of their power having led to the loss of whole cities in some cases, others have more self-serving reasons to dislike them. It becomes clear throughout the story just how central of a role the magic abilities in Immortals of Aveum play in the game’s societies. Far from simply serving as warriors for the various factions of the Endwar, Magni are the highest class in society and live in relative luxury compared to the squalor of the common people.
Much like wealth and power in the real world sometimes do, magical abilities in Aveum are passed from generation to generation in prominent families. By manipulating Immortals of Aveum’s leylines, the great houses of Aveum have managed to consolidate power over generations and ensure their offspring are gifted with magical abilities. It’s for this reason that the presence of the Unforeseen and their egalitarian access to Aveum’s magical lifeblood represents an existential threat to the powers that be.
Making Jak an Unforeseen not only provides an in-game explanation for his incredible powers, but also perfectly sets up the game’s magical fish-out-of-water story. And, by shining a light on the unseemly underbelly of Aveum’s world, Immortals of Aveum may leave some players looking more critically at inequity in the real one.
Immortals of Aveum is available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
