With its bombastic storyline and fast-paced action, Ascendant Studios’ magical shooter Immortals of Aveum carries many of the hallmarks of the FPS genre that so heavily inspired it. This includes the over-the-top set-piece sequences that have become a common feature of shooters, and over Immortals of Aveum’s 15-20 hour runtime players will encounter high-stakes scenes that feel like a magical mash-up of Call of Duty and Doctor Strange. Compared to this sort of amped-up action that is a near-constant feature of the game throughout, though, Immortals of Aveum’s Nocea mission feels strangely subdued.
Even though the Nocea mission, which is set shortly before Immortals of Aveum’s halfway point, helps move the story forward in some important ways it feels like a missed opportunity in terms of action. At this point in the story players are beginning to gain access to a wider array of Triarch Magus Jak’s magical abilities, and it seems like Ascendant Studios is teasing a confrontation on a grand scale with the game’s primary antagonist, Sandrakk. Instead, Nocea presents players with a mission that not only feels out of place from a narrative perspective but also represents a missed opportunity to deliver a truly epic set-piece sequence.
Spoilers below for the story of Immortals of Aveum!
Immortals of Aveum’s Nocea Mission Feels Out of Step With the Game’s Story
Nocea takes place shortly before the halfway point of the game, immediately after players have made their way through Immortals of Aveum’s Pale Forest mission. By this point it’s been revealed that Sandrakk, now more powerful than ever after absorbing one of Aveum’s magical leylines, was a former member of the Order of the Immortals who had served alongside General Kirkan. In a move that seems wildly out of character for the normally calm and calculating general, Kirkan calls for the Immortals to ambush Sandrakk at a meeting called by the antagonist to facilitate the order’s surrender.
While Kirkan’s plan to take down Sandrakk with only a small number of soldiers doesn’t seem particularly well thought-through given his recent power boost, Nocea’s introduction sets the stage for what seems like a fun albeit foolhardy mission. But instead of having a chance to take part in what could have been an action-packed, if ultimately ill-fated, battle against Sandrakk and the Order of the Masks, players are instead treated to a short cutscene that sees Jak quickly taken out of action by a piece of falling debris. Having the conflict resolved through a cinematic is a disappointing choice for the otherwise action-packed game and stands as a missed opportunity for what could have been an engaging action sequence.
Nocea’s Unwinnable Battle Would Have Made For An Exciting Set Piece
Having the primary players in Immortals of Aveum’s Everwar finally come face to face only to quickly brush past the conflict with a cutscene is a missed opportunity. While there was no clear path to victory for the Immortals in this confrontation with Sandrakk, giving players the chance to take on the villain’s forces before finally being overwhelmed for narrative reasons would have been a far more engaging and entertaining way to resolve the situation.
In a game filled with over-the-top action sequences, a magical firefight in Nocea as Sandrakk tore the ancient city apart piece by piece around players would have been a perfect fit. After spending numerous hours mastering Jak’s magical abilities, facing truly overwhelming odds and failing at Nocea could have served as a way to motivate players to fight even harder in the story’s second half. But by resolving the conflict with a cutscene, Immortals of Aveum robs players of the chance to take part in what could have been an incredible set-piece sequence.
Ascendant Studios’ Immortals of Aveum has plenty of high-octane action to offer players throughout its runtime, making Nocea feel disconnected in comparison. By presenting players with a task that feels out of place in the story only to wrap it up with a cutscene, this mid-game mission stands as a missed opportunity for Immortals of Aveum to deliver something truly magical.
Immortals of Aveum is available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
