I love Immortals of Aveum, but sadly, despite a richly thought-out world, a fun cast of characters, and some flashy FPS action in the mold of games like Doom Eternal, the magical shooter has struggled to find an audience. If you’ve been curious about trying it, however, there’s good news – with a huge free update arriving soon and a free Steam demo giving you the opportunity to try it out without having to plop down your hard-earned cash, now is the best time to give Immortals of Aveum another chance.
It’s not a complete revolution, so I understand why it didn’t set the world on fire, but I genuinely had a great time with Immortals of Aveum, and would certainly place it as one of the best FPS games of the year – and number one in my heart. With arena combat that blends your magical finger-guns with a series of spells that give it a distinctive rhythm, and plenty of environmental puzzles interspersed between to break up the action, Immortals of Aveum might not quite be the next Doom, but it certainly succeeds in the field.
I also came to really love its cast – they’re a little schlocky at times, and the story doesn’t make the best first impression. But its tongue-in-cheek humor builds the characters and enhances the storytelling rather than detracting from it; a welcome reminder that developer Ascendant Studios brought in many developers from Telltale Games after the studio went bankrupt in 2018.
The Echollector update is Ascendant’s name for Immortals of Aveum patch 1.0.6, and it’s the game’s biggest update since launch, boasting “new playable content, gear, and lore.” There’s a New Game Plus mode, which I might actually take advantage of as the idea of replaying the game with my fully stacked-out kit and unlocking even higher level upgrades is quite appealing, and there’s an extra-tough Grand Magnus difficulty setting to push you to your limits.
On top of this, the update includes endgame content for those of us who’ve finished the story and still want more reasons to explore its various regions. It sees you cleaning up corrupted Shatterfances – portals torn across Aveum that are spilling out malevolent forces, and must be dealt with. Ascendant teases that doing so will involve “a new boss fight,” which excites me as some of the optional showdowns are among the best fights in the base game.
The Immortals of Aveum Echollector update releases November 16 on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and EA’s launcher, alongside PlayStation and Xbox consoles. In addition to this, if you’re looking to try it out (and if you’re after a shooter with a lot of heart, I do honestly recommend giving it a chance, at least a little way past the introductory sections to let the story kick off for real and get to grips with the flow of combat), a free Immortals of Aveum demo arrives on Steam “in the second half of November.”
If you’re after more great free experiences, we’ve rounded up the best free Steam games for plenty of other options. You can also join us in looking forward to more of the biggest and best upcoming games in 2023 and beyond.