San Diego Comic-Con is bringing the fire with video game news this week. Add Ascendant Studios’ Immortals of Aveum to that growing list of exciting news and deep dives. The team has released an extended trailer straight from the game, including a heated exchange between Jak (Darren Barnet), Kirkan (Gina Torres), and Zendara (Lily Cowles).
The Binding Stone is at the centre of this “chat,” as the main protagonist, Jack, has gotten a hold of it. This draws concern from his superior, Kirkan, who warns him of the risks of having such power. With some slick animation and high-calibre voice acting, take a few minutes in the trailer below to see what’s in store.
There’s even more to the lore and narrative, as Immortals of Aveum’s lead writer Michael Kirkbride sat down to answer some burning questions about the world of Aveum and what players can expect when the boot the game up next month.
“These days, Aveum is a place where peace is a foreign concept—an unnatural state. The Everwar is for the control of magic and the rest of society conforms to it. Whether by law or duty, anyone that hits the draft age is thrown in. Those who control magic are the ruling classes and those who can’t are their armies.”
Kirkbride discusses the story’s hero Jack, who players will control in the game. He begins as one of the “magicless” residents of Aveum until “a traumatic event causes him to manifest a very powerful, very rare form of magic.”
Judging by how Jack interacts in the trailer above and from some of the previous footage, it looks like he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He has some learning to do, but he’s also very talented at the same time, “guided by an independent streak from his early days as a street thief that he just can’t shake, for better or worse. It gets him into trouble, but it also lets him think of novel ways to solve situations others think are too dire.”
Kirkade also dives into a rich history created for both Kirkan and Zendara. Trauma, triumph, and battle scars inside and out have defined who they are and how they will train and work with Jack and make it through the Everwar. “Zendara’s the second in command. She has a special status with the Immortals in that she’s also royalty from a different kingdom. That kingdom, Kalthus, was recently conquered by Sandrakk, so things are more than a little personal for her.”
The interview dives deeper into more of the characters you’ll come across in Immortals of Aveum and expands on their emotional cores. That includes Sandrakk, the game’s ‘big bad,’ “while all of our heroes think he’s the villain, he doesn’t. The best, scariest bad guys believe what they’re doing is the right thing, and Sandrakk certainly does.”
Immortals of Aveum is slated for release on August 22nd for Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, and PC.
