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CONTENTS
- Intro
- Story
- Choice and Consequence
- Character Creation
- Companions
- Gameplay
- Combat
- Weapons
- Exploration and World
- Graphics and Music
- Performance
- Bugs
- Conclusion
In addition, Obsidian have always tried to manage the expectations, comparing Avowed to their previous RPG The Outer Worlds, which was a great game with a lot of charm but one that suffered from a limited budget resulting in a very modest scope. And to add even more to the pile of potential problems, Avowed is launching just weeks after Warhorse Studios' incredible RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which is a serious Game of the Year candidate based on the review scores.
Some would say that Avowed has a mountain to climb to reach success due to all these circumstances and it's a valid point, but I'd argue that none of that matters if Avowed is actually a great game that offers hours of quality entertainment.
So, is Avowed such a game? Did Obsidian cook or all these years of development were for nothing? Well, I'm happy to say that Obsidian Entertainment have indeed managed to deliver a great game with many qualities and only a few drawbacks.
That being said, Avowed probably won't set the world on fire like Baldur's Gate 3 or Skyrim did. This is still a smaller, more focused RPG experience, so throw those comparisons out of the door right away. Avowed is not a 100+ hours RPG with a massive open world and countless side quests to complete.
It is still quite sizeable and bigger, more ambitious than The Outer Worlds with its four open zones and plenty of content but It's important to highlight what kind of game this is before we properly get into details.
STORY
Avowed shares the universe with Pillars of Eternity, another Obsidian Entertainment RPG, so this basically makes it a spin-off title and potentially a great entry point to this world if you've never had a chance to play a Pillars game before or isometric perspective is simply not your vibe.
Pillars is an incredibly rich universe with all kinds of unique concepts and stories about souls, gods, and of course, politics that lead to conflicts and Avowed takes advantage of all of that and spices it up a bit with a brand-new story and lore that Pillars fans are craving for.
In Avowed, you play as an Envoy of the Aedyran Empire, the largest and most powerful empire in the world of Eora, the setting of the Pillars series. The Aedyran emperor himself sends you of all people to a distant island called the Living Lands, a wild frontier that is being slowly swallowed by a mysterious soul plague called the Dreamscourge, which is turning the wildlife and people of this island into aggressive zombie-like creatures called Dreamthralls, recognised by fungal growths all over their body.
Your main job is to investigate the Dreamscourge and find ways to stop it so it doesn't completely destroy the Living Lands or even worse, spread to other parts of the empire. But the story in Avowed is far from being that straightforward. What starts as a quest to purge the disease soon turns into a brewing pot of political conflicts between nations and factions, a metaphysical story about gods and souls and your personal connection to the island.
You'll find yourself in the middle of this chaos as soon as you set your foot on this untamed island. Right from the get go, you're introduced to an extremist group called The Steel Garrote and their zealot leader Inquisitor Lödwyn who have their own vision for The Living Lands. Then there are the local rebels who are fighting against the Aedyran growing presence on the island, and many other factions who are barely surviving due to the Dreamscourge, which is destroying their crops. Oh, and on top of that, you have a strange voice in your head that speaks in annoying riddles.
It's a lot to take in at first but once it gets going, the story is genuinely interesting and one of the stronger aspects of Avowed. With themes of politics, religion, ecology and looming war, Obsidian successfully managed to deliver an intriguing narrative and a world that truly feels real and believable wherever you go.
CHOICE AND CONSEQUENCE
Writing is mature but still retains the familiar Obsidian humour from time to time, allowing you to be a complete jerk if you want to. You can even side with the antagonist or completely turn your back on the emperor - the choice is yours, and that's what made roleplaying in Avowed so much fun for me.
In true Obsidian fashion, there's no black-and-white, good vs bad story here. It's not about an evil empire coming to a happy little island to take rich resources and people for its war machine. It's much more than that with a complex, morally grey narrative, that feels grounded and convincing. Avowed will ask you hard questions which require tough decisions but you'll rarely have perfect answers.
And your answers and actions will echo throughout the Living Lands. Choice and consequence system in Avowed has true weight and the best part about it is that some of the most impactful content is completely missable.
For example, in one of the early regions, I randomly started a lengthy side quest that didn't have any connection to the main plot or at least I thought so. Eventually, that quest led me down a rabbit hole and only because I decided to do things a certain way in that quest, an NPC gave me a hint about a specific location that turned out to be critical to the main story and the fate of the region I was in. I was blown away by how such an important story moment can be so easily missable if you decide to stick to the main path only.
It was at that point, around 10 hours in, that Avowed finally clicked with me after a slow start. Everything started coming together nicely and I genuinely enjoyed the rest of the ride.
One thing that I didn't like is the lack of quality cutscenes. As you've probably expected from an Obsidian game, there are little to no cutscenes in the game, which is a true shame.
I played Avowed immediately after Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 which delivers some of the best cinematic storytelling in RPGs and couldn't shake the feeling that the story in Avowed could feel more impactful and have more weight if we got a lovely story cutscene from time to time. Even the final boss fight simply ends without an epic cinematic which left me disappointed as this was one of the aspects I expected Obsidian to improve on now that they are part of Microsoft.
CHARACTER CREATION
Like most RPGs, Avowed lets you create your own character and here you can choose between an Elf and Human. Regardless of your choice, your character will be Godlike, a being that is believed to be touched by the gods in their mother's womb, resulting in strange markings on your face that allow you to create a real monstrosity straight out of a horror story.
Some consider this to be a curse, other a blessing and these views will be reflected across The Living Lands. Some people will embrace and welcome you, others will consider you a freak due to your unique but not-so-pleasant to-the-eye look.
The game also offers several backgrounds to define your character and stats early on so you can choose from War Hero, Noble Scion, Arcane Scholar, Court Augur or Vanguard Scout. These also unlock special dialogue choices, allowing you to analyse the situation from a unique perspective thanks to your previous experience.
Obviously, It's not recommended to use these all the time since different situations require different answers. I learned that the hard way when I tried to resolve an emotional moment with a War Hero dialogue choice, which didn't make my companion happy, to say the least.
COMPANIONS
Speaking about companions, Avowed features four major companions and two minor ones that will be with you for only a brief period of time during the game's tutorial section. You'll recruit all major companions by the time you arrive in the third region, which is halfway through the game. I can confidently say that these are some of the best companions Obsidian ever made and it's a joy to have them by your side in combat and talk to them in the party camp.
I've spent probably 2+ hours listening to their small talk and believe me, I've never heard them repeat the same dialogue no matter how often I'd camp. Every companion is rich with personality and has a strong background story and their own goals as they travel with you across regions. Their voice actors also did an absolutely exceptional job in bringing companions to life.
They'll often throw a cheeky joke about you chugging potions like crazy if you're doing that too much in combat. They'll offer their perspective on conflicts in The Living Lands and the decisions you make along the way and these are not just some lazy filler dialogues. There's actually valuable feedback here and interesting insight that made me go: "Hmm, why didn't I think of that."
If they start to trust you, they might even open up a little about their feelings and problems or even ask for help which kicks off companion quests. These are deeply personal and emotional stories that will reveal more about the events that shaped your companions and made them into the people they are now.
I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked every companion due to their different personalities and couldn't really decide on my favourite one. One thing that adds even more depth to the companions is how they react to the world, characters and events in the Living Lands.
So for example, Kai is from a settlement called Thirdborn in the Shatterscarp region and I decided to explore this entire region and complete story quests there with him by my side. This provided a lot of unique dialogues and reactions from Kai but also NPCs who have a history with him. I did the same with the other companions and It was truly a fantastic experience that made the world feel believable and reactive.
GAMEPLAY
Avowed is a first-person RPG that puts a lot of emphasis on action so having a combat system that feels snappy, responsive and dynamic is key to the entire game. I know people don't play Obsidian's games for combat but Avowed is different. Obsidian themselves said the combat is one of the highlights of the game so my expectations were set quite high.
COMBAT
And the good news is, the combat does feel great in Avowed. This is, hands down, the best first-person combat Obsidian have ever made. It's fast and visceral, you can feel the impact of your weapons when you hit the enemy, making melee action very satisfying and fun.
The game offers three main skill trees including Fighter, Ranger and Wizard and each of these offer plenty of abilities to unlock. The best thing about it? Avowed won't lock you out of the Wizard skill tree if you spend your first point in the Fighter or Ranger tree. You can mix abilities and create all sorts of hybrid builds. For example, I played as a Barbarian/Pyro Wizard archetype combination and had a blast swinging my greatsword while previously casted Meteors were raining down on the enemy.
One thing that I absolutely loved is how you could combine environmental elements and magic against enemies. I was fighting this large group of Xaurips in shallow water when I remembered to try using one of the electric spells I had unlocked. I cast the spell and the entire water surface was electrified, shocking every enemy that was standing in the water.
Unleashing all these spells and weapon combos made me feel like a real badass in Avowed and I can't think of a better praise for a first-person perspective combat, which is really, really hard to nail.
Third-person combat is serviceable but it's clear that Avowed was designed as a first-person game first and foremost. I did find myself switching between the two (with a simple button click) from time to time but first-person was my preferred way of playing.
WEAPONS
My favourite weapons early on were maces and axes in combination with a grimoire for magic but eventually, I settled on a longsword, which deals devastating damage and gives off an incredible feeling when you smash the enemy into pieces with a power attack. Keep in mind that, you can still use magic even if you don't have a grimoire, you'll just have to unlock the spells in the skill tree.
In terms of melee weapon variety, Avowed offers swords, axes, maces, spears, daggers, great swords, great hammers and great axes. I did get to use them all and while you'll find similarities in the weapon animations and impact, each weapon category does have a distinct feel and gameplay style, which makes build variety one of the stronger elements of the game. You can dual-wield one-handed weapons so you can pair two swords, a sword and an axe or a mace with a dagger, to name a few examples. The choice is yours.
But Avowed is not just about hacking and slashing. There's a wide variety of ranged weapons to choose from including bows, wands and even pistols and long guns. Wands are fast and snappy giving off strong Harry Potter vibes and you can dual-wield these too. Pistols and long guns are a bit slow for my liking and didn't really fit the theme of the game that much but they deal high damage and can be great tools if you're making a ranged build.
And then there's a whole magic system with various spells and the special Godlike skill tree which also features several strong magical abilities that you can unleash.
The combinations are countless and it gets even crazier when you add companions and their roles in combat. Each of them is different with a unique set of abilities so you have Kai who can tank, a powerful mage Yatzli, Giatta who can heal the entire team and a ranger Marius. Fights can get pretty chaotic when everyone starts unleashing their attacks, which made me feel like part of the Avengers rather than a leader of a small squad of wizards and warriors in The Living Lands.
In terms of difficulty, I played on medium and didn't find the game to be that challenging, especially if you upgrade your weapons, and cook food in the camp that provides strong bonuses in combat. Those who carefully tinker with their builds will find Avowed to be a very easy game on lower difficulties.
I did start another playthrough on Hard and right from the get-go, I had to start thinking about how to use magic and consumables more strategically while managing my stamina and essence.
Enemies won't scale to your level in Avowed which means you can return to the first region later on a one-shot everything. This also means you can stumble upon enemies in the world that will send you to The Wheel in a second. Enemy difficulty is marked with skulls right by their health bar so you always know what kind of weapon you need to deal with them.
The game will also give you visual and sound indications when your weapon needs upgrading by making the weapon bounce off the enemy armour with these blunt-sounding strikes. And your companions will also tell you it's time to hit the upgrade bench in the camp. The same goes for your armour too.
EXPLORATION AND WORLD
Exploration is key in Avowed for many reasons, First, the game will constantly reward you for going off the beaten path with precious upgrade resources, weapons and collectables. Chests are everywhere but the good thing is that Obsidian managed to balance the weapon/armour upgrade system so you'll also need rare materials that are not so often find in the wild.
You can climb almost everywhere, reach high places, swim, dive and parkour across the roofs in search of loot. This never felt like a chore and I was always looking forward to finding a shiny new chest with precious rewards.
The world is designed in a way to emphasize exploration with a lot of verticality and hidden pockets of space across all maps. This was especially present in the Shatterscarp region where I would randomly find hidden canyons in places that seemed completely closed off at first.
Magic can also be used to help you traverse environments. You can use ice spells to freeze water and create a solid platform to jump across ponds or burn brambles with fire spells to reach hidden places.
Avowed includes four major open zones and a couple of extra levels you'll visit in the endgame. The four major zones are Dawnshore, Emerald Stair, Shatterscarp and Galawain's Tusks. The zones are very open with plenty of content scattered around which surprised me as I expected smaller spaces similar to The Outer Worlds as Obsidian stated before the release.
Each zone is unique in its look so Dawnshore is rich with forests and greenery, Emerald Stair is moody with fog, high trees and swamps, Shatterscarp is a vast desert with stunning grottos and oases while Galawain's Tusks is harsh and scorchingly hot volcano area with sharp and high rocks.
I was in love with all these areas as each one had its own vibe and look but Shatterscarp was probably my favourite one overall as I felt this zone had the most diverse locations and best exploration. Each region also comes with a sizeable dungeon but don't expect something like Blackreach in Skyrim in terms of lenght. These are shorter dungeons that will take you around 30 minutes to an hour to complete depending on your playstyle.
GRAPHICS AND MUSIC
Avowed is not the best-looking game ever but it has some very, very pretty enviroments and one of the most unique art directions I've seen in an RPG. Large glowing mushrooms and visual effects during combat make the graphics really pop, especially on an OLED monitor or TV.
It's certainly come a long way from that initial gameplay trailer which looked very underwhelming graphically. Obsidian also implemented ray tracing, which gives the game even more fidelity but interestingly, won't cut your frame rate in half, which is always nice.
Some of the locations in the game were a true feast for the eyes and I spent a lot of in-game time simply taking screenshots. It's a shame that Photo Mode is not available so I had to constantly go into the menu to turn off the annoying HUD. I recommend you keep most of the HUD elements off anyway since the game has one of the most intrusive UI designs I've ever seen.
The soundtrack has a couple of memorable tracks but overall I found it to be a bit generic, lacking truly epic tracks that would stuck in my head for days. It's not bad and can deliver some atmospheric songs with dark and mysterious tones but it's just too safe for my liking.
PERFORMANCE
Avowed was running pretty smoothly on my PC, which includes Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Nvidia RTX 4080 but there's a catch. I played on 4K resolution, Ultra graphics preset and ray tracing turned on and needed DLSS Quality and Frame Generation to hit frame rate in the range of 70 to 90, depending on the location and the amount of action on the screen.
Things get flashy in Avowed thanks to the game's great magic VFX and that's when the frame rate can drop a bit, but it was certainly nothing outrageous and far from an issue that would ruin my experience with the game.
That said, I couldn't hit a consistent 60 FPS without Frame Generation since the performance would fluctuate between 55-65 FPS. I know it's hard to accept that we need upscalers and Frame Generation to achieve acceptable frame rates in 2025 but that's modern game optimisation for you. Avowed is not the first and certainly won't be the last game to need this tech to hit solid 60 FPS.
I also have to mention that during my 65 hours with the game, I haven't experienced any crashes, which is always a good sign.
BUGS
Unfortunately, I've encountered a fair amount of bugs during my Avowed playthrough. I wouldn't mind if these were those quirky, amusing bugs when NPCs moonwalk or skyrocket after being hit by a sword.
The majority of bugs I've encountered in Avowed were related to quests and progression. In two instances I wasn't able to continue due to bugs with dialogue. One of these was more severe as I had to reload a three-hour-old save which was very frustrating when you don't have that time to spare.
Funnily enough, another bug happened in the quest that Obsidian showcased at Xbox Developer Direct. Basically I talked to this NPC, and completed the quest but the game didn't recognise that and acted as if I never spoke to him. I went on exploring only to notice this quest in my journal later on. I went back to the NPC and I was able to ask him the same questions again and eventually complete the quest on the second try. This happened with one other quest too and fellow reviewers reported similar bugs with quests I never had any issues with.
Obsidian did state that they are aware of these problems and many of them will be fixed in the day-one patch or other post-launch updates so your experience should be much better than mine.
CONCLUSION
Avowed is a great action RPG that offers over 50 hours of visceral combat, meaningful exploration, a strong story and characters and Obsidian's signature choice and consequence elements. While some bugs and reliance on DLSS and Frame Generation to deliver acceptable performance do take away from the entire experience, this is hands down, one of the best action RPGs Obsidian ever made.
Players may be put off by Avowed's asking price of $70, which is more expensive than Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 for example, but I still recommend it at a full price if you're looking for a quality RPG.
For those subscribed to Game Pass, this is without a doubt a must-play release.
Avowed
The Good
Stunning open zones that are a joy to explore- Some of the best companions you'll find in an RPG
- Unique art style that makes the graphics really pop
- Satisfying combat and progression
- Interesting story and setting
- Choices that aren't simply black and white
The Bad
Annoying quest-related bugs- Lack of cutscenes and cinematics
- It's a slow starter
