Avowed Review

Avowed, in many ways, represents a pipe dream RPG that I have been craving since I last spam-jumped up the mountains in Skyrim. A rich world filled with unique races to meet and a combat system that provides the freedom to become whatever class you like. I didn’t expect Avowed to be filled to the brim with complicated stat systems and decision-making mechanics, and that’s okay. I went in with humble expectations, and Avowed delivered. Even if the game doesn’t push the envelope in many ways.

In a similar fashion to The Outer Worlds, you’ll need to be fully invested in the narrative of Avowed to appreciate its magic. While there’s a solid combat system here, and the gear mechanics make for a decent grind, after a while, I was pretty much running from one place to the next, bashing enemies around, turning in quests, and rinsing and repeating the same process.

Again, this didn’t bother me. I didn’t hope for extradiarnary RPG systems here. I just wanted to listen to cool characters, reply in the bitchiest way possible, and fling some fireballs at giant spiders. Avowed did that and more thanks to its incredible world-building that slowly unwrapped as I played through the game.

Avowed starts off simple. You’re an Envoy for the king who has been sent to the Living Lands to investigate a strange plague phenomenon called the Dream Scourge. The people of the Living Lands have called it this because it is sort of like a disease that is spreading around the land and taking over all living things. However, if you get inflicted by it, you end up having vivid dreams which lead to nightmares that slowly drive you violently insane.

This Envoy also so happens to be a godlike. These are beings that at birth were touched by one of the many gods in the universe. This makes them special. They can use unique abilities, gain new special abilities, and are basically treated better than most other beings in the world.

If you are familiar with the Pillars of Eternity lore, you’ll have a field day in Avowed. Many of its foundations are built on the knowledge of the PoE universe. I won’t lie, I did find this all a bit intimidating at first because the game often assumes you have spent a few years studying the history of Eora. Thankfully, every discussion in Avowed includes a glossary tab where you can easily reference one of the topics which was brought up during a conversation. It makes a big difference, especially if you’re fully invested in the overarching lore in the game.

If you aren’t, you’ll be okay. While Avowed doesn’t hold your hand, the general premise of the Envoy, the Dream Scourge, and the Living Lands is easy enough to follow. The best part of the experience, however, comes from the NPCs and their tales, quests, and happenings.

It wouldn’t be an RPG without a ridiculous amount of side quests, and Avowed has plenty. The world is broken up into various hubs that are explored as you progress the main story. So it is not open world, but the hubs are large environments with enough to keep you busy for a couple of hours at a time. Each of these hubs is home to a race, features a unique biome feel, and comes with its own ongoing drama which I got roped into.

I have to commend the writing in Avowed because it does throw that typical Obsidian approach at you throughout the game. There were so many quests that I chuckled at, while at the same time, many of them also hit me in the feels. Obsidian has managed to bring the Living Lands to life with some remarkable stories. The people and beings feel fleshed into the world, and every time I arrived at a new hub, these areas provided an incredible sense of discovery.

This applies not only to the intricate design of the world but also to the people. I get an immediate sense that these beings all had functional lives which were woven into the fabric of the universe. There was a special kind of magic that happened when I bumped into an NPC late in the game, who I met just briefly at the start of the game. Only to slaughter them because they got in my way.

Avowed’s narrative decisions were also subtly thrown in my face. Instead of the game making it clear that I am suffering now because of a bad decision I made a few hours ago, those choices are naturally thrown into future dialogue and conversations. I also had many of those “oh yes I did/said that” moments as a result. Again, this is storytelling at its best. When you sit back and think “damn, maybe I didn’t handle that quest all that well”, but this happens days after completing it.

The companions are especially well-known for doing this. Their snarky remarks disagreeing with decisions I made were thrown my way at many opportunities. However, I was also given the chance to try and make them see my point of view and perhaps change their view on the situation. In Avowed, you can’t keep everyone happy so be prepared for a lot of sad-faced people around.

As mentioned before, Avowed’s story and everything that comes with it is really the catch for me. The sheer freedom that comes with all the conversations I started meant I spent a lot of time listening to chatter. If I didn’t like someone, I just killed them. Often, I wasn’t in the mood to listen to a person, so I instantly scrolled to the [attack] option just to get the show on the road.

Speaking of attacks, Avowed has a fun combat system that seldom felt tiring. The Envoy can equip a primary and secondary weapon set and swap between them at any time. For most of the game, I went with a wand and grimoire, then I equipped an axe and sword in my other slot. I know, from wands to dual-wielding weapons.

The game relies on a stamina and essence system. Standard attacks use stamina and magic, and skills use essence. Stamina refills over time, while essence needs a potion to top up. You can also earn a bit back from killing enemies and picking up their essence.

For the most part, combat feels responsive. Whacks feel like whacks, blocks have a satisfying hit back at the player, and spamming the wand primary shot looks and feels great. I experimented with a range of weapons in Avowed and enjoyed them all to a certain degree. Even the ranged firearms that have a slow reload rate were fun to use.

Spells are my favourite though. These come in all sorts of attacks and depend on the grimoire you equip. The late-game spells saw me cast massive blizzards at a group of enemies while leeching the life from them with a necrotic beam.

The freedom to move from one weapon class to the next also makes Avowed so appealing. Without any stat requirements to use a weapon type, you can simply jump from wands to two-handed weapons in an instant. There were often times when I came across a cool-looking piece of gear and was determined to try it out. I could without any hassle. Of course, this gear would not be upgraded, so it would be a challenge, but fun nonetheless.

The only real restriction is in your skill set. These are unlocked as you level up, and points are assigned into your class. You can always refund them with gold though. It makes it easy to swap to an entirely different play style whenever you see fit.

The gear system includes its own upgrade mechanics, which also put an emphasis on exploration. Any piece of gear can be upgraded to a new rank and essentially, turned into a stat-heavy item. You’ll just need the materials to do so. Materials are found everywhere, and just when I thought I could not find something, I entered a new hub and discovered it.

You can also combine lesser materials into a better one. So three soft branches can be turned into a stick, which can then be turned into something better. So you’ll never feel demotivated by collecting the common materials. Later in the game, you can then assign new enhancements to your gear to swap out certain buffs and abilities. It all plays into the fantasy RPG system that Avowed has brilliantly nailed down.

I also need to add the best mechanic, the ability to send loot to your camp without having to actually camp. So you’ll never have to worry about being overburdened by gear you’re mindlessly picking up while spamming through dead bodies.

It all then comes together in a beautiful world. Avowed is gorgeous. Every location was littered with detail and photo mode ready. The day/night cycle creates unique lighting scenarios, and the dynamic weather changes the overall look and feel of these biomes as I went about my day. There is no shortage of fantasy here.

My only complaint about the world would likely be its lack of life. While there are enemies around and various dungeons and hidden nooks and crannies to find, the world did slowly feel a bit lifeless. Trees and plants remain still with no wind blowing them around. There are also very few live activities to stumble upon while in the open. It is mostly just a case of walking to point A and B while stabbing enemies along the way.

Granted, so-called “set pieces” are stunning. When I saw something cool in the distance, I was able to get there and explore it. Not to mention the mind-blowing worlds that hide away in caves and dungeons beneath the Living Lands. But the general padding between these locations can feel a bit samey. I don’t know. It isn’t a big deal because The Outer Worlds was quite similar in this regard. But don’t expect any reactive world that could spawn quests while you’re out in the open. Everything is pretty much set in stone and predetermined.

Avowed is Obsidian at its finest. It is the fantasy RPG that I hoped it would be without consuming my entire life to experience it. We’ll be talking about this game for a long time and replaying it whenever the itch returns. Sure, it isn’t the most ambitious and grand RPG ever made, but it shines in everything it does.

This Avowed review is based on a PC code sent to us by Microsoft. The game is available in pre-purchase access on 14 February and on Game Pass starting on 18 February.