Taking my first steps into a brand-new RPG feels like riding a bike for the first time or visiting a new city. Games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, and Starfield have all allowed me to have a meaningful escape from reality, thrusting me into very different worlds with branching storylines and themes that culminate into enthralling experiences. With Avowed, Obsidian Entertainment revisits the RPG genre, which they have been consistently successful at in their game catalogue. While I don’t think Avowed offers a cohesive experience as the games I mentioned above, I do still consider it to be worth your time.
Avowed is set in a world called Eora and takes place in the Living Lands, a beautiful and diverse region that has succumbed to a mysterious plague known as the Dreamscourge. The Dreamscourge’s origin is wildly unknown and afflicts people as well as the flora and fauna of the Living Lands. Victims of the disease exhibit confusion and erratic behaviour before finally succumbing to it, becoming fungal-infested violent beings called Dreamthralls.
Your character is a Godlike, a rare individual born with a connection to a god. In the years leading up to the events of Avowed, many Godlike mysteriously disappeared, presumed dead. Godlikes are akin to humans, albeit they have eccentric facial features resembling fauna that evoke a myriad of reactions from the inhabitants of the Living Lands.
The 30 to 40-hour journey in Avowed begins in a character creation screen, which offers a generous amount of customisation as well as the ability to choose your character’s background. The choice of your background can influence how other characters in the world perceive you and unlock additional dialogue options specific to your background.
The protagonist you create is known as the Envoy, an official representative of the Aedyran Emperor, and is sent to investigate the Dreamscourge and maintain order in the pestilent Living Lands. I found the main narrative to be almost overly ambitious. Obsidian propels a lot of lore and proper nouns at you in the first hour of the game, which, for me initially, was cumbersome in getting a grip on the underlying plot of Eora. While the story had its purpose, and I had an adequate time with it, it is far from memorable if you weigh it up next to its peers.
Four companions representing each of the different races found in the Living Lands accompany the Godlike on their quest. Kai, Marius, Giatta and Yatzli are met at varying points of the story, and each has their own underlying questline, some more captivating than others. Your companions offer vastly different points of view in the pivotal choices you are forced to make, which continuously made me feel like I had to defend my actions at key points of the game. As a people pleaser, I struggled with disappointing my companions in these sometimes morally grey situations.
In terms of gameplay, Avowed does seem to borrow the bulk of its structure from other games in its genre. I was getting Skyrim vibes from the second I started playing, and that’s obviously not a bad thing. The exploration in Avowed is a little more reserved comparatively, but overall I was satisfied with the worldbuilding Obsidian presented. What I think the game excels at, however, is providing tight and immersive combat that you can’t help but savour.
There are three combat archetypes to choose from: Fighter, which specialises in melee weapons like swords and axes, Ranger, focusing on ranged combat with bows and guns, and Wizards, who are adept in magic. In my playthrough, I began as a Wizard, but soon realised I’d rather slice my way through every being, so I opted for Fighter. These archetypes do not influence the Envoy’s stats, but allow them to learn powerful new abilities as they grow stronger.
Two weapon sets can be equipped at the same time and can be swapped out at the press of a button, which I appreciated. The majority of my playthrough saw me with a Sword and Shield in one set and a Marksman rifle in the other set. There’s no lack of variation and approachability when it comes to the combat in Avowed, which allows it to be more than strong enough to shoulder the burden of its less-than-compelling story.
Outside of the main questline are a healthy amount of side quests and bounties to complete. While some side quests offered some pockets of additional lore that intrigued me, overall, I never did feel overly invested in the individual plights of these particular Living Land inhabitants. The bounties, though easy to dismiss as another trivial quest, were fantastic, challenging at times, and often rewarded me with rare loot I couldn’t resist.
In between POIs are campsites. Campsites are safe havens where you and your companions can talk about recent quests or events that have just taken place. Companions will even talk to each other at times, which plants little seedlings into your understanding of them as people. Campsites also offer the ability to cook food, which grants buffs, enchant and upgrade equipment, access storage, and change your companion’s clothing.
The vocal performances by the cast, in particular, your companions, are fantastic and features a highly commended ensemble. Brandon Keener (Garrus, Mass Effect) plays Kai, Mara Junot (Sindel, Mortal Kombat), Anjali Bhimani (Rampart, Apex Legends), Scott Whyte (Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time). Dialogue from these characters never feels one note and offers some genuinely funny moments, a reprieve from the disease-ridden environments around you.
Throughout your journey in the Living Lands, the environments are detailed and place lore-filled objects, often showcasing breathtaking sights on the horizon. It is a disservice not to have a photo mode at launch, as there are countless photo ops in the four regions of the Living Lands you can explore. I played the game in performance mode, and while there were some frame rate drops, mainly in cutscenes, the overall performance during gameplay was great.
Avowed is an interesting game. It definitely has ambition behind it and has that appeal that games of this lineage require to be successful. The art direction is beautiful, being constantly reminded of the devastating effects of the Dreamscourge everywhere you look, but still offers scenery that will have your eyes gushing. I enjoyed my time with Avowed and really yearn for its target audience to embrace it.
AVOWED REVIEW
GREAT
7.5
Avowed offers a serviceable RPG experience that relies a little too heavy on its ravishing combat and compelling world-building. The story, while distinguished, can falter occasionally due to some unfair dialogue choices and suffered writing. Despite this, Avowed is still a game worth playing because it capitalises and personalises action-RPG tropes and mechanics found in its peers.
PROS
- Combat is robust and engaging
- World-building is exceptional
- Art direction and presentation of UI is good
- Fantastic performances by the companions
CONS
- Lore can be a bit confusing at times
- Side quests aren’t consistently engaging
- Some minor performance issues
Reviewed on Xbox Series X|S. A review code was supplied by the Publisher for purposes of this review.
