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I’ve sunk dozens of hours into both Pillars of Eternity titles before quitting halfway through because I burned out from all the traditional cRPG complexity. With Avowed being based on Pillars of Eternity‘s world, it was fair to expect something equally complex, as it’s the “Skyrim” version of Obsidian’s RPG. So it was a surprise when Avowed turned out to be one of the most frictionless RPGs I played this year.
It probably helped that I went straight for Avowed fresh from playing Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Path of Exile 2— both of which are hardcore RPGs with intentional tedium. Avowed, on the other hand, was simpler and thus quickly set itself apart from its very own competition.
There were no locks to pick, no thievery system, no fast travel hurdles, accessible respec, unlimited ammo, and you could even parkour. It’s an Obsidian game based on the old-fashioned Pillars of Eternity that allows you to go wherever and loot whatever without much difficulty. Some players certainly found this kind of RPG direction refreshing.
Avowed basically pared down the fat and presented its players with a lean serving of RPG meat through its story and gameplay. You won’t find sim mechanics here like in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 where you need to take care of your character’s indigestion. It’s the kind of necessary streamlining that other RPGs could’ve used.
Bethesda Ought to Take Notes
Skyrim is an immediate point of comparison here. No, it’s not unfair to compare that ancient game to Avowed seeing how Bethesda kept re-releasing Skyrim as other Skyrim versions– including Skyrim in space a.k.a. Starfield.
Avowed‘s quality-of-life (QoL) improvements put Bethesda RPGs to shame. I’m even willing to bet that if Starfield had half of QoL improvements as Avowed, it would’ve had a better reception. Because Avowed is a good lesson and example of how to introduce lighter RPG gamers to more hardcore RPG universes.
Inventory management is a breeze, the spell system is simplified, and stats are easily explained (such as what an item does better and what are its penalties). In a sense, Avowed reminds me of how Dragon Age: The Veilguard streamlined its RPG components, except it gets a pass since it didn’t exactly butcher any established predecessor.
The lack of extra tedium also hopefully means that Avowed has a better focus on world-building, lore, story, and content and doesn’t use grinding for lockpicking, athletics, or other artificial RPG hurdles as roadblocks of sorts to extend game time.
It’s Not for Everyone Though
At the same time, however, some of the more serious parts of the RPG community might want something that actually encapsulates the genre. I would argue that while Avowed lets you loot or “steal” anything, this makes the game world somewhat sterile or like a playground for you to wallow in.
As I stated in my Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 feature, the simple idea of ownership in the game has made the game world a lot more believable and gives endless possibilities for you to roleplay. Avowed has none of that since you don’t get consequences for your nonexistent crimes and the game world feels more like a backdrop instead of a living ecosystem with its own social rules.
There’s also the usual conundrum for RPGs where streamlining them might easily turn them into action-adventure games with little depth for the sake of mass appeal. Avowed thankfully has struck a balance and is still an RPG, but I can imagine the arcade streamlining will turn off some of the more experienced genre purists. Avowed, for example, won’t have as many memorable player-driven encounters as something complex like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 or even its Pillars of Eternity parent.
Still, Avowed is a refreshing QoL haven after Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Path of Exile 2 kicked my teeth in and stuffed dirt in my mouth (figuratively). I now hope that any RPG that doesn’t want to be hardcore will copy Avowed‘s frictionless mechanics, less tedious exploration, and general approachability because it has now set an example for RPG streamlining.
