Avowed Review – A Promise Kept

Over the years, Obsidian Entertainment has built itself a prestigious reputation in the single-player RPG space. Having crafted some of the best narratives in the genre, from key devs working on the original pair of Fallout titles to more modern hits like Pillars of Eternity, Fallout: New Vegas and The Outer Worlds, it’s probably an understatement hailing the California-based studio as veterans of its craft. With all that knowledge and experience, it’s fair to say that anticipation was sky high for its latest fantasy RPG, Avowed. It’s with great joy and a wee sigh of relief to report that Obsidian’s latest foray into the world of Eora is an adventure very much worth embarking upon, even though a couple of rough edges hold it back from the pinnacle of the genre.

Set in the world of Pillars of Eternity, players assume the role of an Aedyran envoy sent to investigate a mysterious plague that is laying waste to the Living Lands. Colloquially referred to in-game as the Dreamscourge, not only does this peculiar affliction transform wild animals, humans, and humanoids into gibbering, zombie-like monstrosities with fungi growing out of their heads, but it also invades their dreams, driving them to madness, hence the catchy name.

While the main business on top of your to-do list is to get to the bottom of this encroaching natural disaster, you’re also lucky enough to be borne a godlike. Essentially, this means that your character has been touched by one of the 12 gods who influence the world of Eora, and by extension, this gifts you special abilities, kind of like Skyrim‘s Dragonborn. It’s unclear, however, which god affected your soul, but this soon develops into another central mystery that ties into the overarching narrative of your adventure.

With bickering nations, cities, and factions, complex politics makes up a surprisingly hefty chunk of the story. For instance, the Steel Garrote — who’re Aedyran paladins serving the god Woedica — don’t quite see eye to eye with the pirate-like Claviger that has seized control of the city of Paradis. As envoy, you must make difficult choices and side with questionable allies in a bid to bring peace and meaningful change to the Living Lands.

Despite its familiar setup, however, the story in Avowed is enchanting enough to get lost in, but there are occasions when the dense, lore-heavy dialogue became a little overwhelming. There were a few times during my 50+ hours with the game when my eyes would glaze over as characters rabbited on relentlessly.

Don’t get me wrong, the majority of dialogue is very well-written and features that signature Obsidian humor and charm, especially when it comes to your companions, like the loveable drifter Kai or the spunky animancer Yatzli. However, on occasion, the narrative does sometimes feel like it goes into auto-pilot, as characters deliver monologues that border on the mundane or wax lyrical about a piece of lore that isn’t particularly pertinent to the here and now.

In short, Avowed‘s story sometimes doesn’t quite live up to the lofty expectations of the California developer’s previous efforts, probably largely due the sheer volume of branching dialogue choices on offer. It’s still a solid yarn, with enough twists and turns to keep you entertained, but it’s probably one of the studio’s weaker stories when taken as a whole.

Related: Avowed: Essential Beginner Tricks for an Epic Start

Thankfully, however, when Avowed‘s overly convoluted narrative begins to falter, its fantastic gameplay is there to pick up the slack. Depending on your personal preference, players can opt between a first-person or third-person perspective, though I think the game has been largely tuned and designed around the former. In a word, the second-to-second combat is excellent, and delivers dynamic and fluid action that leverages magic, melee, bow, and even old-school gunishment.

What’s really cool is that you can customise your choice of weapons to each specific hand a ‘la Oblivion. Want to be a magic-hurling wizard with a wand in one hand and an axe in the other? You got it. In the mood for a more defensive build, with a shield in one hand and a blunderbuss-style shotgun in the other? Have at it. Fancy just going for a caveman-style clobber-the-hell-out-of-everything setup with a humungous two-handed great hammer? Fill your boots, pal. Not only is Avowed‘s combat system a joy to use, but its player-friendly flexibility is possibly one of its greatest assets. Talking about being player-friendly, it’s also worth noting how convenient and trouble-free many of the other RPG’s mechanics are.

For instance, there’s no lockpicking mini-game to learn; instead, you just need to acquire enough lockpicks to unlock a treasure chest, as the amount can vary from chest to chest. Furthermore, sprinting doesn’t impact your stamina so you can keep running to your heart’s delight without having to stop and catch your breath. Plus, there’s no real system for crime or stealing, so you can hoover up everything you see that’s not nailed down. Handy!

Another strong aspect of Avowed is its moreish exploration and delightful sense of discovery. With level design that emphasises verticality and parkour, many of the nooks and crannies peppered around the island are ripe for eagle-eyed plunder. While it’s not a true open-world like, say, a Bethesda RPG, its open zone approach is still effective, as it does feature some very large open spaces littered with enemy encounters, caves, buildings, merchants, and side quests.

Related: Avowed: Complete Companion Guide (How to Unlock Training, Romance Options, etc)

Now, moving onto the game’s presentation, I’m pleased to report that Avowed is absolutely beautiful, with stunning vistas, rolling mountains, arid deserts, and verdant forests. Dappled pools of sunlight twinkle beneath your feet as you venture through woodland, beams of moonlight reflect off mossy walls within the darkness of subterranean cave systems, and overall, character animations are impressive and life-like. Performance is mostly smooth as well, with a stable 30 fps, though I did experience a couple of crashes on Xbox Series S, but it was far from game-breaking. Typically, ambitious RPGs of this size and scope usually have their fair share of crashes, but I think overall, Avowed is quite a polished experience.

Even though Avowed may not hit the same narrative heights as its illustrious predecessors, its flexible and dynamic combat system is arguably one of the best in the genre and sticks out in an otherwise routine adventure. Round this out with a colorful cast of likable companions, some fun exploration, a few meaningful choices, gorgeous locales and smooth performance, and you have an RPG that will satiate fans of the genre, while serving as an accessible launch pad for any greenhorns out there. Ultimately, it may not be Obsidian’s strongest story, but its entertaining and fluid core gameplay does just enough to paper over the cracks of one of this year’s most ambitious fantasy RPGs.