So many video games tell you that your choices matter, only to lead you down the same basic critical path with minor fluctuations. Avowed is not one of those games. In the new action RPG from Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity developer Obsidian Entertainment, every major decision you make has a ripple effect that reverberates throughout the Living Lands, and you have no choice but to live with the consequences of your actions.
Of course, fans of Obsidian’s other games will know that’s par for the course for this studio, but it’s no less impressive how significant of an impact the player has on the story. That story takes place in the Living Lands, a wild, unruly region of Eora, which is the same fictional world where Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity series is set.
You are an envoy from the Aedyran empire, sent by your emperor to investigate a mysterious plague known as the Dreamscourge, which is tearing its way through the island. Before long, it becomes clear that the plague is just the tip of the iceberg, and the future of Eora may well rest in the hands of you and your companions.
Following a short sojourn at a dangerous fort after a shipwreck (which ends up serving as the tutorial), your journey begins in earnest in the port town of Paridis in Dawnshore, one of several large areas you’ll visit within the Living Lands. Avowed isn’t an open-world game, but each area is fully explorable, packed with quests, towns, dungeons, crafting materials, equipment, secrets, bounties, and notes that flesh out the world. Nearly 40 hours into my playthrough, there are still plenty of blank spots on my map where I’ve yet to step foot.
That said, I can’t see myself leaving a single stone unturned, because it is such a joy to play in this world. The best way to describe the gameplay is as a mix between Skyrim and Dying Light—a high fantasy setting with sword and sorcery combat mashed up with the running, jumping, and vaulting of the zombie-slaying survival horror series.
Dying Light, Mirror’s Edge, and Titanfall are some of my favorite games because it’s hard not to have a good time gliding through their worlds at top speed. Avowed pulls a similar trick, making its vast open environments far more digestible by giving us the ability to sprint and leap across them without draining our stamina or putting up unnecessary roadblocks.
Meanwhile, combat changes drastically depending on your loadout. You can equip swords, shields, maces, pistols, rifles, knives, wands, spellbooks, bows, and more, all of which control differently. I spent the first several hours with a unique sword that was always on fire, not only allowing me to stack burn on enemies but also giving me an easy way to burn down cobwebs that require some form of magic to eliminate. Later on, I found an electric wand I could use to activate panels that could open doors and turn on certain devices. By the end, I’d moved to a slow-swinging mace that all but splits Eora in half every time I use a power attack.
Avowed gives you a great deal of freedom over your build, letting you mix and match weapons, shields, and magic as you see fit. Personally, I like whacking things while either poisoning them or lighting them on fire in the process, so I mostly did that.
Avowed also handles scaling and progression in an interesting way. All the equipment has four to five tiers of quality, which you can improve with materials you gather from opponents and the environment. As you reach new areas, the opponent’s tier improves as well, which means your Common spear isn’t going to scratch an Exceptional spider.
Therefore, it’s in your best interest to either upgrade your favorite equipment or quickly find new equipment in the new zone that matches the level of the enemies present. Thankfully, there are treasure chests everywhere, so you’ll never go long without something usable.
Then there are the skill trees: fighter skills for defense and heavy weapons, ranger skills for one-handed weapons and stealth, and wizards skills for magic. Even as a fast and furious fighter, I’d find myself picking skills from all three trees.
You’re also aided on the journey by your companions, two of which can travel out into the world with you to fight monsters and finish quests as they reveal more about themselves. I found them to be serviceable in battle, but you’re really keeping them around because of the flavor they add to your conversations and their reactions to your choices. The voice actors across the board do a great job, but Kai the aumaua, Marius the dwarf, and the other companions you recruit in the Living Lands have a lot of heavy lifting to do in place of your silent protagonist.
As invested as I was in Avowed’s story, loaded with political intrigue, thrilling mysteries, and top-notch world-building, the way that conversations are presented nearly drove me crazy. There are countless lengthy conversations in this game, but nearly every one involves an immobile camera pointing at a single character as they say their dialogue, then flipping to your expressionless face to let you choose your response. Rinse and repeat.
Running around the Living Lands is great, but whenever I have to stop and talk to someone, the game slows to a halt. The content of the discussions is frequently interesting, but there had to be a better way to have players watch them unfold. It would be a relatively minor nitpick if not for the fact that a vast majority of the story progresses this way.
I’ve refrained from sharing many plot specifics up to this point because as exciting and kinetic as the action can be, the story is the star of the show. Fans of the Pillars of Eternity franchise will be handsomely rewarded with oodles of new lore, cameos from familiar characters, and revelations that help to grow their knowledge of Eora.
I have only dipped my toe into Pillar of Eternity, but I was hooked as I began to learn about the impact Aedyr had on the Living Lands. The people convinced me that I might want to reconsider my allegiences. I was sympathetic to those who were displeased with Aedyran soldiers showing up unannounced, and my path changed as a result. These were moments when I could feel the influence of one of my favorite Obsidian games, Knights of the Old Republic II.
Perhaps the highest compliment I could pay Avowed is that even after spending 40 hours in the Living Lands over the past two weeks, I’m already raring for another playthrough. I have to know what happens if I decide to be a loyal subject of Aedyr instead of a rebel. I should also really test guns again, because I didn’t give them a fair shake this round.
Avowed contains a world that demands to be explored, and while I am sure the team is going to be sick of the Skyrim comparisons, that is one of the last games with a world I’ve had this much trouble tearing myself out of. It’s a high bar, but one Avowed cleared.
Avowed launches on Xbox Series X/S and PC on February 18, but you can play in early access starting on February 13 if you order the Premium Edition.
Xbox provided us with a code for Avowed for the purposes of this review.
