REVIEW: Obsidian Has Crafted Something Special With ‘Avowed’

Avowed, a choice-driven fantasy RPG published by Xbox Game Studios and developed by Obsidian Entertainment Inc, follows an envoy of Aedryr as they search for a cure to the mysterious Dreamscourge Plague that ravages the untamed world of the Living Lands. While the rumors of a spreading plague grow and the mysterious island comes into focus, what awaits is far more than a race for a cure, as political factions, magical beings, and the fate of the fictional world of Eora will come to rest on this mysterious envoy linked to an unknown deity.

All game development is exceedingly challenging. However, few genres make as broad a set of demands as choice-driven RPGs. The gameplay has to be enjoyable, customization has to be engaging, and characters have to deliver memorable personalities that will be loved or hated. In addition, the story needs to be creative and deliver choices that have both meaning and challenging moral consequences.

On top of all this, the world must look beautiful with its own unique ecosystem and different environments to allow for the thrill of exploration and discovery. And, of course, it needs to run as smooth as butter. Not much of an ask now is it? With only a few hiccups along the way, though, Obsidian has once again shown they are one of the best at tackling this difficult challenge.

Avowed’s plot is ultimately what makes it a success. The Living Lands are rich with history, cultures, and troubles. The search for a cure to the Dreamscourge is at the center of The Envoy’s journey, but equally memorable are the region-based stories that play out along the way. With several inhabited regions to explore, The Envoy comes to be embroiled with issues both fantastic and real, creating engaging scenarios that hit home.

While there are many plots, both large and small, when it’s all boiled down, the core theme of the game is about control. The Living Lands is a wild place, full of dangers and uncertainty. And that’s how the current inhabitants like it. But the Aedryren Empire has arrived, and there are elements within it that think the continent should be more orderly and that they should be brought into line with what they believe is right, safe, and proper. Needless to say, that doesn’t sit well with many.

Avowed offers political intrigue, not just a Dreamscourge to conquer. 

This overarching political plot line comes to be nearly equal in importance to Avowed as the Dreamscourge is. How the building tensions come to impact all of the Living Lands brings many emotional and sometimes violent twists to the story. It uses this framework to explore concepts like bigotry, oppression, and religious zealotry. These themes even carry over into the more fantastical elements of the game, exploring some of its ideas in ways that cannot be done with real-world narratives.

It is the fantastical elements of Avowed that bring arguably the most important narrative element to the game: uncertainty. While it’s sure to draw comparisons to the Elder Scrolls or Dragon Age series, the secrets throughout this first-person fantasy action RPG stand out on their own. As The Envoy of Aedyr searches for a cure to the Dreamscourge, they find themselves drawn into contact with a mysterious being that speaks directly into their mind.

Who and what this being is and its true intentions are handled with the deffest touch. What makes the entity singular and why your choices concerning them bring such danger are things that can only be crafted in a fantasy setting. Whether it can be trusted or not is left unclear, even as the final choices are made.

Larger plots are great, but no world is worth exploring without great characters to populate it. Obsidian has always been first in class when it comes to sculpting larger-than-life personalities, and Avowed is no exception. From fretting politicians to warriors who can excuse any act through their blind faith, every personality The Envoy’s journey touches feels complete and well-crafted. And even though virtually every notable NPC is given a striking personality and look, no one stands out as much as the party that comes to stand beside The Envoy even as you traverse a diverse array of landscapes and into an unknown frontier.

The party of misfits, outcasts, and adventure seekers that coalesce is one of the best the genre has seen. From the former mercenary Kai (Bandon Keener, Mass Effect‘s Garrus) to the exiled animancer Giatta (Mara Junot, Genshin Impact), each brings depth, nuance, and memorable moments with them. And when you do something they don’t agree with, they let you know it.

Another thing that makes these characters special are their companion quests and how they become a part of your journey. Each of these stories explores the events that made them who they are. These narratives are standouts within a game that is filled with amazing tales. They even stand out from each other by not adhering to a set structure.

Kai’s story involves multiple beats that come up over the first half of the game. Marius, the Ranger, has fewer missions associated with his story but has several discussions with the player at their camp that builds up to their mission. This freedom in approach allows each story to come together in a far more natural way than adhering to a set system just for the sake of giving everyone the same amount of focus time.

While the party brings enough laughs, surprises, and tears to make them as great as they are, they also come together to be crucial elements of Avowed‘s incredible combat system. With a pair of teammates providing their unique skills to bear at any one time, they provide the perfect accompaniment for the wide breadth of options the game lays out for plays to choose from.

Combat variety keeps every playthrough fresh and inspires player agency.

The core avenues of combat break down into melee, magic, and ranged. These options in and of themselves are standard fair for fantasy RPGs, even with the inclusion of flintlock-based range weapons. What makes building your kit in Avowed feel special is all the ways you can mix and match these tools, its all up to you.

To start, players can keep two sets of weapons prepared that can be hot-swapped between each other in combat. Players can equip their main and off-hands weapons or go for bigger, dual-handed weapons. Also, some weapons like shields and grimoires can only be equipped to the off-hand. With many enemies roaming the regions of The Living Lands, ensuring you have a substantial selection of weapons and damage types is crucial to surviving the challenging combat.

Having weapons to deal with crowds, like magical spells that freeze large areas, or powerful weapons like great swords to build up an opponent’s stun meter, leaving them vulnerable to a special combo attack or to break through shield defenses, there are loads of ways to tailor a player’s equipment to their play style.

Forcing this need for broad selections and adaptable kits is a plethora of enemy types. Many of these will look familiar to players, such as the grunts with swords, but even these can bring surprises, as power attacks or tricky movement abilities can catch new adventures off guard. Huge creatures, from bears to towering animated war engines, can bring overwhelming damage to large areas, leaving corpses in their wake.

Then there are the priests. They are the hardest healers ever to pin down. If confronted without a range attack, either your own or an ally’s, The Envoy can be battered by enemies as they chase the slippery healers around the battlefield. Ignoring their healing is not an option.

The unique leveling system further empowers the variety of weapons the player can effectively utilize. Six attributes govern The Envoy’s abilities in battle. These attributes work in concert uniquely, allowing The Envoy to easily use a wide range of weapons.

Rather than using strength, dexterity, and intelligence to govern the damage outputs for melee, range, and magic, respectively, as is the norm, the might stat covers all forms of damage. Some stats are more useful for certain forms of combat than others, but there is enough overlap so any kind of weapon can be brought to bear with effectiveness should a situation call for a specific tool.

The other side of Avowed‘s leveling system is its skills. Broken into three broad categories, skills can be taken generally with no requirements beyond a level threshold. Most skills also have several levels, allowing for even more minute adjustments. Companions also have their limited skill selection, which can be used to customize how they affect the battlefield.

The final crucial element that plays into combat is the equipment quality system. Weapons and armor come in five qualities. When an item is of a higher quality than the one opposed to it, it gets a 35% effectiveness bonus. So, a sword with a higher quality than the armor it’s striking does 35% more damage. And this goes for the bad guys as well. Better gear can always be bought or found, or The Envoy can upgrade favored gear by collecting raw materials they gather, buy, or pilfer. This system dramatically encourages exploration and side mission completion so preferred equipment can be kept up to par.

Among the many weapons and armor the player can find,  are ones designated as unique. Uniques still have one of the standard qualities but have bonus stats that set them apart. Also, players can enchant unique items at their camp, adding an effect to it. Also, as the name implies, there is only one of them in the game.

Avowed puts exploration into every single system it has.

The quality system also works great with Avowed’s exploration of The Living Lands. Presented in regions, players cannot progress to a new region till they complete the main storyline for their current one. As progress is made, better crafting elements become available, allowing items to be improved when needed.

This, along with the availability of gear in shops and chests equally gated, keeps any possibility of early, game-breaking combos from coming together. By the time combat kits truly coalesce, it’s late enough that they are fun, but they don’t stick around long enough to dull the experience.

Another tool that aids The Envoy in combat is a second wind ability. The first time they are downed in a fight, The Envoy can get back up with a percentage of their health restored. This is on a very long cooldown, so don’t count on it to be there every battle if they come back-to-back.

The combat encounters themselves are challenging affairs requiring coordination and focus. Battles can frequently include nearly a dozen combatants, with only three on the friendly side. Attacks can come from all sides, making healing potions and other self-preservation skills of paramount importance. No matter what you do, you will take hits.

This chaotic combat style can sometimes get punishing, especially if you’ve neglected to keep your gear up to date. If players find themselves in over their heads, they can always lower the difficulty at any time. Easy mode gives a helpful edge, but can still challenge, and Storytime makes combat a breeze.

There are a few fights where Avowed takes its frenzied combat past the point of challenging and into the frustrating realm. A couple of boss battles could’ve used one fewer wave of minions. And there are times when the mix of ranged units supporting heavy damage melee units that never stop charging you can create overly annoying combinations to deal with.

The only other complaint about combat comes with the game’s performance. There were a few times throughout the game where combat chugged a bit. It was never so bad that It cost me a fight, but it was nevertheless jarring. And this was while running it in Performance Mode.

The final element to cover is the Living Lands themselves. The design of the world is gorgeous. While it would be easy to broadly label each region “The Forest Zone” or “The Desert Zone,” that wouldn’t do what the world designers have crafted justice. Unique concepts and designs bring something new to the familiar environs of Avowed.

The same is true for the monsters and other creatures that roam the lands. Many of the obvious choice monsters have been omitted for creatures that serve similar purposes but are different enough to stand out. There are no scorpions in the desert, but there are some monster beetles.

Avowed marks another triumph for the folks at Obisidan, an already award-winning team keeps setting their bar higher. Through its gorgeous world, memorable characters, frenzied combat, and intuitive yet deep customization system, it highlights player agency. Everywhere in its gameplay and narrative, ensuring that each playthrough offers something new. More importantly, it does so while never compromising the strength of its core story.

Avowed launches on February 18th on Xbox Series S/X, day one on Game Pass, and PC. Players who purchase the premium edition can start playing on February 13th.