Avowed Review

Games often hide treasures behind waterfalls—a surprise that once felt exciting but has since become predictable, symbolic of an industry that sometimes struggles to deliver fresh experiences. Avowed is like a tiny chest of colorful gems tucked behind the typical action-RPG waterfall, infused with Obsidian’s signature style and set in the Pillars of Eternity universe. It offers proficient first-person combat, a vibrant world, and compelling story moments. However, it falters with progression, companion depth, and repetition. Avowed is not the Skyrim of this generation, but it still has its merits.

The Dreamscourge infection has become too much to bear

You begin the game as an envoy for a powerful kingdom, sent to a large remote island in order to investigate a strange problem before the region can be assimilated. You also happen to be a Godlike, who is a person connected to a divine entity from birth. Like all other Godlikes, you suffer from facial disfigurements that appear as fungal growths—these can be customized in the character creator that lets you build a wide range of very ugly people. Unlike the other Godlikes, your particular God is unknown and silent. Coincidentally, the remote island is suffering from a Dreamscourge affliction that transforms animals and people into vicious hostiles with similar mushroom growths covering their bodies, and the outbreak seems to be getting worse.

Most sentient beings on the island (called the Living Lands) are outcasts, who resist your empire’s desire for control. One hostile rebel group takes matters into their own hands and kills you early in the story. Thankfully, your God brings you back to life, offering the first glimpse of an unusual personal deity. Your mission is threefold: eliminate the Dreamscourge plague, find out more about your God, and decide the fate of the Living Lands.

Navigating the Living Lands is a political and spiritual affair. A group of mercenaries affiliated with your empire is being aggressive toward the locals. And your mysterious God enters your dreams to probe or influence via cryptic chats. Thus you are torn in multiple directions. This means making choices and handling consequences. Rather than good or bad, Avowed features outcomes that are undesirable in different ways. There are some intriguing choices and cool story moments, including a settlement evacuation. Should you disavow the mercenaries, who seem to be undertaking ethnic cleansing, or seek a diplomatic solution? When the Dreamscourge problem escalates, is it time to attack directly or minimize future casualties? Even when the consequences are hidden, the choice may weigh heavy as you consider the fate of the locals and opinion of your God.

Naturally there is a lot of dialogue, but some of it might put you to sleep

The God on your shoulder is a major quandary due to their unclear motives and connection to the Living Lands. Are they worth listening to? Can they understand reason? Are they good, bad, or have their own unique morality? The mercenary leader follows another god and is naturally opposed, raising good points about its unpredictable behavior. It is interesting to put all the pieces together, but the God’s proclivity to talk indirectly is more annoying than an appealing quirk. How the God’s story plays out is a slow burn across the 30-35 hour adventure, but it does mostly pay off.

Four companions follow you across the Living Lands, although only two can accompany you at any one time. They offer standard combat assistance and guidance when meeting others. Most are biased in favor of the current inhabitants, but they are rarely in agreement about how to handle settlement disputes or the Dreamscourge infection. So when you seek their advice, expect a 50-50 split that raises questions you might not have considered. Although companions do briefly speak up in the many conversations, they are quiet when you are not fighting.

The reason for their silence is because when they have something to say (shown on the HUD), you need to visit a party camp to hear it. These camps act as fast-travel points, along with special beacons. Usually companions merely want to say a few lines about a completed side quest, like how they appreciate that you helped a pair gain passage on a smuggler’s vessel. If you churn through quests rapidly, they will blabber about a fading memory. Sometimes it makes sense for them to hold their tongue until camp, but generally it is unnatural, especially when rare quests provide direct interactions that work better. The intention may have been to push players to the camp because it is the only place to upgrade gear (a strange choice in a world with major towns). Or it may have been an attempt to emulate Baldur’s Gate 3, but it is poor in comparison.

Head to the camp to hear companions say things they should have said hours ago

The companions are rather boring and unlikable too. Not many offer humor, aside from the furry-eared Yatzli who behaves like a sarcastic horny grandmother. Kai is a tall reptilian humanoid whose voice actor portrayed Garrus in Mass Effect, which may bring natural appeal, but his personality is dry. Talking to Marius, the clichéd dwarf, is like squeezing blood from a stone; and when he finally opens up he somehow becomes less appealing. And finally there is plain-Jane Giatta, a softly spoken necromancer who is bogged down by her tragic past. These companions start calling you a friend early, even though nothing much has transpired. Only at the end did it seem like there was a close enough bond for that. None are romanceable, in case you are interested. Their personal quests are also weak, compared to the likes of Dragon Age: The Veilguard; Kai’s arc is probably the most fleshed out, involving his grief over an old friend, but it is shallow and boring.

The most consistent story problem is that there is way too much exposition from nearly all of the NPCs. Some background information is always required, to explain a fantasy world, but too often characters behave like walking encyclopedias—conversations also let you open an extensive list of definitions. Generally the dialogue is succinct and well-spoken, but infodumps turn many chats into stagnant volumes of lore.

Many gamers will be rightfully drawn to Avowed for its action, which proves to be entertaining for a while. Combat can be melee focused (swords, axes, spears etc.) or ranged (wands, pistols, bows). When leveling, players increase basic stats and unlock abilities in three categories: fighter, ranger and wizard. My character focused on the first two, which meant wielding a mace and shield, maybe switching to a musket, throwing grenades intermittently, summoning a bear, and standing my ground. Dodge, block, parry, charged attacks, and managing stamina made the combat interesting. Active abilities like charge, spin, and shout—which increased stun, to deal massive damage—carried me through most battles. And, depending on your interactions with the God, you can unlock a few powers that are, sadly, not particularly divine. Wizard abilities are more expansive, including the typical fireballs, lightning and more. Companions only have four bland upgradeable abilities each, and their equipment cannot be changed, which wears thin over time.

Combat is pretty hot, at first, then it starts to burn

At around the halfway point, combat became a chore. It was more agreeable to avoid some regular mobs scattered across the lands, and not because they were challenging. A few big foes absorb too much damage, which led to overlong encounters. Many groups were similarly constructed and boring to fight again and again, with the typical hostile party size of around six creating messy action. Even hostile placement seemed synthetic, especially near the end, turning a brisk conclusion into an 11th-hour slog. It is nice that you can run through many hostiles though, and the rudimentary stealth is occasionally useful, but since combat is a source of XP, most players will endure a lot of action.

Another reason the combat drags is because progression is underwhelming. Some abilities are bland, passive, or not that useful. Loot is so consistently bad that you will stop checking to see if items are worth equipping. Avowed connects progression to equipment level which results in choppy game flow. Enemy level increases predictably as you progress sequentially through the four major areas. If your gear level is low, your health will drop fast and you will do far less damage. So when you enter a new region, you’ll almost immediately seek to upgrade or purchase better gear. Higher tier items are not cheap, which fiercely encourages side quest completion for coin and resources. Side quests indicate their difficulty, based on current equipment, so players might be pushed through quests in a specific order, rather than doing what seems interesting.

Some inhabitants are in better shape than others

Since the higher-tier equipment is costly, it was common to wield a weapon for many hours, further reducing variety. And when you start getting drops that might be suitable, you are almost ready to buy the next best or are half upgraded. RPG games often struggle to find a balance between showering players with gear and imbuing them with value based on length of ownership. But aside from near the end, Avowed chains you to equipment for so long that it loses nearly all luster.

While the progression is a dark spot, at least most regions of the Living Lands are bright and colorful. The four zones are large enough to tempt exploration but not prohibitively massive to elongate basic treks. They feature the typical assortment of verdant jungles, rocky coastlines, searing deserts with oases, volcanic wastelands, and swamps. The visual design is similar to that found in Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, so everything pops nicely. Additionally, special effects and cool looking fungus mutations increase the visual appeal. The use of Unreal engine has downsides though, including horrendously blurry anti-aliasing and bad stutters in major towns. Some NPCs also had jittery movements and physics glitches—one hostile bounty sunk into the ground, making it impossible to claim the reward. For the most part though, the game ran well on high settings without major bugs.

Avowed certainly has the bones of a good action RPG

Avowed is not Obsidian’s best work, but it still provides a solid base for action-RPG fans. The combat holds up for a while, despite mediocre progression and repetition. Story events and choices can be thought-provoking, especially those tied to the mysterious God and the fate of the Living Lands. Companions offer encyclopedic knowledge of a fantasy world, but they lack charm and depth. Fortunately, the vibrant environments are a highlight, with only a few minor technical hiccups. Ultimately, Avowed offers enough to entice action-RPG enthusiasts to step through the veil—just don’t expect divine treasure on the other side.