Very early into my hands-on preview of developer Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed, I realized those Skyrim comparisons aren’t going anywhere any time soon.
Yes, Obsidian and every major press outlet have made it clear that Avowed is not meant to be a Skyrim-like open-world RPG experience. Unfortunately, we live in a time when rationale often succumbs to preconceived notions. Since The Outer Worlds was Obsidian’s “wink, wink” attempt at a Fallout game, people have long looked at the first-person sword and sorcery of Avowed as the studio’s own take on Bethesda’s beloved fantasy series. In short, this game will be judged by expectations it was never meant to meet.
But here’s the strange thing. After spending a couple of hours playing Avowed, I can tell you it is certainly not meant to be a Skyrim competitor. It’s very much its own thing. What I’m having a harder time figuring out is what Avowed is ultimately trying to be or how it is going to get there.
Graphics? Story? Avowed Has Both
Avowed is set in a realm known as The Living Lands where a mysterious plague called the Dream Scourge is corrupting the world and its people. You play as a custom-created envoy from the Aedyr Empire sent to investigate this mysterious occurrence. Early into your adventure, you’ll discover that everyone has drastically underestimated the severity of this disease and what its origins mean for your fate and the fate of all.
Though I don’t want to breeze past Avowed’s narrative—stories are a vital part of any Obsidian game—the fact is that there isn’t much to say about it at this time. There’s no sense in spoiling any of the finer details, and since the demo I played took place during the game’s opening hours, it’s far too early even to pretend that I have a decent idea about where Avowed’s story is going.
The same is true of the game’s visuals and technical performance. This is an early build, so whatever I say about those aspects should come with an asterisk. Avowed looks and sounds better than it did in early hands-off previews. There’s no doubt its presentation will (hopefully) continue to improve in the next few months.
But for what it’s worth, I’m a little mixed on both those elements of the game so far. Avowed benefits from a vibrant color palette and some fun world design, but I was surprised to find that certain aspects of the game’s world—enemy design, NPC design, and some building/weapon design, specifically—feel somewhat generic in those opening hours. Similarly, Avowed’s overarching narrative is filled with tantalizing lore, but individual interactions often lack the wit and depth Obsidian is known for. For instance, the ability to choose multiple dialogue options based partially on your character’s skills and background is there, but those options and the quality of their writing are closer to being “funny” or “fun” rather than dynamic or morally complex.
Again, though, it’s too early to weigh in on either element of the game beyond initial impressions. What’s a little easier to discuss is the interesting structure of Avowed’s world.
Avowed Isn’t Open-World, But Its Worlds Are Surprisingly Open
Avowed is not an open-world game. It is broken up into multiple, fairly sizeable sections that contain fast travel points, various quests, and numerous other NPCs and activities. Imagine something like Knights of the Old Republic or Obsidan’s own Outer Worlds, and you’ll be on the right track.
Like those games, you’ll often explore these areas alongside NPC companions you gradually recruit. Along with offering valuable skills in combat, these NPCs have backstories and motivations that you can learn about by interacting with them in the world or at the occasional campsite. That campsite feature will undoubtedly trigger Baldur’s Gate 3 comparisons that Avowed can’t quite live up to. Due partially to some of those aforementioned dialogue issues, the companion NPC interactions I’ve experienced so far aren’t quite as substantial as what you may be accustomed to in similar titles.
Crucially, your companions also offer special abilities that can be used to navigate obstacles your character may not otherwise be able to overcome. This is one of the more intriguing elements of Avowed’s world design. Sections of the map are brimming with resources, treasures, secrets, and optional encounters. Though some objects—like food—are marked on your map and radar, others require you to venture off the beaten path and occasionally utilize skills or items you may or may not have access to at that time. For instance, a melee character with a charge ability may be able to break through a wall, but everyone else will need to find a grenade.
This treasure-hunting element of the game quickly becomes one of Avowed’s biggest draws. It’s not that we haven’t seen similar concepts in other games but rather that Obsidian has done a wonderful job of filling these pockets of the world with a variety of genuinely intriguing discoveries. It helps make these sections feel bigger than they technically are and fleshes out the bigger world they are a part of.
More importantly, those discoveries often reward you with powerful new items that fuel what is quickly proving to be Avowed’s defining feature.
Avowed’s Character Building Options Are Some of the Best in Any Modern RPG
Like many other RPGs, Avowed allows you to use basic weapons like a bow, magical staff, pistol, or various melee instruments as part of your basic character build. However, Avowed encourages you to do more than pick a basic upgrade path early on and only occasionally dabble in other fields.
Want to dual-wield pistols while using innate magical abilities like a Terry Pratchett version of John Wick? Do you prefer to charge into battle with a fighter’s armor and disposition while flinging spells from both hands? Does the prospect of wielding a sword in one hand and a gun in the other like the world’s most effective mall ninja cry out to you? All of these options—and so many more—are possible and viable within Avowed.
By allowing you to dual-wield any combination of one-handed weapons—including magic wands—Avowed offers more combat build options than your average RPG. What really makes that combat build system so flexible and enjoyable, though, is the ability to quickly swap between your two pre-set weapon loadouts at the tap of a button. Similar to “dual-speccing” in MMOs, that feature allows you to easily alter your strategies for fun or profit. There are restrictions—certain stats, gear, and abilities will often benefit one playstyle at the cost of another—but Avowed embraces the creative chaos that many RPGs are scared to even glance at.
The ability to play with so many character combinations makes even seemingly mundane interactions in this game feel so much more substantial. Every new item and talent point is an excuse to try something new. It’s so easy to lose yourself in the game’s menus playing with different gear and ability combos just to see what the results will be. It’s just a shame that Avowed’s actual combat can’t quite live up to that system’s potential.
Avowed’s Combat Isn’t Quite as Rewarding as Its Character Building
As you may imagine, different character builds utilize different approaches to combat. However, most players, regardless of build, will likely find themselves relying on a few basic combat mechanics.
For instance, even when working from a distance, you’ll need to quickly dodge incoming attacks. Stealth can help you sneak up on—or sneak by—enemies, but you will often want to try to stun enemies to halt their assaults and enable devastating follow-up critical strikes. Most builds will also have to navigate a “charged” attack system that allows you to unleash powerful shots and strikes but at the cost of stamina. Pure mages tend to rely a little less on some of those abilities than other characters, but you’ll generally need to be aware of them during most fights.
It’s a fine system that is certainly more active than what you’ll find in the typical real-time RPG where your attacks are little more than invisible dice rolls. The problem is that it’s not particularly rewarding.
Even at higher difficulties, I had little trouble getting through Avowed’s tougher fights. Ammo for projectile-based weapons seems to be unlimited, magic is generally plentiful thanks to dropped resources and potions, and you are almost always able to dodge incoming enemy attacks, stun them into oblivion, or simply unleash devastating stealth strikes if you’re playing as a melee character. Without that level of challenge, you’re left relying on the joy of unleashing your attacks for your combat satisfaction.
Unfortunately, only Avowed’s magic system and its collection of visually vibrant spells feel entirely enjoyable at the moment. Melee largely involves dancing around often befuddled targets and unleashing easily charged power blows. Projectile ranged attacks—especially dual-wielding pistols—allow you to operate at a relatively safe distance while you slowly chip away at often helpless enemies, with a few grenades to boot. Unlike in Dragon’s Dogma 2, I haven’t yet had the feeling of translating my unique build into a unique combat strategy in a compelling way.
That issue is most apparent during boss fights. When you are squaring off against a group of foes, you at least need to be aware of your surroundings. Against single targets, it’s remarkably easy to trap them in a series of abilities and move around the boss fight arena without ever really feeling like you are battling anything more substantial than the hollow feeling that comes with the inevitability of victory.
Some of these combat flaws could be addressed by enhanced visuals and sound effects that give fights a little more “oomph” and make enemies feel less spongey. What Avowed really needs, though, are the kinds of items, abilities, and enemies that open up creative and enjoyable new possibilities.
At the moment, I’m not sure we’ll get those from the melee and projectile-based skill trees, which largely focus on “increase damage by X%” type effects. Only the magic-based trees seem to allow you to consistently work towards more elaborate abilities. I’ve heard that later parts of the game do feature new weapons and armor that open up similar possibilities for multiple playstyles, but I only found relatively simple examples of such items during my early slice of the game.
Avowed Has Potential, But It’s Not Clear How the Game Will Realize It
Avowed isn’t trying to be Skyrim. A couple of hours with the game left me with a lot of questions about Obsidian’s latest, but there is no ambiguity on that point. If you’re looking for a comparison, think of Avowed as an almost Dark Messiah of Might and Magic experience with more involved RPG components and exploration options.
So far as that goes, Avowed is certainly a fun time. There is a pick-up-and-play quality to the experience that is easy to love and that’s enhanced by the depth of the combat possibilities, dialogue options, and the many secrets to be found in the world. It should be a fantastic Game Pass title.
If Avowed has another gear, though, I haven’t seen it get there yet. Forget about other studios. As an action game with RPG elements, Avowed doesn’t feel as inventive as Obsidian’s espionage third-person shooter Alpha Protocol. As a pure RPG, it’s nowhere near as deep or ambitious as the Pillars of Eternity series Avowed shares a universe with. And as a more action-oriented modern RPG that resembles another notable franchise at a glance, it doesn’t currently feel as tight, funny, or clever as The Outer Worlds.
I don’t doubt that I’ve yet to see the best of Avowed or that the game’s rougher edges will be smoothed out in time for its release. I’m just not entirely sure what the best version of this game looks like yet.
Avowed hits Xbox Series X/S and PC on Feb. 18.
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