Is Avowed the Next Big RPG? Here’s Our Full Review

Discover if Avowed lives up to the hype! We explore its story, combat, worldbuilding, and more in this full RPG review.

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Avowed Review: A Bold Step or Just More of the Same?

Avowed marks Obsidian’s return to its action RPG roots after stepping into new genres with games like Grounded and Pentiment. Set in the Pillars of Eternity universe, Avowed offers a classic RPG experience with a story filled with magic, monsters, and moral choices. Players will find familiar RPG tropes like exploring ancient ruins, battling monsters, and collecting loot, all while uncovering a dark mystery.

The game puts you in the shoes of a powerful Godlike character with the mission to solve the plague of madness known as the Dreamscourge. As the Envoy of the Emperor, you’re tasked with traveling across the wild continent of the Living Lands, helping those in need, and tackling dangerous beasts. The gameplay revolves around delving into ruined places, completing quests, and using a mix of swords, bows, and spells to defeat enemies.

One of the best aspects of Avowed is its world-building and storytelling. The game’s dialogue and writing are excellent, and as you unravel the mystery of the Dreamscourge, your decisions significantly affect the outcome. The plot keeps you engaged, though some twists might be predictable for those familiar with Obsidian’s games.

While Avowed doesn’t break new ground, it does what it sets out to do well. It’s a classic RPG experience with familiar gameplay mechanics and engaging character development. If you enjoy games like Skyrim and Dragon Age, Avowed will feel right at home. However, don’t expect many surprises or innovative features—this is a traditional RPG done right.

Avowed is a solid choice for RPG fans, delivering an enjoyable and immersive adventure in a familiar setting.

Yatzli the Catlike Mage: Expect Some Fun Innuendos on the Adventure

In Avowed, you’re never alone. You travel with four companions, each with their own personality, backstory, and unique skills. Whether it’s solving puzzles or jumping into battles, they add a lot to the journey. You can only take two at a time, which lets you try different combos for fun banter or smart strategy.

One standout is Kai, a sarcastic lizard-like mercenary who loves woodworking. Then there’s Yatzli, a cheeky, cat-like mage who fills the air with constant flirty jokes. Sadly, romance isn’t an option with any companion, which feels like a missed chance, especially since the party dynamics are so well-written.

How Close Do You Like to Be With Your Party Members in RPGs?

Just battle buddies
Friendly banter only
Flirty, but no romance
Full romance or nothing
Marriage and more!
Other? Tell us in the comments!

Avowed Is Rich With Lore

If you enjoy deep lore, Avowed delivers. The game builds on the Pillars of Eternity universe, offering tons of books, scrolls, and political debates. And if you’re new to this world? No worries. A built-in guide explains key names, places, and ideas as they pop up—just like Final Fantasy XVI’s lore system. This makes the complex world easier to follow and enjoy.

Combat That Keeps You On Your Toes

When you’re not talking to villagers or uncovering secrets, you’re likely in combat. You’ll fight monsters, wild creatures, and strange beings twisted by a force called the Dreamscourge.

Combat is smooth and responsive. Whether you like casting magic or swinging swords, there’s a style for you. I played as a fragile wizard who had to dodge a lot but loved using powerful spells—like summoning black holes or calling down lightning storms.

If you prefer up-close fights, melee builds offer strong attacks, guard-breaking moves, and special skills that can knock enemies down. Each style has its own skill tree, letting you shape your perfect build.

I played on the hardest difficulty and got knocked out plenty of times—especially in areas where I wasn’t strong enough yet. Still, every fight felt fair and winnable with the right strategy.

Why Are There So Many Bears in This Game World?

One of my biggest issues with Avowed’s combat is the lack of variety in enemies. During my 50-hour completionist run (you could finish much faster if you skip side quests and play on normal difficulty), I found myself facing the same few types of enemies over and over again. Skeletons, oversized spiders, and, of course, so many bears—even in places where bears don’t make sense! For instance, I once found a bandit camp with a few ruffians, but for some reason, there were also two pet bears hanging out with them.

After hours of fighting the same uninspiring enemies, the novelty quickly wore off. Every now and then, a big, unexpected foe would appear, making me remember how to defeat something other than a bear, but these surprises were too rare.

Exploring Avowed’s Unique Open-World Hubs

Fortunately, Avowed offers plenty to do beyond combat. The game features four open-world hubs, each with its own character and plenty of side quests, puzzles, hidden treasures, and interesting NPCs. From a port town surrounded by forests to a corrupted countryside, a dangerous desert, and an ashen wasteland with an active volcano, the world is colorful and full of personality. While none of the maps are huge, they use their space well, offering a nice break from the sometimes dull environments found in other RPGs.

Exploration in Avowed: Thrilling, But Lacking Replay Value

The maps in Avowed are fun to explore the first time, but there’s little reason to revisit them as enemies don’t respawn. While this prevents the need to fight the same monsters over and over, it also means any backtracking feels lifeless and empty. The world feels so still that I often felt rushed to move on, fearing the clean-up crew would arrive at any moment to remove the set’s furniture.

One refreshing aspect of exploration is the parkour system. Avowed encourages you to leap between ledges, find hidden treasures, and avoid traps, adding a unique layer of mobility to break up the routine. While it isn’t as advanced as the wall-running in Dying Light 2, it’s still an interesting feature that makes exploration feel more dynamic.

There aren’t many groundbreaking ideas in Avowed, but small improvements like stamina not draining while running or generous encumbrance limits enhance the experience. These thoughtful tweaks make the game feel more enjoyable, especially for players like me who dislike common RPG frustrations. Even though Avowed isn’t without its flaws, it offers some welcome changes that make it stand out.

One of the most impressive aspects of Avowed is its technical stability. Throughout my 50+ hours on Xbox Series X, I encountered minimal glitches. While there were a few minor issues, such as an occasional compass malfunction and a quirky interaction with an optional boss, I never experienced a crash. This level of technical polish is rare for an RPG and a pleasant surprise.

Pros and Cons of Avowed

What’s Good	What’s Not So Good
Great story and world	Story feels familiar, not very new
Your choices really matter	Too many same enemies, especially bears
Fun and smooth combat	Not much reason to replay areas
Cool movement like jumping and climbing	No romance with companions
Interesting and fun companions	Doesn’t add many new ideas to RPGs
Easy inventory and no running limit	Some story twists are easy to guess
Very few bugs or crashes	Game areas are not very big
Helpful guides to understand the world

Conclusion

Avowed has great worldbuilding and strong character writing that reminds me why I’ve always liked Obsidian’s RPGs. But overall, it plays things a bit safe. The fantasy story feels familiar, and there’s not much enemy variety to keep battles exciting for long. Still, it delivers solid RPG elements like fun combat, a good leveling system, rewarding loot, and choices that truly affect the world. It’s also impressively stable with very few bugs. I enjoyed exploring Eora with its light parkour elements—just don’t expect anything groundbreaking or new.