DaRmaZat And then there was… Avowed. A brand-new action RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment – known to us, of course, from Fallout: New Vegas and The Outer Worlds – and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game’s plot takes place in Eora, a high-fantasy world full of dwarves, elves, ogres, but also humans like you and me, and, not to be forgotten, a hefty dose of magic.
Correct, Eora is the exact same universe as that of Pillars of Eternity. After multiple delays, Avowed‘s release date was finally set for February 18. On that day, the game will be available on PC and Xbox Series X|S, with the option to play via Xbox Game Pass from day one. This review tested the PC version.
Greedfallout would have been a better title
In Avowed, you take on the role of a customizable Godlike, a person who possesses some divine powers. The character creator, of course, doesn’t reach the level of Baldur’s Gate 3, but it’s certainly acceptable. As the personal Envoy of the Emperor of the Aedyr clan – I know, quite a mouthful – you’re sent to the island of The Living Lands to investigate the Strangleroot region and the rampant Dreamscourge, and then report back on this plague. Barely having started your mission, you suffer a shipwreck. Fortunately, you’re helped by a certain Garryck, who takes you to the town of Paradis. But paradise, this location certainly is not. Both the wild nature and the conflicts between the various factions make this fresh adventure far from a pleasure trip. For those familiar with the genre: yes, the plot seems suspiciously similar to that of the first Greedfall, with a protagonist who must explore a strange island, untangle political intrigues, and investigate a mysterious disease. And unfortunately, the main quest of Avowed soon proves to be just as dull as that of its potential inspiration.
What follows is a hodgepodge of characters who, in both the most insignificant and the ugliest ways, make their appearances. Meanwhile, you do collect some new companions, including Kai, a burly bodybuilder who’s only missing a tail to fit right into Avatar. And Marius, a dwarf meant to make us forget about Varric, now that the Dragon Age franchise is hanging by a thread. Perhaps not coincidentally, Avowed tries to establish something similar in terms of lore, with various factions such as the Paradisian rebels, the Aedyran Empire, and the paladins of the Steel Garrote clan, all vying for influence over the city. When interacting with them, you get numerous dialogue options, with perks influencing the course of conversations and their resulting events – something that plays out quite like Fallout.
Still, the main quest feels too linear, as most choices seem to have predetermined outcomes, without allowing your class or previous decisions to truly shape the impact. You can bluff or lie your way out of some situations, but many dialogue choices ultimately feel meaningless. After testing them all, it’s evident that the result often remains the same. Side quests are not particularly impressive either, partly because they often involve a lot of effort for a meager reward. On top of that, certain quests simply don’t work, getting stuck due to a lack of synchronization with your skills and inventory, like when you had already obtained the required items beforehand.
Wide variety of weapons and builds, but the rest of the gameplay is half-baked
Combat, on the other hand, can be praised more. You have access to a wide range of weapons, gear, and abilities, nestled in a skill tree with separate specializations, allowing you to develop a highly diverse build. Blocking, dodging, attacking: every weapon feels slightly different, making it rewarding to explore the world intensively and discover unique items. Personally, I remained a fan of the classic bow and arrow, but even the various magical abilities, as well as the impressive collection of upgradable swords, axes, daggers, and even firearms (such as arquebuses), did not disappoint. This results in diverse playstyles, as both dodge and block depend on your off-hand weapon and consume more or less stamina depending on the rest of your equipment.
Your companions’ skills can only be directed through the Action Radial. This means that these commands can only be used temporarily and are scenario-dependent. Think of burning thorny branches or spider webs with Kai’s Firestarter ability. However, after a while, it becomes noticeable how often enemies charge at you while ignoring your companions. Even exploration starts to feel disappointing over time, as there are too few available routes in this linear universe, and alternative paths are often not aligned with your current abilities. More than once, I was well advanced in a quest only to reach an inaccessible location because none of my party members had the necessary skills to help us across, forcing us to turn back – wasting valuable time. Related to this, quest markers often misleadingly indicate some places as easily accessible, only for it to be impossible, making you regard them more as theoretical, bird’s-eye-view guides.
An RPG where you must stay in camp at night.
Other aspects of gameplay also feel half-baked. Lockpicking, for example, requires no special skill. As long as you have enough lockpicks, you simply hold a button while interacting with the lock or chest. Some mechanics feel unnecessarily restrictive. You can set up camp at an Adra Waystone, where you can rest, change gear, and apply upgrades. However, this always completes the day cycle immediately, while strangely, you can never go out at night from such a waypoint. In other words, Avowed’s nightlife is only accessible when a linear mission permits it – something I personally found a major flaw in an RPG.
Graphically about six years too late
On a graphical level, Avowed unfortunately does not fully exploit the Unreal Engine 5. Some environments and characters (like the women in the Paradis bathhouse) look decent, but other NPCs appear as generic and lifeless as their world, as if generated by AI. Most animations, including those of your companions, are stiff and unnatural. Party members often stand inside each other, or characters hilariously bump into you if you block their path. Even in combat, something is clearly missing. Enemies frequently remain static, sometimes literally at the edge of their pre-scripted range, even when hit by a solid strike or arrow.
For a 2025 title, the lack of interaction with objects and creatures is particularly striking. You can’t chop up plants or rocks, hit grazing goats or tapirs – your attacks simply phase through them. Walking through water doesn’t create ripples or splashes. It almost feels as if the game intentionally includes more glitches than working physics. Watching chickens slide across the ground and people hover half a meter above it, while your companions bounce up and down like kangaroos whenever they touch an obstacle, is both frustrating and oddly amusing.
It’s also surprisingly easy to get softlocked. If you attempt rock climbing but fall into a crevice, you might find yourself stuck with no way out. Worse still, at the time of writing this review, the quicksave option and reloading from a save weren’t functioning properly, making such situations a real headache.
Sound design is decent, especially considering the technical issues…
Moving on to the music and sound. Avowed’s soundtrack is quite atmospheric and fits the setting well, even featuring some epic highlights. However, as mentioned earlier, voice acting is a weak point: characters often sound as emotionless and forced as in a typical Ubisoft game. The lip-syncing is passable, but due to stiff animations and limited facial expressions, conversations feel mechanical, especially as characters quickly start repeating their one-liners when dialogue options run out.
Avowed’s soundtrack sounds quite atmospheric.
Finally, let’s discuss the PC version’s stability – and now, I’m really bringing out the bulldozer. Avowed suffers from massive technical issues. The game frequently crashes, starting with freezes during shader compilation on launch. Performance remains poor despite settings like Nvidia DLSS, RayTracing, and Frame Generation, with regular frame drops that sometimes leave the screen frozen for more than five seconds. Additionally, frequent crashes referencing Unreal Engine code occur both in cutscenes and regular gameplay. That infamous Day One patch had better arrive – if it even does.
Conclusion
A real shame, this package. Avowed has some Cult Classic potential due to its clumsiness, but content-wise, it never rises above a half-baked mix of Greedfall meets a lesser Fallout. The combat remains decent, and the freedom of approach is acceptable. But even if all the technical problems were miraculously resolved one by one, it would never be a high-flyer.
Additional Information
Release date: February 18, 2025
Reviewed on: PC. Download code provided by the publisher and PR agency via BeyondGaming.
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Official website: https://avowed.obsidian.net
Relevant links: Avowed on Xbox GamePass
