Avowed Review – An Immersive and Engaging RPG

Avowed is a fantasy RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game launches on February 19 but if you have ordered the premium edition, you are able to play now. Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to us in the Pillars of Eternity games, Avowed delivers a stunning and immersive RPG experience. From the moment you step into the world of the Living Lands, the vast open zones, scarred by a mysterious plague are a sight to behold. You can play in first- or third-person view, the gameplay is solid, combat feels weighty, and the story is compelling, sucking me into solving mysteries and playing way too late every evening.

You play as an envoy from the distant Aedyr Empire, sent to investigate the increasing unrest and strange phenomena plaguing the Living Lands. Your godlike nature is represented by physical deformities, with some reminiscent of the monsters in The Last of Us, so I chose not to display them but it is player choice. You quickly become embroiled in the complex politics of the region, caught between warring factions and ancient powers stirring in the shadows. Exploring the intricately designed caves and dungeons in each zone, uncovering hidden chests, unique weapons, and lore fragments, adds a satisfying layer of discovery to the adventure.

The story is captivating, drawing you in from the start with its intriguing mystery and compelling characters. The main storyline offers plenty of moral dilemmas and choices that impact the world and your relationships with your companions and allows you to play and respond to your liking. Stumbling upon side quests while exploring encourages thorough exploration of each zone as you unveil the fog of war. These side quests often reveal more about the history of the Living Lands, the different cultures that inhabit it, and the consequences of the plague. All the while, glinting shinies, the sound of a chest nearby, or nooks and crannies that beg you to explore them further, leading you down even more rabbit holes that often reward your efforts with new loot or crafting materials.

The companion system is the next big highlight despite not being able to alter their weapons or amour. You will gather a diverse group of companions as you progress through the story, each with their own backstories but more importantly, class abilities. You can manually activate companion skills on your skill bar, but each companion also has an ability that will help you with environmental challenges. You can burn through spider webs, activate ancient puzzles locks and more.

The banter between party members is genuinely entertaining, and the ability to set up camp to delve deeper into their personalities and relationships is a welcome addition. Camp also serves as a hub for crafting and upgrading equipment. The upgrade system is intuitive and rewarding, making the progression from ‘fine’ to ‘epic gear, with a clear path to ‘legendary’ is genuinely exciting. This gear progression is crucial, as enemies in Avowed do not scale to your level. This means you can easily stumble into areas that are far too challenging if you haven’t yet upgraded your equipment to the equivalent tier.

I often found myself trying to get to a quest marker and will head there the way the crow flies but am met with significantly tougher foes. Your companions will often voice their concerns that you gear isn’t good enough, suggesting you might be outmatched. While you might be able to scrape by against a single group of higher-tier enemies through careful play and use of consumables, attempting to push further usually lead to frustration. It’s a clear signal to backtrack and explore other areas or perhaps return to camp to craft to attempt to upgrade your gear. You can buy new weapons and armour for merchants, but it is expensive unless you find a good source of coin.

Combat feels weighty and impactful, especially with my fighter wielding a sword and shield. I paired that with an arquebus long range rifle as secondary which I would usually stealth and open combat, looking for healers or ranged mobs. As you start beating down an enemy, a yellow stun meter beneath their health will build, and filling it allows you to perform powerful moves. This makes combat go slow motion as you hit with high powered critical attacks and sends them flying. If it doesn’t finish them off, a few short blasts will. Different weapon types offer unique critical attack effects and finishing moves, and you can wield any weapon from any class. Johnny meanwhile playing a wizard character and enjoyed dealing high damage from afar, but his comments were that once mobs got to melee range, he struggled at times.

The flexible character progression system allows for free allocation of ability points across Fighter, Ranger, Wizard, and Godlike specialisations. The option to respec, both for your character and your companions, gives you the freedom to experiment with different builds and playstyles. While I would have liked to equip my companions with specific armour and weapons, not having to manage their gear also has allowed me to focus on their abilities and specialisations.

The sound design and music of Avowed are superb, perfectly complementing the atmosphere of each area. A particular highlight is the voice acting, especially the familiar voice of Garrus Vakarian from the Mass Effect trilogy, provided by the talented Brandon Keener, lending his talents to the first companion, Kai. The voice acting across the board is top-notch, with some truly chuckle-worthy dialogue that adds personality to the world and its inhabitants. I especially love the attention to detail in the lighting transitions. Moving from the bright outdoors into a dark house or cave, or vice-versa, isn’t instantaneous. The lighting realistically adjusts, mimicking how your eyes would adapt in real life, adding another layer of immersion to the experience.

Overall, Avowed is an excellent single-player RPG with considerable depth for those willing to explore its nuances. While the main story is compelling, it’s all other aspects that present a well-rounded game. The combination of engaging side quests, treasure hunting, deep exploration, well-developed companions, the strategic gear progression and the breathtaking visuals really makes this game shine. I highly recommended this game for RPG fans, and it is the second game that sits atop my best games of 2025 list so far.

This review utilised keys provided by Xbox and Obsidian and Avowed will launch on Steam and Xbox on February 19, 2025. Premium Edition owners can play early.

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