Avowed: Good Fun in the Fungus Lands (But Don't Expect Miracles)

Alright, so, Avowed, huh? This is Obsidian's new baby, right? Set in the Pillars of Eternity world. Now, I gotta be honest, I didn't know a whole lot about Pillars of Eternity going in, but hey, who cares? New RPG from Obsidian? I'm there! Basically, you're the emperor's envoy – sounds fancy, right? – and you gotta go sort out this "Dreamscourge" thing in the Living Lands. Sounds like a bit of a headache, but in a fun, adventurous way, you know? Lots of twists and turns promised, and who doesn't love a good twist?

Now, I gotta tell you, lately, the Xbox scene hasn't been blowing me away, you know? But then Indiana Jones and the Great Circle came along, and I was like, "Okay, Xbox, you've still got it!" Seriously, that game was a blast. And that's why I was super hyped for Avowed. Obsidian makes good stuff! Plus, I really dug The Outer Worlds – that game was right up my alley. And yeah, Avowed has that same kind of Obsidian feel, those little touches that remind you who made it. We'll get into those bits later, though.

So, even though I wasn't a Pillars of Eternity expert or anything, I jumped right into Avowed and sunk a good few hours in. Me being me, I tried to do everything – all the side quests, explore every nook and cranny. Didn't quite manage it all on my first go, though! This game's got legs, man. You could play it again and again and still find stuff. I know I will! But the big question is, does it actually live up to all the buzz? Let's get into it and see, shall we?

Performance

Okay, let's talk about how this thing runs. Because, you know, PC games. Sometimes they're smooth as butter, sometimes... not so much. Being an Unreal Engine game, I kinda figured Avowed was gonna push my PC a bit. And yeah, it did! I'm running a pretty decent setup – Ryzen 7 5800X3D, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, the whole shebang with 48GB of RAM. Even with all that, I was bouncing between 40 and 60 frames per second, and that's with settings just a notch below max and DLSS on. In really busy areas, yeah, the frames would dip a bit. But hey, it's an open-world game – you kinda expect that, right?

Now, frame drops are one thing, but I also had a few straight-up crashes in my 20 hours or so playing. Not ideal, especially when you're finally getting somewhere good in the story! But, to their credit, Obsidian was pretty quick to say, "Yeah, we know about that, we're fixing it!" and promised a patch at launch. One crash even happened during that lovely "shader compilation" bit – you know, that loading screen that feels like it takes forever in every Unreal Engine game? Anyway, they've put out the PC specs now, and from what I've seen, I reckon you could probably run Avowed on a less beefy PC if you're okay with turning some of the fancier graphics down. You know, gotta make choices.

I even tried to get cheeky and run it on my Steam Deck OLED. Nope. Total no-go. Even on the absolute lowest settings, it was struggling to hit 30 FPS. Maybe those day-one and day-whatever patches will work some magic, but for now, Steam Deck ain't happening. And get this – no benchmark tool! In 2025? Seriously? That's a bit old-school, isn't it? And no Photo Mode either. I'm not a huge photo mode guy myself, but still, it's kinda weird to see a game launch without one these days. Just feels a bit... incomplete, you know?

Game Images:

Story

Alright, story time! So, Avowed starts you off waking up in the middle of a desert, no clue how you got there. Classic RPG opening, right? For a second, I thought it was gonna pull a Skyrim and have someone say, "Hey, you're finally awake." Thankfully, no. Instead, you wash up on a beach after your ship goes for a swim (without you wanting it to, probably). Then you fight through the tutorial bit and face off against this enemy that I started calling "Bargain Bin Soldier of Godrick" – if you've played Elden Ring, you'll get the joke. Let's just say, not the most intimidating boss ever.

Anyway, after that bit, you're in the Living Lands, and your job is to figure out what's up with this "Dreamscourge" plague. Basically, it's making people hallucinate and look all... fungus-y. Not a good look, trust me. Since you're the Emperor's Envoy and apparently some kind of "Godlike" being (oooh, fancy!), everyone recognizes you straight away and sends you to see the local commander. That's when the story really kicks off, especially after you die and then, you know, come back to life. RPG logic! And all through this, you've got this voice in your head whispering riddles at you. Very mysterious, very RPG.

The first act is mostly about chasing down some assassins who are after you. Act 2? Honestly, story-wise, it's a bit of a blur. Not the most memorable part, if I'm being honest. But there's this one set of side quests in Act 2 that you absolutely cannot miss. Seriously, go find them. And speaking of side quests, Avowed is stuffed with them. You could spend hours just doing side stuff, and honestly, you should! The rewards are often really good, and if you just rush the main story, you're gonna miss out on a ton of XP. Plus, some of these side quests actually change things later on in the game, even the ending! So, yeah, don't skip them. Most are marked on the map, but some aren't, so talk to everyone you can find. You never know what you might uncover.

Because Avowed is set in the Pillars of Eternity world, there's a ton of lore if you're into that kind of thing. World-building nerds, you're gonna be in heaven. The game mostly sticks to a kind of serious, medieval RPG tone, but it does have its lighter moments and even throws in some... let's just say "saucy" one-liners. If you liked the humor in The Outer Worlds, you'll feel right at home. And right at the end, before the credits, you get this cool hand-drawn bit that shows you what happened because of your choices, with a narrator and everything. It's a nice touch, makes your choices feel like they actually mattered.

Gameplay

Gameplay-wise, Avowed has a pretty detailed character creator. You can tweak everything. If you're someone who spends ages making your character look just right, you could lose hours in there. And it's not just at the start – there are customization options all over the place. You can even turn off the whole HUD if you want to go full "Morrowind mode" for maximum immersion. For the real hardcore players out there!

Technically, Avowed only has three classes. But you get to pick from five different backgrounds when you start, which changes your stats and how people talk to you. And as you play, you get these "Godlike" abilities that are different depending on how you play and what choices you make. One thing I really liked is that you're not stuck with one class forever. You can change your stats and skills whenever you want, even in the middle of a fight! Plus, with the quick save and quick load, you can basically "save scum" your way through any tough conversation. Not that I'd ever do that... 😉

I liked how they did exploration in Avowed. Instead of just throwing you into a massive world all at once, they've broken the Living Lands into areas that unlock as you go through the story. It actually made me want to do a bit of everything – story and side stuff – because once you've done everything in one area, there's not much reason to go back. But each area is pretty big and packed with things to find. Some of the hidden stuff is really hidden, though, you might need a guide if you're a completionist. Tip: listen out for little sounds! If you hear a little chime, there's probably loot nearby. Makes finding treasure a bit easier.

The map in Avowed is a bit weird, though. Distances in the game feel way shorter than they look on the map itself. And for some reason, you can't put your own markers on the map. Seriously? In a big open-world game like this? Feels a bit off. Apparently, loads of people have asked the devs to add map markers, so fingers crossed they sneak it in with one of the patches.

And finally, the platforming. Let's just say it's... forgiving. You can grab onto ledges that look miles away. Not a bad thing, really, because it means you can explore more easily, and you'll be doing a lot of exploring. Oh, and you don't run out of stamina when you sprint! Run everywhere!

Combat

Combat time! Avowed lets you play in first-person or third-person, and you can switch between them whenever you want with a button. Personally, I prefer third-person, but I know some old-school RPG fans like first-person more. My inner warrior wanted to go full melee, so I grabbed the biggest stick I could find and started hitting things. It worked pretty well at first... until it didn't.

Now, this is just my opinion, but I found the melee combat a bit... meh. Even on easy mode, I couldn't just one-shot basic enemies, even with upgraded weapons. Maybe it's just me, it's an RPG, after all, your experience might be different. But then, I swapped out my stick for a rifle. And boom! Ranged combat, especially with the right companions (we'll get to them next), made even tough bosses feel way easier.

Weapons and armor have different tiers, from "Common" all the way up to "Legendary." Keep an eye on the little icon above enemies' heads – it kinda tells you what level of gear you need to take them down. Try to fight a "Fine" enemy with a "Common" weapon, and you'll be hitting them like you're tickling them with a feather. Same thing with spells – you gotta keep leveling them up to stay effective.

The tier of an item basically tells you how good it is – how much damage it does, how much it blocks, etc. Then there are "unique" items that have special bonuses. You can upgrade these unique items just like regular gear, but eventually, you're better off saving your upgrade stuff for the really top-tier gear.

Companions

Companions! Because going on adventures alone is boring. Avowed gives you a party to hang out with, and trust me, you'll want them. You start with some random dude who just leads you to Kai, your first proper companion. Kai is your classic "Mr. Goody Two-Shoes" type. Then there's Marius, the grumpy dwarf who's seen it all and is okay with doing morally questionable things. Giatta is your healer, all about the magic and knowledge. And Yatzli is your damage-dealing wizard, who just wants to blow stuff up.

Kai kinda reminded me of Sarah Morgan from Starfield. And not in a good way, if you know what I mean. He's the tank of the group, and he can revive himself when he dies, which is super handy if you need someone to take a beating. Giatta's healing spells are lifesavers when you're running low on potions. Marius is great for hitting one enemy really hard and also for crowd control. Out of all of them, I found Yatzli's spells the most useful because they worked really well with how I was playing.

You can only have two companions with you at a time, the others hang out back at camp. That's where you can chat to them and, if you do certain quests, even unlock some extra bonuses. Each companion boosts different stats, so keep an eye out for those chat prompts. Weirdly, you can't romance any of your companions. For an RPG, that's a bit strange, right?

Your companions are definitely not quiet. They'll chat to you during fights and give you "helpful" hints during puzzles. You can go solo if you really want to, but I wouldn't recommend it. Avowed is definitely made to be played with a team.

So, overall, as a fantasy RPG, Avowed is pretty solid. It's got loads of replayability, the story and world are interesting, and there's potential for more stuff to be added later. But technically, it's a little bit rough around the edges. The crafting feels a bit pointless. Stuff you find in the wild is mostly just for eating or making simple food. Gear progression is pretty basic, and there's not much reason to use regular items when you can get unique ones. Crafting gear? Doesn't really exist. I could go on, but basically, Avowed doesn't have the deep, complex systems you might expect from a really hardcore RPG.

Obsidian clearly put a lot of love into the story and the world, and I just wish they'd put that same love into other parts of the game. And that's what makes the difference between a good game and a great game. Avowed is good. Definitely good. But not quite great. It feels a bit like a game from, say, 2011, but with some modern bits thrown in. Which isn't necessarily bad, but it's missing some of those quality-of-life things from both old and new games. Still, for the story and the world alone, it's worth playing at least a couple of times. And hey, it's on Xbox Game Pass from February 17th, or you can play it right now if you get the fancy Deluxe Edition. Just sayin'! 😉