Avowed
I had some healthy skepticism going into Avowed. It's an open world game - a style I am still mostly burned out - but it's also one that's very obviously inspired by the Elder Scrolls series (even if solely by indirect cultural osmosis rather than direct heritage) in all its first person fantasy romping around; not a great thing in itself for someone who last enjoyed the series when we were still traipsing around Morrowind, but also because the last time Obsidian tried to openly court Bethesda's market share we got the watered-down and rather superficial Outer Worlds. The reason I bought Avowed at release was solely down to my general optimism around Obsidian but also because it's set in the world of the Pillars of Eternity games, two of the greatest RPGs of the past decade, and I was excited to hop back into that world again even if I feared it would be another potentially superficial trip.
Turns out, I had a really good time with Avowed. It's a whole lot more straightforward and simplified than Pillars of Eternity in many many ways (most notably in how limited its character building options are) and I wouldn't go out of the way to call its gameplay particularly inspired, but it retains a consistent level of fun and interest throughout its length with what it's got. Your player character is unleashed upon the open world - split into open "zones" a lá Sonic Frontiers rather than one big area which I personally really enjoy - to explore, parkour and battle around its themed vistas. The combat is simple but engaging (I went with a spellsword setup), the movement is fluid and smooth and unlike e.g. Skyrim, the hidden nooks and crannies of the world feel designed in a manner that rewards exploration. The small party that the player gathers together aren't a particularly inspired bunch but thanks to strong writing and how they frequently provide their input into what's happening around them, you soon grow to like them. Very little of Avowed is truly incredible in a manner you'd feel compelled to rave to others about, but a lot of it is consistently good and the few aspects where it feels a little half-baked (most notably the rather surface-level item upgrade system and the gear management in general) never get in the way of the enjoyment.
The main enjoyment, for me, comes through in the world. I love the world of Eora and it's so clear that Obsidian loves their own setting as well because Avowed is rich with dedication for it. Though this is a spin-off title of sorts, Avowed is still strongly linked to the previous games and though you can absolutely play it without going through the PoEs first (but given the other week they retroactively patched PoE1 to feature the turn-based mode from the sequel, there's never been a better time to jump in), the world of Eora does have a lot of history and quirk to it and Avowed acknowledges it; absolutely everything to do with the gods in particular is pure manna for PoE veterans. There are a plenty of opportunities for basic "as you know" exposition but fortunately most of it can be skipped, and the game doesn't take long to pull the player into the more detailed intricacies of its setting. Again, I was expecting this to be a bit of a standalone adventure with little to nothing to do with the other games, but the plot ramifications that unveil throughout Avowed will have some significant consequences to the shared world of the games -and that's exciting! Obsidian's emphasis on writing, in particular the importance of dialogue and player choice, are also constantly present - again simplified but present enough to give a little bit of weight to the options presented while rarely featuring binary evil/good choices. One of the biggest decisions of the game is even a little bit "hidden" if you don't take your time checking out the world before rushing through the plot, which is a bigger risk than I'd perhaps expect in such a mass-oriented game.
I do wish there was more depth and nuance though, and that's my real main complaint about Avowed. A lot of its central design elements feel just short of going from enjoyable to satisfying, and though you accrue further skills and spells as you progress you do play the game pretty much identically from start to finish; only a handful of the various unique armours and weapons truly alter your gameplay either. I do get the same feeling as I did with Outer Worlds where Obsidian isn't really operating in their own comfort zone when they're aiming for something that isn't so mechanically detailed and complex, and though Avowed pulls it off so much better than Outer Worlds I do feel like the game constantly undersells or lets itself short a little bit. This though likely boils down to just my personal preference - I'm the sort of guy who thinks spending a hour in character creator is part of the joy of a good RPG. And, despite it all, I still had a really good time. Again, this is a particular subset of the genre that I've felt burned out on for a while now and Avowed not just grabbed me but kept me in its hooks, even when I forcibly had to take a break (more on that in the footnotes).
I don't think this is going to stand up as one of the classics of 2025 - but it's certainly a good start for the year. It also serves as great proof of concept that the world of Eora can expand beyond the core PoE games, and that is a truly exciting prospect on its own.
Additional uncategorised thoughts:
- Classic Obsidian bugginess rears its head again too - I had to pause progress for a good week and a half when a progress-halting bug reared its head. Amusingly, it did so after a patch which was meant to fix it to begin with.
- A design pet peeve for me is when developers make certain gameplay options more preferable than others, inadvertently or not. Avowed does this with Yatzli, one of your party members. Each of the four party members can clear off one specific type of elemental progress block, but Yatzli's skill is the only one that the player won't have access to otherwise in any shape or form. Meaning, after you first encounter her you are basically mandated to always have her in your party just in case you stumble across her unique set of roadblocks and might otherwise miss extra loot. I grew to like her and her skillset is pretty good overall so it doesn't hinder the general gameplay loop, but it feels like an odd oversight.
- I really wish you could equip items on your party members so the bounds of unique loot you encounter that isn't geared towards your preferences would have a purpose other than crafting fodder.
- There's a thin line between a character being cold and aloof but still intriguing in their own right, and just a plain boring piece of balsa wood you can't squeeze anything interesting out of, and I think Marius fails to reach the former part.