Avowed, set to release on February 18, 2025, draws inspiration from both The Outer Worlds and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. However, despite its impactful combat, it struggles with an unbalanced upgrade system and a lackluster narrative.
In Avowed, you play as a Godlike, a unique character marked by divine influence since birth. Tasked by a monarch, you’re sent to uncover the source of a plague that transforms the inhabitants of the Living Lands into monstrous beings. While the game is part of the Pillars of Eternity universe, it effectively isolates its storyline, providing context through a glossary of key characters and events. This distraction from the wider lore allows for a fresh entry point into its world.
Initial gameplay quickly establishes your Godlike status, but the narrative soon becomes predictable. The urgency to address the plague juxtaposed with the quest for personal identity feels underexplored. Moments of humor and engaging dialogue help to alleviate some monotony, but the greater story progression lacks real surprises, making many encounters feel forgettable.
Choices made impact interactions within the world, creating memorable moments, such as saving a character who later aids you in a quest. However, the companions you encounter are somewhat flat. The characters, while contributing useful abilities in combat, lack depth and compelling backstoriesātheir relationships with you don’t evolve meaningfully throughout the game.
Visually, Avowed shines with diverse environments. From lush forests to blistering deserts, the platforming mechanics enrich exploration. The systems implemented allow for vertical navigations and complex but rewarding puzzles scattered throughout the world.
Combat is a significantly enhanced system compared to its predecessors, featuring a mix of melee and ranged options that can be switched on-the-fly. This flexibility is appealing, but Avowed’s reliance on gear upgrades presents a challenge. As enemies scale based on gear tiers rather than levels, acquiring sufficient materials becomes a frustrating grind, often limiting players to specific weapons rather than encouraging varied experimentation across loadouts.
Unfortunately, even with enjoyable mechanics and visually stunning locales, Avowed suffers from a problematic balance. Enemy scaling can lead to tedious encounters, especially when low on resources, making battles feel like drawn-out struggles rather than the exhilarating experiences they could be. Encounter checkpoints can be unforgiving, prompting repetitive frustration.
In summary, while Avowed may present the potential for a vibrant fantasy RPG, it falters due to its combat’s reliance on resource management and an ultimately forgettable narrative, leaving many aspects of its promising design unfulfilled.
