Game review: Avowed (Xbox Series X)
When it comes to Western-style RPGs, two developers usually come to mind. People love BioWare for its Mass Effect series, while Bethesda won fans for the Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises. However, there is another developer who has also won over fans and that's Obsidian Entertainment.
Obsidian Entertainment is a developer that has released several fan favourites, such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and the critically acclaimed Fallout: New Vegas, just to name a few. For newer gamers, they may know the developer for the recent The Outer Worlds series.
They have been really busy recently because not only is The Outer Worlds 2 out later this year, but the studio has also released Avowed for PC and Xbox platforms this February. This is a new fantasy-style RPG that shares some similarities with The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.
Much like Bethesda video games, before you dive into the gameplay, you choose the appearance and name of your chosen main character. The nickname given to your character is Envoy, and they are godlike because they have been blessed by the gods before they were born.
What I like most about the customization options in Avowed is how varied and diverse you can make your character look. There are both male and female options, and players have the choice to make their character as pretty or ugly as possible. I opted for the latter route as I made my character have a long nose, skinny cheeks, and lots of dirt on their face! My character looked laughingly bad whenever I saw them in cutscenes!
Unlike most JRPGs I have played over the years, Avowed thankfully has a simple and easy-to-follow storyline that doesn't get too whacky or convoluted. The player lives in a once beautiful-looking world called 'The Living Lands', which is full of forests, caverns, and other interesting biomes.
However, 'The Living Lands' and its citizens are no longer living in peace and harmony because the lands have been plagued with a fungi-looking disease called the 'Dreamscourge'. This disease attaches to living things and makes them turn into zombie-like beings. Not to mention, the fungi stick to people's skins and invade plant life, too.
As the player you are tasked to find out where the Dreamscourge comes from and try to destroy the plague once and for all. Your adventure is easier said than done because the plague is spreading wide and fast, plus many people are getting infected at an alarming rate.
While the story is interesting, the gameplay in Avowed is very enjoyable for RPG standards. What I like most about the gameplay in this game is that the player isn't locked behind only one class type because you can wield many different weapons in your journey to rid the world of the Dreamscourge.
At the start of the game, my favourite weapon type was using the bow and arrow. This is because I was able to attack enemies from afar without taking too much damage. Not to mention the game highlights the weak spots on enemies, so shooting arrows at people's heads was really fun.
That being said, the further you progress through the game, the tougher the enemies become. This means you need to find more powerful weapons when you defeat certain bosses or open up special chests. Many weapons have tier lists corresponding with a different colour, so you want to find items that are purple or red.
When my bow and arrow became ineffective against enemies, I managed to find a two-handed sword that was able to deal a lot of damage! By holding down the right trigger, I was even able to execute a more powerful attack, although doing this does decrease the stamina meter at a faster rate.
By the end of the main story, I managed to acquire a powerful hammer from a boss I defeated. The hammer was by far the best weapon I had in my arsenal, and I'm still using it to do some of the side quests I have left to do.
Another cool thing about the combat is that players can choose the way they can fight. While I specialized in swords, hammers, and bows, there are several other weapons players can use too. The game has shields, spears, pistols, and even rifles! The rifle wasn't my cup of tea, though, because I didn't like reloading every time I shot one bullet.
Other players can even choose to be a wizard or witch and wield different magic powers. I didn't play like this, but I'm sure this would be a popular option for any gamers out there who previously played Skyrim many years ago.
Aside from weapons, Avowed allows players to pick up armour and use health potions too. It's also worth mentioning you can increase your stats and get more skills when you level up as well. Since I like attacking more than defending, I chose my character to gain lots of strength and to increase my health bar most of the time.
Players also have the option to play the game in either first-person or third-person. I chose to play the game in first-person because it was easier to aim that way. I did switch over to the third-person camera when I needed to dodge some deadly traps though.
Avowed is also a fun game because you can recruit up to two allies to fight alongside you in your party. The four characters that join your party are Kai, Marius, Giatta, and Yatzi. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses, but all of them were pretty helpful. My favourite character by far was Giatta because she was able to summon a barrier and replenish the party's health too.
While the gameplay in Avowed is very fun, graphically, the game is a mixed bag, in my opinion. Even though the game uses Unreal Engine 5, only some character models and environments truly look 'next-gen'. Some NPCs have outdated facial animations like Bethesda games, while some of the levels are small and unappealing to look at. The open world also isn't seamless because many levels are broken up with loading screens, much like Starfield.
The only other minor flaw I had with this game is that Avowed is pretty short for RPG standards. I managed to complete the main story in just around 12 hours. This is far shorter than the 30 hours that Fallout 4 offers in its main campaign. More recently, it took me 70 hours to finish the story of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.
While the graphics aren't great and the game is on the shorter side, I still had a lot of fun playing Avowed. The story is great, but the gameplay and action are where the game really shines. PC and Xbox gamers should play this as it's a bargain with Game Pass.
Verdict: 8.0/10
