Avowed Review: Obsidian Delivers a Focused and Compelling RPG
Avowed is proof that bigger is not always better. Obsidian Entertainment's first-person RPG set in the Pillars of Eternity universe deliberately rejects the trend toward hundred-hour open worlds in favor of a tightly crafted twenty-five-hour adventure where every quest, character, and location feels purposefully designed. Set on the Living Lands, a mysterious frontier continent plagued by a supernatural affliction called the Dreamscourge, the game casts you as an envoy of the Aedyr Empire tasked with uncovering the source of the corruption. What follows is a narrative-driven journey that prioritizes player choice and consequence over scope and spectacle.
The combat system blends first-person melee and magic in a way that feels distinctly different from the Elder Scrolls comparisons that plagued the game's marketing. Dual-wielding combinations of swords, pistols, and grimoires create a versatile fighting system where switching between ranged and melee happens fluidly mid-encounter. Each weapon type has a unique skill tree, and the game encourages experimentation by letting you respec freely at any camp. The companion system adds tactical depth, with two AI-controlled allies whose abilities can be directed manually for devastating combo attacks during tougher encounters.
Where Avowed truly shines is in its writing and world-building. The Living Lands are populated by factions with genuinely complex motivations, and quests rarely offer a simple good-or-bad binary. A standout questline involving a conflict between indigenous Huana communities and Aedyr colonial interests asks you to navigate cultural tensions with no easy resolution, and your choices have cascading effects that alter the political landscape of the region. Companion writing is excellent, with each of your five potential allies offering their own perspective on events and reacting dynamically to your decisions throughout the story.
The game's scope is its most divisive feature. At roughly twenty-five hours for a completionist run, some players will feel shortchanged compared to the fifty-plus-hour RPGs that dominate the genre. But Avowed's compact design means there is virtually no filler. Every dungeon has a purpose, every side quest enriches the narrative, and the pacing never sags. Technical performance is solid on Xbox Series X and PC, with only minor texture streaming issues in dense jungle areas. Avowed earns an eight point five out of ten and stands as Obsidian's most polished release to date, a confident RPG that knows exactly what it wants to be.