The new action RPG Avowed from Obsidian is set to be released in February 2025. For MeinMMO author Max Handwerk, the release cannot come soon enough after a first test.
To be honest, I hadn’t really had Avowed on my radar until now. I knew it was going to be a fantasy RPG from Obsidian, who created titles like “Fallout: New Vegas” and “The Outer Worlds” – two games that I enjoyed very much.
Nevertheless, Avowed had flown a bit under my radar so far. But that’s about to change. After getting to test the game’s beginning, I can hardly wait to play the rest.
This is what the game looks like in the trailer for Avowed, which was released earlier this year:
In Avowed, you fight however you like
We start the game as a so-called “Godlike” sent by the emperor to investigate the rampant “soul plague.” However, we suffer shipwreck and wash up on a beach.
A new friend picks us up and assists us with advice and action. It’s the classics: “Here, your first weapon. Look, over there you can use a healing potion. Oh dear, enemies suddenly attack – quickly, we need to fight them back.”
It may not be surprising at first, but: It’s damn well executed. The world Avowed immerses us in glows with bright colors. The blend of beach, jungle, and caves completely captivates. We climb a wall, blaze a path through spider webs with flames, discover a prison, meet our first companions who help us – it’s action-packed.
Immediately, the game offers us a wide range of options. “Here you have a bow. And a spell book. And a mace. And a vine ability. This is how stealth works. This is how you attack from the front. There, try it with a shotgun. Or with a wand.” You can tell right away: In Avowed, from the start, there are an incredible number of options to shape your role.
Like in Skyrim, we can equip our two hands with different weapons and thus determine how the game unfolds. Whether sneaky assassin, furious warrior, or skilled battle mage: it’s up to you how you approach battles against the well-designed and varied enemies.
A magical world that you want to explore immediately
After finishing the prologue, we arrive at the docks of Dawnshore, the first real area in Avowed. It’s not an open world per se, but the area is large and offers, among other things, a coast and a forest area that can be freely explored. I felt a bit like in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You see a lighthouse, a mountain, or a cave in the distance and immediately want to check if you find something cool there.
There are also plenty of characters at the docks that you can talk to. This includes the first “real” companion of the game, Kai, who will actively support you in battles from now on.
Especially notable: The dialogues offer a variety of response options, sometimes determined by the class and backstory you choose at the beginning of the game. The texts shine with wit and a certain seriousness at the same time. You quickly realize: The world here is indeed haunted by the “soul plague,” which suddenly drives friendly citizens to madness – and no one really understands why that’s happening. Naturally, you want to uncover that.
Skyrim left a gap – does Avowed fill it?
It’s been almost 13 years since The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was originally released. I don’t know how many hours I invested in that game back then – but it was many. And even though I’ve played many great RPGs since then: No game has yet managed to fill that very specific niche that Skyrim established.
However, Avowed makes, at least in the first few hours, a strong impression on me that I absolutely did not expect. The gameplay resembles Skyrim due to the view and combat system, but it is faster. The world immediately pulls you in like Elder Scrolls – even though it has a very different mood than the snowy Skyrim landscape. And the first breadcrumbs that Obsidian lays out in terms of story make you crave more.
Additionally, there are “little details” that I liked right away. I love that I can make decisions in dialogues immediately that feel like they significantly impact the course of the game. Enemies fly through the air when hit by a heavy strike. The music in the game sounds good, just like the (English) voiced dialogues. You constantly come across little places you want to explore to find a chest with valuable items. The spells look cool, and there are details like freezing water when you cast a cold spell on it.
Sure: I haven’t seen a ton of Avowed yet. But the first hours provide an entry that I would prefer to continue right away. And that, to me, is a very good sign for a new game. I am very curious what the game has to offer when it fully releases. February cannot come soon enough.
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