Review: Avowed Feels Like a Miniature, Welcoming Skyrim

Obsidian is quietly one of my favorite video game developers of all time. The studio has proven it can take what others do and match the quality — Neverwinter Nights 2 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 — or even make it better in the case of Fallout: New Vegas. While Avowed takes place in the Pillars of Eternity universe, it feels like Obsidian’s take on The Elder Scrolls with a mini-Skyrim-like experience that is full of fantastic quality-of-life features.

To be clear, you don’t need to play either of the Pillars of Eternity games to enjoy this experience. While it references events of those games and the world will make more sense, there are features like tips that teach you the lore about everything. I was able to still enjoy the story and characters, even with only having played the original Pillars of Eternity for a few hours.

Avowed puts you in the role of the Envoy, a customizable protagonist who goes on a journey to the Living Lands at the behest of the Emperor. In classic fantasy RPG fashion, you have a hefty background you can pick between that determines your backstory, some dialogue choices, and how characters react to you.

Of course, your visit to these dangerous lands with only a couple of safe settlements goes awry quite fast, leading to conflict and a supernatural encounter. The story of Avowed is fine. I wouldn’t consider it anything too memorable, but it does just enough, especially with its characters to keep me engaged for duration of the 40 hours I played.

I would certainly say the characters are a bit better than the actual story, especially with the party members like Kai. Though romance is not an option, unfortunately, the party members are each fun to get to know and a joy to speak with at the campsites. This system is certainly not as deep as Baldur’s Gate 3, but it will scratch a similar itch. My only gripe is the story does sideline arguably its best party member — the first one you get — soon after the tutorial, which is a shame.

In addition to the story not being super memorable, the world and overall content is a bit empty at times. While not fully open-world, you explore various open zones, complete quests, do little dungeons, open chests, and the like. That said, I feel like there just aren’t enough side quests or content to do. Even the side quests you do get, such as ridding a woman’s house of a monster menace, feels a bit shorter than it could be.

The benefit of this system is this is a breezy action RPG. You can certainly see everything it has to offer, including all side content, in a much more manageable amount of time compared to other fantasy RPGs. In fact, the pacing is great and certainly helps to make up for how bite-sized this adventure feels. You might not be surprised by this style if you played The Outer Worlds, but this felt even faster than that.

It is alright that the world and story is just okay, though, because Obsidian ensures that Avowed excels at the gameplay. In fact, I would go so far as to say this is my favorite combat system in any first or third-person (both are options) Western fantasy RPG to date, including the likes of The Witcher 3, Skyrim, and so on. Like Bethesda’s beloved open-world RPG, you can equip different weapons in each hand and even switch between gear sets at a moment’s notice.

What impressed me was how fluid and fast each weapon feels. For instance, the spellbook opens the door for extraordinarily thrilling spells of different elemental types to blast foes with. The wand is by far my favorite weapon, sounding and controlling almost exactly like the wand in Hogwarts Legacy, but perhaps even better.

Then there are the quality-of-life features, like a dedicated slide that works well, being able to sprint nonstop without taking away from your stamina bar, and so much more. Even a tiny feature like being able to eat a berry you find instantly without having to pick it up, find it in your inventory, and then eat it to regain HP shows such incredible attention to detail.

For those who opt for ranged weapons like bows or guns, there is no ammo to keep up with, either. I was constantly smiling every time I realized there were these little features that showed how much Obsidian cares about the user experience. These are ideas that I expected and hoped to see in the next Elder Scrolls game, so it is neat to see it here.

It is because of this genre-forward fantasy combat and quality-of-life features that this is one of the best places to check out a fantasy RPG if you’ve never played one before. And if you have, you’ll likely appreciate the changes Obsidian made. Sure, the content and world are a bit emptier than I like. That said, this is a rare RPG that respects your time as a player, getting you in and out well before the Living Lands start to bore you.

If only for the exceptional combat, solid party members, and beautiful, vibrant world, I highly recommend existing and newcomer fantasy RPG fans to give Avowed a try, especially since it is available through Game Pass.

Avowed is available right now for Xbox Series X/S and PC.

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