Avowed

Obsidian Entertainment has once again crafted a stunning RPG with Avowed, featuring a dynamic world that feels incredibly alive and combat that flows smoothly. Meaningful decisions are at the heart of the game, with everything reacting to your choices – whether it’s NPCs or the way the world evolves. Every aspect of the game feels carefully thought out. While the story wasn’t always equally compelling, it remained engaging enough thanks to exciting twists and tough moral choices. As a result, Avowed is a fantastic example of how a great modern open-world RPG should be designed.

With its well-established lore, solid narrative, and highly polished world, Avowed is a fantastic game that lives up to Obsidian Entertainment’s reputation. However, compared to other games in the genre, its world feels overly rigid and lacks the sense of being truly alive, which keeps it from standing among the very best.

There are enough good ideas in Avowed for it to be a fun adventure for Obsidian fans or those who like more casual RPGs, but there isn't enough depth in its mechanics, characters or plot for it to go much further than that. The overall experience is positive, but it definitely doesn't leave a memorable mark after the end credits roll.

Avowed is not the deepest RPG of our generation, nor a game that will be remembered for its world-changing influence on the medium. Nevertheless, and despite its shortcomings, its gameplay doesn't fail to provide satisfying moments of entertainment.

Avowed will definitely not revolutionize the RPG genre, but still represents a competent title in its category that does clearly not lack of interest and depth. Its exciting story dictated by our choices is indeed in line with the true “role-playing games” so dear to Obsidian, with superb artistic direction, and its gameplay is as dynamic as it is satisfying. However, several points may be off-putting. We can indeed blame its lifeless NPCs, a shaky balancing of difficulty in the face of a bestiary which quickly falls short in terms of diversity, like the exploration of these famous Living Lands, certainly very beautiful to contemplate, but a bit redundant in the long run.