Avowed

The PlayStation 5 version of Avowed is a total blast, allowing Obsidian’s action RPG to truly shine with its Anniversary Update included. Those who have waited are in for a treat as the world is thrilling to explore and well worth the adventure. Obsidian’s latest fantasy RPG is some of the studio’s best work to date, and it’s great that more people can now enjoy it.

I’m really glad that Avowed and Obsidian Entertainment’s back catalogue for Xbox has now made it to PS5. This is a fantastic open-zone RPG with entertaining character role-playing options, an engaging cast of antagonists and companions, and satisfying combat systems that have been rounded out from a year’s worth of patches, bug fixes and content updates. If you’re like me and were waiting for the right time to explore the Living Lands, the time is now.

Avowed delivers an action RPG with dynamic combat, high build freedom, and charismatic companions that enrich the overall journey. Exploration across the Living Lands is rewarding and horizontal, though the title suffers from technical issues in third-person view and a lack of narrative impact from racial choices. Ultimately, it is an intriguing experience with multiple endings that exceeds initial expectations in its definitive PlayStation 5 version.

Avowed on PS5 is a focused, polished RPG that thrives on combat variety, skill depth, and companion-driven encounters. Expanded progression systems and gear upgrades make your chosen playstyle feel consistently rewarding, while companions add tactical and narrative depth to every fight. Though Obsidian has kept some story beats and familiar design elements safe, the meaningful tweaks and updates bring more out of your experience, making exploration, combat, and progression more engaging than ever. Limited enemy variety remains a minor restraint, but overall, the PS5 version feels complete, confident, and satisfying from start to finish.

One year later, Avowed is still an impressively polished and confidently presented game, at home in the Pillars of Eternity canon and at home in the action RPG genre. The new Anniversary Edition and 12 months of updates, tweaks, and changes have only made Avowed better. To the extent it got lost in the shuffle last year, it absolutely deserves attention from new players and PS5 owners. Players returning to Avowed will find a game that is now even better.

Avowed on PlayStation 5, along with the Anniversary Update, strengthens its systems, smooths its edges, and gives players more control over how they experience Eora. It’s not fundamentally different, but it’s undeniably better.

Avowed is an RPG adventure that, surprisingly, manages to appeal to different types of players. It works for those who value charismatic characters and meaningful interactions, for those looking for intense combat filled with magic and build variety, and also for anyone who enjoys spending hours immersed in a richly crafted world. Precisely because it tries to embrace so much, it can feel somewhat superficial in certain aspects. Even so, it delivers a solid, engaging, and fun journey, carrying the level of quality you would expect from an experienced studio like Obsidian.

It's easy to recommend Avowed for what it has become in exactly 365 days: a polished action RPG like few others, dedicated primarily to combat and exploration, with a hooking premise, even if some of its most ambitious ideas don't quite work. Are there problems? Several. But nobody said a game needs to be perfect to captivate the player like Avowed manages to.

If you’re a PS5 gamer like I am, you might be wondering whether Avowed is worth grabbing now that it’s finally an option. At $50 on PS5, it’s relatively affordable compared to many bigger games coming out today. And Avowed does offer a pretty decent RPG experience overall, with a hefty amount of playtime. Between side quests, bounties, and a relatively robust main story, Avowed will give you plenty to do. But despite ticking all of the boxes in theory, there’s still something about Avowed that doesn’t quite hit the spot like I wanted.

Avowed on PlayStation 5 is a focused, choice-driven fantasy RPG that trades sprawling scale for curated zones, meaningful decisions, and tactile combat. As a Godlike envoy navigating the Dreamscourge crisis in the Living Lands, players shape both political outcomes and their own divine identity through nuanced dialogue and tough calls. While limited enemy variety and underwhelming loot systems hold it back from true greatness, strong writing, satisfying spellblade combat, and smart world design make this a compelling return to Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity universe.

Avowed is arguably Obsidian's strongest modern release, and it's not for the reasons that you may think. While the game's writing and storytelling often lack bite and excitement, its gameplay saves the day with a cracking combat system, meaningful player choice, and the enjoyable exploration of some truly stunning locales.

If you are a PlayStation owner who has been eyeing Avowed on Xbox and PC, you now have the opportunity to jump into the adventure here, and you can do so with confidence. It's still an excellent fantasy role-playing game, and it has only been improved by the major Anniversary Update, which is included in the PlayStation 5 version at launch.

Avowed leans on exploration and combat to deliver a highly enjoyable action RPG experience. Even though it simplifies some mechanics a bit too much, the game makes up for it with a solid story and a well-crafted world, making it especially recommended for fantasy fans who value adventure, freedom to explore, and a more straightforward pace, without unnecessary excesses.

The PS5 version of Avowed offers the same experience we had last year, which means: It's fun, approachable and delightfully old fashioned. Just don't expect a deep roleplaying experience with tons of replay value.

I haven’t played an Obsidian game in a long while, and I have to say that in terms of characters, storytelling, and worldbuilding, I felt right at home with everything that was happening throughout Avowed‘s modest runtime. Even with the uninspired combat and the performance issues, I found myself constantly wanting to explore the Living Lands, make potentially life-altering decisions that could affect the world, and steal Marius’ snacks for good measure. Avowed does a fabulous job of keeping players on their toes while also weaving stories that make players want to see everything through to the end. While Avowed has some blemishes, there is a lot to love in this world, and I want to see more of it.

Despite Avowed’s flaws and the lack of depth in most of its RPG systems, the PS5 version is the best edition of the game in terms of technical polish and the level of additions introduced over time. At a price of just $50, it’s a game worth experiencing for its beautiful world and a story that delivers Obsidian’s signature style in a modern way. While not the strongest title in the developer’s catalog, it remains enjoyable in several aspects, including its characters, narrative, and combat.