The future of Xbox lies in the hands of countless development teams. After a long series of acquisitions, Microsoft is poised to launch a highly respected line-up, consisting of many distinct games aimed at providing very unique experiences. While waiting for Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, the first true, major production to arrive on console and PC is Avowed, a massive new role-playing game for PC and Xbox developed by Obsidian, one of the world’s most acclaimed RPG development teams. The developer’s track record speaks for itself: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds, and Pillars of Eternity are highly regarded by both audiences and critics, showcasing how the passion of a team born from the ashes of the original Fallout developers intertwines perfectly with talent.
However, Avowed is a different story: Xbox’s acquisition of Obsidian Entertainment dates back to 2018, and the first original game published under Phil Spencer’s leadership was Grounded, something completely different from the RPGs that had captivated fans of the studio. Next came Pentiment, another adventure disconnected from the past and its original productions. After two major yet successful experiments, it’s time to return home. And it does so with a grand adventure, RPG-style, that calls back to the past while we had the opportunity to try it for just under two hours thanks to a preview build to which Microsoft kindly granted us access. Now we are ready to share the highlights, shadows, and strengths of this much-anticipated Xbox exclusive.
Avowed: An Artistic Vision!
Obsidian Entertainment has always experimented. It has travelled from the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Fallout New Vegas to the backyard garden with Grounded. In between, there were adventures that took us to Ancient Europe and even to space, with Pentiment and The Outer Worlds respectively. With Avowed, however, Obsidian Entertainment returns to its roots, launching a massive RPG set in a fantasy world. But it’s not an original conception: the wild, lawless lands rich in violence are those of Eora, already introduced by the development team in Pillars of Eternity. In Avowed’s world, players take on the role of a messenger called to investigate a mysterious illness that seems to be causing an increase in violence and madness. With this premise, the journey promises to be quite difficult, but fortunately, our Emissary is ready to arm himself with every type of weapon to confront danger and uncover the truth. This is the opening that introduces players to the new role-playing game, set in a fantasy context that nods to the past while not sacrificing a touch of modernity.
The world of Avowed is like a true painting, a Tintoretto, a signature stroke showcasing all of Obsidian’s creative talent. During our limited play session, we encountered biomes and levels in the game world that were completely different from one another, all incredibly detailed. From a desolate beach where you take your first steps, to ruins hiding well-concealed yet always visible pathways in one world or another, everything comes together to create a sort of living painting. Avowed is an open world, and the game never forgets to tell us this, but the developers’ true talent lies in the quality of the game environments, which ooze life from every corner. In addition to the game environments, what makes it all even more beautiful is the presence of companions: throughout the adventure, the Emissary’s party can be joined by different characters who will aid the protagonist in his quest for the truth and the continuation of missions. Many, all well-developed and perhaps a bit stereotypical in some cases, but never boring and especially well integrated into the storytelling.
Avowed is a Great Fantasy RPG
Since its announcement, Avowed has been compared to The Elder Scrolls. A comparison many found fitting for various reasons: Obsidian Entertainment’s production has similar traits to Bethesda’s works, starting with the fantasy setting and the vast array of NPCs populating the game’s lands. However, the similarities end here. Indeed, beneath the surface, this new game hides something quite different. Starting with the fluid class system, especially when combined with the protagonist’s various abilities. Throughout the adventure, we are called to master multiple weapons and combat techniques that blend melee (such as swords and daggers) with magic. Unfortunately, during the demo, we only got a taste of this aspect, mainly due to the short play session we experienced. However, the initial feedback is decidedly positive, highlighting the ability to change weapon sets on the fly, allowing players to adapt their play style to various situations.
The combat system, while potentially engaging, is secondary to the true, great strength of Avowed, which is its game structure. We are not referring to the dialogues, which may actually remain a somewhat weak part, nor to the plot, which does not have any wow factor at all. What truly captivated us is its game design: nothing innovative or spectacular enough to shout miracle, but more of an excellent combination of what we’ve already seen in Obsidian games, but with a fascinating twist. Primarily, it maintains the classic structure that allows us to choose the type of behaviour and strategy to use during missions. Is it better to sneak past a group of enemies, or is it preferable to choose the path of violence, with all the associated risks and rewards? The decision is entirely in our hands. Additionally, the missions are varied and fun, managing to convince us of their well-crafted writing. It’s not uncommon to stumble upon side quests during the main one, and it’s our choice whether to pursue them or not. During our play session, in a side quest, we had to search for a key. A task that felt quite demanding, even if it seemed simple on paper, pushing us to explore every corner of that small portion of the map. Here, Obsidian’s level design shines: the game world feels alive and hides more than one secret. It’s often necessary to explore every nook and cranny carefully to find a way or simply the solution to a quest. In short, the game has all the cards in place to create a realistic and enjoyable game world. The challenge is to see how long this spell will last: if the quality remains high throughout the hours of play tested, Avowed is poised to deliver a fantastic adventure.
Beautiful to Play… and Also to See?
Contrary to what we might have thought, Avowed is also stunning to look at thanks to its graphics. We had the chance to try this fantasy RPG from Obsidian on PC via Steam, and the result is simply spectacular. Graphically, the game world feels alive, with vivid and realistic colours, shades, and very convincing graphical effects. The gameplay response is also good: NPCs are naturally voiced, light reflections work (thanks to ray tracing implementation), and in general, you never feel like you’re just playing a video game. Of course, photorealism is not the goal of this Obsidian production, but the achieved graphic quality is quite satisfying. In terms of gameplay, first-person view is definitely the best option, but it also hides a series of issues with animations. The game, while offering a third-person option (hidden in the menus and not easily accessible like in Bethesda’s productions), doesn’t quite nail it. For instance, the classic jump animation hides all the issues related to running and the lift of the legs in first-person, whereas in third-person view, it feels like the character is skating on ice. This isn’t exactly new: it’s clear the development team has focused mainly on achieving a great result in First-Person, and this immersion in gameplay is a consequence of that. In third-person, performance also suffers: dips in frame rate are clearly visible, especially in huge environments, which exacerbated when using the non-native view. We are quite certain that in the coming months Obsidian will work to improve these performances, as well as some animations and details that will be refined right before launch. Being a beta version, we refrain from giving any definitive judgment on the technical side.
That said, it would be a lie to say we are not satisfied with what we’ve seen throughout the game. Avowed’s technical showcase is certainly convincing, but this obviously doesn’t exclude some issues that need revisiting. One of the more serious, in our opinion, is definitely the game menu: while they are obvious, navigating them can be complex when using a controller. If on PC the issue is resolved with mouse and keyboard, it’s a different story on consoles, where most (if not all) users utilize a controller. There are perhaps too many tabs that are difficult to navigate smoothly, and it often takes more than one attempt to find the resources we need. Fortunately, this is a minor problem that doesn’t impact the rest of the user interface: radar, quest positioning, enemy icons, and HUD are definitely clearer in motion and this is a positive aspect, especially considering the vast amount of information the game bombards us with continuously.
Avowed is a great fantasy adventure: while the plot may not be its strong point, the game world, level design, and stunning quest executions, combined with a well-crafted combat system, position Obsidian Entertainment’s new game as a strong contender to become one of next year’s most exciting titles. The journey with Avowed is just beginning, and we can’t deny that we want even more. We can’t wait to dive back in to discover all that awaits us on the Emissary’s journey. However, February 18, 2025, feels far too distant: will we be able to hold out?