Avowed Reviews
Avowed delivers where it matters: an interesting world with memorable companions and a rich combat system that rewards experimentation. Pillars of Eternity fans will feast on the various nods and references to the beloved CRPGs, but newcomers to Eora will still find plenty to enjoy with Obsidian Entertainment’s latest RPG.
The PlayStation 5 version of Avowed is a total blast, allowing Obsidian’s action RPG to truly shine with its Anniversary Update included.
The result of all this is that I’m pretty much obsessed with Avowed. After overinflated maps, exploration without reward, and other frustrations encountered in the last few years, Avowed feels like a dream to play. It fully embraces the fantasy elements for a wonderfully old-school RPG, and I can’t wait to keep playing.
Obsidian's huge, heavily detailed fantasy world has a lot of variety and texture, and interesting people to meet - but the combat and exploration wear thin
Avowed is a solid action RPG with an entertaining script, satisfying combat and impressively detailed environments. The inability to clean up side quests after the main story is beaten can be frustrating, but take your time with it and enjoy everything it has to offer, and you'll find plenty of memorable moments.
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.
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.
Despite expectations, Avowed is not able to compete with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Baldur's Gate 3. It is a very average work in terms of the quality of execution.
Review in Russian |
Avowed marks a significant step up for Obsidian compared to The Outer Worlds. The game retains the studio's signature excellent writing and narrative while improving the combat (especially the challenge level) and providing a lot of great content to go through. The visuals and performance are also praiseworthy. There are a few shortcomings, but if you're a fan of Western RPGs, you don't want to miss Avowed. It may have started as a spin-off, but it could go on to be the main series in Eora.
Thanks to its legacy of the excellent Pillars of Eternity games, Avowed is built on a strong foundation. That comes through in every aspect of the game, from its deep lore to its exceptional world-building, characters, and writing. Smartly avoiding the pitfalls of an empty open world, it gives the players densely interesting zones to explore, weighty choices to make, and engaging companions to rely on. Avowed takes the Pillars of Eternity universe on an assured and thoroughly enjoyable journey from CRPG to the action genre.
Avowed isn't going to be the next Baldur's Gate 3, or this generation's Skyrim, being closer to The Outer Worlds than either of those games. And exactly like The Outer World, it's a great action-oriented RPG set in a bizarre but not unpleasant world that is easy to recommend despite a few flaws.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Avowed has incredible writing and world-building.
The world it presents is beautiful and engaging, and the sheer level of weapon variety present can lead to some of the most flexible combat I’ve ever played from a first-person perspective. Full stop. However, beneath such flashy sights lay a deeply problematic and annoying approach to progression that grates more than it satisfies, which, when coupled with throwaway companions and a generic narrative, ultimately leads to a fun but frivolous RPG experience not indicative of Obsidian Entertainment’s best.
Avowed is a game that I was cautiously optimistic about. The Outer Worlds was fine but didn’t hit me as well as I hoped. I am also not a big fan of spending more time chatting with companions unless they are truly interesting, and here, they definitely are. This game just clicked with me and felt like the perfect marriage of stuff like Elder Scrolls and Mass Effect.
It may not be groundbreaking, but Avowed certainly leaves one hell of a mark on the RPG genre. The game's fun, challenging, and extremely enjoyable to play from start to finish, even when you're being hounded by giant mechanical undead creatures.
Avowed is full of consequential player choices, meaningful side content and rewarding exploration all backed up by slick movement and some of the best combat in a first-person action RPG. It might not reinvent the genre, but Obsidian has achieved everything they set out to by creating a super fun adventure worth your time.
While balanced in a way that forces the player to experience almost everything the game has to offer, Avowed is still a lot of fun. A great story, fun companions, and a richly designed world all contribute to an overall good time. Just remember to take your time early on, because this game wants you to see everything, and it will punish you for trying to skip ahead.
While the Elder Scrolls comparisons don't entirely parallel what you'll experience with Avowed, mainly due to the heavy handed direct storytelling, Obsidian still managest to pull off a great open world RPG with a lot of exciting moments. If you're looking for an RPG with deep lore, solid combat, and meaningful choices, Avowed is worth playing—just be ready for a few bumps along the way.
While Avowed is clearly not going to revolutionize the RPG genre, it nevertheless presents itself as a competent title in its category, in several areas.
Review in French | Read full review
Once again, Xbox delivers a fantastic exclusive. Obsidian Entertainment's work effectively employs all of the studio's strengths, resulting in a top-notch experience that will be endearing to all who give it a chance.
Review in Spanish | Read full review