by
Stephen LaGioia
, posted 2 hours ago / 330 Views
The Xbox platforms are scarcely known for compelling fantasy-laden RPGs, at least not in terms of console exclusives. Yet, thanks to developers like Obsidian rallying under the Microsoft Studios banner, this stigma is being wiped away. And while the developer’s spin-off for the isometric ARPG Pillars of Eternity doesn’t exactly break revolutionary ground, Avowed excels in balancing out the Xbox Series’ lineup with its alluring mix of thrilling arcade-style gameplay, a bit of strategy, and even platforming. Being more of a juiced-up AA game rather than the true Skyrim or Dragon Age AAA epic it seemingly tries to emulate, Obsidian manages to “do a lot with a little” here. I certainly had a blast exploring the vibrant Living Lands, flinging magic attacks, and (sometimes) even blasting shots with clunky, archaic guns — despite a few shortcomings and recognizable Obsidian quirks.
Pillars of Eternity fans will recognize some series staples and lore-based flair in Avowed, despite its new heroes and the transition from isometric to first/third-person ARPG. Returning are the magic-wielding Animancers, secret-holding gods (which permeate much of the lore and narrative), and returning foes like Blights and reptilian Xaurips. But while long-time fans should appreciate the callbacks, these Pillars allusions are more subtle, allowing Avowed to shine as its own game. The experience is certainly suitable as a standalone one, or an introduction to the PoE universe.
Some new elements are heavily incorporated — including a satisfying battle system, a novel setting called The Living Lands, and compelling lore involving an ominous new plague. The latter concept, known as the “Dream Scourge”, is a sort of magic-infused illness that can infect just about all living things, making them ravenous. This disease stands as the looming danger that the hero, The Godlike Envoy (a race with certain divine blessings and powers) and their companions, must investigate and wipe it out, before it consumes the divided inhabitants of this wild Eoran island. Along the way, the Godlike will find their greater purpose, communicate with the ever-intrusive god Sapadal, and grow as a Fighter, Ranger, Wizard — or more commonly/practically, a hybrid of these styles.
When it comes to world-building and design, Obsidian is resourceful. The Living Lands make up handful of major regions rife with baddies, goodies, and other elements that bring the lore to life and aid the Envoy in progression. Being an avid Everquest player of yesteryear, I’d favor the term “zones” for these quasi-open-world areas. These zones themselves include a few isolated dungeons and towns that bring an even higher concentration of goodies and lore-filling journals. While their scale and open-ended nature aren’t quite in the realm of Breath of the Wild or even Oblivion, they certainly outshine recent Obsidian entries like The Outer Worlds. Their layouts and scope are enhanced by bits of dynamic land traversal that borders on 3D platforming at times (think tower-climbing in Far Cry), obstructions that require spells to remove them, and some nooks and crannies loaded with cool, (often) useful loot.
These locales, from the vast, jagged desserts of Shatterscarp and Mordor-esque Galawain’s Tusks, to the dark, majestic Emerald Stair are a treat for the eyes. The game brings some awesome sights, especially when looking over a tall tower or high peak, or launching a barrage of elemental spells and watching the colorful show unfold. These vibrant lands and flashy visuals are complemented by solid sound design and impressive voice acting — giving an epic, cinematic tone to much of the experience, which can hang with at least some AAA titles. I could have done without some of the excessive chatter and dialogue choices — and few choices make a tangible difference outside of occasionally siding with one squabbling NPC over the other. Still, at least the performances, and generally likable characters, make this more tolerable (and can be skipped through or sped up).
Several aspects of Avowed verge on feeling rather “stock fantasy RPG”, for better or worse. This generic flavor sometimes seeps into the combat, especially with the basic swords, maces, and other standard weapons. It doesn’t help that melee mechanics are fairly straightforward — players can initiate basic slashes, power attacks, blocks, or simple parries. The swinging and stabbing of melee weapons has a weighted, tactile feel which brings some immersion, especially when in first-person, though two-handed weapons tend to feel too slow and clunky. There’s also little feedback in the way of enemies, outside the comically-exaggerated ragdoll physics triggered by power attacks. Melee combat brings traces of depth and tactics with the ability to stun, which takes the form of a yellow bar beneath an enemy’s health. Once full, players can swoop in with a devastating strike that wipes out loads of HP and disrupts enemy attacks. These moves can add a satisfying punctuation to combat.
Avowed interestingly offers a select few guns, the inclusion of which seems odd for a fantasy game. Of course, Pillars of Eternity fans will point out that this universe is essentially set in a Renaissance-fantasy age (rather than the core Medieval era most of the genre vaguely falls in), which features early gun tech. Still, it’s an odd blend that tends to clash with the colorful high fantasy. Given the very young nature of the 1600s-era gun tech, this also means players must stumble with clunky, sluggish pistols and Arquebuses, which take several seconds to fire off a few measly shots. They’re a fun novelty for a bit, though you’ll soon find that wands, which fling potent magic projectiles more rapidly, essentially do everything guns do, but better.
Thankfully, the game brings much versatility when it comes to weapon-holding, with each class/build being granted access to any weapon, which they can mix and match to their heart’s content. The ability to play around with several one-handed weapon combos — which are expanded through a second loadout — produces loads of thrilling combat (and there will be a lot). Should you opt for a magic-melee combo via grimoire and spear? Maybe dual-wield projectiles with a wand and pistol? Or just go all-out swinging with a small sword and mace? You may opt for a two-handed sword, while shooting an occasional spell or one of the few Godlike powers granted at different plot-points for a nice one-two punch. The choice is yours.
Speaking of spellbooks: grimoires were a major highlight of the battle system in my experience. The game offers a number of books that hold four varying spells, available for casting off the bat (or off the “book”) to any class — provided the Grimoire Mastery skill is unlocked. While this would seem to be redundant, since spells can be learned separately, the game cleverly intertwines the two aspects. Avowed rewards players who already learned a spell featured in their grimoire, making the book’s instance of the spell more powerful. It’s a subtle detail, but as a Wizard primarily, it’s a welcomed one.
Magic and spells are a fun, powerful spectacle often capable of hitting many foes — and even aid in traversing some obstacles. You may, for instance, need to summon an ice pillar to safely cross a vast river of lava that would otherwise eviscerate even a Godlike. With this in mind, and a clean interface bringing easily-accessible hotkeys, a Wizard build seemed the wisest, most enjoyable way to play Avowed.
I also dabbled in Ranger arts, creeping up on oblivious foes and taking them out Assassin’s Creed style or firing bows from great distance. At times I pounded armored targets with potent two-handed swords and drew aggro from my companions in the vein of a fighter or tank — which I soon found isn’t wise for vulnerable mages. It’s too bad that I couldn’t seem to get my passive, often-inept duo of companions to absorb more enemy attacks, no matter what I tried. Companions can help in a pinch, though their abilities are few, and there’s only so much you can do with them — even with the handy ability to attach a couple of their skills to your hotbar. But I digress. There’s an impressive amount of depth and flexibility through mixing and matching weapons, skills, and fighting styles. Areas in which you don’t excel can be filled (at least somewhat) by these companions, as their abilities range from healing to ensnaring to magic attacks.
Though the combat was mostly amusing, I was surprised to find only a small amount of unique weapons of almost all types. You’ll get a universal “standard” version of a weapon, which can be upgraded several times with resources scattered about the lands by crafting at Party Camps. Side note: these camps double as save points, hubs to cook recipes, enchant weapons, and chat with your distinct sidekicks. But beyond this, there are only a few “unique” versions of most weapon types, some of which are purchasable for a pretty penny at a merchant, and others hidden in dungeons or elsewhere in the world.
Most shopkeepers, it should be noted, drive a hard bargain. Thankfully, countless weapons, items, and other resources can be found via defeated foes, in loot boxes, and gathered from the environment — almost at an excessive level. As such, I found it’s more sensible and rewarding to just plunder the regions, upgrade your gear, and take in the countless consumables you’ll find along the way. About the only goods I found worth buying from merchants consistently were health and magic (Essence) potions, lockpicks, and some rarer materials for later-stage upgrades.
For those that do wish to shell out at merchants, there are many side quests which can add dozens of hours to a campaign whose core experience is fairly short. Many side missions heavily reward players with useful experience, cash, and unique weapons/armor. Most felt pretty uninspired, though, resorting to “retrieve item(s) and return to NPC”, “confront NPC 1 and report back to NPC 2”, or “slay a band of outlaws and collect earnings from NPC”. I found that grabbing a board full of bounties, which request players seek out minibosses, were the most fruitful. These bounties fell flat at times too, often resorting to basic baddies like an even larger giant spider or poisonous mushroom man. As the game basically demands you at least dabble in side quests or bounties to upgrade gear, level up, and unlock several abilities/perks, bounties are a good choice, and usually bring some quick entertainment. You may want to seek out companion quests too, as these at least flesh out the lore and character details of your sidekicks, while bringing ample XP.
Frequent upgrades and skill tree unlocks are key, as they’re the only way to stay ahead of a fairly unstable, unpredictable difficulty curve. Enemy strength is indicated by a simple roman numeral and a skull icon (or multiple skulls), but the sudden leap in enemy power can be jarring at times if wandering off the beaten path too much. On the flipside, I was often able to overrun entire gaggles of foes with a few well-timed spells and several spear thrusts. Add the fact that there’s no scaling, and that enemies don’t respawn, and the Obsidian trait of erratic pacing and difficulty tends to rear its head quite a bit.
The enemies themselves are also a mixed bag. Avowed brings a lineup of rather stock baddies, some of which fans will recognize from Pillars of Eternity. While the game somewhat disguises the lack of diversity here with slight variants to the same eight or nine enemy archetypes, it can still feel monotonous stumbling across the same giant spider, aggressive bear, or hovering Blight. It starts feeling “copy-paste” and takes away from the immersion and world-building. I found myself asking, “why am I seeing the same Xaurips, who — aside from their tougher nature — look and behave largely the same, whether at a Galawain’s Tusks campsite or just outside the gates of Paradis early on?” The entertaining features and mechanics of spellcasting and dual-wielding were often enough to overcome this, but the repetition did get tiresome after about 45 hours of gameplay.
Even though the enemy lineup largely remains the same, things pick up once you’ve crossed into the “end game” areas, which feature more vibrant, lush regions crawling with tough-as-nails baddies and troves of treasures to gather. While these portions stood out the most, it was irritating to find I couldn’t back out of these “point of no return” zones, as they make up at least a few hours of gameplay. Even after completing the campaign, you’re merely thrown back into the main menu and forced to launch a prior save slot, which may date back several minutes or longer depending on when the autosave last sporadically kicked in. And if you’ve used the same one or two save slots the entire game, Sapadal help you…. As such, the end-game portion feels glossed-over and restrictive, and puts a damper on an otherwise solid finish to Avowed. At the very least, Obsidian could have thrown in a New Game Plus option.
A few quirks and limitations aside, Avowed shines through when it comes to various aspects of combat, deceptively deep exploration, and presentation. Gamers shouldn’t expect a spiritual sequel to Skyrim or a fleshed-out Pillars of Eternity follow-up. Yet, Obsidian’s ARPG impresses and entertains on its own merits, providing a satisfying template for fans of the genre. It’s hard to recommend at full price, but it’s a definite “thumbs up” for Game Plass players looking for a gripping adventure.
This review is based on a digital copy of Avowed for the XS
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