I am no stranger to Obsidian RPG games. I've spent a lot of hours invested in their games, specifically Grounded, The Outer Worlds, South Park: The Stick of Truth and quite possibly their most famous game Fallout New Vegas. I've always had an affection for Obisidan games because I truly believe they make some of the best RPG games out there.
That reason is why I've been disappointed in their newest title: Avowed.
I want to be clear to the person reading this that I do not hate Avowed. I believe that Avowed does a good job at being a safe, and potentially mediocre, RPG game with the same type of mechanics that we're used to.
I am only about four hours into the game. Part of the reason is that Massachusetts was slammed with a snow and ice storm and I spent a lot of time outside doing snow removal over the weekend, the other part of it is that Avowed hasn't grabbed me enough to pull me back in. I'm not sitting on the couch or laying in bed thinking about Avowed like I am with potential new recruits in College Football 25.
Let's start with what Avowed does well. The open world of Avowed is beautiful. Obsidian did an excellent job making regions look distinct from one another, using different color pallets to accentuate environments and everything just looks really nice and crisp on my PC. I have color changing lights on my monitor that change with the scenery and it adds to the beauty that is Avowed. I really, really like what Obsidian has done with the environments, especially when you come out of a game like Helldivers 2 (which I've also spent some time playing this weekend), that is mostly one or two colors.
Not only does the world look good, but it also allows for some fun exploration. There is a large Skyrim feel when walking around the world. You're keen to peek behind waterfalls or take random paths just to see what kind of treasure lies at the end of your journey. It is a nice distraction from your main goal - figuring out where this fungal infection known as Dreamscourge is coming from.
One of the things I really enjoyed about The Outer Worlds is the depth of dialogue in the game. Conversations felt deep and meaningful and really made you feel for your companions. Avowed has less of that, but its still better than most games out there. While the dialogue is good, there seems to be lesser options available for you to choose when compared to previous Obsidian titles.
What I haven't understood yet is why there is a voice option when creating a character when your character doesn't speak. Maybe it is just for the grunts when jumping or breathing heavy when you run out of stamina. Maybe it is just a "me thing", but it always annoys me when there are voice options and my character is more or less a mute.
After the world and the dialogue, you get into "fine" territory.
The RPG mechanics are fine. When you level up, you gain ability and class points that you can assign as normal. You have three classes available to mix and match however you'd like: fighter, ranger, wizard. Each of these have a sprawling skill tree. They're fine. I am working on a ranger build and dual wielding pistols like some Godchosen badass, but leveling up is also a slow go in the beginning, which is fine.
There were some annoyances. Mechanics like parrying are locked behind the ranger class, so if you're first instinct is to parry away attacks, you're going to be frustrated when you can't do that. That leads me to Avowed's combat, which just feels...off? I can't explain why combat doesn't feel great, I believe it is something that needs to be experienced. It could also have been I was using old RPG instincts to do something that isn't available (yet) in the game. When I eventually found my pistols, I had a better time in combat, though dual wielding pistols didn't allow for me to aim with them.
I'll continue to play Avowed because I usually enjoy what Obsidian has to offer. I am interested to see where the story goes as I've only gotten a taste after four hours, but I wanted to talk about my quick impressions from someone who has played a lot of RPGs.
In the words of the Simpsons: it is a perfectly cromulent game, albeit extremely safe.
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