Obsidian Entertainment
Avowed: Visit the extraordinary world of Eora
Obsidian has succeeded in creating a title that RPG lovers will enjoy.
What makes an RPG good? its RPG systems? its story? its world? the characters that inhabit it? Obsidian is a studio that has great titles in its catalog, taking licenses like Fallout, South Park, or Star Wars and turning them into great experiences with mechanics and stories that are still remembered. Almost a decade ago, in the midst of economic problems, the studio released Pillars of Eternity, which became one of the great successes of crowdfunding, when even established studios needed the help of the community. After Microsoft bought the studio, they worked on expanding the world of Eora, introduced in Pillars of Eternity to create an RPG that would be the next revolution. But did Avowed succeed?
Welcome to Living Lands
Avowed is an action RPG that can be played in both first and third person. In this title, we control a Godlike, a being touched by the gods, who accidentally becomes the Emperor’s Envoy and is sent to the wild continent of The Living Lands. A journey that is half diplomatic and half investigative, as we must discover the origin of a mysterious plague called the Dreamscourge, which is beginning to affect both the people and the impressive fauna of the place. And of course, if you’ve ever played an RPG, you’ll know that you’ll have time to help the people in the various corners of The Living Lands: from running errands to retrieving a vase from some ruins, and even solving the mystery behind an expedition in some impressive ruins, all the while gaining loot and experience from the enemies and places we visit.
The creation of your character is very quick, with a number of options that are easy to choose from. An interesting aspect is the Dungeons and Dragons-style point distribution, as well as the choice of background, as this will allow us to access dialog options when interacting with other characters, giving our creation a special and unique flavor. My character with the explorer background had similar responses. On the other hand, if the option appears and you meet the requirements in your character sheet, you will be able to better intuit what they are telling you, or intimidate characters if necessary.
History has these shadows that show us issues that are very close to us. Issues like racism, exile, colonialism, and even a people who declare that the surrounding problems are the new normal. All the typical RPG elements are present in Avowed: for example, the Steel Garrote, who, although they are really a support corps, try to bring the glory of the Emperor to all corners. You’ll also have to make choices in your missions, such as confronting certain characters or even betraying citizens who simply want to carry on their traditions.
One of the first details to highlight is the world of Eora. It is not only a visual spectacle, but also a world full of lore and worldbuilding. If in titles like Skyrim you spent hours reading every detail, book, and note, Avowed has a lot to read about, ranging from situations, histories, gods, and so on. It also builds on a key element of Final Fantasy XVI, as players can refer to lore elements highlighted during conversations. So if you forget a place, person, or god, the game will remind you.
Eora is visually striking, with an extremely vivid color palette that looks more like something out of a poisonous animal than a fantasy world. And almost everything in Avowed is out to kill you. The map, on the other hand, is huge and divided into different zones with different places to explore, but with little to return to. At times, the distances are so long that fast travel becomes a constant, as the only thing left to do is run and jump (you can do parkour, of course).
I can kill spiders all day long
In terms of combat, we have a wide variety of weapons and options. We have everything: swords, shields, daggers, axes, hammers, bows, guns, wands, and grimoires. And everything can be combined. The game allows you to have two weapon loadouts, so you can switch from bow and arrow to hammer and shield with the push of a button. Combat is agile and sometimes tricky, depending on the difficulty setting. You are often limited by the quality of your weapons and sometimes by your stamina bar.
Sometimes the game will tell you that the characters you are facing are of a higher level, or that you need better weapons. Sometimes it’s a suggestion because with enough skill you can do that; other times it’s a suggestion to see if you can run. Perhaps the only downside to combat is the limited variety of enemies. While there is something new each time you switch regions, it can get repetitive to run into giant spiders or skeletons.
There is also an entire system of upgrades for your character, with special moves based on your chosen class: Warrior, Mage or Ranger. You can also control the abilities of your companions and decide what best suits your play style. And of course, if you don’t like what you see, you can always pay a few coins to try a different configuration. You can also upgrade your weapons and armor, which opens up a lot of possibilities.
With the help of my friends
On the other hand, there are our companions, who are an important part of our adventure. Each one has a very distinct personality, and although you can only take two at a time, it is something that is appreciated depending on the situations we find ourselves in. Each one has their own missions and their own ways of dealing with enemies, with commands that we as players can take advantage of. However, for those for whom romance and socialization are an important pillar in any RPG, there are no such options in Avowed. This is a completely wasted aspect, especially considering that the social bonds are not that close and the characters have a lot of personality.
Visually, Eora is an impressive world and it shows. The world is highly detailed, and it works very well on the Xbox Series X. From the lighting effects and textures to the ability to see the huge cities from a distance, everything looks amazing. Combat is never interrupted by frame drops, so everything is fluid. However, there are small details that are to be expected in this type of game, such as some half-floating objects. My biggest problem is that not all the characters were created with the same love. While your companions are some of the best, some NPCs seem to have gone through a whole system of improvement, while some of them lacked a little polish.
Avowed is an impressive title, with combat that opens up possibilities, a huge world to explore and get to know, and very endearing characters and companions. It is a highly competent game that blends action and RPG in a visually stunning setting. For better or worse, however, it is not a revolution in RPGs, but sticks to a system that is already more than proven, but still entertaining and effective.
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