Avowed Review Thread
Game Information
Game Title: Avowed
Platforms:
- Xbox Series X/S (Feb 18, 2025)
- PC (Feb 18, 2025)
Trailers:
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 83 average - 88% recommended - 58 reviews
Critic Reviews
4News.it - Danilo Di Gennaro - Italian - 8.8 / 10
Avowed represents quintessential game design according to Obsidian Entertainment. While not offering a radically new experience, the return to the world of Eora is an exciting action RPG, graced by the traditional care the development team put into the script. Free to be able to create one's alter ego among a thousand opportunities for customization and to direct it indiscriminately toward the paths of good or evil, Avowed puts players within a setting that is the antithesis of the dispersive risk of an endless open world, with gameplay devoted to action and fun. It may not be a revolution, and technically some hiccups are there, but for all fans of the genre it is a must.
ACG - Jeremy Penter - Wait for Sale
"Despite issues with some of the games shallower systems I found myself having a great time most of the time I played Avowed."
AltChar - Semir Omerovic - 85 / 100
Rich with a vibrant world, intriguing story, remarkable companions, and engaging combat, Obsidian's first-person fantasy RPG, Avowed, offered so much flavour that I found it hard to stop playing.
Andrenoob - Andres Perdomo - Spanish - 9 / 10
Avowed is a game that takes the risk of showing the best of Obsidian Entertainment and delivers everything you expect. Delivering an adventure worth playing if you love RPGs.
Atarita - Atakan Gümrükçüoğlu - Turkish - 90 / 100
Avowed looks like it's going to make a name for itself for a while. I have no doubt that it will give you a good time with its scenario, missions, characters and lots of content. It has some problems, but they are not insurmountable. Its structure that leaves the player free is its most impressive feature.
But Why Tho? - Charles Hartford - 9.5 / 10
Avowed marks another triumph for the folks at Obsidian. Through its gorgeous world, memorable characters, frenzied combat, and intuitive yet deep customization system, it highlights player agency. Everywhere in its gameplay and narrative, ensuring that each playthrough offers something new. More importantly, it does so while never compromising the strength of its core story.
CGMagazine - Dayna Eileen - 8 / 10
Avowed is a game I have had my eyes on for four years now, even before I set eyes on any gameplay. Obsidian Entertainment and Xbox Game Studios always manage
Checkpoint Gaming - Luke Mitchell - 9.5 / 10
Avowed is impressive in almost everything it sets out to do. It has sharp writing, captivating companions, an intriguing story and a varied world that is just thrilling to explore. It's visually stunning, too, with high production values including satisfying audio that makes the Living Lands feel bustling with life. Where many games falter in offering "bigger and more", Avowed smartly focuses on its strengths, making for a breezy yet vibrant RPG that feels polished and intelligent, offering lots to do but never outstaying its welcome. Obsidian Entertainment has once again proven they are skilled storytellers, offering a must-play adventure for anyone who has a love for the fantastical.
Console-Tribe - Francesco Pellizzari - Italian - 88 / 100
To answer the question posed at the beginning of the article, for us, pronouns have absolutely nothing to do with the success or failure of a title, and Avowed is proof of that: an excellent RPG, with some flaws, but many strengths, including an engaging plot, choices that change the game world, and almost total freedom of action. Do yourself a favor: play Avowed, or you'll regret it.
Dexerto - Jessica Filby - 4 / 5
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.
Digital Spy - Joe Draper - 4 / 5
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.
Digitale Anime - Raouf Belhamra - Arabic - 8.5 / 10
Avowed offers an immersive RPG experience that combines exploration, combat, and storytelling in Obsidian’s signature style. The Living Lands world is alive with life, encouraging exploration and experimentation, while combat offers flexible weapon and spell choices. Companions add a personal and dynamic touch to the journey, and despite some limitations in customization and combat interaction, Avowed remains a promising experience for RPG fans, offering an adventure full of mystery and challenges.
Echo Boomer - David Fialho - Portuguese - No Recommendation
There's a lot to admire in Avowed—its old-school RPG soul, captivating world, and flexible gameplay—but predictable writing and some questionable design choices make this Obsidian experience less engaging than it could be.
Enternity.gr - Christos Chatzisavvas - Greek - 9 / 10
The journey into the world of Pillars of Eternity continues through Avowed, the newest RPG from Obsidian. And it's great!
EvelonGames - Joel Isern Rodríguez - Kaym - Spanish - 7.8 / 10
Avowed is an RPG that reflects both the talent and limitations of Obsidian. It is a solid, enjoyable game with moments of quality, but it falls short of being unforgettable. Its magic system and vertical exploration stand out as strong points, complemented by an artistic design brimming with personality. Additionally, its performance is smooth, delivering a more than satisfactory technical experience.
Explosion Network - Dylan Blight - 9 / 10
I wasn't ready for the breadth of lore and world-building here that would have me both enamoured by this game, its characters, and its setting.
GRYOnline.pl - Przemysław Dygas - Polish - Unscored
Avowed is a great RPG, it’s as simple as that. This game made me forget about mediocre The Outer Worlds and refueled my trust for Obsidian. The creators of great role playing games are back and their new game is full of all the things that made New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity or Tyranny so good. (Review in progress)
GameOnly - Daniel Kucner - Polish - 8 / 10
Video Review - Quote not available
GameSpot - Alessandro Barbosa - 6 / 10
Avowed's impactful and satisfying combat is undone by a widely unbalanced upgrade system and an uninteresting story that wastes its potential.
Gamer Guides - Patrick Dane - 84 / 100
Avowed continues Obsidian’s tradition of creating excellent RPGs that feel heavily linked to well-trodden genres, yet not doing quite enough to carve out a new identity. There’s a lot to be charmed by, be it nuanced characters and choices, a heavy dialogue focus, and a compelling central mystery where what’s ‘good’ isn’t often clear. While it doesn’t push the envelope, it does enough to justify its place, and for just the price of a GamePass subscription, it’s easy to recommend trying.
Gamers Heroes - Blaine Smith - 85 / 100
Avowed takes a few hours to find its feet, but once it does, this RPG provides an unforgettable journey that never outstays its welcome. Avowed features a jaw-dropping world to explore, complete with a solid cast of intriguing characters and choices that will remain with you long after the credits roll.
GamesFinest - Luca Pernecker - German - 8 / 10
Avowed proves once again why Obsidian Entertainment is one of the leading studios in the RPG genre. With a world that deserves to be explored at leisure, remarkable freedom in decision-making, fascinating characters and a gripping story that draws you in, the game is an impressive achievement. The action-packed combat system also provides plenty of fun. It's just a shame that weaker side quests as well as technical problems and bugs tarnish the overall impression. Even if Avowed does not offer any groundbreaking innovations and has minor weaknesses here and there, it is a game that experienced and future role-playing game fans absolutely must experience!
Gaming Nexus - Eric Hauter - 8 / 10
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.
Glitched Africa - Marco Cocomello - 9 / 10
Avowed is Obsidian at its finest. It is the fantasy RPG that I hoped it would be without consuming my entire life to experience it. We’ll be talking about this game for a long time and replaying it whenever the itch returns. Sure, it isn’t the most ambitious and grand RPG ever made, but it shines in everything it does.
Hinsusta - Pascal Kaap - German - 9 / 10
Avowed is an outstanding action-fantasy RPG with a magical world and a spectacular combat system. Avowed is a successful action RPG that impresses with its magical and spectacular combat system. Avowed not only impresses with its thrilling battles, but also with its deep and lively world
INVEN - Jaihoon Jeong - Korean - 8.3 / 10
With its well-established lore, solid narrative, and highly polished world, Avowed is a fantastic game that lives up to Obsidian Entertainment’s reputation. However, compared to other games in the genre, its world feels overly rigid and lacks the sense of being truly alive, which keeps it from standing among the very best.
Just Play it - Yacine Tebaibia - Arabic - 8 / 10
Avowed offers a fun experience with a branching story, smooth and deep gameplay, and a visually stunning world full of color and detail. Though it has some technical issues, like performance instability and simplistic AI, it’s still worth playing for RPG fans.
Le Bêta-Testeur - Patrick Tremblay - French - 10 / 10
Avowed kicks off 2025 with a bang with an epic RPG experience. It’s already establishing itself as one of the major titles of the year. After so many hours spent exploring the Living Lands, it’s hard to shake its spellbinding appeal. The world, lore, and characters are among the most carefully crafted I’ve ever encountered, a testament to the attention to detail and love that has gone into this universe.
Obsidian Entertainment has created a masterpiece, and every RPG fan should play it.
Loot Level Chill - Mick Fraser - 8.5 / 10
Despite a few issues, Avowed had me hooked throughout. It's a beautiful, incredibly charming game that does its best to fill a gap where the Elder Scrolls 6 should be.
Lords Of Gaming - Mahmood Ghaffar - 8.5 / 10
Avowed is one of Obsidian’s most ambitious projects to date. They meticulously crafted vibrant zones that culminate into a beautiful, yet wild, Living Lands continent. Best of all, they delivered such an amazing experience while making it so streamlined for players. Whether that comes from the accessible lore glossary, helpful mini-map, or robust and flexible skill trees, Avowed is a joy to play and stays well within its scope. Even its rougher edges cannot deter your adventure in the Living Lands.
Manual dos Games - Joao Victor - Portuguese - 8 / 10
Avowed is a game with an expansive universe and an engaging story, complemented by solid gameplay and rich exploration. However, it fails to deliver overly simplified mechanics and an unbalanced difficulty curve, which undermines the depth of the experience.
MondoXbox - Giuseppe Genga - Italian - 9.3 / 10
With Avowed, Obsidian confirms itself as one of the best RPG studios around, capable of reworking a now-classic formula by rejuvenating it, lightening it up, and combining it with first-rate storytelling, world building, and gameplay mechanics. We are undoubtedly in front of a true gem of the RPG genre, to be played without hesitation.
MonsterVine - Luis Joshua Gutierrez - 4.5 / 5
I'm happy to report that Avowed has the sauce, and this is perhaps Obsidian Entertainment at its absolute best. Every time I stepped away from the game to do something else, all I could think about was how much I wanted to step back into this world and find new things. The more I thought about the game, the more I enjoyed it. Avowed is a game that asks a lot of its players but delivers on it, too. It creates a unique sense of exploration while covering intense topics such as imperialism and nature preservation with a fun combat system that encourages you to try new things.
NextPlay - Brad Goodwin - 7.5 / 10
Avowed offers a serviceable RPG experience that relies a little too heavy on its ravishing combat and compelling world-building. The story, while distinguished, can falter occasionally due to some unfair dialogue choices and suffered writing. Despite this, Avowed is still a game worth playing because it capitalises and personalises action-RPG tropes and mechanics found in its peers.
Nexus Hub - Andrew Logue - 8 / 10
Avowed is easy to recommend to fans of The Outer Worlds or even Skyrim, blending epic, flexible role-playing with Obsidian's signature writing and storytelling - even if it feels more like comfort food at times.
PPE.pl - Maciej Zabłocki - Polish - 8.5 / 10
Avowed is a solid RPG that combines first-person exploration (although there is also a third-person mode) in the style of titles from Bethesda with the depth of dialogue and choices native to Pillars of Eternity. Although the optimization leaves a lot to be desired, and the side quests could be more original, the engaging storyline and extensive conversation systems make up for many of the shortcomings. The game will undoubtedly appeal to fans of Obsidian games and anyone who appreciates the freedom of conflict resolution. If you are ready to turn a blind eye to the technical pains, Avowed offers a beautiful expedition into the magical world of Eora, which you will remember for a very long time.
Pizza Fria - Matheus Feldmann da Rosa - Portuguese - 7.4 / 10
If you’re looking for an accessible RPG with a visually stunning world and rewarding exploration, Avowed could be a worthwhile option. Its focus on straightforward combat and item gathering could appeal to players who don’t care as much about narrative complexity or deep RPG systems.
PowerUp! - Leo Stevenson - 9 / 10
Avowed is a genuine triumph and one of the first major releases from Xbox game dev buying spree that will pay dividends. It's a deep, complex and though-provoking RPG from masters of the genre. It revels in being played and tugs at the back of your lizard brain beckoning you back when you take a break.
Like The Outer Worlds before it, Avowed is Obsidian's truncated spin on a well-worn genre-and a genre they've got plenty of experience in. For those eagerly awaiting the next Elder Scrolls, this is a satisfying scratching of that itch even if its role-playing elements are stripped back to make room for more action. It's a bright, boisterous adventure full of politics and a fluid combat system that marries all manner of might and magic.
Restart.run - John Carson - Recommended
We need more games like Avowed. It’s not impossibly huge, it doesn’t hold you hostage for hundreds of hours, and it doesn’t try to be the last game you’ll ever need to buy. Instead, Obsidian Entertainment has made another engaging addition to an existing lore-rich world that’s fun and rewarding to explore. It's filled with great characters brought to life with excellent writing.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Unscored
Avowed is not the Obsidian fantasy RPG I wanted, but the decently fun spell-slinging parkour FPS I didn't expect.
SECTOR.sk - Táňa Matúšová - Slovak - 8.5 / 10
Avowed doesn't aim to make you a superhero in an epic story on great battlefields. Instead, it wants you to listen, uncover the narrative page by page, find characters who reveal something important, and perhaps keep you uncertain about your final decision until the very end. A vast array of dialogue and combat choices is somewhat hindered by a lack of enemy variety. Minor visual and technical shortcomings slightly impact the otherwise unique aesthetic of a game that challenges you to reflect on your core principles and values.
SIFTER - Gianni Di Giovanni - Worth your time
Strong writing, a world packed with loveable weirdos, and lore for days, Obsidian have managed to transition the world of Eora from the top down to the front on, building a world that'll encourage you to pick at every nook and cranny of the Living Lands.
Seasoned Gaming - Don Lionheart - 8.5 / 10
Avowed is superb, with true RPG goodness, real choices, deep systems, fun combat, and a true understanding and reverence of Eora.
Shacknews - Donovan Erskine - 9 / 10
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Stevivor - Jam Walker - 7.5 / 10
There’s just something about Avowed that makes it feel very much like a product built for a subscription service. Not in a live-service game kind of way, but in a Netflix Original Movie kind of way.
TechRaptor - Austin Suther - 9 / 10
Obsidian Entertainment continues to live up to players' expectations of delivering a game with quality writing, engaging choices, and compelling gameplay. Avowed is all those things and more: an epic fantasy that'll keep you hooked, which makes it one of the best RPGs this decade.
The Beta Network - Anthony Culinas - 8 / 10
Avowed delivers satisfying combat, engaging exploration and fun weapon-switching combinations, making it an enjoyable action RPG despite its generic story, weak soundtrack and frustrating technical issues. Whether this is Obsidian’s greatest is debatable, but its strong side content and Game Pass availability make it at least worth a playthrough.
The Outerhaven Productions - Jordan Andow - 4 / 5
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Avowed. Obsidian has crafted another fantastic RPG, and while it does nothing revolutionary, the quality it shows across board make it a joy to play. A game I would highly recommend to any RPG fan.
TheSixthAxis - Dominic Leighton - 9 / 10
Avowed is an incredible RPG. Its vibrant world and stellar cast make every moment a joy to take part in, enhanced by a script that gives equal measure to drama, action and humour. Coming hot on the heels of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Microsoft's software revival is well underway.
Tom's Hardware Italia - Andrea Riviera - Italian - 8.5 / 10
Avowed was everything I wanted from Obsidian: a role-playing game where choices truly impact the adventure, and writing plays a fundamental role in the game's structure. It’s not a perfect production—small imperfections, less impactful voice acting, and a level of polish that could have been better prevented the team from delivering a title that could have been truly memorable. But in the end, it doesn’t matter much, because as far as I’m concerned, Obsidian’s new IP is perhaps one of their best projects to date—a true RPG that, while it may not achieve immediate acclaim, could very well become one of the team’s most beloved titles in the long run.
VGC - Chris Scullion - 4 / 5
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.
WellPlayed - James Wood - 6 / 10
Avowed moves Obsidian Entertainment even further toward the action side of Action-RPG with a satisfying combat system and vibrant world stapled to an unengaging narrative and surface level roleplaying systems. Despite its initially promising setup, Avowed never rises above a binge and forget experience.
Worth Playing - Chris "Atom" DeAngelus - 7.8 / 10
Avowed is a game full of fun exploration, an interesting story tied to lackluster combat, and an annoying equipment system that keeps it from reaching its full potential. When I was engaged in Avowed, I would spend hours wandering around, talking to NPCs, and completing quests. However, when the game wasn't firing on all cylinders, I was frustrated and frequently bored. It's a game of high highs and low lows, but the highs were enough to keep me engaged despite the flaws.
XGN.nl - Ralph Beentjes - Dutch - 9.2 / 10
Obsidian has proven once again that they are the masters of role-playing games. Avowed has excellent combat, lively characters, a beautiful world and the storytelling is masterful. If they just fix a couple of bugs, they’ve got a masterpiece on their hands.
XboxEra - Jesse Norris - 8.8 / 10
Avowed is an excellent game. One major issue keeps it from being an all-timer for me, with the gear progression system being as restrictive as it is at launch. They can patch that, and I hope they do as the rest of the game is excellent. Obsidian’s top-tier writing has finally been matched with gorgeous visuals and satisfying gameplay.
ZTGD - Ken McKown - 8 / 10
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ZdobywcyGier.eu - Paweł Bortkiewicz - Polish - 8 / 10
Avowed is a pretty good RPG that is limited in places by its technical state. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable adventure from a standpoint of gameplay and storyline alone. Obsidian definitely knows how to make games that players want to play, but they still need to work on the technical elements, because in this case it could have been polished more.