Avowed’s Release Splits Critics and Fans
Avowed officially launched earlier this week on February 18th but critics and those who purchased the deluxe version of the game were able to play it 5 days early. This means we already have quite a broad picture on how Obsidian’s latest release is being received. On Opencritic, an average rating of 81 puts it in the ‘strong’ category but this is more due to a mix of 7’s and 9’s than a concrete consensus. Similarly, Steam has this at a very positive 81% which is a good score but clearly shows that some people aren’t enamoured with Avowed.
Xbox’s latest first party release met criticism when it was first revealed- with fans complaining about flaccid combat and dull conversations from the initial gameplay trailer. Since then, there has been some warming up to Avowed after the critic’s impressions were revealed and we got to see more of the exploration side of the game. Still, the game seemed like a love it or hate it kind of ordeal- which the review scores definitely seem to reflect.
Image by Obsidian
On one end of the spectrum, TheGamer gave the release a 6/10 citing poor writing and worldbuilding:
“Avowed is a valiant attempt at fantasy you can play your way, but while it delivers well enough with combat, the narrative just isn’t there. Too ambitious in what it wants to do, it falls way short.”
On the other end, the combat was praised endlessly with spellcasting and ranged builds being particularly fun to engage with. TrueAchievements gave the game a 9/10 as a result:
“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.”
The make-or-break element of Avowed certainly sems to be its story. If you feel yourself pulled into the draw of Eora (or are a fan of Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity games), Avowed is something you’d be interested in. If you find its exposition dull and endless, the only real saving grace may be its combat system- which has been praised as quite excellent by both sides of the fence
Image by Obsidian
One thing is clear with Avowed: This is not Obsidian’s Skyrim- a fact made quite clear by the developers before the game released. Despite that, many fans and critics were disappointed with the lack of environmental storytelling and atmosphere that Avowed offers. This is likely one of the biggest contributors to the game’s varying reviews. If you have Game Pass, this is available now and is worth a shot if you’re a fantasy RPG fan. With it being such a divisive game, this could either be a personal all time favourite or a lacking disappointment. Its worth a try to find out for yourself.
