by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $13.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Intro:
… comes up short in terms of a compelling narrative.
Obsidian Entertainment has a long and proud history of making complex, thought-provoking games that are sometimes a little rough around the edges. They’re probably best known for the superior spin-off title, Fallout: New Vegas, which was somehow cobbled together in 18 months and has some of the most intelligent, nuanced writing in the whole series. But they’ve also dropped such RPG gems as Neverwinter Nights 2, The Outer Worlds and Pillars of Eternity I & II. Those latter games are particularly relevant here because their latest fantasy release Avowed, which has now arrived on PS5 after its initial release on PC and XBOX, is set in the same universe. The Pillars of Eternity world is vast, complex and full of fascinating lore. Why then does Avowed feel so… thin?
Avowed tells the story of the player generated Envoy, commissioned by Aedyr Empire to investigate the so-called Dream Scourge in the Living Lands of Eora. If that all sounds like a lot of proper noun word salad, strap in kids, because the entire game feels like that first paragraph!
In practical terms, The Envoy will need to forge relationships, investigate Dream Scourge infection vectors and get to the bottom of the strange being that seems to be communicating with you somehow.
It’s actually not an entirely dissimilar set-up to Baldur’s Gate 3, but the devil is in the details and unfortunately Avowed comes up short in terms of a compelling narrative. It just feels… generic – like a faded fantasy paperback that has been weathering in a two dollar bargain bin outside a secondhand bookshop. The characters don’t so much communicate as info dump at you, the mysteries are painfully obvious, and the world feels like it’s been set dressed in striking primary colours to distract you from how drab and lifeless your adventure actually feels.
That’s not to say it’s all bad news, mind you. Avowed actually has solid combat mechanics, akin to Skyrim in a lot of ways but with more nuance, and running around the place as a spellcaster and then switching to melee weapons on the fly is a genuine blast. In fact, if you choose to look at Avowed not as an in-depth RPG but as a kind of fantasy-themed FPS action game, then you might have a modestly good time over the 25-40 hours it’ll take you to beat it.
However, this is an Obsidian game and it’s hard not to think back to the story quality of New Vegas or even the highly enjoyable The Outer Worlds 2, which wasn’t perfect but managed to consistently engage. Avowed just doesn’t. It’s a pretty game, it has fine combat and there are moments of intrigue, but it never coalesces into a compelling fantasy experience that will have you reminiscing about those wild side quests or humming the theme tune to yourself.
Avowed is just a bit ordinary and from an extraordinary studio like Obsidian, that’s quite a letdown.
