/Review

TLDR: I talked about it a little bit. I then shit on the game. Then I gave credit where credit was due. Not a game for me, but definitely a game for others. Obsidian has an amazing team. Enjoy what you enjoy. Who cares.

About:

Avowed is a first-person fantasy RPG set in the world of Eora, where your choices carve a path through war, intrigue, and ancient mysteries. Navigate a land in turmoil, forge powerful alliances or deadly rivalries, and wield magic and steel to shape the fate of the Living Lands—and your own destiny.

Review:

Well… where to start? Obsidian Entertainment, the developers of Avowed, are a well known company mainly known for their work on Fallout: New Vegas. I guess that’s where the issues start. While I agree with the majority that Fallout: New Vegas was nearly a masterpiece, I don’t agree in giving credit where credit ISN’T due. Their most recent hit was The Outer Worlds, a game known mostly as a fallout knockoff. It plays, feels, smells, and tastes like fallout but space. But not quite as good. Then there is Avowed….. It was anticipated for quite a while, about 5 years from reveal to release. Another chance for Obsidian to blow people’s minds in another world, this time utilizing the power of Unreal Engine 5.

Firstly, what do you look for in a game? Immersion? Realism? Everyone is different, and that is fine, but what are the main objectives of video games? Well, just like movies and books, they are meant to tell a story. To engage the user and bring them into a world in which they feel they can escape to, relate to, or just straight up forget about the real world and do whatever the fuck they want. Just like everyone else, I went into Avowed excited. Ready to tackle another universe where I can have fun. Especially an RPG, where the goal is roleplaying. Truth is? It fucking blows.

I’m not one to shit on things just to shit on things. I still respect Obsidian and all of the developers and artists that worked on it. I believe they did build a beautiful game and world. But who… the fuck.. cares…? Honestly I struggled to play more than 30 minutes at a time, only logging about 5 hours of total game time. The story isn’t engaging, the characters lack any quality, and the voice actors weren’t operating at their maximum potential. I got annoyed very quickly. The fighting is above average. I do like the fluidity I felt, I like the mixture of magics and swords, but in the grand scheme of things it felt bland. NPCs felt dead. There was no life. Immediately after arriving at the first town/dock, it felt empty (aside from a couple NPCs yelling in my ear).

And to you fuckers who are gonna whine and be like “Well you didn’t play it enough” , “It gets better” , “You don’t know what a good game is!” Guess what? Eat my ass. Why the fuck would I continue to play a game that is boring to me, just in the hopes that it will get better? What happens if it doesn’t get better? I just say “Oh well, at least I did something” and move on? No thanks. EVERY piece of media has a hook. Something to draw the person in and keep them hooked. Why the fuck wasn’t I hooked after 5 hours of playing?! Because, is isn’t the super fantastic amazing game that everyone thought it would be. Every game has a game loop, if it can’t hold it’s weight in an hour of playing then it isn’t going to later down the road.

Overall:

As for Obsidian or anyone that enjoys the game, don’t take this seriously. I’m one fucking guy who has a hard-on for overanalyzing things. So if you have shitty sound design, I’ll rip your whole project to shreds over sound design. Although I did shit on Avowed, in today’s atmosphere it isn’t considered a complete failure (*wink wink* Concord, be grateful you didn’t pull that flop). It is a well rounded, safe bet, that the average person might enjoy for quite awhile.

Enjoy what you enjoy. And as always, a big thank you to Obsidian for bringing more joy to peoples lives, even if it wasn’t my own. What you guys do is miraculous, same goes for all game developers.

Rating: 6/10