Avowed

Single-player RPG action with immersive gameplay, a deep storyline, colorful characters, and freedom of choice, which provides a full role-playing experience. Players interact with the world from a first or third-person perspective, using a diverse arsenal: magic, melee weapons, and early samples of firearms.

Thanks to Unreal Engine 5, the game does not lag behind its renowned competitors in terms of graphics quality and is memorable for its unique visual style with distinctive art design. The bright and rich color palette chosen for the final version sharply contrasts with the dark atmosphere suggested in the early trailers.

Avowed is a standalone game set in the fantasy world known as Eora, previously featured in the Pillars of Eternity series. It is a complex and multifaceted universe, whose main feature is the intertwining of magic, souls (faith), and technology. Magic in the world of Eora serves a practical role and is usually used for combat purposes. It manifests as elemental forces — fire, ice, and electricity. However, its use is strictly limited by laws, as well as social and religious norms.

Souls in the world of Eora are more complex. Souls are not just an abstract concept, but a life force that permeates everything around — nature, beings, even complex machines and mechanisms. Their study is undertaken by the local science of animancy, and experts in this field — animancers — can perform incredible feats: from healing souls to their relocation. However, their activities provoke controversy and fear in society — many see these experiments as an interference in the natural cycle of life.

The technological level of Eora resembles the Renaissance: firearms and complex mechanisms have already been invented here, for example, in battle, arquebuses and cannons are used alongside swords and bows. However, such inventions remain rare and expensive. Additionally, many devices in Eora are based on magic or soul energy, making them both powerful and dangerous.

There is also an extensive mythology with its pantheon of Engwithan gods and numerous fantasy creatures playing an important role in the life of Eora. For example, Eothas — the god of rebirth and redemption, or Magran — the goddess of war and fire. Only a few chosen ones are marked by their attention, and one of them is the player, which endows them with special abilities and responsibilities.

Avowed differs most from its predecessor in a conceptual sense. PoE was a classic party-based RPG with tactical combat and a non-linear plot, where dialogues played a key role and influenced subsequent events. Avowed shifts the focus to adventures in a large world with dynamic action while maintaining an RPG foundation, but with a more linear narrative.

The world of Eora consists of many continents and islands, including the Eastern Reach region, where the events of Pillars of Eternity took place, and the Deadfire Archipelago, which served as the basis for its sequel. In Avowed, players venture into the Living Lands — a new region previously unexplored within the universe. This mysterious and inhospitable far north of Eora is shrouded in legends and previously unseen creatures.

The political structure of Eora is diverse. Powerful states engaged in fierce rivalry coexist with small nations trying to stay afloat. Internal conflicts, political intrigues, and factional confrontations make the world unstable, while ethnic diversity only heightens the tension. Besides humans, elves, and dwarves, the world is home to mighty semi-aquatic aumaua and agile, bird-like orlans. There are also god-like representatives of various races, blessed with physical aspects of one deity or another.

While working on the game world, the designers of Avowed seem to have implemented all kinds of biomes and landscape variations. Players will encounter sun-drenched coastlines with soft sand and harsh volcanic lava regions shrouded in smoke; remote islands and shady underbrush; open meadows exposed to all winds and hidden misty swamps. Additionally, there is the opportunity to climb mountains, descend into deep canyons, venture into the very thicket of dense forests, cross arid deserts, and rest by the clear waters of lakes or turbulent rivers.

Scattered throughout the region are villages, settlements, fortresses, and military camps, while a large and bustling city named Paradis sits on the coast. Standing at the very edge of known lands, this last major stronghold of civilization has become a refuge for those with nowhere else to go — fugitives, wanderers, and exiles. Every street here holds its stories, and every resident carries their secret.

In Avowed, the developers opted for large but still limited locations instead of a fully open world. The approach is reminiscent of The Outer Worlds: the world is divided into zones filled with quests, events, secrets, and other activities, allowing significant freedom of action for the player. This way, the developers know exactly what the player has accomplished before entering a new area and accordingly shape the narrative. Players can return to previously visited areas at any time.

Rewards are hidden throughout the Living Lands, encouraging active exploration. A high degree of immersiveness turns this action into a true adventure: players can climb ledges, freeze water to create ice bridges, break down walls, ignite obstacles, or activate mechanisms that open new paths.

The events of Avowed begin decades after the conclusion of Pillars of Eternity and focus on investigating a mysterious illness known as the "Waking Dream Plague." It causes hallucinations in its victims, connections to magical dimensions, and a gradual deterioration of their minds. Its origin is unknown, but it is believed that the contagion is linked to soul magic.

Once appearing on the outskirts of the Living Lands, the disease spreads rapidly, forcing the Aedir Empire to send the main character to identify the source of the infection and prevent a catastrophe. The locals regard the hero with hostility — to them, he is a dangerous outsider, a messenger of a powerful empire. The fact that the companions are from the Living Lands adds to the conflicts in the narrative, and they will not miss the chance to tease the hero. Disguising oneself as a native will not work — the player takes on the role of a "god-like" representative of a rare, god-marked race.

In Avowed, the writers created a deep and branching plot, with several possible outcomes and moral dilemmas. The decisions made affect the further course of the story and even the ending, but it is not always clear which choice is better. As a result, the game has great potential for replayability: each new journey will be special — with unique plot twists, conflicts, and character reactions to the hero's actions. Certain storylines and their consequences will only be revealed with specific decisions, as dialogues contain hidden checks and can lead to unexpected outcomes, even to the comical demise of NPCs.

In creating companions, Obsidian moved away from traditional archetypes, focusing on their beliefs, desires, and motivations. Before the game's release, information about four companions was known: the sorceress Jatta, the soldier Kai, the ranger Marius, and the scholar Yatsli. According to the plot, in the prologue, the player will meet one of them, Kai, a representative of the Aumaua people. He is a former soldier and serves as a tank, guiding through the world of Avowed.

Each companion has a deeply developed personal story and a unique quest. Moreover, they are not just observers but are actively engaged in the events and decisions of the player. Romantic lines are not provided.

In battle, the player is supported by two companions at the same time. Considering that each companion has their own, albeit limited, skill tree, this allows for creating builds for various situations. The companions' equipment remains unchanged and cannot be customized.

Avowed offers a classic RPG development system with six attributes (Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Perception, Intelligence, and Willpower) and five skill trees for the protagonist. The game encourages actively switching weapons and builds to face different types of enemies: from ordinary humanoids and wild beasts to mythical creatures like spirits, skeletons, and golems.

Weapons and armor have five quality levels — from Common to Legendary; the higher the quality of the item, the stronger and better it is. For balance, each item can be upgraded three times to enhance its attributes. For example, elemental damage can be added to melee weapons. A revolver can be charged in such a way that each shot feels powerful and significant.

A combination of cold or firearms with magic gives rise to a variety of combat situations. You can, for example, freeze the enemy with a spell and finish off with a sword or use a gun. But the enemies will adapt to the player’s tactics using shelters and flank attacks.

AVOWED is not about combat mission with the extermination of enemies around the world. Obsidian has focused on multi -layer quests, where deep problems are hidden behind the outwardly simple tasks, additional plot lines are opened. Communication with partners in the camp not only informs about the world and ongoing events, but also reflects the consequences of decisions made.

В отличие от обычных RPG, где квесты идут в строго определенной последовательности, в Avowed они начинаются по-разному, и к их решению можно подойти с разных сторон. The pumping system is comprehensive, provides many ways to improve and develop the hero, combining combat research skills.