Avowed

Single-player RPG action with immersive gameplay, a deep storyline, colorful characters, and freedom of choice, ensuring 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 firearms.

Thanks to Unreal Engine 5, the game matches renowned competitors in 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 a 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 practical purposes and is usually used for combat. 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 complicated. 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 handled 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 interference in the natural cycle of life.

The technological level of Eora resembles the Renaissance: firearms and complex mechanisms have already been invented, 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 that play an important role in the life of Eora. For instance, 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 conceptual terms. PoE was a classic party-based RPG with tactical combat and a nonlinear storyline, where dialogues played a key role and influenced subsequent events. Avowed shifts the focus to adventures in a vast 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 became 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 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 tensions. Besides humans, elves, and dwarves, the world is inhabited by 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 realized all kinds of biomes and landscape variations. Players can expect sun-drenched coastlines with soft sand and harsh volcanic lava regions shrouded in smoke; remote islands and shady undergrowth; open meadows exposed to all winds and misty swamps. Additionally, there is the opportunity to climb mountains, descend into deep canyons, venture into the thickest parts of the forest, 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 called 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, leaving players with significant freedom of action. This way, the developers know exactly what players have accomplished before entering a new area and accordingly build the narrative. Players can return to previously visited areas at any time.

Throughout the Living Lands, rewards are hidden, encouraging active exploration. A high degree of immersion 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 disease known as the "Waking Dream Plague." It causes hallucinations in its victims, a connection 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, a 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. Adding to the conflicts in the narrative is the fact that the companions are from the Living Lands and will not miss the opportunity to tease the hero. Disguising oneself as a native will not work — the player takes on the role of a "god-like" being — a representative of a rare, god-marked race.

In Avowed, the writers created a deep and branching storyline, with several possible developments and moral dilemmas. The decisions made affect the 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. Individual storylines and their consequences will only be revealed with certain decisions, as dialogues contain hidden checks and can lead to unexpected outcomes, including the comical demise of NPCs.

When creating companions, Obsidian moved away from familiar archetypes, focusing on their beliefs, desires, and motivations. Before the game's release, four companions were known: the sorceress Jatta, the soldier Kai, the ranger Marius, and the scholar Yatsli. According to the story, the player will meet one of them, Kai, a representative of the Aumaua people, in the prologue. He is a former soldier and serves as a tank, guiding the player 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 involved in the events and the player's decisions. Romantic storylines are not included.

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 builds tailored to 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 Resolve) and five skill trees for the protagonist. The game encourages active weapon and build switching to counter 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 characteristics. 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.

The combination of cold or firearms with magic creates various combat situations. For example, you can freeze an enemy with a spell and finish them off with a sword or use a pistol. But enemies will also adapt to the player's tactics, using cover and flanking attacks.

Avowed is not about combat missions with exterminating enemies all over the world. Obsidian focuses on multi-layered quests, where seemingly simple tasks hide deep issues and additional storylines are revealed. Interacting with companions in the camp not only informs about the world and ongoing events but also reflects the consequences of decisions made.

Unlike typical RPGs, where quests follow a strict sequence, in Avowed they start differently, and you can approach their resolution from various angles. The leveling system is complex, providing many ways to improve and develop the hero, combining combat skills with exploration.