4.5/5 ★ – arnoldzone's review of Avowed.

This was a surprise for me; I hadn't really been following it at all before release. (And if I had been, I think my interest would have been low anyway.) I did like Obsidian's The Outer Worlds, but the idea of a fantasy RPG—and worse, one with lore already established in multiple games—seemed like a chore I wouldn't have interest in, especially these days, when my gaming time is more limited than it used to be. But! After hearing raves on gaming podcasts, and hearing that this follows the more focused, streamlined approach to open-world RPGs that I appreciated in The Outer Worlds, I renewed GamePass and gave it a shot. And it's awesome! I have to admit, the story and lore stuff only somewhat held my interest. The inclusion of a slick in-game glossary for the world's lingo was nice, though I only really used it for the first couple hours. After that, I generally A-pressed my way through the dialogue sequences, skimming the dialogue text and skipping most of the spoken dialogue. The acting seemed great, but at that point Avowed had morphed into a podcast game for me, and I preferred to hustle through the conversations to get back to the rest of the game, which I enjoyed a lot more. By the rest, I largely mean the combat, which is dramatically smoother and more enjoyable than in a game like Skyrim. Avowed offers a lot of flexibility in one- and two-handed weapons, and you can swap between two load outs with a button press. This means that you can, for example, have a ranged weapon setup that you use as you begin an encounter, and then swap to your close-in weapons as you close the distance with enemies. That's exactly what I did, opening fights with a few shots from a sweet two-handed arquebus (yes, a fantasy game with guns—super cool) and then whacking away at my foes with a one-handed sword in my right and an elemental spell book in my left. Quick-access buttons for other battle and healing items work well, and the simple dodge mechanic helps when you're not a shield-user. The enemy variety is perhaps a little lacking, but I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed each battle in Avowed. The combat was probably my favorite aspect of the game, but I also liked the exploration—the world is colorful, diverse, and not too large, and pretty much all the loot you find is useful in some way. The world isn't full of junk, Skyrim-style (sorry for picking on you, Skyrim). All of this kept me motivated to poke around for secrets. Some reviewers have disliked the materials and weapon upgrade systems, but I actually found it great. The materials system is clearly and cleanly defined, with a handful of generic material types, and each subsequent large open area having a higher tier of that type. You can then craft lower-tier mats into higher ones, or break down higher-tier mats into lower ones. And different material types go with different weapon types; i.e., you always know generally what you'll need to upgrade your arquebus. The materials themselves seemed plentiful enough to me. I found lots during both main and side quests, and you can break down unneeded weapons/armor (which are also findable in large quantities) to get more. This may have been in part because I really focused in on my pair of load outs early in the game, so I was largely upgrading one set of weapons/armor throughout my adventure. I imagine it's more frustrating if you're trying to upgrade multiple weapons etc. So! Avowed was a really fun surprise, and it's especially awesome to have it available on GamePass. Ya got me, Microsoft! I'm also more excited now for The Outer Worlds 2, which is due later this year. If Obsidian can apply some of these refinements to a sci-fi setting, I think the adventure may well be "out of this world!"