After three hours, Avowed still shows no sign of a killer hook to call its own, but this fizzy RPG cocktail is plenty enjoyable all the same

Avowed is a bizarrely elusive prospect. Obsidian’s latest fantasy RPG was initially suspected to be its equivalent of Skyrim, but this is a description the studio has repeatedly refuted. It takes place in the same universe as the Pillars of Eternity games, but its glossy, modern package seemingly runs counter to the heritage of that series. Unlike Obsidian’s other recent games, such as the diminutive survival game Grounded or the medieval murder mystery Pentiment, it has no clear defining quality beyond its genre and who is making it (which some might argue is enough).

AvowedDeveloper: Obsidian EntertainmentPublisher: Xbox Game StudiosPlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out 18th February 2025 on PC (Steam, Battle.net) and Xbox Series X/S

Having now played Avowed for several hours, I better understand why it’s been such a difficult game to communicate. This is a fantasy RPG that, rather than having one, easily identifiable hook, seeds numerous smaller ideas into the genre’s mechanical archetypes. It’s a game that moves a little like Mirror’s Edge, fights a bit like Dishonored, talks a bit like Mass Effect, and looms a bit like Skyrim. Yet taken as a whole, it isn’t directly comparable to any of these games, binding these elements together with the rich worldbuilding and intricate dialogue systems Obsidian is known for.

The premise, at least, is easy enough to grasp. Set in Pillars of Eternity’s world of Eora, Avowed sees you play the Emperor of Aedyr’s personal envoy to The Living Lands. An untamed island wilderness on the far side of the world from Pillars of Eternity 2’s Deadfire Archipelago, The Living Lands is inhabited by pirates, imperial dissidents, and the remnants of frustrated colonial expeditions. You’re dispatched specifically to investigate the dreamscourge, a strange, emerging epidemic that is spreading across the island.

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After a brief tour of the character creator, which among other things let me assume they/them pronouns and stick giant mushrooms to my face, my Envoy was swiftly shipwrecked upon an offshore islet close to The Living Lands. Dusting myself off, I join up with a small, furry blue fellow called Garryck, who looks a bit like he hatched from a surprise toy. Together, we climb up to an abandoned fort in search of a means of escape.