Avowed

🔥 What is Avowed for PC

Avowed is a first-person fantasy RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios, set in the rich and morally complex world of Eora the same universe as the Pillars of Eternity series. Designed as a deeply immersive, story-driven experience, it invites players to explore a sprawling new land called the Living Lands, where ancient oaths, political intrigue, and divine mysteries intertwine.

Following the studio’s work on The Outer Worlds 2, Avowed represents Obsidian’s return to high fantasy but with the same focus on narrative depth, branching choices, and moral consequence. While The Outer Worlds 2 explores ambition and greed through satirical science fiction, Avowed transforms that same storytelling philosophy into a realm of gods, corruption, and spiritual decay. It’s a natural evolution of Obsidian’s design ethos: every decision shapes who you become and what kind of world will remain after your journey ends.

At its core, Avowed tells the story of a foreign envoy sent to investigate a spreading plague that corrupts both people and nature. The protagonist must navigate a world torn between faith, magic, and reason, forging alliances or enmities through moral decisions that shape the fate of entire regions. The Living Lands are a place of contradictions vibrant jungles neighboring desolate ruins, benevolent gods competing with forgotten spirits and every step forward reveals new secrets.

Avowed is not simply a combat-driven fantasy it’s a layered narrative experience about identity, belief, and consequence. Every choice carries weight, not only in dialogue but in how the player approaches the world itself. By combining first-person combat inspired by Skyrim with the moral complexity and writing depth of Pillars of Eternity, Obsidian aims to deliver a modern epic that feels intimate, dangerous, and deeply personal at every turn.

👉 Features of Avowed

Living Lands: A World of Wonder and Decay

The Living Lands serve as the central stage for Avowed, presenting an ecosystem unlike any seen before in Obsidian’s works. Each region pulses with its own life cycle, cultures, and mysteries, ranging from humid jungles overrun with corrupted beasts to sun-bleached plateaus hiding ancient civilizations. The environment itself reacts to player choices, subtly changing as corruption spreads or retreats depending on your actions.

This world is not static. Towns evolve, factions rise or fall, and NPCs remember your reputation and prior decisions. As you progress, the balance between the natural and the supernatural becomes the game’s emotional and visual heartbeat.

Dynamic Combat and Magic System

Avowed introduces a combat system that emphasizes player agency through real-time, first-person battles mixing melee, ranged, and spellcasting elements. Players can dual-wield weapons and spells casting fireballs with one hand while parrying blows with a sword in the other. Combat encourages creativity: you can incinerate enemies, freeze them mid-attack, or summon protective wards, blending tactics and reflexes seamlessly.

Magic is deeply tied to Eora’s lore, drawing from the soul-based energy known as “animancy.” Different schools of magic grant unique powers that influence not only battles but also exploration and dialogue. Some spells illuminate dark caverns, while others expose hidden truths or manipulate the minds of those you meet.

Meaningful Choices and Consequences

In true Obsidian fashion, Avowed’s branching dialogue and moral systems ensure that every major decision leaves a mark on the world. You can resolve conflicts through diplomacy, intimidation, or deception, with outcomes that ripple across regions. Allies may become enemies, factions may collapse, and entire storylines shift based on your chosen oaths and loyalties.

Even small acts saving a stranger, betraying a companion, or sparing a cursed creature can echo hours later in unexpected ways. This interconnected storytelling makes every playthrough distinct, reinforcing Avowed’s identity as a reactive narrative experience rather than a linear adventure.

Party Companions with Depth and History

Companions in Avowed are not simple sidekicks but fully realized characters with personal motivations, philosophies, and hidden traumas. Each companion has a dedicated questline that explores moral conflicts and emotional growth, often forcing players to reflect on their own choices. You can form deep friendships, rivalries, or even romances depending on how you treat them and what values you uphold.

Your party members also bring tactical advantages in combat, each with unique abilities that synergize with your own fighting style. Their interjections in dialogue, disagreements, and occasional betrayals enrich the sense of traveling with living, opinionated individuals rather than scripted followers.

Exploration and Immersion

Exploration in Avowed rewards curiosity with hidden shrines, magical relics, and lore fragments that flesh out the history of the Living Lands. Obsidian’s focus on environmental storytelling means that every ruin or settlement carries subtle clues about the world’s spiritual decay and cultural complexity. Secrets are often tucked behind puzzles, skill checks, or character-specific interactions, encouraging replayability and experimentation.

The world is seamlessly connected, without heavy reliance on loading screens, allowing you to transition naturally between regions. Weather changes dynamically, fauna react to your presence, and settlements feel like functioning ecosystems with day-night cycles and routine-driven NPCs.

Gameplay

A Blend of Action and Role-Playing Depth

Avowed’s gameplay merges the immediacy of first-person action combat with the depth of classic RPG systems. Players can specialize as warriors, spellcasters, rogues, or hybrids, freely mixing skills and abilities to create their own playstyle. Combat timing, positioning, and stamina management matter as much as tactical preparation and enchantment selection.

Character Progression and Customization

The game’s character progression system draws from Pillars of Eternity’s roots but is reimagined for a real-time framework. Experience points earned through combat, quests, and exploration unlock ability trees spanning martial techniques, elemental magic, and soul-based rituals. Weapons and armor can be enchanted with rare reagents, while talents allow for deep specialization.

Player appearance and background choices influence how NPCs perceive you, opening unique dialogue options or restrictions. Your chosen origin—whether noble envoy, scholar, or mercenary colors how people address and judge you, subtly shaping every conversation and quest outcome.

Companion Interaction and Party Strategy

Your party of up to three companions fights alongside you, each governed by distinct AI behavior and combat roles. You can issue commands mid-battle, trigger combo abilities, and position your team for tactical advantages. Outside combat, companions react to world events, comment on your moral choices, and occasionally confront you if your actions violate their values.

These dynamics make group chemistry a key element of gameplay. Managing relationships becomes as vital as wielding a weapon, as discontent companions may leave or worse, oppose you.

Exploration and Environmental Interaction

Exploration is both vertical and horizontal: cliffside temples can be scaled with the right tools, while ancient underwater ruins hide powerful relics. Spells and items often double as traversal aids wind magic for gliding, earth spells for breaking walls, or runic light for revealing hidden paths. This interplay between environment and ability keeps discovery engaging and rewarding.

Graphics

Art Direction and Visual Identity

Avowed’s art direction blends grounded realism with stylized fantasy, evoking a painterly world that feels alive yet ancient. The Living Lands are rendered with lush foliage, spectral lighting, and color palettes that shift depending on moral tone and magical corruption. Every environment feels handcrafted, from moss-covered ruins to radiant spirit shrines.

Obsidian’s proprietary engine allows for intricate environmental detail, subtle facial animation, and immersive particle effects during combat. The result is a world that feels tangible yet surreal a delicate balance between beauty and decay.

Lighting, Atmosphere, and Performance

Dynamic lighting and volumetric effects create a constant sense of motion and mood. Shafts of sunlight pierce forest canopies, torches flicker in forgotten catacombs, and corrupted zones glow with eerie phosphorescence. These visuals enhance immersion, making every region feel distinct and emotionally charged.

The PC version supports high frame rates, ray-traced reflections, and scalable settings for varied hardware. Players can fine-tune graphical fidelity, ensuring both cinematic beauty and smooth performance.

Pros and Cons

✔️ Pros

• Deep, choice-driven storytelling with lasting moral consequences
• Fluid first-person combat that fuses melee, ranged, and magic systems
• Richly developed companions with reactive personalities and quests
• Immersive, hand-crafted world filled with secrets and environmental storytelling
• Strong visual identity supported by modern lighting and performance features

❌ Cons

• Potentially limited freedom outside main questlines
• Companion AI may struggle with complex combat scenarios
• Dialogue-heavy pacing might not appeal to action-focused players
• Requires a strong PC setup to fully appreciate its graphical fidelity