ORLAN NOTHING

Though humble and a little old-fashioned, AVOWED is classic Obsidian

- By Shaun Prescott

In mid-2023, a few prophetic indie developers warned on social media that the imminent launch of Baldur's Gate III was going to raise expectations for future RPGs to unrealistic heights. Now, in early 2025, I'm here to say that, sadly, they were right: I'm compelled to point out right off the bat that Avowed is not Baldur's Gate III, nor is it STALKER 2, nor is it Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.

It's not Fallout: New Vegas, either. No, it's a much more old-fashioned kind of thing. Avowed is undeniably a product of the studio responsible for The Outer Worlds and—most relevant in this case—Pillars of Eternity. It spins a gripping fantasy yarn, balancing existential severity with arch humor, while retaining that most enduring and fascinating Obsidian quirk: this is an admirably flawed achievement. It succeeds as an action game, it excels asa choice-based narrative game, but with the criteria determining what makes a brilliant RPG having so dramatically shifted of late, it doesn't feel like a standout RPG in 2025. Its world, though beautiful, is simply too static—not as malleable or reactive as some of its contemporaries, nor even the classics it recalls.

I am an envoy of the Aedyr emperor, sent to the notoriously dangerous Living Lands to investigate the Dreamscourge. This 'soul plague' sends people and animals mad while blighting them with actually-quite-stylish technicolor body fungi. The virus is spreading fast, so my nameless, voiceless and fully-customizable envoy must put a nip in its fungal bud before it spreads to the Aedyr empire proper.