Review #023 – Avowed

Unlike other standard open world games, every piece of Avowed's world feels deliberately crafted. It's like the level designers made sure that there's always *something* worthwhile to discover—even small ledges off a cliffside may have a piece of loot or crafting material, making the exploration feel very rewarding.

The story, writing, and characters are top notch—unsurprising coming from Obsidian. This includes the companions who join you on your adventure Mass Effect-style, with Kai being my personal favourite. It has an engaging first-person combat system with a few options available, like wand-based magic, sword & shield action, and long-ranged guns. Abilities, including that of your companions, are super fun to use as well.

Unfortunately the game is held back by poor technical quality. I ran into countless stuttering issues, graphical glitches, and random crashes. Waiting five minutes (yes, I timed it) for shaders to "generate" every time I boot the game is really, really annoying — especially when it crashes so frequently. I was able to look past its technical shortcomings ultimately though, and ended up spending well over 60 somewhat-uneven hours exploring the Living Lands.