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.