One of the privileges of my job is to occasionally get the opportunity to peek behind the scenes of my most anticipated video games' development. I've enjoyed multiple forays into one such title with Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed, a semi open-world fantasy RPG releasing on Xbox and PC early in 2025. Now, I can add another to the list: a second hands-on preview of a pre-release build, this time a mostly unfettered look at the game's opening hours.
Exploring the prologue, character creator, and initial starting area of Avowed cemented everything that excited me during my first hands-on Avowed preview, and did nothing to lessen my anticipation for this game. I wanted to live in The Living Lands, but it seems I'll have to wait alongside the rest of you for my next chance to do so.
However, my continued mini-adventures into Avowed have also prompted a question — with so many gamers insistent that every new game be an ambitious, revolutionary release that shakes up the entire industry, how many won't be impressed by Avowed?
My first look at character creation (that I can't show you)
I actually got to start a brand-new game of Avowed from the title screen, including watching the prologue, designing my own character, and going through the initial tutorial area. However... I can't show you any of that. It's all very work-in-progress and was rougher around the edges than the main area I explored, but I am able to share my initial impressions of the character creator, at least.
Early in Avowed's newfound marketing campaign, it underwent a small amount of fire due to its character creator being limited to two races — humans and elves — when the world of Eora boasts many, many more. This was done ostensibly to ensure all players would be of similar build for the animations, combat, and world interactions. I was also concerned by how many options I would be given when building my own character, and found more than I expected... But less than the most detailed character creators in gaming.
I can confirm that you do have very limited options when it comes to your race and body type; you can choose between feminine or masculine human or elf, and that's it. The vast majority of your customizability is in the face, where you do get a respectable number of options for skin hues, hair types and colors, eye colors, facial structure, markings, scars, makeup, and more.
You also have more options than I expected for your godlike attributes. For those not in the know, godlikes refer to members of any race that were touched by one of Eora's pantheon of gods while in the womb, passing on some of their characteristics. Your mysterious patron god and status as a godlike play a big role in the narrative of Avowed, and you can choose your godlike appearance.
You pick one of each from a variety of facial and head features. There's a great mixture of shapes and textures to match your character's aesthetic, although I do wish I was able to edit the colors of each godlike feature. Either way, these godlike attributes ensure your character will look very unique — but you don't have to see them. If you choose, you can disable your godlike features in-game so that they don't affect your custom character; all in-game NPCs will still see you as a godlike and comment on your appearance, but your character will appear as a normal human or elf to you.
Once your character's appearance is locked in, you can choose your Aedyran background. This will influence your knowledge, starting attributes, and dialogue options, but you can also respec those aforementioned attributes however you want. There are six attribute categories to spread your points between, and it all feels very familiar to the RPG genre.
Other recent RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and similar games definitely boast more impressive or in-depth character creators, but Avowed still gave me plenty of freedom to create a colorful, unique scholar that I will probably seek to recreate when I eventually play the full game. Of course, not being able to show the character creator at all hints that Obsidian may be planning more additions, too, so it can only go uphill from here.
As for the rest of what I can't show you, I don't have much to say that I can't also say about the rest of my preview. One of the opening cinematics did stun me with its art direction, though, first with its vibrant beauty and then with its grotesque visuals (no spoilers).
A dense, vibrant, and vertical world full of secrets
I've already enjoyed a few previews of the latest adventure in Eora, both when I spoke to the Avowed team about combat, companions, and choices, and when I previewed Avowed during Gamescom 2024 (I also spoke to the Avowed team then about gameplay and performance). This was my first time really being let loose in The Living Lands, though, and Obsidian Entertainment once again blew me away with its masterful world building.
After your first run-in with the enigmatic Dreamscourge plague afflicting The Living Lands, you arrive in Dawnshore and are cautiously welcomed as the official envoy of the Aedyran Empire. The denizens of The Living Lands are notoriously rebellious and lawless, and haven't been ecstatic about the heavily structured empire's egress into their homes. Still, this is where your journey begins, and it doesn't take long for you to get dragged into trouble.
The Aedyran ambassador and the leader of Dawnshore and the nearby city of Paradis have gone missing, and your mission requires you to seek out the ambassador. It's here that you meet Kai, the blue-skinned aumaua that has already made a name for himself in previous Avowed trailers, gameplay walkthroughs, and previews.
Once I was given freedom, I wasted no time exploring Dawnshore and the immediate area. Story progression prevented me from entering Paradis (the preview also ends the moment you reach this point), but I was otherwise given no restrictions. What I found was a world meticulously crafted to feel both real and alien, a difficult balance to strike. The Living Lands are colorful in the way that poisonous prey is colorful, with wild and saturated foliage and fauna complimenting the diverse environments.
There's a surprising amount of verticality to Avowed, a fact that was lost on me in my previous hands-on (which took place entirely underground). Movement actually feels great in Avowed with excellent mantling for traversal, a fast sprint, explosive dodges, and even combat slides (if you're so inclined). You can use your parkour skills to reach areas often inaccessible in most games, and Obsidian took full advantage of that to pack this world with secrets and detail.
I scaled locked or barred buildings to enter through open windows and caved-in roofs, rendered large groups of enemies helpless by attacking them from unexpected angles and vantage points, and discovered a myriad of hidden treasures throughout Dawnshore simply by careening off the obvious path. Obsidian has really done a great job making exploration feel worthwhile, both through what you might discover and just how gorgeously detailed the world is.
Of course, Avowed isn't a graphical or technical showcase. Some have criticized Avowed for its colorful, pseudo-photorealistic art direction for not standing up to the AAA behemoths in the industry, but I personally love how Avowed looks. This art style is full of character and perfectly compliments the unique environments and architecture of The Living Lands. My preview was limited to 1440p rather than my monitor's 2160p, but I cranked up every setting to the max, enabled ray tracing, and enjoyed beautiful views and smooth performance on my Lenovo Legion Tower 7i (Gen 8).
As for combat, it's more of what I experienced in my last preview, but matters have obviously improved here, too. Dodging, blocking, and parrying all feel more responsive now, making melee and mix-melee builds far more viable in large or difficult fights. Elemental status effects still look and feel great, and also give you plenty of unique ways to use your surrounding environment during battle. Being able to explore more of the skill tree was awesome, too — I wanted there to be a few more skills and abilities, but it's clear there's a ton of flexibility in how you can play.
I also love Avowed's colorful, clean interfaces and impeccable audio design. Voice acting, environmental and combat sounds, and even subtle cues to hint at nearby secrets all sound wonderful and distinct. I can't understate how much fun I had during my handful of hours in Avowed, although that's not to say there's nothing to be desired, but I'll touch on that later.
Of course, playing Avowed's opening hours also meant being introduced to its narrative. I was already intrigued by Avowed's story (especially after playing Pillars of Eternity), and I'm reminded yet again just how incredible the fictional world of Eora is in scope and depth. I was impressed by the writing and narrative delivery of Avowed's beginning chapter, although I didn't really learn anything new that we didn't already know about the campaign.
What I can say is that there is a lot of dialogue in Avowed, if you care to look for it. There are plenty of conversations to have, all of it fully voiced, and it adds a lot to the narrative experience. Your dialogue options as the main character can be a little limited, unfortunately (and choices that progress the conversation and lock away other questions really need to be highlighted), but I can live with that.
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Made with passion, but without something to raise the bar
It's blatant to me that the team at Obsidian Entertainment is pouring their all into making Avowed the best the studio has ever made, and Avowed may have the heart to claim that title. My impressions of the game thus far have been potently positive, but I also can't claim that Avowed will set a new bar for RPGs or dominate the collective community conversations for weeks to come.
At its core, Avowed is a classic RPG the likes of which we've seen before from studios like Bethesda Softworks and Obsidian itself, and that includes the iconic awkwardness for which those games are famous. Avowed doesn't boast the most fluid and visceral combat, the most expansive and interactive world, or the deepest and most malleable branching narrative. There's no co-op, no romance, no complex systems to simulate a living world.
Avowed has all the makings of an incredible game, but it'll inevitably be compared to genre-defining masterpieces like Baldur's Gate 3, Elden Ring, and even the recently released Metaphor: ReFantazio that I reviewed (which is also my current game of the year). When you put them side-by-side, Avowed obviously lacks that special something that makes those legendary titles so unforgettable and influential within the industry.
I can already see people attempting to compare Avowed to Bethesda's Starfield with similar accusations that it's wholly outdated compared to recent AAA RPGs, and at first glance I understand why. As someone who truly enjoyed playing Starfield despite all its clunkiness, though, I can confidently say that even within a few hours, Avowed has captured my heart and attention more than Starfield ever did.
Avowed is a smaller, more focused RPG experience that immerses you in the world of Eora, and every individual component I've been introduced to so far has been crafted with care and attention to detail. Avowed can charm you with its playful, colorful character, but is still more than willing to slap you in the face with dark, morbid themes when you least expect it. It's a personality we don't often see in RPGs anymore, and I love Avowed for it.
Obsidian Entertainment and Xbox Game Studios may not be aiming for the top with a massive and ambitious magnum opus (let's wait for The Outer Worlds 2 for that), but Avowed has soul — a crucial ingredient missing from a lot of modern games made from corporations chasing mainstream demographics and trends. I do wonder how many will feel the same, but it won't matter if I'm completely alone — I'm still fairly certain after two previews and two interviews that Avowed's going to be one of my favorite games of 2025.
Avowed officially releases on Feb. 18, 2025 exclusively for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, and will also be a day one addition to Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Avowed is also now available to preorder, with three available editions (including a limited steelbook edition) across the Microsoft Store, Battle.net, and Steam. This will likely be the final Avowed preview before release, so I'll see you again for my full review next year.
