On February 12, 2025, Notebookcheck reported that a review of Avowed from But Why Tho? had briefly appeared on OpenCritic before being removed. The captured summary reportedly gave the game 9.5/10 and praised its environments, combat, and replayability. The original review is no longer available in the sources cited here, so those details remain Notebookcheck’s account of the captured summary—not independently verified contents of the review.
What the leaked review reportedly said
Notebookcheck said Reddit users saved a synopsis and score after the But Why Tho? review briefly appeared on OpenCritic. According to Notebookcheck’s account, the summary rated Avowed 9.5/10 and praised its vibrant environments, combat, and replayability. The score and assessment should be understood as reported contents of a captured summary, rather than a review that can now be checked directly. Notebookcheck’s February 12, 2025 report attributed the leak details to an Avowed subreddit post; that Reddit post was not retrievable for verification.
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The same account identified character creation as a possible weakness: the summary reportedly described an initial choice between humans and elves, while suggesting that customization expands as the game progresses. As with the other review details, this is Notebookcheck’s description of the captured summary, not a verified quotation or a direct assessment from the unavailable review.
Was the review embargo really the next day?
Notebookcheck said the embargo was believed to coincide with early access on February 13, 2025. “Believed” matters: the report does not establish that date as an official confirmation. The headline’s “tomorrow” referred to the day after the report’s February 12 publication, not to a current or recurring embargo date.
#1 Best Overall
- Welcome to the Living Lands, a mysterious island filled with adventure and danger.
- Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.
- Explore an island home to many different environments and landscapes, each with their own unique ecosystem
- Mix and match swords, spells, guns, and shields to fight your way
- Companions from a spread of species will fight alongside you, with their own unique set of abilities.
How that fits the game’s release timeline
Steam lists Avowed as developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios, with a release date of February 18, 2025. Its store description presents it as a first-person fantasy RPG set in Eora’s Living Lands, with player choices, companions, and combat involving weapons and magic. Steam’s Avowed listing is the primary source for those game and release details.
The February 2025 Notebookcheck article also described the game as offering first- and third-person exploration and combat and mentioned contemporary performance discussion. That is period context from the report, not a current performance assessment or evidence that the leaked reviewer tested a particular version.
Rank #2
- Requires base game, Game Pass Ultimate, or PC Game Pass Membership (Sold Separately)
- Premium Upgrade includes: Premium Skin Packs: 2 sets of bonus skins for your companions, and access to Avowed Digital Artbook & Original Soundtrack
- Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.
- Explore an island home to many different environments and landscapes, each with their own unique ecosystem.
- Mix and match swords, spells, guns, and shields to fight your way.
What the leak can—and cannot—tell players
The report offers an early, favorable impression as Notebookcheck summarized it, but it is not a substitute for the removed review or a broad picture of critical reception. No complete set of review scores or independently verified review text is established here. Nor should current Steam features be read back into what a February 2025 review could have assessed: the listing now mentions later-added New Game Plus, Photo Mode, a two-handed staff weapon type, appearance changes, additional character-creation presets, custom difficulty, and three new playable races.
In short, the historically grounded takeaway is narrow: Notebookcheck reported that a But Why Tho? review briefly surfaced on OpenCritic, and attributed a 9.5/10 score plus praise for environments, combat, and replayability to its saved summary. The review itself and the purported February 13 embargo timing were not independently confirmed in the available reporting.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- L'édition Premium SteelBook comprend: le jeu de base Avowed, jusqu'à 5 jours d'accès anticipé, le SteelBook Avowed, la carte des Terres Vivantes, deux packs de skins Premium et l'accès à l'Artbook numérique Avowed et à la bande-son originale
- Vous êtes l'envoyé d'Aedyr, une terre lointaine, missionné pour enquêter sur les rumeurs selon lesquelles une épidémie se propagerait dans les Terres Vivantes, une île pleine de mystères et de secrets, de dangers et d'aventures, de choix et de conséconsés. quences, et d'une nature sauvage
- Explorez une île qui abrite de nombreux environnements et paysages différents, chacun avec son propre écosystème unique
- Mélangez et associez des épées, des sorts, des armes et des boucliers pour vous frayer un chemin
- The compagnons d'un large éventail d'espèces se battront à vos côtés, avec leurs propres capacités uniques
Rank #3
- Premium Edition includes: Avowed base game, Premium Skin Packs: 2 sets of bonus skins for each of your companions, and access to Avowed Digital Artbook & Original Soundtrack
- Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.
- Explore an island home to many different environments and landscapes, each with their own unique ecosystem.
- Mix and match swords, spells, guns, and shields to fight your way.
- Companions from a spread of species will fight alongside you, with their own unique set of abilities.
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