Avowed is not a sprawling Skyrim-sized sandbox. It is a more focused fantasy RPG whose strongest similarity is the urge to leave the path and investigate whatever catches your eye: a strange rock, a distant ruin, or a cave entrance. In Windows Central’s Xbox Series X review, Zachary Boddy praised that discovery-driven exploration, along with the game’s flexible combat and story, while also reporting bugs and performance dips during the review period.
Is Avowed like Skyrim?
Only in a particular, useful sense: both can make exploration feel spontaneous. A landmark or suspicious-looking rock in Avowed may lead to a cave, hidden refuge, ruin, cache, or quest. Vertical environments and distinct regions give the Living Lands room for secrets, and the next discovery is not always obvious from the main route.
That does not make Avowed a copy of Skyrim, or a game of comparable scale. Boddy characterized it as a focused, comparatively modest RPG rather than a massive world designed to occupy players for 100 or more hours. The comparison is about curiosity and the pleasure of wandering, not matching world size or systems.
Avowed is a single-player, first- and third-person fantasy RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. It takes place in Eora, the setting of Pillars of Eternity, after the events of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Newcomers can follow the story without needing to have played the earlier games.
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- 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.
What is the story about?
You play an Aedyran Envoy sent to the Living Lands to investigate the Dreamscourge, a plague affecting the land, plants, animals, and people. The review describes it as a threat to souls that transforms victims into violent creatures. The Envoy’s connection to the Living Lands and a godlike heritage becomes part of the journey, alongside Aedyran political interests.
The story’s conflicts include political disagreement, social and economic tensions, nationalism, scientific ambition and fear, and religious fanaticism. That gives the adventure more to work with than a simple effort to stop a spreading threat.
How combat and character builds work
Avowed has no fixed class: players can combine fighter, ranger, and wizard abilities rather than commit to one role. You can equip different items in each hand and switch between two loadouts. Boddy describes combinations such as a grimoire and spear, or switching to pistols, with abilities, spells, throwables, consumables, and companion actions adding further options. Ability and attribute points can be respecced.
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.
The combat’s variety comes partly from how weapons and magic interact with the environment. Boddy praised effects such as electrifying water, igniting oil, and freezing enemies. He also found that progression could feel slow and that some gear upgrades did not feel dramatic; those are his review observations, not a universal measure of how the game will feel to every player.
Do your choices matter?
Quest decisions can have lasting effects, according to Boddy, and a character’s background can shape dialogue. Helping people early may change later encounters or relationships. Those consequences are most meaningful within the quest structure: the review found that destructive or antisocial actions outside guided missions have more limited influence on the wider world.
Companions are presented as multi-dimensional, well acted, and affected by the player’s decisions. The review also notes that the game has no romance option.
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.
How long is Avowed?
Windows Central reported that the communicated estimate for the main story was 15–20 hours, and Boddy said that range felt accurate for the main story alone. It is an estimate, not a measured average or a promise of total playtime. Boddy reported spending more than 50 hours in the Living Lands himself, which reflects his individual experience rather than a typical completion time.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What did the review say about performance and options?
Boddy reviewed the Xbox Series X version for Windows Central in an article published February 13, 2025. He reported generally smooth play, with sporadic frame-rate drops in some areas, particularly later in the game, as well as bugs affecting quests and visuals during that review period. The article mentioned a day-one patch with many fixes. These launch-period observations are not a current performance test, so they should not be treated as a verdict on the game’s present patched state.
The review described 30 and 40 FPS modes on Xbox Series X and Series S, plus an additional 60 FPS mode on Series X. Those are reported mode options from 2025, not current benchmark results. Boddy also noted control remapping, camera and HUD settings, combat assists, subtitle and dialogue options, field-of-view and gamma settings. The review said color-blind modes were absent at the time; language and accessibility options may have changed since publication.
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
For context, Windows Central lists a release date of February 18, 2025, with Premium Edition early access beginning February 13. Its review information panel gives an approximate install size of 77.4 GB, a figure that can change with patches and platform. Check the current store listing for your edition and system before relying on size, availability, or subscription details.
Who should play Avowed?
It is a strong fit for players who want an approachable fantasy RPG with a distinctive setting, flexible real-time combat, story choices, and exploration that rewards looking beyond the obvious route. Players seeking an enormous world packed with systems and a very long campaign may find its more focused scope a mismatch.
Boddy’s review verdict is positive, especially on the Living Lands, combat, and story, but it is one reviewer’s assessment based on an Xbox Series X review in February 2025. For current platform, edition, price, Game Pass eligibility, patch state, and language support, consult the live listing for the version you intend to play rather than assuming launch-era details still apply.
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Review source and attribution
The review discussed here is Zachary Boddy’s Windows Central review, published February 13, 2025, based on Xbox Series X. Windows Central states that its review sample came from Xbox Game Studios and that neither the publisher nor Obsidian had input or saw the review before publication. The publication also discloses that it may earn affiliate commission from purchases made through its links. Read the Windows Central Avowed review.
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