We've been waiting for it with great anticipation! Avowed, the RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment, is now available on PC, Xbox Series and the Battle.Net platform (the platform for Blizzard and Activision franchises) since February 18, 2025. Originally scheduled for November 2024, the game was postponed to " relieve the backlog of Xbox gamers ", as stated by Xbox executive Phil Spencer, quoted by Gameblog.
Synopsis of Avowed:
"Welcome to the Living Lands, a mysterious island where adventure and danger await you. You are an envoy from the faraway land of Aedyr, commissioned to investigate rumors of a plague spreading through the Living Lands, an island full of mystery and secrets, danger and adventure, choices and consequences, and untamed wilderness. You discover a close link between the Living Lands and an ancestral secret that could change everything. Can you save this unknown frontier and your soul from the forces that threaten to tear them apart?".
The game takes place in the world of Eora, well known to fans of the Pillars of Eternity franchise, but introduces a new region called the Living Lands. This area, designed specifically for Avowed, features interconnected environments, rich in quests and secrets. Unlike the studio's previous games, the title abandons the isometric view in favor of a first-person perspective and action-oriented gameplay. Real-time combat is accompanied by an advanced customization system, allowing players to shape their character through a variety of skill trees.
Another notable feature is that Avowed marks the first Xbox Game Studios game to join Battle.Net since Microsoft's takeover ofActivision Blizzard. This choice could foreshadow a strategy aimed at making this platform an alternative to Steam. At the same time, a Premium Edition of the game, priced at 99.99 euros, includes digital bonuses and five-day early access, a practice that is currently provoking debate in the industry.
Test of Avowed :
Playing time: 17 hours
So, what's Avowed worth on Xbox Series? Well, it's got a lot going for it, that's for sure! Graphically speaking, the game is rather beautiful and varied in what it offers (cities, landscapes...). So, yes, it's fantasy and colorful, but it's solid and assertive. As for the cinematics, they're simply breathtaking! It's a no-brainer for us.
In terms of gameplay, the game's combat and leveling are quite comprehensive, and a little complex to get to grips with at first, but once you've got the hang of it, it's ultra-fluid and rhythmic, just the way we like it. Note that you can have two types of equipment on hand simultaneously, easily switched via the Y button: the "close combat" hand, with sword and shield, and the "ranged combat" hand, with bow and arrow, magic wand and spell grimoire (mixing the genres is also possible, for example sword and spell grimoire). It's well thought-out, and the use of magic works well (we personally preferred to play as a sorcerer rather than a paladin).
As for thestory, it's just as complete, a little too talkative and "political" for our taste (it's almost all diplomacy), but it's quickly absorbing and hard to tear yourself away from the game. What more could you ask for, then, if the game is this addictive!
On the other hand, the inventory is a bit cluttered and quickly fills up, which both handicaps you by making you walk more slowly (real impedimenta...) and prevents you from picking up the slightest item (weapon, shield, armor) on the way back to camp to empty your pockets. Camps are relatively far apart, and fast travel is not available when you have too much equipment on you. So you'll have to play it smart and not accumulate too much stuff, unless you dismantle your equipment if it's not performing well straight away. The same goes for healing yourself when you've run out of potions: in the middle of a fight, it's not very practical to go back into the inventory and nibble on something that will boost your health gauge, but that's a detail.
All in all,Avowed is a great success on all fronts, promising hours of gameplay and fun for fans of the genre. All you have to do is make up your own mind!
Ready for adventure?
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