Avowed

if you get it on sale, its good. but its not worth it till a sale. There's enough for a playthrough but there's no replayability.

I don't often write reviews but I feel compelled to do it this time, because this game gets such a bad rap that I almost didn't play it, and I'm glad I got it on sale because I ended up having a blast. While it has flaws, I was led to believe it would be a shallow, short experience that couldn't hope to compare to the likes of TES, and I was completely wrong. For context I played Tainted Grail right before this and I ended up liking Avowed more, on account of the game world (I can only take so much "dark and gritty" gloom). [h2]The Good [/h2] - Worldbuilding: While I'm not the utmost fan of the world of Pillars of Eternity, I found this was the best rendition of it yet, and they truly did a lot to immerse you in that world like never before, down to the small details. - Story choices: I enjoyed, as always, Obsidian's writing, and the complexity of the choices you have to make (they are never easy). Your starting position as an Envoy of a foreign power adds a lot of layers that I found really enjoyable. There were times I wish I was given another path for a quest but overall can't complain, given the amount of meaningful choices you get to make. - Exploration: This game really shines as an exploration game. There are so many nooks and cranies to explore, and you always get rewarded for it. You can even change the course of the story by stumbling on an unmarked quest. - Scrolls-like with parkour: I must admit I didn't see that coming, and I found it really engaging. It has by far the best traversal in a scrolls-like game I've ever seen. Movement and combat feel very dynamic and fun. A small complaint though, the game is not always consistent in what you can climb or not, especially in the last two zones, which can sometimes make you fall to your death. - Graphics: One of my main worry was that the game would look bad, it is in fact absolutely gorgeous. I was worried at first that all of the island would look samey, but they did a wonderful job making each area stand out with its own environment climate. Compared to something like The Outer Worlds which IMO suffered from asset re-use, I really felt like they had a lot of variety there. - Combat: Combat is good, I did a magic playthrough and that was (literally) a blast. Small things could be improved, but combat never ceased to be fun, and that's no small achievement after 70+ hours. You can make a lot of different viable builds, and mix and match skills from various trees to create your very own Envoy (want to dual-wield a wand and a gun? The game's got you covered!). - Inventory management: Small thing perhaps but this the best, least intrusive inventory system I've ever seen in an RPG. It's very liberating to have weightless consumables and the ability to stash items from anywhere. It made me realize how many hours I usually spend doing tedious inventory management in other games, that I didn't have to do here. The item upgrade system is also interesting. [h2]The Bad[/h2] - Bugs: I had a few crashes to desktop (maybe 3 times over 70 hours, not a big deal). Using the autosave function is a must. I also encountered recurring sound problems that were fixed by disabling spatial sound in Windows. A little annoying but nothing major. - Pacing: The biggest problem with the game is that it doesn't do pacing very well. The story progresses in bursts, and sometimes you get the feeling some content was cut. Some areas are packed with things to do, others feel a bit empty. The ending in particular feels way too long, but ends with a couple of fights that are anticlimatic. - Marketing: Between its outrageous initial asking price, the boring name, the frankly terrible and unevocative cover art, and the screenshots that made me think the game would look like it puked rainbows, I feel like the game was really let down by its marketing. It sucks that we will be deprived of a second game because of these self-inflicted wounds. [h2]The Ugly (mixed bag)[/h2] - Companions: The dwarf and aumauan companions are really great, but the human and orlan companions are seriously unlikable or downright annoying. They both come across as arrogant, sanctimonious douches, and nothing in the story warrants them being so full of themselves. As some point you meet and archmage, the Orlan girl says a couple of lines, and the archmage is like "Wow, you're so incredibly smart, be my apprentice!". That game is much more enamored with these two characters than they deserve, and they never get put down a notch. Other than that, companions are useful in combat, but lacking in the customization department. - Dialogues: My personal gripe with Pillars of Eternity is that it takes its lore very seriously, and the frequent flowery dialogue you get from Gods ends up getting on my nerves. VA is fine though, and character dialogues are a lot better, so it doesn't show up everywhere, but sometimes I badly wanted the Gods to just shut up (to Obsidian's credit, you can tell them that). [h2]Verdict[/h2] All in all, I had a blast with the game. At just over 70 hours, I feel it sits at the right length (though I would have preferred 60 hours with more tight pacing); NewGame+ and the choices and builds available mean there is good replayability. I recommend getting it at a price that feels fair for you if you're ready to try a solid AA scrolls-like that isn't afraid to stray quite a bit from the formula, but has plenty of choices, exploration and nervous combat to offer.

on nous vend du combat magique , on se retrouve avec soit un bouquin et 3 pauvres sorts digne d 'un apprenti qui sont juste des powers up quand tu te fais attaquer ( genre sa destabilise l'ennemie , bouclier en mousse,etc...) mais absolument pas de la magie avec de vrais sort ( rts, skyrim, etc...) ou alors...........t'a la baguette d 'harry potter qui, bein sert juste a envoyer des petits "piou piou " tout mignon mais dont l 'efficacité doit etre discutable meme a la creche de jk rolling. ah et puis evidement la magie ne revient toute seul , faut se drogué toutes les 10 secondes pour se remettre de la mana avec des potions ! le monde magique d'avowed quand tu decouvres que c 'est un clochard qui est dans le costume de mickey et pas .............mickey ! donc on a un jeu ou l 'arc est plus magique que la baguette , puisque lui il a des fleches illimités tranquille quand ton personnage magicien de formation est juste un drogué qui envoie 2 sorts quand il a pris sa dose mais doit deja retourner voir le dealer du coin pour sont prochain combat ! il a pas grand chose de magique et du coup on se dit meme que finalement n 'importe qui serait aussi magique on peut arreter de nous vendre des mensonges via de zolies trailers faux ? le jeu ne peut absolument pas se jouer en magicien, c 'est juste du renfort entre deux coups d 'epée ou fleche ! a oublié ....... alors apres peut etre que sa se devellope mais bon a 60 euros le jeu dont les 2 premieres heures alors que j 'etais magicien , me donne une dague pour combatre ( alors que c 'est bien preciser dans la feuille de perso que son orientation me donnera ma première arme en adequation avec celui ci ) mais si magicien , c 'est se battre au coupe papier du pauvre, je prefere un remboursement direct et tant pis pour le jeu .....j irais voir ailleurs

this is the kind of game that was made for me, i love the slower levelling progression, the rewarding skill system when you do level up, the gear that you find while exploring wonderous landscapes, a story line worth investing time into and deep lore that has spread across 3 games.

This is quite nice. Depth in characters, multiple story angles. Combat is very fun. There are a lot of different combat tactics and styles. I wasn't expecting it to be this good. I'm already on my second playthrough.

First thing, don't play mage. The game is gas, but most gripes that I have with this game has to do with the fact I played mage. Your followers barely draw aggression, the enemies do not care if there is a giant with a shotgun charging them, you will be the one they target. Melee is also broken; I didn't play as melee myself but the enemies are always able to smack you from across the room with aimtracing, range does not matter in this game. The other ♥♥♥♥♥♥ thing about mage is that your magic does not regenerate. You have to kill enemies and collect the essence to fuel your spells. Despite all that, I did beat the game as a mage, though I could not have possibly attempted that on a difficulty higher than normal. Visually, the game is beautiful. What makes it beautiful is less the graphics, and more the environment. Every act in the game has wildly different scenery. Many enemies are reused throughout them but it didn't really bother me. The goal of the visuals is to give the impression of a very hostile land that seems nearly untamable, and I think it succeeded. I've seen a few reviews that rag on the environment being empty because all the NPCs are in the city and I gotta disagree. The island is very hostile and it makes sense for the player to be the only idiot wandering around, except you aren't the only one out there: there's a ton of quest givers to find outside of the city, I don't even know why people are complaining. Another strong point is the general quality of life for the player. While there is a weight system, it's nonconsequential as you can just send stuff to the stash from inventory or dismantle it because materials don't weigh anything. Fast travel points are generous, food/resources are abundant, previous upgrade materials can be used to make the next tier of upgrade materials. Point is, the devs went out of their way to remove obstacles that are just there to be annoying/time-consuming and it's kind of nice. Companions are honestly pretty weak sauce. There's only one that I find compelling as a character, the rest are just sort of there. With a lineup like this, I'm not shocked the devs didn't even attempt romance, it's probably a better game without it. There isn't any sort of affinity system and you can pretty much do what you want; your companions will complain and you'll be chooms again by the next conversation. The narrative: it's simultaneously the strongest and weakest point of the game. The setting is actually very compelling, and I found real reason to keep moving forward as the character. NPCs are genuinely affected by your choices and you can earn their hate or love. You have many choices to make and very few of them are actually ones which you don't know what will happen. However, every interaction is saturated in a very typical Colonial Power vs Free People vibe, and ALL of your companions oppose the colonial power that you're Avowed to. Being the "good guy" involves running around apologizing to everyone for the way your empire conducts themselves [spoiler] before betraying that empire [/spoiler] That being said, you actually do have a choice to be good, bad, or anywhere in between, it's just obvious what the writers consider to be "good". Observe the main antagonist if you doubt that. RPG elements. Pretty standard skill/attribute point system that awards just enough points to make you feel like you have a build going by the time you're halfway through the game. I've seen better and worse. The game caps attributes at 30 but you'll never see anywhere near it on a single skill if you're playing the game right. It has New Vegas-like dialogue skill checks but those checks are much more common and much less rewarding. I do recommend this game overall, and once again, warn the reader against playing a mage.

Good RPG. Solid lore, especially if you have played the Pillars of Eternity games. Lasted a bit too long.