Intro and Gameplay
Coming into Avowed, I didn’t expect much. The first few bits of coverage I witnessed just left me with a ‘meh’ feeling and with so many quality games, it wasn’t really on The Amy Radar. Well, sometimes you’re wrong. In this case, I was very wrong. This is one of the best adventures I’ve had the privilege of experiencing in a long time.
Let’s just clear the air before we go any further: No, this is not a super in-depth, complex CRPG. Streamlined is the best description I’ve seen for it and after you get over this fact, hopefully, you can enjoy the game for what it is. Got it? GOOD. You can send items from your inventory directly to camp. You don’t have ammo or arrows you have to keep track of, etc etc. RPG-lite might turn off many hardcore players but the gameplay, combat, voice acting, choices, and story all come together to create a fantastic experience while not perfect, it’s a ton o’ fun.
Graphics and Sound
The Unreal engine. It’s a bit of love and hate in modern gaming and Avowed is no different. There are some absolutely marvelous-looking moments of the game and some that dip down the framerate and have me scratching my head about why this engine is so popular. Overall, the textures and environments are wonderful especially the night scenes at camp.
Oh, my ears are happy! The sonic portion of Avowed is a mix of subtle yet beautiful music, quality voice actors including Garrus from Mass Effect (!), and awesome sound effects that pack a punch. Thumbs way up here.
Feedback and Verdict
Avowed is not perfect. There are some massive bugs when exploring the edges of the map and some jumping bugs that will hopefully be fixed in a day 1 patch. There are some grindy elements to upgrading your gear and enemies don’t respawn. All items that can be adjusted or patched in.
In the end, I love Avowed. It scratches an itch I didn’t realize I had. It’s ok to have deep, complex RPGs and it’s ok to have lite ones like this. It’s biggest strength? It’s just plain FUN to play! It’s the biggest and best surprise so far this year and I can’t wait to play more.
