Avowed: XBox Series X Review

Developed by Obsidian Entertainment
Platform: XBox Series X

The Last of Us' fungus has a lot to answer for.

Having collectively ravaged the consciousness back in the games and then the phenomenally popular TV series, the ripple effect of the idea lives on in Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed.

Within moments of opening, a curious and cute critter is overrun by spores, its decaying body turned into a mesh of spores and hatred (looking somewhat like an iconic Brian Bolland 2000AD cover too) - signalling the previously lush-looking Living Lands are about to become a nasty fighting ground for your future gaming pleasure.

As an envoy of a distant empire, you have been sent to investigate - and what you find at every corner is less than ideal, but requires you to summon all your RPG experience to ensure the future of the Living Lands as well as your own.

While you investigate the plague (known as the Dreamscourge) you also get to meet a myriad of characters and face a large amount of choices, as well as fighting off reanimated corpses, skeletons and other creatures determined to see you go.

Avowed does what it does very well.

While it has been criticised for not breaking the mould, it's an unfair arrow to sling - sometimes games don't need to offer new mechanics to exist, nor do they need to be outrageously different simply because. It's something Obsidian knows well here, making sure that the game is immersive and also engaging enough for those who want to purchase it.

With plenty of customisation options as well as many different ways of upgrading for combat, there are more than a few options for players to lose themselves in - and while the options are many, the need for them is light.

Simple gameplay mechanics take a little time to adjust to, but once it kicks in, Avowed heads off at a gallop as it spins off from the Pillars of Eternity universe.

With a substantial world to explore and plenty of reasons to engage for long periods with the game, Avowed shows that just committing to the bit is sometimes more than enough.