There’s been a lot of excitement brewing since Avowed, a fantasy RPG from the team that many consider masters of the craft, Obsidian Entertainment, was first announced. Having made some of our favourite RPGs like The Outer Worlds and the Pillars of Eternity series – the universe in which Avowed is set – expectations are high.
I was whisked away to a hotel room for a bedroom delight of a different kind, where I got my hands on an hour of gameplay from Avowed, along with the opportunity to talk with Production Director Ryan Warden from Obsidian. After that time, I left the hands-on preview with a deeper sense of what Avowed is trying to be; to be honest, I didn’t want to put down the controller.
While only a small taste of what the broader Avowed experience will end up, I was set up to take on a quest, searching for an expedition team who were in search of a mysterious relic. Avowed promises to have a similar setup to that of The Outer Worlds, in that it will tight have biomes to explore, rather than a giant open world for the sake of it. This means it’s a more palatable size for those of us who are time-poor, while still having enough interesting side content.
“When you’re working on a project like this, you have to find that balance between a massive world full of detail and making sure it’s digestible for players,” says Warden. “You want that sense of scale, of grandeur, but you don’t want players to feel overwhelmed by too much stuff. It’s a delicate balance we’ve been mindful of throughout the process.”
It was noted that this particular quest I embarked on was optional content, and I asked Warden about finding that balance between creating diversions that remain interesting and tantalising enough to pull you from the main narrative. “One thing that really sets Avowed apart is how it blends exploration with storytelling.” he continues. “You’re not just following a rigid path—you’re encouraged to venture off the beaten track, to climb ledges, explore nooks, and uncover bits of environmental storytelling. Whether it’s a lore drop or treasure, there’s always something rewarding to discover.”
“First-person melee combat sometimes can feel floaty, but that certainly wasn’t the case here.”
Avowed will technically offer classless combat, which was reiterated to me before I took on the hands-on preview, but the team had already set up some builds for me to muck around with; Barbarian, Mage and Ranger. It was recommended that Mage might be a bit trickier, as they are squishier, so I first tried out Barbarian, a class I’d normally pick at home that matches my large stature in real life.
Combat, thankfully, feels rather weighty. As I pummeled my way through bugs, spiders and skeletons, the impact was felt, and in particular freezing foes with an ice-like weapon before shattering them into pieces was incredibly satisfying. First-person melee combat sometimes can feel floaty, but that certainly wasn’t the case here. It also wasn’t easy; granted, I was thrown in without much of a tutorial, but I found myself getting distance and healing regularly.
On the flip side, I tried out the Mage, re-running the same quest quickly to test them out in the major battle scenes. They were far more squishy, as promised, forcing me to be more nimble on my feet, darting about and casting spells while being sure to use a healing potion if I took even just one hit. I’d say so far the melee combat felt better as a Barbarian; that said, I didn’t have the time or opportunity to properly check out the other skills on offer or see how the builds may vary when it comes to combat. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s as solid as it needs to be.
My AI companion, Kai, held his own in combat as well; but more importantly, he seems like a compelling and likable character in his own right.
“Kai has this rye, witty nature—he can pull off the serious moments, but he’s also got that charm,” says Warden. “Our actor, Brandon Keener (Garrus from Mass Effect), absolutely nailed both sides of the character. It’s one of those performances where you get the funny lines, but also the weight of the character when the moment comes.” One particular moment has you interacting with a character who is injured, worried he’ll “never touch a girl”. When you ask Kai if he can help, he responds “…not with that!”. I couldn’t help but giggle.
“We’re really focused on keeping that signature Obsidian wit and charm in the game, even amidst all the serious, high-stakes storytelling,” adds Warden. It’s those little moments of levity that give the game heart and keep players engaged without feeling bogged down by the weight of the story all the time.”
The choices, even in this side quest, had ripple effects that I’m curious about their long-term implications. A key character in this quest, Sargamis, a gold deity-like figure, tries to convince you to sacrifice yourself for one of his experiments, and it’s here that you have to use your intelligence and conversational skills to decide on what to do. I flipped things and talked him into sacrificing himself, instead, but I’ve heard from other playthroughs that you can also convince him to leave and go back to the village to help other people, instead of him having such a dramatic end. If you manage to find the bodies of the expedition team you were searching for, you can also flat-out accuse Sargamis of murder and fight him right there.
Talking with Warden, it’s clear that the team have been honing their craft. I brought up studio closures, and lay-offs, and asked about Obsidian’s view on keeping talent. Warden mentioned there are team members who have been around for as long as Obsidian has been around, or even working at Black Isle during the Interplay days, who are still valued members today.
“One of the cool things is that the team has this ‘always be shipping’ mindset, and taking the lessons that you’ve learned from making a singular game and then applying that to the next one, getting better and building on your craft. That’s something they really bring to the table, all the lessons you’ve learned and ways you can improve, taking what works and then slightly tweaking and tuning that for the next game.”
“This wasn’t about ticking a box but creating fully realised characters who belong in this world.”
Obsidian is known for its characters, particularly in terms of how they handle diverse characters. I mentioned Parvati in The Outer Worlds as a strong example of this and asked Warden about the studio’s efforts in inclusivity.
“We’re trying to make sure the world feels real and grounded—there are non-binary characters, not solely heterosexual characters—and we’re doing that in a way that feels nuanced. These characters have rich, full lives. We don’t want anything to feel forced, we want to bring humanity to these characters,” he says. “This wasn’t about ticking a box but creating fully realised characters who belong in this world.”
“Inclusivity was something really important. This isn’t just a bunch of people in California saying, ‘Is this gonna play well?’ We’re really being authentic and true to what we’re trying to express here,” Warden adds. “We’ve been working with advisors, getting great feedback to ensure that the inclusivity we’re aiming for feels right, authentic, and real, and not something that’s just tokenism or shoehorned in. It’s about creating characters that feel like they belong in this world naturally.”
Warden couldn’t help himself but talk about the soundtrack of Avowed, too. “We’ve been working with this amazing composer, and the music is just breathtaking. It pulls you into the world—it’s one of those things where as soon as you hear the soundtrack, it elevates the whole experience. I think people are going to be blown away by how the music brings everything together.”
That rings true from what I heard and experienced; in fact, the world itself is full of little details, and I enjoyed the colourful, fantastical art style as I played. Waterfalls flowing, cave systems with underground sections to swim through and hidden rooms to discover, treasure just begging to be looted. This is absolutely a high-fantasy RPG in the best way possible; it felt very comfortable and familiar, while still being a world I was looking forward to exploring and going deeper. That’s what Warden is excited for players to check out upon release, too.
“What excites me the most is seeing how players will interact with the world we’ve built. There are so many moments in the game where we’ve planted little surprises, whether it’s a character’s reaction or a hidden piece of lore. Watching players discover those moments for themselves—that’s what I’m most looking forward to.”
From the small portion of Avowed I played and some light tinkering with different styles of combat, it gives me a lot of hope for the experience we’re going to get next year. It feels very refined on the gameplay front, and the writing, voice acting, visuals and music are all operating at a high level of quality that should be able to really suck players into this world, and keep them there. Let’s hope all the other systems and the storyline of the main critical path manage to keep up the momentum.
Avowed is set for release on February 18, on Xbox Series X|S and PC.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
