Avowed

Avowed is a very good game that received a lot of negative criticism at its release that isn't really deserved. I will confess that the opening sections of the game are a bit generic. It definitely took me a while to get into the story and characters, but once I did, I was hooked. I think that was where a lot of the bad reviews came from... people judging the game just on the opening sections rather than the game as a whole. Once I moved past the first zone of the game, it definitely became more engaging for me, and I tackled the last 10 hours of the game all in one day because I was that hooked on the final chapters of the story. The combat has a lot of creativity and depth. As with all of Obsidian's games, you can really build your character however you want. For example, I barely touched the magic system in the game. I played exclusively as a melee/rifle build. But, I know others that played the whole game using spells and magic. I don't think you will lose anything from the gameplay no matter what build you choose. Obsidian gives you the weapons and load out you need to really engage with the combat, no matter your build. I played the game on normal and felt that the difficulty was manageable with only one major difficulty spike around the halfway point. However, keep in mind that the difficulty in this game really centers around your gear and weapons. If you don't have upgraded weapons before progressing to the next section, the combat will be far more difficult. As I mention at the start, the story begins feeling a bit generic, like a standard fantasy game... but I do think the story deepens the further you go and the more you interact with your companions. However, the one criticism this game does deserve is that there is too much dialogue and lore reading. You have the option to skip these things, but if you want to actually know what's going on you'll need to at least pay attention to some of it. Also, this game does take place in the same world as Pillars of Eternity, but I had no background in those games and I had no issues following what was happening, so this is a stand alone game even though it is set in the same world. Overall, the visuals and artwork are very well done. Obsidian's worlds are some of my favorites to play. I would highly encourage gamers to ignore the critics on this one and give it a shot. Smooth gameplay, great visuals, and it does lead to a very good story in the end.

This is a solid game, it just suffers from two pain points that drag the game down from what it truly could be. Too much dialogue - there's just too much useless, and yet required, dialogue to slog through. It just rambles on and on which truly takes away from the story and lore. The experience/upgrade system is too vast for how little you gain levels. I completed the game at level 25 and didn't touch 80% of the possible abilities. What's the point of all these abilities if you don't get enough level to use them? Good game. Graphics and world is awesome. Fighting is fun.

The game will crash sometimes in certain areas, but other than that, it's really fun to play