Avowed Preview: Two hours of hands-on action has us excited

We can't wait until February.

While we’ve got to wait until this coming February for the full experience of Avowed, Microsoft and Obsidian recently provided Stevivor with two hours of hands-on time to get a better sense of what will be on offer.

Obsidian – the studio behind the likes of Pillars of Eternity, South Park and the Stick of Truth, The Outer Worlds, and so many other much-loved RPGs — is known for rich, fully-formed worlds. Avowed certainly appears to continue this proud tradition.

Our hands-on playthrough of Avowed was from the beginning of the game proper, complete with a character customisation scheme that provided options for gender, pronouns, and all the usual bells and whistles that role-players certainly appreciate in 2024. I sped through options to get to gameplay, going with preset options and deciding (quite ironically) on an Arcane Scholar background paired with attributes that were balanced between might, perception, and intellect.

I said I was an ironic scholar up there because I’ve never played a single minute of the Pillars of Eternity franchise; truth be told, I’m more of a Mass Effect guy than an Elder Scrolls one when it comes to RPGs. Regardless, it took mere seconds into Avowed to become hooked by its central premise: something called the Soul Plague is spreading throughout the land, corrupting and causing rot in its wake.

Playing as a special envoy from the Aedyrian Empire, your character sets out into the Living Lands figure out what’s happening. It’s a very curious thing, because the Soul Plague tends to disfigure the living beings it touches – though, as a Godlike being, you feature similar disfigurements.

As you may very well expect, it didn’t take long running around the Living Lands to run into an NPC in trouble. A smuggler, locked behind bars, had to beat her attacker to death. Looking down at her disfigured attacker and back up to me — a man with fungus seemingly growing out of his temples and cheekbones – and I could understand her hesitation in getting too close.

If having mushrooms growing out of your face isn’t quite your cup of tea, you also have the option to play without Godlike facial features, though Obsidian makes it very clear that characters in the world will still respond to you as if you did. Considering the likelihood of importance surrounding all this, and I’d say it’s a fair call.

At any rate, it should be said that hesitancy wasn’t flowing in a single direction during this exchange; a short-term companion who I’d just met told me I shouldn’t trust folk from the nearby town of Paradis and that freeing her from her captivity would surely imperil me. I took my chances in one of what’s sure to be a host of important decisions to follow.

While this interaction was more about dialogue options, including entries that are only accessible after certain skill checks, it also provided a short glimpse into Avowed’s parkour system. While I didn’t get a full taste of the system until perhaps an hour later, my character was equipped with gloves that upped my parkour speed and it certainly was noticeable.

I was clambering up and over obstacles in a nearby cave and couldn’t help but be reminded of free running in the likes of Mirror’s Edge. In case it’s not clear, I was loving the rush.

Combat is all about the mix-and-match, and that’s across the board – there are no specific classes, and you can change up your loadouts to fit your playstyle. I began with a sword and shield before using a bow and arrow as my alternate loadout, and then attempting to swap out my shield for a spell-casting grimoire.

I was pretty pathetic with spells – and it may be due to the fact I was playing with a keyboard and mouse rather than a keyboard – so I swapped back to the shield quick smart. It was a sensible decision — the shield saved my life in combat more often than I can count, not only blocking blows but helping me parry attacks to then deliver my own attacks.

I put some skill points into a stronger parry and found great success. After arriving in Paradis, I took on a drill sergeant and won a rifle, called an Arquebus, as a prize. After that, it didn’t matter what was attacking me: be it lizard-like henchmen or even a giant bear, no one was a match for my ranged attacks paired with permanent companion Kai’s attacks.

Two hours in and I felt like I’d barely scratched the surface of Avowed, just getting into crafting and upgrade mechanics, and only toying with all that relaxing at a party camp can bring. While I’m not usually a fantasy kind of person, Avowed‘s intriguing narrative and choose-your-own combat systems have immediately engrossed me. I cannot wait for February.

Avowed heads to Windows PC via Xbox app, Battle.net, and Steam alongside Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X on 18 February 2025. Premium Editions offer access from 13 February 2025… though we would generally advise patience over additional payments (especially if you’ve already got Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass, which this is also on).

Avowed 18 February 2025 PC Xbox Series S & X   Buy on Windows PC: Microsoft Store, Steam, Battle.net Buy on Xbox: Microsoft Store