Stuff Verdict

An old-school action RPG that still cares about role-playing as much as action, depending on how you want to play it.

Pros

Very customisable combat builds for both hands

Weird and interesting fantasy world to explore

Focus on player agency with difficult choices

Cons

Combat can drag on

Prepare to be under-levelled often

Anyone that labelled Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds a sci-fi spin on Bethesda’s Fallout games will have a hard time keeping schtum about Avowed being the developer’s answer to Skyrim. Comparisons with a game so beloved (and whose reveal trailer still sends shivers down my spine a full fourteen years later) are weighty indeed, though – so much that even publisher Microsoft has tried to play them down.

They also do a disservice to the source material. This first-person fantasy action RPG is actually a spin-off from Obsidian’s enthralling Pillars of Eternity series, just with a change of perspective and much bigger budget. After being delayed from its original November launch, 2025’s first major Xbox release aims to please returning fans, as well as court new ones trying to fill an Elder Scrolls-shaped hole. Has it been worth the wait?