Avowed

Play it on: PC, Xbox Series X/S
Current goal: Explore the Living Lands

I’ve been excited about Avowed for quite some time. Before its release, I’d heard some folks compare it to Morrowind, in the sense that it’s a first-person role-playing game that’s “fantasy” but not, like, totally straightforward, Tolkien-esque fantasy—it’s fantasy with a vibe of its own. As a huge fan of Morrowind, this was music to my ears. It’s also by Obsidian and set in the world of the Pillars of Eternity games. What I’ve played of the first one (sadly I haven’t finished it yet!) knocked my socks off with its writing, which drew me in to the characters and their adventure while also exploring matters like faith, progress, conflict, and colonialism in ways that made the narrative sing with larger significance.

I played the first two hours of Avowed last night and found that the issue of colonialism emerges almost immediately, with my character in the ethically thorny place of representing a far-off government that claims dominion over the Living Lands, the geographically varied realm in which this game takes place. My own inclination is to do whatever I can to thwart my emperor’s efforts to exert his will on this place, and I’m eager to see just what kinds of options I’m presented with to do that as the story progresses. Also, so far the setting is gorgeous and the combat is hard-hitting. I can’t say yet if Avowed will reach the heights of Morrowind for me, but I intend to spend plenty of time this weekend finding out. — Carolyn Petit