GamesAction RpgPlaying Avowed feels like an Obsidian RPG with Skyrim-like combat, dialog options that reflect your build, and newbie-friendly fantasy loreWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesAction RpgPlaying Avowed feels like an Obsidian RPG with Skyrim-like combat, dialog options that reflect your build, and newbie-friendly fantasy loreWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
At the beginning of my hands-on demo, I was given the choice of playing with one of three premade character builds: barbarian, mage, or ranger. The idea of flicking a wand as a mage in combat steered my decision, but this gaggle of bony foes put my magical skills to the test. Armed with a wand in one hand and a grimoire in the other, the latter outfits me with four different spells I can fire out. Using RT to bring up my abilities on the Xbox Series X controller, I try out an electric power that zaps multiple skeletons around me with bolts of lightning. As they momentarily fry, I jump back and throw several bombs in their direction. All the while, I constantly fire shots from my wand to whittle down the priest’s health. The fight is increasingly frantic, pushing me to use everything I have in my arsenal (as well as a handful of potions). When I take one too many hits, I decide it’s time to switch gears and try out the beefier barbarian.
Might and magic
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
How the magic happens(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)Obsidian made Fallout: New Vegas in 18 months, but Avowed has taken the studio five years: “It’s been a long development cycle”
How the magic happens
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)Obsidian made Fallout: New Vegas in 18 months, but Avowed has taken the studio five years: “It’s been a long development cycle”
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
Obsidian made Fallout: New Vegas in 18 months, but Avowed has taken the studio five years: “It’s been a long development cycle”
As the barbarian, I can do the same thing, but I’m far less subtle this time. Instead, I run right up with reckless abandon and bash the creature with my two-handed club. The former approach feels far slicker, while the latter sends the small lizard flying with a satisfying thump.
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Chop and change
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
When I at first get a taste of combat as a mage, it’s hard not to draw parallels to Skyrim. While it’s similar in the sense that you can wield a weapon of your choice in either hand, there’s a bit more going on, with a radial wheel that lets me send out companion commands and access potions (which also can be hotkeyed for ease).
I do give dual wielding wands a brief whirl, but they don’t pack as much of a punch as I’d have liked, especially compared to the spells I can channel from a grimoire. Instead of just casting one spell depending on what I have equipped like Skyrim, I can cast four from the grimoire I have equipped from my left hand.
I found the mage trickier to master compared to the barbarian, but I did enjoy how much freedom I had to switch up my loadout for any build I create and gear it towards my preferred way to play. As a barbarian, I frequently switched between loadout from a two-handed weapon to dual-wielding an axe and sword with a single button press, and I could chop and change my weapons in my inventory at any time.
GamesRadar+ is in Cologne playing the most anticipatednew games of 2024, and speaking to the developers bringing them to life. For more of our hands-on previews and exclusive interviews, visit theGamescom 2024coverage hub.
CATEGORIESPC GamingXbox Series XPlatformsXbox
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PRODUCTSGamescom 2024Avowed
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