Avowed’s First Post-Launch Addition Feels Clear as Day

In many ways, Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed is a unique experience among modern RPGs. With a colorful and vibrant world, a strong emphasis on player choice, and a combat system that is incredibly engaging for a first-person RPG, Avowed offers a worthwhile experience for any fan of games like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and The Outer Worlds. However, as worthwhile as that experience may be, it’s a one-way road in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to its lack of an increasingly popular game mode in RPGs with the depth potential and size of Avowed.

Avowed may give players a considerable number of paths to take in its story and side quests, and it might boast a skill system that calls for experimentation with diverse playstyles, but its lack of a New Game Plus mode ultimately works against both of these features by not giving players a longer road to experiment on. As such, while it will likely see numerous updates that intend to polish and refine its many systems, Avowed‘s first major post-launch addition feels clear as day — it needs a New Game Plus mode, and it needs one sooner rather than later.

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Avowed Review

Avowed’s first-person combat and respect for player choice make it a journey worth having, but flaws in its story and design make it a one-way road.

Avowed Needs a New Game Plus Mode

Avowed’s Best Features Are Its Potential for Build Diversity and Its Emphasis on Player Choice

Avowed has a lot of things working for it, but its two best features are arguably its potential for build diversity and its strong emphasis on player choice. Obsidian is no stranger to choice-driven games, as that has proven in the past to be a significant characteristic of its work. The same is very true of Avowed, which puts the player in a unique position to be fully in charge of their destiny, to the point that the game’s companions often encourage the player to be confident in the decisions they make, regardless of who they may disappoint in the process.

Avowed also holds massive potential for build diversity in its skill system by allowing players to choose any combination of abilities from its three class trees — Fighter, Ranger, and Wizard. Rather than locking players down to one class, Avowed allows them to create a multiclass character if they so desire, making combat as engaging and as personal as they want it to be.

New Game Plus Can Only Benefit Avowed’s Best Features

Unfortunately, the lack of a New Game Plus mode in Avowed ultimately works against its desire for build diversity and its emphasis on player choice. By the time players reach the end of Avowed‘s story, even after doing most or all of its optional content, they will only have acquired a handful of skill points that is somewhat meeger in comparison to the sheer number of available ways to spend skill points. A New Game Plus mode would effectively allow them to continue building on top of what they’ve already built in a character, and an even greater opportunity to experiment with playstyles that are truly diverse.

A New Game Plus mode would also complement Avowed‘s emphasis on player choice, as it would allow players to complete the story again with the character they’ve already invested in, all while making different choices during subsequent playthroughs. A New Game Plus mode would allow players to focus less on the strength of their character (unless enemies were made to be more difficult) and more on the choices they make. In short, Avowed really does need a New Game Plus mode added soon, as its best systems are ultimately dampened by the lack of one.

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Released

February 18, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence

Publisher(s)

Xbox Game Studios