I’ve lost count of all the RPGs that start with the lead character slowly regaining their senses, having been washed ashore after surviving a shipwreck. And considering that I’ve played enough of these, I feel like the sentence “I woke up as a Godlike diplomat to find a mushroom-associated epidemic gripping the lands” is hardly the first time I’ve said it.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m not taking a stab at the flashy new RPG ‘Avowed’ here. In fact, playing Avowed has finally made me understand why I wasn’t obsessed at all with Baldur’s Gate 3. You see, Avowed is a friendlier RPG than BG3, if you’re exceptionally impatient, and cannot quite understand turn-based combat. Avowed’s traditional hack-and-slash style of fighting can make you feel a bit maddeningly uncoordinated, but also nostalgic for the Skyrim aesthetic that we’ve all been missing for very long. Besides, it also comes along with the best thing you could ask for in RPGs: An extremely long and elaborate chore list that takes you to the different ends of this well-built fantasy land. What’s great about all of this? Read on, I’ll tell you.
As I said, the game starts with my character’s mission in the Living Lands, which places me right in the middle of the Dreamscourge (mushroom illness?) epidemic. To make my way to the primary point of contact of my mission, I must wade through a few hours of conversations with the locals in the area and take their help in fighting off a few lizards and bears. In the process, I became well acquainted with the political situation, the warring factions, the latest gossip on the people in power, and so on. I also find some questionable berries for consumption, and various weapons for fighting the bigger monsters and armed lizards that come my way.
This brings me to one of the best parts of the game: combat. The combat is a super beginner-friendly intro to a Dungeons and Dragons’ style mechanic — where you can build on your skills in certain aspects to improve performance of a specific type of weaponry. For example, if you really liked slashing at the air with a wand, you could increase your skill at wizardry/magic. And if you prefer a more face-to-face approach, you might favour upgrading swords that you find along the way. There are many, many more styles of combat, and selecting a specific character type at the beginning doesn’t stop your chances at trying your hand at all of them. I personally liked holding my wand in one hand, and raining fires on armoured wild bears. I mostly set things around it aflame because my aim was so bad, but I enjoyed the idea of that combat choice. Upgrades and useful items are not super easy to come by, which also makes every choice to fight a lot more precious. However, since this game is more story-first, the combat stays welcome for just the entirety of the main mission.
What can I tell you about the story that doesn’t spoil anything significant? Let’s try something new: I’ll tell you three things about the game, of which only two are true. First: a mysterious crystalline substance emitting some colourful gas kept trying to talk to my character. Second: my character chooses to befriend a large lizard, which then double-crosses her halfway through the game. Third: my character interacts with one of the important ‘gods’ in this universe.
RPGs, like Avowed, are amongst the only bastions of good single-player adventures. It’s currently available on the PC and Xbox, and comes free with the Xbox Game Pass. Play it if you’re interested in a 20-hour fantasy adventure.