Info about Avowed:

Official game description:
Avowed Premium Edition
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About the Game
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Welcome to the Living Lands, a mysterious island filled with adventure and danger.
Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.
The Living Lands is an island where the air hums with ancient magic, the flora seems to move with a mind of its own, and the ground beneath your feet shifts with secrets waiting to be unearthed.
Now, the Living Lands faces a dire threat—a mysterious plague that defies nature and reason, spreading chaos across its sprawling wilderness.
As an envoy of Aedyr, you are sent to investigate, but what begins as a mission of duty soon becomes deeply personal—you feel as though the land recognizes you and is pulling you toward something greater. The choices you make will ripple across the Living Lands, shaping the fates of its people, its creatures, and even yourself. But beware, for every decision carries weight, and the forces you encounter will not hesitate to test your resolve.
Can you navigate the tangled web of intrigue, power, and danger to uncover the truth? Can you save this unknown frontier and your soul from the forces threatening to tear them asunder?
Even more to do in the game! This update brings New Game Plus, a Photo Mode, a brand new weapon type with two-handed staves, the ability to change character appearance whenever you’d like, new character creation presets, additional Godlike presets, custom game difficulty settings, and the addition of three new playable races: Dwarf, Aumaua, and Orlan.
The Living Lands is a place that feels foreign yet somewhat intrinsic to you as it feels the island itself is calling out to you for help. Explore an island home to many different environments and landscapes, each with their own unique ecosystem.  
Mix and match swords, spells, guns, and shields to fight your way. Dig into your grimoire for spells to trap, freeze or burn enemies, bash them with your shield, or use range bows to attack from a distance.  
Companions from a spread of species will fight alongside you, with their own unique set of abilities. From a former mercenary to an eccentric wizard, they will be part of your journey with your choices shaping them as you help them with their quests.
**High Fidelity Graphics**
Discover the breathtaking beauty of the Living Lands as you embark on your journey as the envoy of Aedyr. Avowed delivers stunning visuals, enhanced on PC, with support for true 4K resolution on compatible devices and unlocked framerates for smooth, seamless performance. Every detail of this weird and wonderful world is designed to feel alive and immersive.
**Ray Tracing**
Enter a world of unparalleled realism with ray tracing technology in Avowed. From the dappled sunlight filtering through a canopy of trees to the flicker of torchlight in ancient caverns, ray tracing brings the Living Lands to life with lifelike lighting, reflections, and shadows. Every scene is rendered with incredible detail, enhancing your immersion in this magical, enigmatic world.
**NVIDIA® DLSS and Reflex Support**
Enjoy peak performance without sacrificing quality. NVIDIA DLSS leverages AI-powered upscaling to deliver sharp, stunning visuals while boosting frame rates on supported NVIDIA GPUs. Meanwhile, NVIDIA Reflex ensures ultra-responsive gameplay, reducing input lag to help you react quickly and confidently in battle.
**Ultra-wide Support**
Immerse yourself in the sprawling landscapes of the Living Lands like never before. With support for ultra-wide 21:9 displays, Avowed offers a cinematic, panoramic experience that expands your field of view. Take in the scale of towering mountains, vast grass-filled fields, and ancient ruins, all crafted to make every moment feel epic and unforgettable.

Release date: Feb 18, 2025

Categories: First-Person Shooter, Action RPG, Exploration, Character Progression, Character Customization, Multiple Endings, Open-World Exploration, Companion System

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 85; verdict: Predatory Monetization; summary: The game has significant issues related to its monetization strategy, particularly concerning the perception of Day-1 DLC and being overpriced. Many players feel that the game is not worth its current price point and that additional content should not be sold separately as DLC. These factors contribute to a negative user experience and suggest a predatory monetization approach.
- Mods: score 40; verdict: Buggy but Playable; summary: The game has notable performance issues and stability problems that require community-created mods and patches to improve. Users frequently turn to NexusMods for fixes and enhancements, indicating that the vanilla game experience may not be optimal without these modifications.
- Wiki: score 10; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals several key themes. Users are significantly impacted by bugs and the need to rely on external resources for fixes, which is a high-severity issue. Additionally, there is a notable mention of the need to read in-game encyclopedia entries and the presence of extensive references, indicating a medium-severity issue related to instructional data. On a positive note, users appreciate the exploration aspect and the vast amount of content available in the game.
- Steam Deck: score 85; verdict: Poor; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals several critical issues with the game's performance on the Steam Deck. Key themes include false advertising regarding the 'Steam Deck Verified' status, poor visual quality, performance issues, inadequate controller support, and frequent crashes. These issues collectively contribute to a subpar user experience, particularly on the Steam Deck, despite some positive feedback on high-end PCs.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $20.00 - $30.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence consistently suggests that the community finds the game worth purchasing only when it is discounted. Many reviews mention that the full price is too high and that waiting for a sale is the best course of action. This indicates that the perceived fair price range is significantly lower than the current base price.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 60.0h
  - Story completion: 40.0h
  - Session length: 2.0h
  - Endgame: 20.0h
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that players typically spend around 40 hours before feeling the game becomes tedious, indicating a typical playtime for story completion. The emphasis on exploration and side quests suggests that players engage in multiple sessions of varying lengths, but a typical session might last a few hours. The mention of mods to reduce tedium implies that endgame content can extend playtime significantly.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game's progression system is well-balanced in terms of resource collection and weapon leveling, but the slow progression of abilities can be a friction point for early fun. The flexibility in character builds and the rewarding feeling of unlocking new abilities are key conditions that increase fun.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Late game when players have enough skill points to create powerful builds.
  - Time to anchor: 30h 0m
  - Friction: Slow progression of abilities; Limited skill points early on
  - Unlock drivers: Flexibility in character builds; Unlocking more powerful spells and abilities
  - Conditions: Flexible character progression system; Rewarding feeling of unlocking new abilities; Well-balanced resource collection and weapon leveling
- Player Archetypes:
  - Casual RPG Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of the game's story and immersion
    - Playstyle: Explores the game world and engages with the story, appreciates the game's similarities to other popular RPGs
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: RPG fan; Casual gamer
    - Reference games: The Outer Worlds; Skyrim; Oblivion
  - Obsidian Loyalist (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Appreciation for Obsidian's game universe and lore
    - Playstyle: Compares Avowed to other Obsidian games, has high expectations based on previous titles
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: Obsidian fan; Loyal player
    - Reference games: Pillars of Eternity; The Outer Worlds; Fallout: New Vegas
  - Combat Critic (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Quality and feel of the combat system
    - Playstyle: Focuses on combat mechanics and movement, compares combat to other games
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: Combat enthusiast; Action RPG fan
    - Reference games: Skyrim; The Outer Worlds
  - Aesthetic Explorer (sale)
    - Motivation: Appreciation for the game's art direction and visual design
    - Playstyle: Explores the game world, appreciates the aesthetic and immersive environments
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Art enthusiast; Explorer
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Engaging and fun combat (weight 0.63): The combat system is described as tight, fun, and enjoyable, with a variety of weapons and enemies. Players find it satisfying, fluid, and responsive, adding to the overall enjoyment of the game.
- Immersive exploration (weight 0.55): The game offers an immersive world with purposeful and engaging exploration. Players enjoy the freedom to explore various locations and uncover secrets, making the exploration experience enjoyable and rewarding.
- Stunning visuals and art (weight 0.47): The game features beautiful and visually appealing graphics, with vibrant and colorful environments that are artistically designed. Players appreciate the high fidelity visuals and the immersive world details.
- Rich worldbuilding and lore (weight 0.31): The game features a rich and vibrant world with excellent worldbuilding and lore. Players appreciate the unique fantasy world and the detailed environmental design.
- Captivating story and quests (weight 0.26): The story is engaging and well-made, with interesting and compelling narratives. Players find the quests and storyline captivating, adding depth to the game's experience.
- Well-made and polished (weight 0.19): The game is described as very well-made, with polished gameplay and well-crafted maps. Players find it highly addictive and enjoyable overall.
- Excellent voice acting (weight 0.19): The voice acting is praised as amazing and excellent, with top-notch performances. Players appreciate the good characters and the overall quality of the voice acting.
- Well-written companions (weight 0.18): The companions are well-developed and enjoyable, with interesting dialogue and realistic personalities. Players find them surprising and mature, adding depth to the game.
- Meaningful choices and consequences (weight 0.16): The game features choices that have real consequences, making decisions impactful. Players appreciate the meaningful choices that affect the storyline and gameplay.
- Versatile and enjoyable gameplay (weight 0.15): The gameplay is described as versatile and satisfying, with diverse skillsets and freedom in playstyle. Players enjoy the fluid and fun mechanics, adding to the game's replayability.
- Compelling characters and art direction (weight 0.13): The characters are great and likable, with compelling personalities. Players also appreciate the excellent art direction and the overall aesthetic of the game.
- Smooth performance (weight 0.12): The game runs smoothly and is generally good in terms of performance. Players find the gameplay decent and the game world visually appealing.
- Good value for money (weight 0.11): Players find the game worth the purchase price, offering good value for money. It is considered worth the cost, especially if on sale.

Common complaints:
- Combat is repetitive (weight 0.23): The combat system is criticized for being repetitive and boring. It lacks variety and depth, making fights feel monotonous and uninteresting.
- Performance and optimization issues (weight 0.22): The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to constant stuttering, low frame rates, and frequent freezing. These performance issues significantly impact the gameplay experience.
- Limited enemy variety (weight 0.2): The game suffers from a lack of variety in enemy types, leading to repetitive encounters. This lack of diversity makes combat feel monotonous.
- Frequent crashes (weight 0.14): The game is plagued by frequent crashes, especially on PC. This instability significantly impacts the gameplay experience and can be very frustrating.
- NPCs lack depth (weight 0.13): NPCs in the game are often described as uninteresting and lacking vitality. They do not respond to actions and lack complex routines, making them feel stiff and lifeless.
- Shader cache issues (weight 0.08): The game generates shaders every startup, causing long load times. This issue can be frustrating and significantly impacts the gameplay experience.
- Lack of replay value (weight 0.08): The game is criticized for lacking content and replay value. It does not make players want to go back and do subsequent playthroughs, reducing its long-term appeal.
- Loot system is unbalanced (weight 0.08): The loot system in the game is criticized for feeling unbalanced and repetitive. It lacks variety and is not very rewarding, impacting the overall gameplay experience.
- Combined jump and dodge button (weight 0.08): The game's control scheme is criticized for combining the jump and dodge buttons. This design choice can be frustrating and impact the gameplay experience.

Gameplay feedback:
- Immersive exploration mechanics (weight 0.38): The game offers an immersive exploration experience with beautiful environments and hidden paths, enhancing the overall gameplay.
- Engaging combat system (weight 0.34): The combat system is dynamic and satisfying, offering a variety of weapons, magic, and abilities that make fighting enjoyable and replayable.
- First-person action RPG (weight 0.25): The game combines first-person action with RPG elements, offering a unique blend of combat and exploration.
- Character progression and customization (weight 0.23): Players can customize and develop their characters with skill trees, abilities, and progression systems, enhancing replayability.
- Meaningful player choices (weight 0.21): The game includes choices that significantly impact the story and endings, providing a choice-driven narrative with lasting consequences.
- Variety in gameplay (weight 0.21): The game supports multiple playstyles and character builds, providing versatility and diversity in gameplay mechanics.
- Story-driven experience (weight 0.19): The game features a complex and engaging story with branched narratives and companions, advancing the plot through various interactions.
- Companion system (weight 0.16): Companions play a significant role with interesting dialogues and side quests, adding depth to the gameplay experience.
- Dialogue and storytelling (weight 0.12): Dialogues are well-written and consequential, significantly impacting the story and character interactions.
- Rich lore and world-building (weight 0.11): The game excels in world design and lore, creating an engaging and immersive environment for players to explore.
- Crafting and upgrading systems (weight 0.06): The game features crafting and upgrading systems that allow players to enhance their gear and abilities.
- Environmental design (weight 0.06): The game features engaging and captivating environmental design, enhancing the overall exploration experience.
- Climbing and swimming mechanics (weight 0.06): The game includes climbing and swimming mechanics, adding variety to the gameplay mechanics.
- Art direction and graphics (weight 0.06): The game has great art direction and beautiful graphics, contributing to an immersive visual experience.
- Animation issues (weight 0.06): Some players have noted dreadful animations and issues with gun mechanics, detracting from the overall experience.
- Easy to use controls (weight 0.06): The game features easy-to-use controls and movement, making it accessible and enjoyable to play.

Performance notes:
- Performance and optimization issues (weight 0.53): Many players report poor optimization, constant lagging, framerate issues, and stuttering. Some players experience smooth performance, but these reports are less frequent.
- Frequent game crashes (weight 0.28): Players encounter frequent crashes, including fatal errors on launch and crashes during gameplay. Some crashes are related to specific settings like ray tracing.
- FPS drops and stuttering (weight 0.25): Players experience significant FPS drops and stuttering, especially in combat and after certain updates. These issues are widespread and affect gameplay.
- Technical issues and bugs (weight 0.19): Players encounter various technical issues, including bugs, achievements not working, and fatal errors. Some players report no technical problems.
- Graphical and visual issues (weight 0.13): Players report various graphical bugs, blurry graphics, and visual issues, particularly on AMD cards and without upscaling.
- Shader compilation issues (weight 0.13): The game generates shaders every startup, leading to long load times. Players report shader rebuilding taking significant time each time the game is started.
- Stability and performance improvements (weight 0.1): Some players report that the game runs smoothly and has good optimization, with no stability or performance issues.
- Mods required for performance (weight 0.1): Many players report needing mods and additional configurations to achieve acceptable performance and frame rates.
- Update-related issues (weight 0.1): Several updates, including the anniversary update, have introduced or exacerbated performance issues, stuttering, and crashes.
- Steam Deck performance (weight 0.08): The game has poor performance on Steam Deck, with reports of it being extremely ugly and not verified for the platform. However, some players report smooth performance with the right settings.
- High resource usage (weight 0.07): The game is reported to have high RAM and CPU usage, making it resource-heavy and demanding on hardware.
- Sound issues (weight 0.06): There are reports of sound cutting out and sound mixing issues, as well as bugs related to sound after casting spells.
- Long loading times (weight 0.05): There are reports of long loading times, including 30 minutes of loading and shader compilation times.

Recommendations:
- Wait for a sale (weight 0.24): Many reviewers suggest waiting for a sale or discount before purchasing the game, indicating that it may not be worth the full price.
- Mixed general recommendations (weight 0.15): The game receives mixed recommendations, with some reviewers highly recommending it while others do not.
- Recommended for Pillars of Eternity fans (weight 0.09): This game is highly recommended for fans of the Pillars of Eternity series who are looking for a simpler RPG experience within the same universe.
- Solid bet for Skyrim likers (weight 0.07): Fans of Skyrim are likely to enjoy this game, though it is noted to be different and not a clone.
- Use maps for efficient collection (weight 0.05): Reviewers recommend using interactive maps from specific websites to efficiently collect items in the game.
- Recommended for action RPG fans (weight 0.03): The game is highly recommended for fans of action RPGs, suggesting it offers engaging combat mechanics.
- Worth multiple playthroughs (weight 0.03): The game is recommended for multiple playthroughs, indicating high replay value.
- Richly crafted return to Eora (weight 0.03): The game offers a richly crafted return to the world of Eora, appealing to fans of the series.
- Tightly designed RPG world (weight 0.03): The game is recommended for those who want an RPG that avoids bloat, has a tightly designed world, rewards exploration, and poses thought-provoking questions.
- Recommended for Dragon Age fans (weight 0.03): Fans of Dragon Age: Origins and Inquisition are likely to enjoy this game.
- Worth getting the DLCs (weight 0.03): Reviewers suggest that the DLCs for the game are worth getting, adding value to the overall experience.
- Diverse combat experience (weight 0.03): The game is worth trying for its new experience and diverse combat mechanics.
- Understand the game's design (weight 0.03): The game is great as long as players understand what it is and what it is not, setting appropriate expectations.
- Handle technical issues (weight 0.03): The game is recommended if players can handle the technical issues, indicating that there may be some bugs or performance problems.
- Enjoy long NPC dialogues (weight 0.02): Players who enjoy long dialogues with NPCs will find this game appealing.
- LGBT+ content included (weight 0.02): The game includes LGBT+ content in small doses, which may be a consideration for some players.
- Hope for a sequel (weight 0.02): Players express a desire for a sequel, indicating that they enjoyed the game and want more content.
- Recommended for Outer Worlds fans (weight 0.02): Fans of The Outer Worlds games are likely to enjoy this game.
- Personal Game of the Year (weight 0.02): Some reviewers consider this game their personal Game of the Year, highlighting its exceptional quality.
- Time investment for story (weight 0.02): Players are encouraged to sink 30-40 hours into the game to fully experience its story.
- Save gold for loot (weight 0.02): Players are advised to save up gold to match loot drops with their tier, suggesting a strategic element to the game's economy.

Other player notes:
- Political feedback detected (weight 0.02): This appears to be a non-constructive comment related to politics rather than gameplay feedback.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.22): Players are frustrated primarily due to performance issues, including crashes, stuttering, and long loading times, especially after updates. Additionally, gameplay mechanics such as combat, story pacing, and lack of variety in weapons and armor contribute to this frustration. Technical problems like graphical bugs, control issues, and poor optimization further exacerbate the negative experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.17): Disappointment stems from the game's failure to meet expectations set by previous titles in the series. Players find the game lacking in depth, with mediocre gameplay, unremarkable side quests, and a lack of challenge. Technical issues, repetitive combat, and a lack of innovation in RPG elements also contribute to this sentiment.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.16): Players enjoy the game's combat mechanics, exploration, and rich lore. The story, characters, and world design are also highlighted as positive aspects. The variety of approaches in combat and the beautiful environments contribute to an overall enjoyable experience.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.1): Satisfaction comes from the game's depth in story and character choices, as well as the overall gameplay experience. Players appreciate the character progression, build options, and the engaging story. The combat system and exploration aspects are also noted as satisfying elements.
- Joy (weight 0.08): Joy is derived from the game's beautiful environments, fun gameplay, and engaging story. Players express a strong positive sentiment about the game's visuals, combat, and overall experience. The enjoyment of the game's mechanics and lore also contribute to this emotion.
- Happy (weight 0.08): Happiness is driven by the game's beautiful and fun environments, enjoyable companions, and good mechanics. Players appreciate the immersion, character progression, and the overall enjoyable gameplay experience. The game's graphics and combat are also highlighted as sources of happiness.
- Excitement (weight 0.06): Excitement is generated by the game's narrative, exploration, and combat mechanics. Players are excited about the potential for future updates, new game modes, and a potential sequel. The engaging story, rich world, and interesting combat contribute to this excitement.
- Appreciation (weight 0.03): Appreciation comes from the game's imaginative and creative aspects, as well as its rich story and exploration. Players appreciate the lore, art direction, and overall plot. The game's unique writing style and the developers' work within budget constraints are also noted.
- Excited (weight 0.02): Players are excited about the game's dynamic fights, expansive areas, and gorgeous visuals. The improved performance, graphics, and unique setting contribute to this excitement. The fun exploration and interesting characters also add to the overall excitement.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.02): Enthusiasm is driven by the game's story, character customization, and rich lore. Players are enthusiastic about the RPG mechanics, combat, and the game's connection to Pillars of Eternity. The enjoyable landscapes and gameplay contribute to this enthusiasm.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia is evoked by the game's connection to the Pillars of Eternity universe and the world of Eora. Players feel a connection to classic games like Skyrim and Dragon Age: Inquisition. The game's ability to fill the void left by those games and the improvements made in Avowed contribute to this nostalgia.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is caused by the game's superficiality, technical issues, and poor optimization. Players are angry about the lack of support for UWD, controller support issues, and performance problems. The disappearance of saves after updates and character movement problems further exacerbate this anger.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise comes from the game exceeding expectations and being more fun than anticipated. Players are surprised by the depth of the game's elements and the addictive gameplay. The game's ability to remind players of Dragon Age Inquisition is also a pleasant surprise.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope is expressed for improvements in a potential sequel and future updates. Players are optimistic about the future of the game and its potential improvements. The hope for more content from Obsidian in the future contributes to this sentiment.
- Impressed (weight 0.01): Players are impressed by the game's world design and combat system. The game's confidence and freedom in character progression are also noted as impressive aspects. The overall quality and depth of the game contribute to this impression.
- Gratitude (weight 0): Gratitude is expressed for the game being gifted by a friend and for introducing the POE universe to the reviewer. Players are grateful for the game's ability to optimize system parameters and provide an enjoyable experience.
- Satisfied (weight 0): Satisfaction comes from the game's smart map design and solid RPG experience. Players are satisfied with the overall gameplay experience and the depth of the story and character choices.
- Happiness (weight 0): Happiness is driven by the overall enjoyable gameplay experience. Players are happy with the game's beautiful environments, fun combat, and engaging story. The enjoyable companions and good mechanics contribute to this happiness.}