Recent reviews by Dill(on) Pickle

Avowed is inspired, the creators behind the game clearly not only had passion for the product they were creating but you can feel the enjoyment they had while making it. Deep lore was one of the things that attracted me to this game, being a new game in the Pillars of Eternity series which I've always been interested in. Though you certainly don't have to have played those games to enjoy Avowed, as one of the many features I got the most use out of was a conversation glossary which defined unfamiliar terms, names, and in-universe languages. The game has a lot of awkward moments, especially dialogue, many important quest conversations are positioned in such a way that the NPCs feel like they are talking to a camera instead of to your character or the other characters in the conversation, along with several poorly timed jokes (especially sex jokes, but those just aren't my brand of humor most of the time.) The game, however, does have very well written and thought provoking moments which seem like they encourage you to build your own lore and narrative for your character in a way I haven't experienced for a long time, often with probing dialogue that encourages you to dig deep into what the character you've created might want to do.

*In depth in game lore, immersive universe, and established characters and setting that you don't need to already been invested in to enjoy
*Excellent color scheme and palete, visually appealing scenery
*Choice based gameplay where you can feel the impact of your decisions
*Lots of content and sidequest, though I'm only part way through the game
*The combat is truly the best part of this game, no matter you weapon of choice. A beefy front liner still has plenty of engaging tools to use alongside a bow-wielding/gun-slining counterpart or a versatile mage class with both melee and ranged options.
*FREQUENT auto-saving which has been life changing in a very decision based game like this.

*Awkward dialogue, conversational structure, and NPCs which can make you feel like scenes are a little too surreal
*Cutscenes are rarely used, and if they are, they're hardly ever important.
*Followers in the game rarely add to conversation, and seem to be unlikable at times. It's hard to connect with them.
*Sometimes overly forgiving gameplay with a second-chance mechanic in combat that can make it feel like you're never really at risk of dying
*A little buggy, I will admit, but often reloading saves will fix this.