It took me a while to find my flow in Avowed, but ever since converting my imperial envoy into an stealth-mage assassin (aka 'Dishonored') build, I've been enjoying my adventure through the Living Lands. The distinct biomes with dungeons and caves branching off of them, the ample side-quest opportunities, and engaging with this visually vibrant fantasy world from the first-person perspective—spellbook in one hand, sword in the other—all combine to evoke some of my greatest gaming memories wandering around Tamriel throughout the Elder Scrolls series. It's simpler and smaller, sure, but 14 years since the last Elder Scrolls game, I'll happily take something to scratch that itch on my arrow-scarred knee.
The more I play Avowed, however, the more cracks I'm seeing in its depiction of a living, breathing world—little glimmers of unflattering light shining through to illuminate its artifice. Maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing, as it helps me appreciate Obsidian's RPG as its own world with its own design quirks and rules rather than looking at it through a Bethesdo-scope. On the other hand it's made me appreciate all the little things that made the Elder Scrolls worlds feel so alive.
