Avowed was always great, but now that it costs what it should have at launch and nobody's being weird about it online, it's kinda perfect

Avowed was always great, but now that it costs what it should have at launch and nobody’s being weird about it online, it’s kinda perfect | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these RPG Obsidian was ‘surprised’ that Avowed players bounced off one of the RPG’s most important systems: ‘That frustration came through loud and clear’ RPG Avowed’s massive anniversary update adds new playable races, but they don’t get any unique dialogue because there were ‘no dedicated narrative people available’ Baldur’s Gate Surprise! Baldur’s Gate 3 got a fresh patch. Unsurprise! It’s vanishingly small, but at least it repairs some corrupted saves RPG The new game from Disco Elysium’s studio feels like the first Christmas after your parents’ divorce RPG Huge new Avowed update adds New Game Plus, playable dwarves and Orlans, and quarterstaffs RPG Our best RPG of 2024 is half off in the Lunar New Year sale, as are the adventures of Charlie Tunoku and countless other Sega series Third Person Shooter Nobody is doing live service better than Helldivers 2 because Arrowhead makes expansions, not just updates Fallout ‘It took about 5 years’ for people to start liking Fallout: New Vegas, says Josh Sawyer, and even longer for Obsidian to see that ‘players actually liked the design choices we had made’ Fallout Fallout’s original creators say that Fallout 3 and 4 aren’t quite what they would’ve done, but ‘sales say people love what they did’ Games PC Gamer’s Game of the Year Awards 2025 Roguelike ‘It’s weird in the industry right now’: Cult of the Lamb’s devs still have faith that the indie scene will continue dishing out ‘smash hits’ The Elder Scrolls Skyrim’s co-lead designer says Starfield’s main problem is that it never fully cohered as a game: ‘It was a releasable game, but it wasn’t the best’ Fallout Fallout 4 feels like a brand new game now that it’s forcing me to take naps, drink plenty of water, and not save scum RPG Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 failed to meet expectations for Obsidian, but Grounded 2 was a hit, and the future is looking positive for the Pillars of Eternity universe RPG I’m not waiting 5 years for everyone to realize The Outer Worlds 2 is another Obsidian classic—I’m giving it its flowers now PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Arc RaidersBest PC gearFalloutGame Quizzes Games RPG Avowed Avowed was always great, but now that it costs what it should have at launch and nobody’s being weird about it online, it’s kinda perfect Features By Ted Litchfield published 21 February 2026 A permanent $20 price cut may be the most transformative patch of all. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 35 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. 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From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Pepperidge Farm remembers: It usually takes about five years for everyone to decide an Obsidian Entertainment game was actually really good. In a pleasantly surprising turn of events, it seems to have only required exactly 12 months for Avowed, last year’s action-RPG spinoff to Pillars of Eternity, to get such a reappraisal.It’s still the same, great game. I loaded into Avowed to check out its big anniversary update, and found the changes closer to Cyberpunk 2077 1.5 than Cyberpunk 2077 2.0: A lot of little niceties, extras, and quality of life changes, but nothing transformative. That’s okay in my book⁠—Avowed didn’t need to be transformed⁠—but this game has had a bizarre, uneven reception. Avowed – Official Anniversary Update Trailer – YouTube Watch On A Bloomberg interview with director Carrie Patel shortly after launch implied that it was hitting sales targets, while a more recent Bloomberg piece on Obsidian characterized it as a slight underperformer. Avowed reviewed well: PCG Australian editor Shaun Prescott gave it an 82%, and Metacritic has it at a flat 80. But Avowed was the victim of one of those weird, ambient hate cycles we see now⁠—more halfhearted than with Star Wars: Outlaws or Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but there. Related articles Obsidian was ‘surprised’ that Avowed players bounced off one of the RPG’s most important systems: ‘That frustration came through loud and clear’ Avowed didn’t rewrite the RPG rulebook in 2025, but it still gave me some of my biggest gaming ‘wow’ moments of the year Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 failed to meet