AVOWED
IS THERE MUSHROOM FOR ANOTHER FANTASY RPG?
★★★★
PC, XBOX SERIES X|S
YOU ARE THE Envoy to the Emperor of Aedyr, sent to the untamed Living Lands to investigate the strange ‘Dreamscourge’ —a horrific blight that corrupts man and beast alike, driving them mad with unspoken voices while their bodies erupt with fungal infestations. Yet you are also a ‘Godlike’, altered by the divine before birth, their ethereal touch manifesting on you as mushroom-like protrusions —and ever since you arrived on the strange frontier, you’ve been hearing voices in your head…
The mycelium motif may sound bonkers, but it’s integral, not only to Avowed’s protagonist (allowing for a unique character creator that ranges from ‘enoki for hair’ to ‘Swamp Thing ’), but also the world you’re exploring. Despite being set in the same universe as developer Obsidian Entertainment’s earlier Pillars Of Eternity games, seeing creatures and landscapes warped by spore growths provides a unique visual identity distinct from the glut of fantasy RPGs —more The Last Of Us than Skyrim.