During gamescom in Cologne, Obisdian showed us the gameplay of the long-awaited RPG Avowed in a long mission in which we were able to learn new information about the title and get an idea of what awaits us. The same demonstration was immediately published on the XboxOn channel, so we can show it to you below so that you can get an idea for yourself, accompanying it with our impressions of the game.

The demo sees us face a mission in which we have to find an expedition of researchers lost in an ancient temple: the first encounter we have is with the priest of a deity worshipped in the temple, a golden-skinned being, who has not seen the members of the expedition but explains to us that it is likely that they have gone missing in the basement of the temple, long inaccessible due to landslide areas and the deadly creatures that infested them.

This exchange is the perfect opportunity to appreciate the game's dialogue system, which draws heavily from the Obsidian and Bethesda experience: multiple-choice dialogues, influenced by our skills / knowledge and those of our companion, can lead to very different conversations. And speaking of skills, the game will initially allow us to choose between different classes: if it is true that the main focus of Avowed is magic, there are also more "brutal" classes, such as the barbarian, in which the use of melee weapons is predominant over magical ones.

Once the dialogue with the priest is over, we begin to look for a way to the dungeons: here we notice how the levels have a good verticality, with platforms and handholds on which to cling or areas submerged by water in which to immerse ourselves, and also how there are several environmental puzzles: on the path to reach the dungeon it was necessary to break a wall vulnerable to explosions, So a grenade was enough to knock it down, activate different mechanisms sensitive to electrical elemental energy, on which it was possible to use electric spells or weapons enchanted by electricity, or burn webs that blocked the way.

It was also shown how the character sheet is very deep, with many features and skill trees that give access to numerous new possibilities as you level up. Continuing with the exploration, we admired areas with a very fascinating design, such as libraries and alchemical laboratories, until we came across arachnoid enemies initially not interested in our presence: here it was possible to see how stealth will also have a place in the gameplay of Avowed, silently taking out a spider and then facing the others alerted by our presence. The fights feel very dynamic, using a mix of melee weapons and spells, while our companion also participates in the action.

One thing that pleasantly struck me are all the special effects of the spells during the fights, really well rendered, but also the general graphic impact of the game, with a very convincing artistic design and a great use of lights and shadows.

Continuing in the adventure, after several areas explored and enemies defeated, we finally find the members of the expedition dead in a crypt, in which there is also a relic and we discover that the priest was not unaware of their presence after all, indeed it could have something to do with their death, apparently caused without any wound on their bodies. Returning to the priest, a new sequence of dialogues starts through which we discover that he needs the relic to awaken the god worshipped in that temple: it is up to us to decide whether to help him or not, changing the fate of history. In the demo the protagonist refused, and then had to clash with the wrathful sarcedote armed with a flaming broadsword, which once defeated will become ours.

You can see the entire demo in the video above, and as far as we are concerned it only reinforces the idea that Avowed will be an excellent RPG, with an interesting story and full of action. Six more months to February 18th!