Avowed’s game length suggests it’s a much bigger game than we first thought, and that’s fantastic. If you’ve taken even a peek at our Avowed review, you’ll know I love this game. So much so that I was a bit blue when Obsidian suggested its play time would be around 40 hours, as I only wanted to see more of it. In theory, then, you could finish the Avowed achievements in that time — yet in my playthrough, which has gone way beyond that estimate, I keep bumping into the fact that Avowed is a way longer game than we thought.It turns out that I wasted all that time lamenting that Avowed would end after 40 hours, because there’s a lot more thereRelease date: February 18Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, WindowsXbox Game Pass tier: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game PassLast year, Obsidian compared the scope of its new fantasy RPG to The Outer Worlds, suggesting we’d need around 15 hours or so for the main story and another 40-ish for all of its side content and a full completion. These rough estimates were repeated again earlier this year just before Avowed’s launch, so I went in thinking I would only have 40 hours or so before I’d be finished up with the game.Now, way over that estimate, I’m still wondering how it could ever be completed that quickly. To be fair, I did spend a good long while just gawking at the scenery of each new area, but even taking that into account, there’s still so much more going on here that boosts that gameplay time way up. Every unexplored area in Avowed tempts you off the beaten path to see what loot or secrets might be hidden, and the more you expand your combat capabilities, the more you’re willing to go looking for enemies just to experiment with lightning storms, flaming swords, and Godlike abilities.Even beyond that, it’s impossible — unless you’ve got Avowed blinkers on — to only zoom through the main story without being distracted by side content. Some of the side quests feel as fleshed out as any game’s main story, and then you’ve got bounties, treasure hunts, and your own exploration to take into account. Dawnshore is the first major area you get to explore, and even at the start I was wondering how this game could match up to 40 hours of playtime. Part of that is no doubt due to the map. While some games reveal quite a wide area around you as you explore, Avowed keeps that map-reveal tightly fixed around your character, uncovering a narrow portion of the map as you move from point A to point B. This narrow scope means that your map is often made up of thin lines of cleared space, showing where you zigzagged about on some quest or other, and leaving big chunks of fogged-over unexplored bits that you just can’t resist. It feels like you can’t go two feet into these, either, without something demanding your attention: new enemies, a bounty, hidden loot, a side quest; it all clamours to be put on your hero’s to-do list.That’s not to say everyone wants to move through the game at the same speed, and some players have indeed completed it in around 40 hours, while others have played for over a hundred. This might be an example of how Avowed delivers on that “choose your own path” theme: you can choose to focus on the main story and leave the side quests, if you prefer. The game leaves that path open, as long as you’re levelled up enough with all your gear and abilities that you can push through. This is perhaps clearest in Emerald Stair, where I misjudged the point of no return by progressing too far, and had several side quests showing as failed. It’s cool to see that you can mainline that story if you want, but that failed Xaurip quest would have rankled to no end, so I ended up reloading to finish everything up. I’ve gone on endlessly about Avowed’s exploration, and how it feels like the game rewards you, in the same way as the Spyro games, for questioning its boundaries and seeing if you can reach that apparently out-of-the-way area. This alone meant I spent hours checking every corner, waterfall, and chatty NPC to uncover everything possible before moving on. On top of this, it just feels like it’d be a crime to rush Avowed. There’s a wealth of dialogue, while quests often have hidden choices that you’ll only come across by natural exploration and talking to everybody possible. There are fantastic pieces of gear stashed about, and story background or pieces of lore to learn. Whether it’s because there’s more content in its quests than I expected, or because of the knee-jerk reaction to go veering off the path and investigate every shiny thing like some crazed magpie, I just couldn’t seem to rush through this game. This might be the first time in a long while where I’ve been loving a game and wishing it didn’t have to end just yet, only for it to go, ‘well, alright then, have some more!’What about you? Are you finding Avowed shorter than you expected, or are you going to end up with a hundred hours or more of playtime? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to keep an eye on our list of all the upcoming Game Pass games to see what your next adventure might be.
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