Avowed is finally out and it’s the first majorRPGby Obsidian after the studio’s acquisition by Microsoft. It took Obsidian a little over four years to develop the game, and while this number doesn’t touch the staggering ten years that it took to make Final Fantasy XV, Avowed managed to come out of the oven in a surprisingly well technical state with few glitches.
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The Xbox 360 had a massive library of games, but only a few JRPGs, of which these 7 were the best.
Despite the controversy surrounding the developers, Avowed managed to score good reviews all around, and for the players who liked Avowed, these ten games are perfect to jump to after coming from the fantastical land of Eora.
10Greedfall
A Colonial Fantasy with Consequences
A land untouched by war, disease and corruption sounds like a dream, but inGreedFall, it’s just another prize for colonial powers looking to exploit it. Players take on the role of De Sardet, a diplomat navigating the island of Teer Fradee, where native tribes wield mysterious magic and foreign factions seek dominance. Political intrigue is the heart of the game, with every major decision shifting the balance of power, making it feel more like an RPG where words carry as much weight as swords.
The combat blends firearms, magic and melee weapons, much like Avowed does, giving players the flexibility to build a character that suits their playstyle. But where Avowed leans into Obsidian’s signature choice-driven storytelling, GreedFall has more of a BioWare-style companion system, with party members who react to choices and influence the world. Both games share a deep role-playing experience, but GreedFall focuses more on faction politics rather than an open-ended fantasy setting.
9Outer Worlds
Obsidian’s Satirical Sci-Fi RPG
The Outer Worlds
If Avowed is Obsidian’s take on The Elder Scrolls, thenThe Outer Worldsis its response to Fallout: New Vegas in space. Halcyon, a corporate-run star system, is a dystopia hidden under bright neon signs, where everything, even people, has a price. Instead of a singularopen world, the game is split into multiple planets and locations, each offering its own brand of satire, from an entire colony enslaved by its own bureaucracy to a town where people are fined for mourning the dead.
The choice-driven dialogue, multiple quest solutions and the sheer freedom to play as a hero, villain or absolute lunatic make it a spiritual sibling to Avowed. While The Outer Worlds swaps medieval swords for laser guns, it still delivers the deep narrative and reactive world that Obsidian is known for, making it an easy recommendation for fans of choice-heavy RPGs.
8Fallout 4
Rebuilding a Broken World, One Bullet at a Time
A world ravaged by an ancient catastrophe, factions vying for power and a silent protagonist at the center of it all,Fallout 4may be set in a nuclear wasteland instead of a fantasy realm, but its core RPG systems and open-ended exploration align closely with what player’s experience in Avowed. The Commonwealth is a playground of destruction, where scavenging for supplies, building settlements and modifying weapons are just as important as choosing whether to side with the Brotherhood of Steel, the Minutemen or a group of synthetic humans fighting for survival.
Unlike Avowed, Fallout 4 leans more on first-person shooter mechanics. Bethesda’s signature environmental storytelling is on full display, with every ruined building and hidden bunker telling a story of the world before the bombs fell. While it lacks the deep dialogue trees of older Fallout games, Fallout 4 offers a similar kind of expansive world and immersive freedom that makes Avowed so exciting.
7Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Chaos and Consequences
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Few games embrace the butterfly effect of bad decisions quite like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Every action ripples outward, turning simple encounters into unpredictable spirals of chaos. A bar fight from hours earlier can return to haunt players in ways no quest log could ever predict. Stealing a noble’s clothes for a social advantage might leave Henry hilariously underprepared when it’s time to fight actual warriors. Even an attempt at stealth can end in disaster when an NPC caravan casually strolls through and wipes out Henry’s target before he can even lift a sword.
This sequel expands on its predecessor’s brutally-immersive medieval world, where combat is clunky by design, survival requires actual preparation and saving the game still demands precious resources. The game thrives on its reactive systems, ensuring that no two playthroughs unfold the same way, making it a must for players who want to immerse themselves in a grounded, medieval world.
6Pillars of Eternity
The Blueprint for Avowed’s World
Pillars of Eternity
Before Avowed, there wasPillars of Eternity, the game that first introduced players to the world of Eora. As a Watcher, someone who can see and communicate with souls, the protagonist gets pulled into a conflict surrounding an ancient godlike entity known as Thaos. The deep lore, sprawling story and real-time-with-pause combat feel like a love letter to classic Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment.
While Pillars of Eternity plays more like an old-school CRPG with an isometric perspective, Avowed is taking that same rich world and translating it into a fully immersive first-person experience. Fans of intricate world-building, faction politics and morally-complex decisions will find Pillars of Eternity to be the perfect way to deepen their understanding of Eora if they haven’t already played it.
5Dragon’s Dogma 2
A Game That Embraces Its Jankiness
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Dragon’s Dogma 2shoves players face-first into a medieval fever dream where unpredictability reigns supreme. Every step outside the city walls is a gamble. Maybe you’ll stumble upon a griffin mid-hunt, maybe an ogre will decide to crash the local marketplace or maybe you’ll get ambushed by ghosts and vaporized before you can say “aught.”
The magic of Dragon’s Dogma 2 isn’t in its grand narrative or deep lore, it’s in the stories that emerge from its messy, unpredictable world. Its pawns, which are AI-controlled companions borrowed from other players, are both lifelines and comic relief, cheerfully shouting redundant observations while occasionally forgetting to heal you when you’re pinned under a Minotaur. Like Avowed, Dragon’s Dogma 2 offers deeply customizable combat, but it takes it a step further with its dynamic action-driven system. If Avowed pulled you in with its immersive world and player choice, Dragon’s Dogma 2 will keep you hooked with its emergent storytelling and sheer unpredictability.
4The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Absolute By From CD Projekt Red
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
When it comes to fantasy RPGs with rich storytelling, few can match TheWitcher 3. Geralt of Rivia is a professional monster slayer navigating a world where the lines between good and evil are blurred beyond recognition. Everyside questfeels like a full-fledged storyline, often with twists that subvert expectations, and the game’s main story delivers some of the most emotionally-impactful moments in RPG history.
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There are very few games that come close to the excellence of Witcher 3, but these ten games try their best.
Like Avowed, The Witcher 3 offers a massive open world filled with moral dilemmas, where choices have lasting consequences. The key difference lies in the protagonist, though; Geralt is a predefined character with his own personality, whereas Avowed will likely allow players to craft their own hero with deeper role-playing mechanics. Still, anyone looking for a fantasy RPG with incredible writing, deep combat and a world that feels truly alive should look no further than Witcher 3.
3Baldur’s Gate 3
The Ultimate D&D Adventure
Baldur’s Gate 3
Obsidian might be tackling the Pillars of Eternity universe with Avowed, butBaldur’s Gate 3is the gold standard for Dungeons & Dragons-style RPGs. With turn-based combat, dice rolls that influence everything from dialogue to skill checks and a world reactive to player decisions, Larian Studios has created one of the most dynamic RPGs of all time.
Like Avowed, Baldur’s Gate 3 offers deep customization, meaningful choices and a world that reacts to every decision. Avowed, however, will likely lean more into fast-paced action combat rather than Baldur’s Gate 3’s turn-based strategy. But for players who love high fantasy settings with rich lore, complex party dynamics and the freedom to befriend, betray orromance companions, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a must-play.
2Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
A Cult Classic with Deep Role-Playing
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
If Avowed aims to deliver deep choice-based storytelling,Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlinesremains one of the most ambitious attempts at a reactive RPG. Playing as a fledgling vampire in modern-day Los Angeles, players must navigate the politics of different vampire clans while feeding, hiding from vampire hunters and unraveling an ancient conspiracy.
While Avowed is set in a medieval fantasy world, both games share a dedication to deep role-playing mechanics, where dialogue choices, skills and faction allegiances shape the experience. Bloodlines also offers multiple playstyles, from smooth-talking through problems to full-blown supernatural carnage, making it an interesting comparison to what Avowed might offer in terms of player agency.
1Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
The Benchmark for First-Person Fantasy RPGs
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
No game has defined first-person fantasy RPGs quite likeSkyrim. From the moment players emerge from Helgen, the world is theirs to explore at their own pace, whether that means joining the Dark Brotherhood, mastering the Thu’um or simply stealing cheese from unsuspecting townsfolk.
While Avowed has a more structured main story and deeper dialogue options, Skyrim set the precedent for open-ended exploration and emergent storytelling in a fantasy RPG. The combat system, from wielding magic to swords and bows, mirrors what Avowed tries to achieve, though Obsidian’s game may offer more refined role-playing elements. Still, any fan of Avowed looking for a vast, immersive world filled with secrets should visit Skyrim, even if they already have before.
