Avowed’s release on PlayStation 5 Pro doesn’t feel like a victory lap second release, but more like a director’s cut. This isn’t Obsidian returning with a splashy expansion or a dramatic new chapter in Eora’s history. Instead, the PS5 release is bundled with the Anniversary Update, a bigger refresh to what is already there, adding in more immersion options along with a host of other additions to systems, not content. It’s a confident, practical update that understands where Avowed shines, where it stumbled at launch, and what kind of game it actually wants to be long-term.
That really matters because Avowed has always been a game that leaned into immersion and living in the world. It’s an RPG built around flexible combat and the freedom to approach encounters your own way. The Anniversary Update leans directly into that. There are no new quests, no additional story beats, and no attempts to rewrite the ending. What you get instead is a deeper, more replayable version of the same adventure.
On PS5 Pro, Avowed runs exactly how you’d want it to. Performance is stable, load times are short, and the game benefits nicely from the extra tlc it got over the year, particularly in dense outdoor spaces and spell-heavy combat encounters. The forests, ruins, and towns feel more lived in now because of how smooth everything is, and the more stable presentation makes it easier to appreciate the subtle environmental storytelling that is peppered in throughout Avowed. It’s nothing crazy different from the original release, but without the technical hiccups, it really lets the world shine through.
The centrepiece of the Anniversary Update is New Game Plus, and it’s clear this was added in direct response to how people actually played Avowed. Rather than asking players to start from scratch, New Game Plus is designed around continuation and escalation. Once you finish the game and return to the main menu, you’ll unlock “Adventure 2,” which acts as a New Game Plus. The expectation is that this doesn’t stop at one replay either, with scaling continuing across multiple finished for those who want to keep pushing.
“The centrepiece of the Anniversary Update is New Game Plus, and it’s clear this was added in direct response to how people actually played Avowed.”
Outside of New Game Plus, the Anniversary Update adds a surprisingly deep custom difficulty system. Rather than locking players into static presets, Avowed now lets you fine-tune nearly every aspect of challenge. Player-side modifiers affect things like how much damage you can output, max health, and essence. Enemy-side modifiers let you adjust health, posture damage, attack speed, and damage independently. There are also companion modifiers and world modifiers that impact the economy, merchant prices, upgrade costs, and even fall damage. They really made sure that no matter how you wanted to play Avowed, you could.
There’s also an experience incentive tied to these modifiers. Raising certain challenge settings increases the combat experience multiplier; the amount you can change this if you stack enough difficulty is incredible. It doesn’t apply to quests or exploration rewards, which helps keep progression balanced, but it’s a smart way to reward players who want a bigger challenge in the game. It’s not perfectly tuned, and sometimes the difference between encounters can be wildly different, but overall it really works.
The Anniversary Update also introduces the Magic Mirror, a way in your party camp to be able to access a character re-customization option. As anyone who has played an RPG with character customization can be easily frustrated when your character doesn’t look in game as good as you thought. In the camp, you can interact with the mirror to change your character’s appearance, making it easy to tweak designs you rushed through at the start or reinvent your look entirely during a replay. New presets have also been added to help with creation, especially when it comes to the new races.
“Avowed on the PS5 Pro feels like the most complete version of the game to date.”
Playable race options have also expanded significantly. Avowed’s anniversary update now lets you to play as Aumaua, Dwarves, and Orlans alongside the original races humans and elves. These aren’t just cosmetic swaps either. Camera height changes based on race, this affects how your character sees the world and makes it feel different how the world feels overall. Orlans sit lower to the ground, while Aumaua tower over environments, changing scale and presence in a way that’s immediately noticeable. Minor stat bonuses also included in these race options reinforce the RPG identity of each race without locking you into rigid archetypes.
Combat variety gets a smaller boost with the addition of the quarterstaff, a new weapon type that is giving more options to magic based builds. It offers a two-handed melee option that feels physical without abandoning magical identity, a nice addition after running around with a grimoire and wand for my last playthrough. Like other weapons, it has a special attack tied to full stuns, slotting cleanly into Avowed’s combat systems rather than feeling bolted on.
Presentation improvements round out the update. Photo mode is now available, borrowing tools and tech from Obsidian’s work on Grounded. You can toggle UI, adjust the camera, apply effects, and capture combat moments with ease. They also added extra melee finishers to help that repetition feeling, especially in the late-game sections once you find your favourite weapon and stick to it, particularly for two-handed weapons, daggers, and spears. They’re small touches, but they help combat feel fresher over long sessions.
What the Anniversary Update doesn’t do is attempt to reframe Avowed as something it isn’t. There’s no new story content, no hidden endings, and no extra lore dumps. This is a celebration update to its systems while releasing on another platform, through and through. It’s about longevity and replayability.
Avowed on the PS5 Pro feels like the most complete version of the game to date. The smoother performance, lower entry price, and with that, the Anniversary Update make it an easy recommendation for new players, while the depth of New Game Plus and custom difficulty options give returning players a genuine reason to come back. By doubling down on what already worked and giving players more control over how they engage with it, Avowed quietly becomes a stronger, more confident RPG than it was at launch.
