Mothergamer Plays Avowed

 I'm going to be honest. I've never played the first two Pillars of Eternity game, so I had no idea what to expect from Avowed. I was intrigued when I saw a friend playing it and decided to check it out for myself. From the start I was fascinated with the story as we're introduced to playing as the envoy for the Aedyr empire. Not only that, the envoy is known as a Godlike, a person that has been touched by the gods and it shows in their physical appearance. With the envoy, no one has any idea what God "blessed" them. It's here where the adventure in Avowed begins. 

I loved the character creation design because there were so many options to choose from with skin tone, hair, and godlike features. I loved giving my envoy what looked like tree branches in her hair and of course gave her hair a purple hue. The accessibility options in Avowed are great ranging from a color blind mode to being able to adjust the size of the subtitles. Once I was done creating my character, I dove into the world of Eora.

The story has the envoy traveling to the Living Lands on behalf of the emperor of Aedyr to investigate a mysterious illness known as the Dream Scourge. It not only affects people, it also affects animals and plants. As part of the story a series of mishaps happens at the start of the envoy's adventure and this gives a good introduction into a tutorial about how combat and magic works in the games. It was easy to follow and the battle system is actually fun. 

Eventually, the envoy does make it to the Living Lands and we get our first companion, Kai who acts as a guide at first for the start of the adventure. I absolutely loved Kai and he became my favorite very quickly. If his voice sounds familiar that's because it's Brandon Keener who voiced one of my favorite companions in Mass Effect, Garrus. Keener dos an amazing job as Kai and I found myself talking to Kai often throughout the game and having him constantly in my party because every conversation with him is well done with a lot of thoughtfulness to emotions, world building, and lore. He's not the only companion you get and over time you have four companions with you and the envoy can take two companions with them during their journey. 

I loved exploring the Living Lands. The surrounding areas are gorgeous with brightly colored bioluminescent mushrooms, interesting fantastic creatures, and no two landscapes were ever the same. Going off the main trail just to see a beautiful tree that caught my eye was always a good time. What makes it even better is that Avowed allows you to do this and in fact seems to encourage the spirit of exploration and adventure. 

Discovering a beautiful cavern with companions.

Each decision you make as the envoy can carry a lot of weight especially in regards to the main story. For good or bad, the envoy has to step up and decide these things. One decision in particular felt impossible in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation and I agonized over it for a good ten minutes. Yes, it was that difficult. However, I appreciated how excellent the writing was in regards to that choice and the many choices my envoy had to make. It wasn't just for the main story either. There are tons of side quests and your companions can weigh in giving advice and opinions. There are also quests we can do for our companions that expand on their stories, who they were, and who they are. My personal favorites were for Kai and our Dwarven friend Marius because of the themes about grief and loss. These were beautifully and thoughtfully done and by the end of both quests I felt that I understood Kai and Marius and never wanted my travels with them to end. 

Leveling in Avowed isn't a chore and I was always having fun with the combat especially after I unlocked being able to use an arquebus (basically a long rifle) which helped with keeping enemies at range and picking them off one at a time. The envoy can also use magic with their godlike abilities such as healing their party or throwing thorns at enemies. I tend to like rogue builds which is what I did for my envoy, but the nice thing about the skill tree in Avowed is you're not locked to just one job class. You can mix and match abilities like fighter skills or mage spells. I padded my squishy rogue with some fighter abilities that helped her to be less squishy and she quickly became a powerhouse dominating the battlefield. 

Talking to the queen of the tree creatures. 

I know it's very easy to compare Avowed to Skyrim because of some small elements in the game, but frankly Avowed is different from Skyrim in regards to the lore and world building. Yes, they're both high fantasy games, but Avowed is definitely its own thing with the art style, music, and story. I personally like both for different reasons. I loved every single moment in Avowed and I was a bit sad when the adventure was over, but the ending of the story really delivers wrapping everything up with no loose ends and I was happy for my envoy and all her companions. 

Avowed is a great time and I spent fifty plus hours doing absolutely everything and learning all the lore and solving the mystery of the Dream Scourge while also admiring how much beauty there was all around in the landscapes, the cities, and with all the characters I met. It made me want to check out the first two Pillars of Eternity games which I plan on doing as I downloaded them. Avowed is a grand adventure and I'm glad I got to experience it. 

The envoy takes a break. 

*Avowed is available to play on the following platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Steam 

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Mothergamer Plays South of Midnight

 Ever since I saw the first trailer for South of Midnight, I have been counting down to the release day. The day was finally here and I could not wait to dive into this Southern Gothic fantasy game. Right from the start I was impressed with the game as I tinkered with the settings because of the many accessibility options including a letterbox for the subtitles to make them easier to read. It homed in on my point that I have brought up often that accessibility should be the norm and not the exception. South of Midnight's accessibility options are excellent. I also appreciated the fact that the game does have a warning about flashing lights as well as explaining that there are themes in the game that are heavy, but ultimately the story itself is about empathy.

We are then introduced the protagonist Hazel Flood who is quickly packing up her things due to the approach of an oncoming hurricane in the fictional town of Prospero. We also get to meet Hazel's mother Lacey. Right away I liked Hazel and Lacey. These are both strong, smart, and brave women and you can sense right away the love they have for each other. Without spoilers, some intense dramatic things happen and this is where Hazel's story and adventure truly begins. Hazel discovers she has special powers as a Weaver, someone who can see the strands that connect all life and fate known as The Grand Tapestry. Weavers can repair those strands when they get tangled by pain and trauma with special tools and help to heal. 

Hazel discovers her Weaver powers. 

Hazel meets all kinds of fantastical creatures like a giant talking catfish who helps her on her journey. The combat in the game is simple, but that's not a bad thing and there are action platformer elements as well. I will say I did not like the wall run. I can't count how many times I died in the game due to a wall run fail and that got frustrating pretty quick. I got there eventually and I enjoyed South of Midnight so much I didn't mind the bits of frustration. Hazel has to use her Weaver powers to heal a blighted landscape by fighting monsters called haints. There's several different types and they're all well designed to look as creepy as possible. Hazel fights them and can unravel the knots they cause and then heal the land. I found it very satisfying to watch the land transform with pretty flowers suddenly blooming everywhere. 

Hazel fights haints.

Hazel doesn't have to do all this alone. She has an adorable little helper in the form of her doll Crouton who has come to life by Hazel's magic. Crouton is so cute and I love him. He can go into small places that Hazel can't go, if a jump is too big for Hazel to cross he can be thrown across to push switches to make bridges for her, and he can control enemies making them fight alongside Hazel. 

This is Crouton. He's just a little guy and I love him. 

What I loved most about South of Midnight was the storytelling. Not just the folklore, but Hazel's story and those of the people and creatures she meets. It's so obvious how much love and care went into every aspect of South of Midnight and Hazel is an excellent foil and guide for us to show that in such a beautiful and thoughtful way. There was one chapter in the storytelling that struck a chord with me personally as a mother and I just had to take a moment because it made me cry with how heartfelt and bittersweet it was. It was very well done and it moved me. There are many moments like that in South of Midnight, but this one in particular resonated with me. It's true that the story does focus on empathy and compassion for others. I loved how Hazel throughout all of it had her moments of impatience like so many of us, but ultimately she understood how to be kind and I appreciated seeing her kindness and empathy not just with people, but with some of the creatures. 

I also found myself stopping and just taking in the incredible fantasy landscapes throughout the game. Whether it was a giant peach in a river or glowing blue butterflies, there was always something wondrous to see in South of Midnight. 

Wow, giant peach! 

The only issue I had with the game itself were some technical glitches. There were times where sometimes wall run and jump wouldn't work or Hazel would appear to still be in combat while talking during a cutscene. Rebooting the game seemed to fix the issue, but there were a couple of times where it was a bit irritating because in a few places I had to redo fights because of it. In the long run it wasn't a big deal because I was enjoying the game so much I could deal with those few bugs here and there. 

South of Midnight is frankly, a true gem of a game. The storytelling is powerful and I really like Hazel and all the characters throughout the game. The art style is interesting and gorgeous, the music soundtrack is incredible, and the folklore is fantastic. I also appreciate the big picture of how a little empathy can go a long way and you never know who may need a bit of kindness. It's beautiful to see Hazel come into her own as she gains more and more confidence with her Weaver powers as well as seeing her learn important things about herself. South of Midnight is beautifully crafted and I had an amazing time adventuring with Hazel. The game isn't very long. I finished it in two days, but it doesn't detract from the powerful tale it told in such a lovely and thoughtful way. Don't sleep on South of Midnight. It's absolutely worth it. 

A bit more Weaver magic. 

*South of Midnight is available to play on the following platforms: Xbox Series X/S and Steam

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer