Is Avowed an open world game?

The gaming world is packed with massive open-world RPGs, but Avowed is taking a different approach – and that’s got players curious.

Exploration, travel, and player freedom all play a huge role in shaping an RPG experience, and Avowed is making some interesting choices. Understanding how its world works can help set expectations before diving in.

In this guide, we’ll answer whether Avowed is an open world game and how its systems affect exploration and player freedom.

Is Avowed an open-world game?

No, Avowed is not an open-world game.

Instead of a vast, seamless map like Skyrim or Elden Ring, Avowed uses a zone-based design. This means the world is divided into large, explorable regions rather than one continuous open world.

How does Avowed’s zone-based world work?

You’ll travel between distinct zones, each filled with quests, secrets, and challenges, all of which are part of The Living Lands.

The first zone you explore is Dawnshore, which serves as the initial major zone in the game. After progressing through the story far enough, you’ll unlock the next one, and so on.

While you can’t roam the entire world freely from the start, you can return to previous areas and use fast travel to move between them.

Open World vs Zone-Based system

Here’s a table comparing how Avowed’s zone-based system works in contrast to other open-world games.

Feature	Avowed	Open-World Games
Map structure	Large, detailed zones instead of a single open world. Each area is crafted for a focused experience.	A vast, seamless map where you can travel anywhere without loading screens.
Exploration	You can explore freely within each zone, but new areas unlock as you progress through the story.	You can typically go anywhere right from the start, with few restrictions.
Story & pacing	The structured zones guide players through the story in a way that keeps it engaging and well-paced.	Stories are often more open-ended, which can sometimes lead to feeling overwhelmed by too many options.
Player choice & consequences	Choices have a more direct impact on the world, as the game knows where you are in the story.	Choices can still matter, but the open nature can make their effects feel more spread out.
Travel & navigation	Fast travel between zones makes backtracking easier.	Fast travel exists, but you can also walk or ride across the entire map.

The zone-based design in Avowed strikes a balance between freedom and structure. Each area is packed with meaningful content. It also helped the developers create a richer, more detailed world without the technical limitations of a fully open-world game.

So while Avowed may not be open-world, it still offers deep exploration, immersive storytelling, and a world worth discovering – just in a more structured way.

While you explore this world, you’ll be accompanied by brilliantly voiced companions, which are surprisingly not romanceable.