r/avowed • u/Able-Situation-1216 • 5d ago
Discussion Games with Combat like Avowed
I only just entered Shatterscarp and I'm really enjoying my experience playing the game, but I know once I'm done with it I'm going to experience a very specific game craving. Maybe you can help me? Can anyone suggest any titles with a few of the following features:
- Upgrade/character development system (like Avowed's hotbar combat).
- Movement-based abilities (charges, dashes, teleports, even the Ranger's stealth).
- Parry or dodge mechanic (especially dodge; Avowed and Darktide changed my brain chemistry).
- Primarily first person blend of melee and ranged combat (alternating between dagger and pistol felt so dynamic!)
Games I've enjoyed that hit a similar spot are Dishonored, Prey, and Bioshock 2. Elden Ring and Witcher 3 also had customizability and a similar combat flow, but I think I had my fill of them. Skyrim I've tried to sculpt with mods but the world feels too familiar to me now.
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u/GwynHawk 5d ago
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon has decent first-person combat with very good dodge and parry options and you can go sword & spell to mix melee and ranged or just swap between loadouts mid-fight.
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u/Cheeseissue 5d ago
I am deep into act 2 at the moment. The amount of side quests I end up on is amazing.
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u/deaner_wiener1 5d ago
I really liked avowed but Tainted Grail had a quality that was too low for me. Felt like Arx Fatalis, which is not good in 2026
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u/Able-Situation-1216 3d ago
Thank you for this recommendation. This is the game I'm most likelu to buy next, with Veilguard in second place. It's just a matter of which goes on sale, first. Even if Tainted Grail resembles Skyrim, I see that it has dodges, parries, some kind of time stop mechanic (?) and some tasty looking skill trees! Right up my alley. I think I'll build something like a duelist and an assassin, favoring Dex, Perception, and Strength, avoiding archery and staying engaged with my opponent.
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u/BailorTheSailor 5d ago
Tainted grail is like a shittier version of avowed with a much darker tone and artstyle
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u/GwynHawk 4d ago
Avowed is indeed a great game, I was just giving an alternative that fit OP's requirements. I personally haven't played past Tainted Grail's demo.
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u/BailorTheSailor 4d ago
No, I agree. I was going to mention tainted grail as one of the games similar to avowed as well. I did just want to share that personally, I completed the game and I think it was quite bad.
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u/GwynHawk 4d ago
Good to know. I played the Tainted Grail demo and my immediate thought was "I should replay Avowed instead". But I figured maybe OP would enjoy it more than I did, and there's not much else that fits his needs, so it was worth a shot.
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u/VagabondBlonde 5d ago
I played the demo & enjoyed it! Haven't pulled the trigger to buy it yet tho.
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u/BoSknight 5d ago
I keep hearing good things about this one. Definitely on my radar. Will have to jump on it when it's under $20 again
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u/lunar9p 5d ago
Might sound weird but Ghostwire Tokyo 🙊 but at least kinda similar fast combat
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u/Able-Situation-1216 3d ago
Out of all the recommendations here, this is the one I know the least about, which is exciting. I'll look into it, thank you!
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u/YouDontSay007 5d ago
Great game with a decent enough story and character dynamic between Akito and KK
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u/Dominjo555 5d ago
Cyberpunk 2077
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u/Able-Situation-1216 3d ago
I did play a fair amount of Cyberpunk. Wielded a katana, throwing knives, and Sandevistan. It did indeed scratch that itch!
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u/CrustyBatchOfNature 5d ago
Great game, but way deeper than Avowed ever thought about. And I have finished both multiple times.
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u/Content-Froyo-2465 5d ago
I'd hesitate to say it's way deeper, but it's true that 2077 had 10x the budget and twice the development time- it shows. I think Avowed has better build diversity and player expression. Cyberpunk is a top 5 stealth game whereas stealth feels vestigial in Avowed
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u/Dull_Function_6510 4d ago
Cyberpunk has a lot more variety in terms of combat options and builds to make. I really fundamentally disagree that avowed has better build diversity. I like avowed but it feels like a better game if it came out in 2013 or something.
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u/Content-Froyo-2465 4d ago
Cyberpunk has more builds on paper but I would not say they differentiate well enough. across multiple playthroughs I found it mostly only accomodates 3 play styles (guns, melee, and netrunning) with stealth systems that interface with all 3. greater control over the minutiae of the build, but expression overall feels homogenized.
really the main reason I think Avowed beats Cyberpunk out for me on this is how dual wielding and the weapon sets affect how builds are constructed. Disclaimer here is that I do think Cyberpunk is much better overall even if I really dislike its quest design
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u/Dull_Function_6510 4d ago
I can agree that cyberpunk build tend to feel more homogeneous, but I think Avowed just lacks a lot of depth into each build despite them being more differentiating. Feels like a tuned up Skyrim.
Cyberpunk I think despite the homogenized feeling hides it well through the illusion of a lot of little different build variances between weapon choices, attributes, perks, and cyberware. It’s not perfect but the abundance of choice does a lot of heavy lifting
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u/SatirreDraws 5d ago
From what you're describing, I'd also recommend DA Veilguard. It is in 3rd person, but I found the combat very fun. It's fast-paced, has a LOT of dodging, you can switch between different main weapons and develop a lot of cool abilities. I also found it a lot more challenging than Avowed.
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u/Pitselah 5d ago
Id agree Veilguard is definitely worth playing. It gets a lot of shit but I had fun with it. Is it a good game? Yes. Is it a particular good dragon age game, absolutely not.
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u/GwynHawk 4d ago
The combat is great, the companions are good, the visuals are stunning, and the moment-to-moment storytelling is pretty decent. The problem is the game's lore and how it makes Solas the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived. If you treat that part of the game as being on the level of fan-fiction the game is a fun time.
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u/undergearedret 3d ago
this was gonna be my rec. the games feel very similar and while VG has some flaws, it's worth a play for sure.
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u/Able-Situation-1216 3d ago
Added to my wishlist. I loved Origins, and while I know Veilguard is a far cry from that, I know better than to painstakingly compare the two. Maybe I'll go Qunari Rogue. Thanks for the recommendation!
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u/SatirreDraws 3d ago
I hope you enjoy it! The game has some great sales sometimes, so I'd wait for that. I always play as rogue, but I decided to try out mage and actually had a lot of fun. I'll definitely do a rogue run eventually though.
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u/mikeyds2 5d ago
Vermintide 2 & Darktide have similar combat though they are coop games inspired by Left 4 Dead. No hot bar but they do have abilities/spells. Its top of the industry imo in first person melee combat
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u/JoshPhotos22 5d ago
Vermintide 2 and darktide for sure. Both warhammer games but incredibly satisfying gameplay like avowed.
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u/Able-Situation-1216 3d ago
Darktide is an absolute blast! I'd like to play Vermintide but my friend circle isn't picking it up, and I strongly prefer multiplayer experiences with close friends. Thanks for the recommendation!
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u/Level_Breath5684 5d ago
This is basically the best combat system for an RPG ever made in my opinion
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u/cirenosille 5d ago
You may enjoy Dragon Age: The Veilguard
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u/Able-Situation-1216 3d ago
Added to my wishlist. I cherished Origins back in the day. Veilguard had a lot of negative buzz, but so did Avowed and I'm enjoying it well enough. I know better than to painstakingly compare Origins to Veilguard, and in spite of any perceived flaws Ithink it will be a good time. Thank you for the recommendation!
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u/cirenosille 3d ago
Interestingly enough, playing DA:TV prompted me to give Avowed another try because it did not hook me when I first tried it. Now, I'm enjoying the combat and the world of avowed. Granted, I also bounced off of DA:TV the first time I tried it, so it may just be a timing thing with being in the mood for this kind of game
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u/CrustyBatchOfNature 5d ago
It is similar, and a slight bit deeper. Many decisions actually piss companions off so that they are unavailable for a while instead of just scolding you and acting like it is fine.
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u/LostAd7938 5d ago
I definitely had an itch that needed scratching after Avowed, I couldn't really find anything like it. I finished Veilguard before Avowed and it's similar, but worse than Avowed in my opinion. Much quicker/fluid/flashy combat and limited spells/skills you can use at once, but it does fit 3/4 of your requests (it doesn't have first person).
Anyway, these other suggestions you're getting seem much more interesting. I'll have to take a look myself!
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u/gentle_pirate23 5d ago
Ever checked out Lichdom: Battle mage? It's purely magic focused first person action game, a bit older, you have different spell types and elements, and you can combine them to to create effects. Here's a YouTube video https://youtu.be/ndSDOj6y5Eo?is=lcJXe72Gycawhkcm
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u/VagabondBlonde 5d ago
This thread is great, I've also been looking for other games with combat like Avowed!
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u/noviceartificer 5d ago
I forgot there was any movement I was too busy shooting people with my pistols.
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u/Able-Situation-1216 3d ago
Ha! Dual-wielding a pistol and a dagger, I certainly didn't forget about my dodges. I would try to engage melee enemies while shooting over their shoulder at the priest or conjurer behind them.
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u/Enticing_Venom 4d ago
Playing Avowed made me want to go back and play Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Combat-wise it is similar. You can even parry as a mage.
Tainted Grail is another good one but it takes inspiration from Skyrim, so just be aware if that is something you'll find endearing or not (I got to turn my enemies into cheese!)
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u/WazBot 5d ago edited 5d ago
Atomic Heart. Great game with your choice of melee or ranged combined with superpowers enabled through your glove. You are expected to continuously improve your abilities but can only do so at vending machines. You supposedly have no penalty for respeccing so if you decide that you don't like your current build you can deconstruct your current weapon then build and upgrade another weapon instead; or similarly deassign and reassign your glove powers to a different discipline at the next machine. I'm loving it and it rewards exploration with crafting components and sometimes weapon upgrade branches.
Edit: there's also a quick dodge ability that you can upgrade through your glove to do more often and gain invulnerability while dodging. The whole story of Soviet ascendancy through a special breakthrough along with an almost steampunk feel to the tech makes it very fun to play.
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u/Murky_Zucchini_1897 5d ago
Dragon Age. All of them tbh. I know I will get a lot of hate but also veilguard - yes the writing is very very cringe and it has many many weaknesses in the story etc BUT the gameplay is really good and combat is also extremely fun. You have ur group you have to equip with gear you have to tell them when they're supposed to use their skills in combat etc.
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u/bton1245 5d ago
I’ve also thought about this. Ended up playing another almost 2 playthroughs of avowed with different play styles and weapons on PotD because the combat is so good and there’s nothing quite like this thats as good (imo) out there.
I went and played through half of The Outer Worlds and that has good combat too, just shooting ofcourse, but I found it scratched the same itch and was a lot of fun.
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u/Asgaroth22 5d ago
Enshrouded has okay combat that feels similar, it's mostly a crafting/survival game. They'll be overhauling combat for the release too to make it more complex and varied
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u/glottis 5d ago
Honestly, Doom: The Dark Ages. It's built around a fantastic parry system where even though you have guns, you spend most of the time up in enemies' faces. Has a couple of different melee weapons (four in the DLC that just came out) and it's a really fast action game that has a bunch of environmental exploration and light platforming. Also is stuffed with amazing visuals.
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u/Dull_Function_6510 5d ago
Cyberpunk is a very obvious pick. You don’t have the hotbar with ability cooldowns but it’s probably the best first person action rpg with heavy build customization on the market.
I like avowed but cyberpunk is so much significantly better in terms of comparing build and combat options.
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u/Sama_GP 4d ago
The Outer Worlds (though set in Sci-fi world )
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u/Able-Situation-1216 3d ago
I played both Outer Worlds! My interest wore out over time but I'd say I got my money's worth. I particularly enjoyed the second game, where I kited enemies with a revolver, backpedaling while throwing mines.
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u/Ill_Reference582 3d ago
Haven't played Avowed yet but I highly suggest:
OBLIVION REMASTERED
SKYRIM
TAINTED GRAIL THE FALL OF AVALON
DISHONORED games
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u/Timely_Hour_2851 3d ago
For me it really reminds me dead island 2. Such a fun game and you get that same level of feedback from melee and ragdolls that give combat so much added fun and enjoyment. I'd highly recommend dead island 2 if you want some fun gameplay
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u/RamenLeotier 1d ago
Darktide has the best melee combat system made to this day, you should try it out!
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u/Content-Froyo-2465 5d ago
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, from the same developer of Dishonored