Summary
Obsidian Entertainment has revealed how it believesAvowedwill distinguish itself fromThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. SinceAvowedwas first teased at the Xbox Games Showcase in 2020, the anticipated action RPG has drawn inevitable comparisons with Bethesda’s genre-defining megalith.
Skyrimset the gold standard for fantasy RPGs when it was released in 2011. Its vast open world enthralled players by allowing them to explore however they wanted, crafting their character and adventure as they saw fit. Nearly 13 years later, Bethesda’s epic has sold over 60 million copies worldwide across its various iterations and become one of the best-selling games of all time. When Obsidian announced its upcoming first-person fantasy RPG set in an intricate open world withseemingly similar sword-and-sorcery combat toSkyrim, fans were inevitably quick to make comparisons with Bethesda’s classic.
However, in an interview withPCGamesN,Avowed’s game director Carrie Patel has spoken out against these comparisons and shed light on howAvowedwill shape its own unique identity within the genre. Set in thesame game world as Obsidian’sPillars of Eternity,Avowedwill see players take on the role of an envoy from the Aedyr Empire tasked with investigating reports of a mysterious plague. Their journey will take them to the vibrant and deadly Living Lands, an island that at first glance seems more akin toOblivion’s Shivering Isles thanSkyrim’s frozen tundra. Although smaller in scale, it’s this unique world that will setAvowedapart. “For us,” Patel explained, “it’s about having a more focused experience, something that feels a little more curated. We can be a little more intentional.” Players can expect an experience more akin to a “fantasy take on The Outer Worlds” than an endless romp through Cyrodiil.
What will make Avowed distinct from Skyrim?
While it may not feature the expansive sandbox that players were expecting,Avowed’s intricately crafted map may be a welcome changein an industry filled with ever-expanding open worlds. Where many modern games rely on repetitive content to fill out their massive maps, a smaller, hand-crafted experience will hopefully ensure that players are captivated from start to finish. With beloved titles such asFallout: New VegasandStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic IIunder their belt, Obsidian already has a well-proven track record of creating incredibly detailed and rewarding worlds.
“You’re coming to the Living Lands andAvowedwith a very specific role from the empire, but it’s still up to you to choose how exactly you follow through on that.”
DespiteAvowed’s smaller scale and more focused story, gameplay director Gabe Paramo clarified that the game will still reward exploration and not follow an entirely linear path.Avowedwill instead take that “middle ground between sandbox and something more curated.” Paramo went on to emphasize the importance of player choice, stating that “you’re coming to the Living Lands andAvowedwith a very specific role from the empire, but it’s still up to you to choose how exactly you follow through on that.” Whatever difficult decisions the world ofAvowedmay hold in store, gamers will have to wait until theXbox exclusive comes to Game Pass in Fall 2024to discover the secrets of the Living Lands for themselves.
Avowed
WHERE TO PLAY
Avowed is a first-person RPG being developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Taking place in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity, players explore the world of Eora using both rune-based magic and sword combat
