Current Events > More Avowed details

(+) Yeah! (+)

Along with the trailer, PCGamer also released a small article/interview with some details.

https://youtu.be/ULsF7B6bFuU

https://www.pcgamer.com/avowed-rpg-obsidian-preview-magic-interview/

• Similar size to Outer Worlds
• You have an established role as the imperial envoy, but your "personality, appearance, and philosophy and vibe you bring to that role is up to you as a player to decide"
• You can play as a human or an elf, but not other races
• It's purely singleplayerno co-op
• The world is lightly systemic: think water and lightning interactions, but not the ol' bucket-on-the-head trick
• You'll have two companions with you at a time, with their own combat specialties and, of course, personalities
• There are several ability trees to progress through, and you won't be locked to a particular class or playstyle
• You will level up, but the focus is on unlocking abilities rather than putting points into stats to grow stronger

"In most of our games companions have been optional, which I think offers a wonderful degree of choice to players, but it means there's a limit to how deeply you can tie them into the core story. With Avowed we decided companions are going to be core. They're going to be part of the experience. And that means we can invest so much more in them and tie them much more closely, and personally, to the events and the parts of the world the player is encountering."

Avowed confirmed CE flop :(

I was kinda hoping it would be like if Obsidian made Oblivion, but idk now

https://metro.co.uk/2023/06/12/avowed-trades-huge-skyrim-like-open-world-for-a-focus-on-companions-18937277/

As such, companion characters (such as Kai, the narrator from the trailer) and their stories will be the primary focus of Avowed. In a separate interview, Avowed director Carrie Patel says that youll have two companions at a time and that, unlike Obsidians previous games, will feel integral to Avoweds wider narrative.

One thing we wanted to do with Avowed was make sure the companions felt really integral to the story, explains Patel. In some games theyre optionally recruitable, but in Avowed theyre deeply tied to the story, tied to your party
We really wanted to create this sense that youre in this big wild frontier, youre going on this adventure of discovery, and you have this small but tight knit crew with you. The sense youre adventuring through the wilds together, sharing in the discovery and the danger. These people are just as much a part of your story as the larger events that youre getting in the middle of.

and... no.
I can see already that this is a game that does little more that drag the player from story vignette to story vignette, assuming I'll ever care when someone gets theatrically dead.

You will level up, but the focus is on unlocking abilities rather than putting points into stats to grow stronger

doubly "and... no"

Apparently Elder Scrolls: Pillars of Eternity was too much to ask for

It honestly sounds like they took the one thing I always find annoying in Fallout and ES and made it a core part of the experience. Like, I don't always dislike companions in games, but I always dislike them in those games and unless they are somehow drastically different in Avowed I probably won't bother to play it

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Same tbh.

But we'll see. Still awhile for it to come out so a short interview and trailer that didnt really show off what people play Obsidian games for doesn't really give much to go off yet.

I love The Outer Worlds and this seems like The Outer Worlds; Elves Edition.

I was hoping for next level, and this may wind up achieving that, but it sure doesnt look like it so far.

Well see. But hey, more of something I love isnt bad.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

I'd rather the player happen to the story, instead of the other way around.
"Companions" heavily implies piles and piles of exposition, along with piles and piles of "helpful" hints over and over and over again.

Hey! Listen!

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Imagine if there was a game you really liked except for a couple parts where you had to do escort missions, but if you really don't want to do the escort missions you can just kind of avoid them.

Now imagine that devs new game is like "well we really wanted to do more with the escort missions, so this game is gonna be all about escort missions!"

it looked like every other fantasy game announced recently with tons of bright colors and explosions to hide the generic art direction

Questionmarktarius posted...

"Companions" heavily implies piles and piles of exposition, along with piles and piles of "helpful" hints over and over and over again.

Hey! Listen!

It also implies that there won't be much player choice as to which companions you have or when

Freddie_Mercury posted...

it looked like every other fantasy game announced recently with tons of bright colors and explosions to hide the generic art direction

Tbf, it's set in the living lands, which was long suspected,so going to be very bright.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Honestly, I much prefer they did something akin to dragon age as that is what obsidian excels at. Was the story of New Vegas and the interactions between people that stood out, not the exploration so much. And feels more in keeping with Pillars that way too imo.

DipDipDiver posted...

It honestly sounds like they took the one thing I always find annoying in Fallout and ES and made it a core part of the experience. Like, I don't always dislike companions in games, but I always dislike them in those games and unless they are somehow drastically different in Avowed I probably won't bother to play it

Yeah, I never use companions in those games.

CoyoteTheGreat posted...

Yeah, I never use companions in those games.

I mean, the old isometric games pillars are, and other related games, companions are often some of the most talked about bits so not surprising they want to keep that.

I fully expect them to be much better than Bethesda companions, but how well they work in this style game... I guess we'll see?

DipDipDiver posted...

It also implies that there won't be much player choice as to which companions you have or when

obligatory ProZD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osd16ILchHs

Funkydog posted...

I mean, the old isometric games pillars are, and other related games, companions are often some of the most talked about bits so not surprising they want to keep that.

I fully expect them to be much better than Bethesda companions, but how well they work in this style game... I guess we'll see?

I think it's the style of game that's making it seem like a bad idea to me. Looking at the trailer it's very difficult not to compare this to Fallout or Elder Scrolls, and the simple fact is that I have always disliked having companions in those games. They'll have to really show me something cool to get me on board

Freddie_Mercury posted...

it looked like every other fantasy game announced recently with tons of bright colors and explosions to hide the generic art direction

this is probably it for me. i didn't see anything in this to convince me to be excited over any other medieval game.

DipDipDiver posted...

I think it's the style of game that's making it seem like a bad idea to me. Looking at the trailer it's very difficult not to compare this to Fallout or Elder Scrolls, and the simple fact is that I have always disliked having companions in those games. They'll have to really show me something cool to get me on board

Oh, for sure. Dont blame anyone for being wary.

At least there's guns. I was afraid they were going to cut them out, one of my favorite things about PoE is the Renaissance setting and firearms are a core identity of the setting. It's why KCD felt so empty to me.

I dont mind the companions. I loved the way companions worked in TOW and they were great characters with decent arcs and emotion.

NecroFoul99 posted...

I dont mind the companions. I loved the way companions worked in TOW and they were great characters with decent arcs and emotion.

Yeah, why I'm not terribly worried. They've shown they can so them well.

Just hope they improve a lot on outer worlds and keep with the darkness of Eora. And that the combat is better than the little we saw as felt pretty dated.

Mostly I want to see the RPG systems and the ability system. Hopefully you can make your own 'classes' and won't be fully skyrim style. I don't mind skyrim style but I feel it can make it all feel very samey at times.

Funkydog posted...

Mostly I want to see the RPG systems and the ability system.

Actual gameplay doesn't make for a decent hype trailer.

Funkydog posted...

Yeah, why I'm not terribly worried. They've shown they can so them well.

Just hope they improve a lot on outer worlds and keep with the darkness of Eora. And that the combat is better than the little we saw as felt pretty dated.

Mostly I want to see the RPG systems and the ability system. Hopefully you can make your own 'classes' and won't be fully skyrim style. I don't mind skyrim style but I feel it can make it all feel very samey at times.

TOW sure allowed unique builds, and stat growth / leveling was pretty old school.

The thing with TOW is that you can craft and upgrade and that was so powerful its possible to brute force your way through.

Like a max upgraded LMG with an arc mod chewed through robots regardless of your build.

I have faith in Obsidian, so Im sure itll be great even if there are weaknesses.

It's Obsidian, I'm in. Also, it looks excellent.

A few more details from the extended showcase

https://www.gamesradar.com/obsidians-avowed-is-closer-to-kotor-2-than-fallout-new-vegas/

"It's going to be roughly comparable to something like Knights of the Old Republic 2 or The Outer Worlds," game director Carrie Patel said during the Xbox Games Showcase Extended stream. "It is set up as a series of interconnected open zones that players can explore at their own pace. You can invest in discovering every nook and cranny in the world, discovering every secret, finding every sidequest, meeting every character - or you can have a much more focused experience. It's really up to players and how much time they want to spend in The Living Lands, but I'm hopeful they're going to spend a lot of time with us once Avowed releases."

Seems to me they are doing what they did in KotorR 2 and the pillars games. Hopefully not as sparse as OW though.

Likely will use the lore of the living lands being a range of different valleys/biomes for the various hubs I expect.

Can't wait. I need more Eora in my life.

The new trailer kind of killed off any hype i had for the game. Good that is game pass day 1 though, means ill probably still check it out

Sounds good

I am happy that old characters returning means it's set after deadfire. The ending changed the cosmology of the setting very significantly, so i am curious how they will handle it

apolloooo posted...

I am happy that old characters returning means it's set after deadfire. The ending changed the cosmology of the setting very significantly, so i am curious how they will handle it

Tbf, it could be a prequel with the gods showing up again or just the few 'living lands' adjacent npcs showing up depending how far back they go.

Funkydog posted...

Tbf, it could be a prequel with the gods showing up again or just the few 'living lands' adjacent npcs showing up depending how far back they go.

Fair some of these people do get around >_>

I hope it's set after tho, or they have written the setting to the corner after deadfire

apolloooo posted...

Fair some of these people do get around >_>

I hope it's set after tho, or they have written the setting to the corner after deadfire

After does present the issues of how they handle the choices of 2 given they aren't minor however.