Summary
In mid-2020, Microsoft and Obsidian Entertainment officially revealed a new fantasy game known asAvowed. It was set to be the latest entry in thePillars of Eternityuniverse and represented a dramatic shift in gameplay style. After the game was initially revealed, there was a lot of speculation as to just how bigAvowedwould be.
Originally it was rumored thatAvowedwould be bigger thanThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. These rumors turned out to be false, and the developer has since given gamers a better idea of the game’s smaller scale. While this might disappoint some, it could very well be perfect for what will be one of the game’s most defining features. Specifically, a smaller scope could ramp up the impact of the choices the player makes and better highlight the consequences of their actions.
RELATED:Why Playing a Godlike in Avowed Wouldn’t Have the Same “Oomph' as Pillars of Eternity
Obsidian Entertainment’s Defining Features
Since the release ofFallout: New Vegas, developer Obsidian Entertainment has gained a reputation for making games with meaningful consequences for player actions and rewarding them for exploring every corner of the map.New Vegaswas a sprawling game that had gamers visit nearly every part of the region in order to meet members of its many factions. How the players behaved determined how factions responded to them and eventually what became of them. Likewise, how players treat companion characters and the ways they react to their personal quests would determine how they interact with The Courier and contribute to their ultimate fates.
Despite the game’s initial launch,Fallout: New Vegasis often considered to be the franchise’s best installmentand would lay out the blueprint for a large chunk of Obsidian Entertainment’s games going forward.Pillars of Eternity,Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, andThe Outer Worldswould all feature similar systems with the characters and settings. The endings for the characters and regions would likewise be affected by the player’s actions or lack thereof and encourage multiple playthroughs. While the games are sometimes smaller and shorter than that of the competition, this often helps these elements stand out and this likely will be the case forAvowedas well.
How Avowed’s Scope Will Help With Decision-Making and Consequences
A problem that tends to occur in a lot of larger RPGs is that there is more focus on the open-world gameplay aspects than on the story. There will often be hundreds if not thousands of nameless NPCs surrounding a few dozen important characters. While not inherently a bad thing, these sorts of vast environments will sometimes make the storylines feel less intimate and fail to make gamers feel the consequences of their actions. For example, theCivil War quest inSkyrimis arguably the game’s best storyline, but save for a few mostly forgettable NPCs being removed, it fails to convey the scope and consequences of the player’s actions.
Something likeThe Outer Worlds, on the other hand, benefits because it is that much smaller. All the characters the player interacts with have distinguished personalities and motives. They are not just another procedurally generated NPC who could easily be replaced by another.
The smaller scale allows the player to become intimately familiar with these people, making the consequences of their actions hit all the harder. It also meant that the players' actions had a ripple effect that could be felt throughout the game’s runtime in some way, shape, or form. With the size ofAvowedbeing compared to that ofThe Outer Worlds, it is very possible that the upcoming fantasy game will benefit similarly.
Until the game is released, it’s impossible to say how well its smaller scope will affect its gameplay. While elements likeAvowed’s characterswill need to be game-changers in order to stand out, Obsidian Entertainment’s track record with smaller-scaled worlds speaks for itself. Because of this, it is probably safe to say that the game’s scope will be perfect for one of its most defining features.
Avowedreleases in 2024 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
