For just a moment, Avowed looks like any other fantasy RPG—swords and shields, shiny armor and helmets with those funny little nose guards. Then the dual-wielded flintlock pistols show up. And the fungus-infected bear. And the Willy Wonka-ass mushrooms. Obsidian was once the RPG studio that played in other developers' sandboxes, but with Avowed it's getting to paint the world it created for Pillars of Eternity on a far bigger canvas—one in which you're, well, kind of the asshole.
Okay okay, that's not quite fair—you don't have to be an asshole. But you do have to be an outsider, Avowed director Carrie Patel told me in an exclusive interview ahead of Avowed's reveal on Sunday.
As the game begins, your character arrives in a remote corner of the world of Eora called the Living Lands as an envoy of the Aedyr Empire, where you've been sent to investigate a mysterious plague. "Not everybody in the Living Lands is super thrilled to have an imperial presence in this far-flung land," she said. "So adventure ensues."
Patel wouldn't spill much about Avowed's story, but did give me some of the basics on what form of RPG to expect from Avowed:
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 singleplayer—no 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
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
I would love to be interested in first person fantasy rpg's, but they're just not my thing. I realize I'm missing out on all the elder scrolls games, and dragon whateverwhatever, but I just can't do it.
If these existed when I was a teenager, I'd never stop playing. I understand I'm missing out on a good thing, but...no.
GreenGoo wrote: Fri Jun 16, 2023 4:47 pm
I would love to be interested in first person fantasy rpg's, but they're just not my thing. I realize I'm missing out on all the elder scrolls games, and dragon whateverwhatever, but I just can't do it.
What is “dragon whateverwhatever”? Dragon Age? Because those aren’t first person games.
On topic, Obsidian is hit and miss for me, but this seems to have potential. Definitely on my 2024 radar.
When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.
I'd heard that Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire didn't sell so well, but that Obsidian still wanted to do something in the world they created, and that if they did it would have to be drastically different, and this seems like it might be it.
GreenGoo wrote: Fri Jun 16, 2023 4:47 pm
I would love to be interested in first person fantasy rpg's, but they're just not my thing. I realize I'm missing out on all the elder scrolls games, and dragon whateverwhatever, but I just can't do it.
What is “dragon whateverwhatever”? Dragon Age? Because those aren’t first person games.
Nope, all of those were either third person or a combination of third person an top-down. There actually are very few first person fantasy RPGs outside of the dungeon crawler genre (Bard's Tale, Wizardry, Grimrock, etc.) There's Elder Scrolls, and... well, you can play some MMOs in first person. Kingdom Come wasn't fantasy, and the Thief/Dishonored/Vermintide games aren't RPGs.
Interested. Obsidian is fine by me. Its looks a bit strange..almost claymation or something from the old days. But mixed with Elder Scrolls or something. Its fine. I like it.
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I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
When in doubt, skewer it out...I don't know.
Daehawk wrote: Sun Jan 21, 2024 1:53 am
Its looks a bit strange..almost claymation or something from the old days. But mixed with Elder Scrolls or something.
The games that it brought to mind for me were Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and... Outer Worlds.
It's got a lot of potential. I really do love first person fantasy games, and I really like dynamic combat. Both are hard to pull off, though. I also really like the aesthetics. We'll see how it turns out.
As I understand it, they're using UE4 (which they also used for The Outer Worlds) so it isn't surprising to see similarities in the visuals for The Outer Worlds and Avowed. Obsidian's core strengths have always been in the narrative elements of their games -- story, setting, characters -- rather than engine technology. If they deliver on that with good gameplay mechanics, then I'm not going to mind if the game isn't as pretty as something like Cyberpunk 2077.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
Max Peck wrote: Sun Jan 21, 2024 12:34 pm
As I understand it, they're using UE4 (which they also used for The Outer Worlds) so it isn't surprising to see similarities in the visuals for The Outer Worlds and Avowed.
No doubt, but it was mainly their character model design and the 'feel' of the world that reminded me of OW.
It's official, Avowed has been delayed to Feb 18, 2025. It was previously expected to release sometime this year. Microsoft says it's making the move to "give players' backlogs some breathing room."
More likely to give the game some breathing room due to a crowded release window.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
Damn brain. I just saw this video on Youtube and came here to post it . But its already posted here 3 months ago.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
When in doubt, skewer it out...I don't know.
Looks fun. But its just single player. If it was mp or MMO it would be more for me because I have my friend that plays online with me and this game wont allow that.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake. http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
When in doubt, skewer it out...I don't know.
A hands-on preview plus dev interviews by Mortismal. Substantial exploration and weapon upgrades pretty much sells it for me. Also first and third person view.
After watching this preview, Avowed went from the top of my list to off my list of coming RPGs.
I'll sum it up in a single word (as did the previewer): "parkour...parkour...parkoured...parkour...parkour...parkourable...parkour"
The kids will probably love it though.
Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body."[Matt 10:28] God can totally destroy us.
Jesus also said, "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”[John 6:40] Eternal life is conditional.
His disciple John wrote, "Whoever has the Son has eternal life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have eternal life. [1 John 5:12] Eternal life is optional.
I like the idea of having flexible terrain traversal, so as long as they haven't turned the game into a platformer I don't see the existence of a parkour system as a problem in and of itself.
"What? What?What?" -- The 14th Doctor
It's not enough to be a good player... you also have to play well. -- Siegbert Tarrasch
I have no idea if I will get this or not, but it looks cool to me. Clearly more of an action RPG.
Black Lives Matter
"You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common: they don't alter their views to fit the facts; they alter the facts to fit their views." - The 4th Doctor
Not that helpful to many but this is the type of game that I'm happy to play on Game Pass. Despite being big fans of the Pillars games, this one seems as much of a divergence as Dragon Age from its previous gameplay (which I've yet to play so no final judgement).
Dave Allen wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 10:43 pm
After watching this preview, Avowed went from the top of my list to off my list of coming RPGs.
I'll sum it up in a single word (as did the previewer): "parkour...parkour...parkoured...parkour...parkour...parkourable...parkour"
The kids will probably love it though.
Sure there was some parkour terrain movement, but if anything freedom of movement is a welcome upgrade from the Skyrim days. Also the previewer even says the parkour exploration isn't forced on you. So I wouldn't expect platform segments for the main storyline that require top notch parkour skills.
Dave Allen wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 10:43 pm
After watching this preview, Avowed went from the top of my list to off my list of coming RPGs.
I'll sum it up in a single word (as did the previewer): "parkour...parkour...parkoured...parkour...parkour...parkourable...parkour"
The kids will probably love it though.
Sure there was some parkour terrain movement, but if anything freedom of movement is a welcome upgrade from the Skyrim days. Also the previewer even says the parkour exploration isn't forced on you. So I wouldn't expect platform segments for the main storyline that require top notch parkour skills.
I'm fine with being able to use the environment. What I'm not super thrilled with is the Jedi: Survivor style level design with 8000 different weird jumping puzzles. I'm very interested to see where the implementation falls in Avowed.
Dave Allen wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 10:43 pm
After watching this preview, Avowed went from the top of my list to off my list of coming RPGs.
I'll sum it up in a single word (as did the previewer): "parkour...parkour...parkoured...parkour...parkour...parkourable...parkour"
The kids will probably love it though.
Sure there was some parkour terrain movement, but if anything freedom of movement is a welcome upgrade from the Skyrim days. Also the previewer even says the parkour exploration isn't forced on you. So I wouldn't expect platform segments for the main storyline that require top notch parkour skills.
I'm fine with being able to use the environment. What I'm not super thrilled with is the Jedi: Survivor style level design with 8000 different weird jumping puzzles. I'm very interested to see where the implementation falls in Avowed.
They can rescue this game for the legion of aging consumers like me by adding a verticality option like "blink" in Dishonored.
Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body."[Matt 10:28] God can totally destroy us.
Jesus also said, "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”[John 6:40] Eternal life is conditional.
His disciple John wrote, "Whoever has the Son has eternal life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have eternal life. [1 John 5:12] Eternal life is optional.
I think my aging reflexes would prefer climbing. Mostly I've found climbing in games to be fairly intuitive. Jumping and blinking haven't always worked out so smoothly!
