Avowed - Is not Skyrim

[HiddenX]

Feargus Urquhart tells PC Gamer what type of game Avowed is:

Avowed started as Obsidian's Skyrim, but evolved to focus on depth over breadth, 'where Obsidian really shines'

"We backed up and said again: What are we good at? What's our lane?"

When Avowed was first announced with a CGI trailer back in 2020, the headlines and discussions that it sparked all pointed to one specific game: Skyrim. Even though the teaser didn't give away much, the similarities were clear. First-person view; a sword in the right hand, a spell in the left. Surely this was Obsidian's take on an enormous Bethesda-style RPG?

And yes, it turns out that was the plan--at least at first. "Originally we were pitching, in essence, our Skyrim," confirms Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart in an exclusive interview with PC Gamer.

But that is not what Avowed, as it currently exists, is going to be. "I think over the course of time as we worked on it... Bethesda makes an awesome Skyrim. Mojang makes an awesome Minecraft, and Turn10 makes awesome racing games," says Urquhart, referencing a handful of Obsidian's sister studios at Microsoft. "What we do is we make our awesome RPGs, right?"

The feeling, then, was that Obsidian were better served not following Bethesda's example of a grand, open world, but instead staying true to what an Obsidian game should be. "That's when we backed up and said again: What are we good at? What's our lane?" That core, for Urquhart, is Obsidian's dedication to storytelling. "Outer Worlds is the greatest, latest example of that, and even Pillars. Pillars is less linear than Outer Worlds, but it's still a game that has you go through a story. And [Pillars of Eternity] 2 was even less linear, but still again you have this core story as you're going."

For Avowed, the focus is going to be specifically on your companions, and how their story relates to the driving narrative of the game. "We could go off and create an 8km x 8km open world and then deal with all the consequences of that--because that makes it a different style game. But we want to tell more confined stories that the player can experience with their companions, and then move from part of the world to part of the world. And, like I said, in the end, that's us."

[...]

Thanks Henriquejr!

More information.

 

[Redglyph]

@Obsidian: Careful with the depth of lore you dump on our heads while we play, though.

 

[Kyros]

I like the sentiment of their statements but that trailer doesn't at all inspire confidence.

 

[JDR13]

What they say there leads me to believe it's going to be similar to The Outer Worlds as far as the level design is concerned. That's disappointing for me if it's true.

I'd rather they were focusing more on an open world and exploration than on the companions. I guess that's not Obsidian's strength though.

 

[Vaelith]

The Outer Worlds had a rather beautiful landscape, I found the issue to be that the story wasn't compelling and the gameplay was bland and repetitive to my own liking. To me, it didn't help that the loot system was very unexciting too, there was little to look forward to when it came to getting gear and upgrades, which is surprising considering they made Pillars of Eternity, and I remember having quite the opposite feeling in those games.

I have good hopes for this title, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for them to manage to tell a compelling story and offer more impactful and entertaining gameplay than Outer Worlds provided.

 

[Gwendo]

I thought Outer Worlds was a little bit "meh", but entertaining if you don't have anything else competing for your time. Not every game must be open world and demands dozens or hundreds of hours. But if Feargus Urquhart asked what they're really good at, they would make a Pillars-like game. But I guess it doesn't sell as well...

 

[Philistine]

Music to my ears. I like open-world and narrative games, and agree that developers should stick to what they know unless it's a small side-project like Pentiment. Starfield will give me open world, Avowed can give me something else.

 

[JFarrell71]

Lots of cool trailers at the Microsoft show. I'm pumped for Starfield, of course, and re-pumped for Cyberpunk 2077. The Yakuza trailer is fun (looks like it's set in the U.S this time).

But Avowed looks utterly cliched and boring from the trailer.

 

[Couchpotato]

Hmm...it's what I exspected as open world RPG's like Skyrim is not Obsidian's style. So it sounds like a more exspensive Outer Worlds style RPG. Sounds good.

 

[JDR13]

Lots of cool trailers at the Microsoft show. I'm pumped for Starfield, of course, and re-pumped for Cyberpunk 2077. The Yakuza trailer is fun (looks like it's set in the U.S this time).

I think the trailer for Flight Simulator 2024 impressed me the most. There were moments when I couldn't really tell that I was looking at a game. It's the first time in awhile that I've been blown away by graphics alone.

 

[Couchpotato]

So one thing I noticed there is still no exspected date or estimate for release right?Unless I missed it. Only ask as I followed news for years with the various delays.

 

[JDR13]

They only said "next year" during the livestream.

 

[Couchpotato]

Also sorry for the double post but Inxile has announced a new RPG as well.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDFuhaYxeMU

InXile's Clockwork Revolution is a time-bending RPG which owes a lot to BioShock Infinite

At first glance, tonight's reveal trailer for Clockwork Revolution looked like a new game set in the world of BioShock …

www.eurogamer.net

 

[JDR13]

I saw that during the livestream. Didn't realize it was an RPG.

 

[Couchpotato]

Looks like a mix of BioShock Infinite and Outer Worlds. Hope it's good.

At least we now know what the secret steam-powered setting project is.

 

[Drithius]

I hope they get the itemization and difficulty curve right; looks good on a first look perspective.

 

[JDR13]

I hope they get the itemization and difficulty curve right; looks good on a first look perspective.

The itemization is largely what killed The Outer Worlds for me.

 

[NFLed]

I've had mixed experiences with most of the several Obsidian games I've played. They all have enjoyable beginnings and usually the middle is okay but I lose interest after the halfway point. I can't put my finger on why that is. I didn't finish POE1 but I did finish POE2, OW, and Pentiment. I didn't have that that issue with Alpha Protocol or Tyranny, though, as I enjoyed those throughout.

 

[Redglyph]

I wasn't blown away by the 'gameplay' trailer, which looks like yet another open-world action RPG with heavy focus on combat. It's somewhat reassuring that they mention a focus on story and companions, but why would they show something entirely different? If the game is planned for 2024, they must have something else to show.

I'm very sceptical, and even more so because it's Obsidian; they have a history of bugs and abysmal support. I'm also wondering which engine they're using for that game.

 

[Redglyph]

There were indeed a few impressive trailers at the Xbox Games Showcase.

I was puzzled by the Asobo FS trailer. Since they've only released FS2020, I can only imagine it's a set of new features on the existing platform, and the video suggests it's mostly a mission engine (which would be great). They also seem interested in military and combat simulation, but they'll never be a match for DCS in that area.