WhenAvowed’s teaser trailer was released by Obsidian Entertainment back in July, fans were quick to excitedly point out similarities toSkyrim. Like it, Obsidian’s next game will be a first-person fantasy RPG set in an open-world. The trailer appeared to directly encourage those comparisons toSkyrim, ending with a first-person perspective shot of a character with magic in one hand and a sword in another in a very similar shot to one in the originalSkyrimtrailer.
However, while Obsidian may encourage the comparisons, comparingAvowedtoSkyrimdoesn’t dothe former justice. The upcoming title has a brilliantly unique setting, an expansion of the world from Obsidian’sPillars of Eternitygames, and despite the UI similarities, the world ofAvowedis set to be less generic–and potentially more dynamic–thanSkyrim.
RELATED:Avowed Fans Should Keep An Eye on December
Avowed’s Setting
The setting ofAvowedis one of its biggest strengths. In contrast, one of Tamriel’s biggest challenges has always been scale. While Bethesda games have huge game worlds, someSkyrimcities have as few as 20 inhabitants while towns like Riverwood – established inArenaas bustling centers with hundreds of houses – are rendered as hamlets.
InPillars of Eternity, players see expansive urban areas in places like Dyrwood which feel more lived-in and exciting to explore. While Windhelm’s Grey Quarter would be an interesting setting for an adventure, inSkyrimit is rendered as little more than a couple of streets.Avowedwill be set in the Living Lands, an ecologically diverse northern frontier with no official government, giving it the potential to avoid this immersion problem in a few key ways.
First, the absence of huge cities won’t be striking in a frontier, and there’s a better chance that what can realistically be rendered is more aligned with what fits in with the lore. Second, the ecological diversity could be great for exploration. Third, the Living Lands are described as “lawless land where communities band together, fall apart, and fight petty wars with each other constantly.” This could imply a dynamic bandit or faction system inAvowed, with differentfactions inAvowedwarring in a changing landscape which players could have direct influence over.
The Potential of Pillars of Eternity
ThePillars of Eternitysetting also comes with features which have the potential to distinguishAvowedfrom its RPG competition. Thegods ofAvowedhave an extremely unique history. InPillars of Eternity, it is revealed that the gods were created by an ancient society known as Engwith that discovered animacy – the science of souls. After creating the gods the Engwithans began inquisitions to prevent other mortals from discovering their deities' true origins, but hints at the truth can be found in the huge interconnected series of Adra pillars built by the Engwithans which run under Eora.
The Adra Pillars are an opportunity forAvowedto have some huge dungeonsfilled with lost technology and secrets which could reveal as much about the cosmos as they do the mortal races.Pillars of Eternityalso contains more radically different player race options thanSkyrim, from the deformed Godlike to the mischievous Orlans. If included, the different player race options inAvowedcould lead to some very unique playthrough experiences.
Avowedwill need to be as flexible asSkyrimif its next-generational ambitions are going to be rewarded. That means players should have maximum freedom to roleplay as whoever they want, and the developers should attempt to foster amodding community as strong asSkyrim’s. WhetherAvowedcan live up to the hype remains to be seen, but right now the new game certainly has a lot of potential, and quite a few reasons for fans to be as excited forAvowedas the eventual follow-up toSkyrim.
Avowedis in development for PC and Xbox Series X.
MORE:Avowed Should ‘Steal’ One Thing from Red Dead Redemption 2’s Map Design
