Avowed (Obsidian RPG)

I'm really enjoying it. Like most RPGs of this ilk some of the writing is good, some is shit. Same with the character models and animation. After playing it (I'm probably around 60% complete) I feel that a lot of the negative reviews were over reacting and placing meaning on things that don't exist. If this game came out before that shit pile of a Dragon Age game I strongly believe most reviewers wouldn't have been as sensitive. So far I've experienced only one bug in regards to a side quest item not appearing. Other than that it's been smooth sailing. I still think it's one of the best looking and playing open world RPGs but most importantly, it's actually really fun to play.
 
bigddybn said:
Actually I think most of the negative reaction was Matt Hansen popping a squat on the player base.
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Most definitely. If I ran a game studio, I'd make it very clear to employees that attacking fans because you disagree with their political views is a one way ticket to the unemployment line. I wouldn't tolerate it. Attacking customers is a poor business strategy.

That said, my issues with the game based on the gameplay footage I've seen are that its essentially the same dated stuff Bethesda puts out, but somehow with less of the charm. That last part is hard to quantify but its what it looks like to me. Combat looks serviceable, if dated. Graphics are really mediocre. Character models and animation are some of the worst I've seen in over a decade. Even Bethesda does this better.
 
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I got the Avowed crowd talking still haven't bought the game everyone swaying me to pick up Monster Hunter instead of Avowed.
 
Dan_D said:
Most definitely. If I ran a game studio, I'd make it very clear to employees that attacking fans because you disagree with their political views is a one way ticket to the unemployment line. I wouldn't tolerate it. Attacking customers is a poor business strategy.

That said, my issues with the game based on the gameplay footage I've seen are that its essentially the same dated stuff Bethesda puts out, but somehow with less of the charm. That last part is hard to quantify but its what it looks like to me. Combat looks serviceable, if dated. Graphics are really mediocre. Character models and animation are some of the worst I've seen in over a decade. Even Bethesda does this better.
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A few of the reviewers have said how pleasantly surprised they have been by the weightiness of the combat which is encouraging
 
grifter_66 said:
This was the biggest surprise for me. I really hope bethesda takes notes from Avowed's combat system for ES6.
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Yeah the weightiness/impact of combat is tricky to pull-off - which this game does.... in a way that I feel is exaggerated (The whole game just begs "pick up a controller" which SUCKS)

Either way, first impressions..

what-is-going-on-what-is-happening.gif


Microsoft needs to stop "touching" stuff.... I feel bad for Obsidian, sincerely.

This game.... is a game I wish I had 20 years ago?? It's hard to explain but that's the best way to articulate

UE5 engine blur/ghosting like I have never seen in a game before. Regardless of upscaling tech/native etc.

The POV feels like I've trapped in a "Being John Malkovich" situation no matter what the FOV is set to....

I caught myself typing long diatribes breaking down why this game feels off but basically this game is a game intended for console gamers. (Ie couch gaming and huge 4K tv's etc)

- I purposely reinstalled OG Outer Worlds (not the Spacer's Choice malarkey) justttt in case this game made me sad.
 
I hear exploration is excellent, the technology powering the game- game engine and main story quest + choices...combat I hear is repetitive along with the lack of enemy variety...animation/character models aren't all that amazing but it was a purposeful design choice by the developer

developers really need to focus on creating a larger number of enemy types in medium to large open world games...the same issue was there with Dragon's Dogma 2
 
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polonyc2 said:
I hear exploration is excellent, the technology powering the game- game engine and main story quest + choices...combat I hear is repetitive along with the lack of enemy variety...animation/character models aren't all that amazing but it was a purposeful design choice by the developer...developers really need to focus on creating a larger number of enemy types in medium to large open world games...the same issue was there with Dragon's Dogma 2
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Developers need to focus on less ADD what to focus on next for a split second? Do away with fast action oriented combat quests. All anyone wants is Baldurs Gate 1 and 2. The problem with Diablo 4 combat is too fast and meaningless. The only problem I had with BG 3 combat is almost forced to be turn based. Which takes away from immersion and spontanteous fun predictability. Just need games like Drova but with better graphics. We have games like this with better graphics like Gord but the gameplay isn't quest RPG oriented.
 
I only had time to play through the first mission, but I like it so far.

The only thing I didn't like is this cat thing that was in the opening cutscene had choppy movement in the game. Maybe it was because of the terrain it was on or something but it was jank and dirtied the immersion. I wasn't getting low FPS or anything.
 
Likewise, I played about an hour last night also finishing the first level. I can see where some of the dialogue and cut scenes have been criticized as cringey, but otherwise I really enjoyed it and it looked great at 4K with RTX+DLSS. It's definitely different than Outer Worlds, but I think I'm going to like it!
 
About to leave the first area after about 14 hours. Not bad.....little slow at first, but it seems to be picking up story wise.

The animations are just....much to be desired, but better then some games I have played in the past. Right now playing a wizard build with a gun and grimoire lol. Pretty funny.

Not a bad RPG IMO. But, not $69.99....should be around $39.99.......doesn't matter because you can get 1 month game pass and enjoy it.
 
probably better to play this before Kingdom Come Deliverance 2...KCD2 is the much better RPG so you would feel the difference
 
polonyc2 said:
probably better to play this before Kingdom Come Deliverance 2...KCD2 is the much better RPG so you would feel the difference
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Yeah that I would have to agree. Not saying Avowed is bad. I would honestly agree with a 7/10 so far.
 
Patch 1.2.2 (66 GB)

Community-Requested Fixes
Updates to Equipment Tier difference feedback and penalties/bonuses:
-Changed Tier penalty system from a hard tier to tier system and made it dynamic based on players equipment and the tier (and sub-tier) of the enemy. Tier difference rules now only apply when there is a +/- 4 level gap
-Tier II enemies will now play a small reaction animation when struck by lower-tier weapons, instead of not reacting at all
-Reduced damage reduction when player weapons are closer in tier to an enemy
-Significantly decreased how often companions comment about player needing better armor and/or weapons

Upgrade materials can no longer be sold to merchants to inadvertently make upgrading difficult. We have a longer-term fix involving buying back from merchants in the works

Visual & Art Fixes
-Updated Banner Dwarf’s outfit LODs to reduce clipping during animation
-Captain Ngunu’s neck is now properly merged with his head
-Steel Garrote Soldiers have re-grown their missing hands
-Improved shadow quality on Xbox Series X Performance Mode

and lots more fixes...full patch notes at link below...

https://steamcommunity.com/games/2457220/announcements/detail/689716592460694172
 
Anybody notice the time scale is really slow?
Also every time you leave your camp, time resets to dawn. I played about 15 hours so far and never saw night time.

I had to install the timescale mod and set it to 6x before I saw a reasonable speed. Now I actually get to see nights lol.
 
Are there any UE5 games with that level of complexity? Or any other engine/games at all? Even amazing games like TW3 don't do a lot of stuff that Oblivion did.
Until Bethesda decides to license out Creation Engine...

edit: It just occurred to me that Bethesda and Obsidian are both owned by Microsoft. Probably could have used some cross-collab on Avowed.
 
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Been playing on Game Pass. I'm enjoying the game but seeing the comparison videos with Skyrim and an even older Oblivion, this game lacks so much (interactions with NPCs, environment, physics, etc.)

. It wouldn't be so bad if they weren't asking $70 for this game. It feels more like a $40 indie game to me.
 

View: https://youtu.be/JqB8PzwI_7A?si=a-5T0qAQaRiVxpDP

Might be helpful. I like a lot of his videos.

I really liked Outer Worlds so I will be getting around to this when it's on sale. My gaming plate is full right now.

Sidebar: I wonder how much AI is being used to fill in the blanks on some of these games and maybe that's why we are observing this "regression" you all are talking about.
 
TaintedSquirrel said:
Are there any UE5 games with that level of complexity? Or any other engine/games at all? Even amazing games like TW3 don't do a lot of stuff that Oblivion did.
Until Bethesda decides to license out Creation Engine...

edit: It just occurred to me that Bethesda and Obsidian are both owned by Microsoft. Probably could have used some cross-collab on Avowed.
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Cyberpunk 2077 has that level of complexity. In some ways its far more sophisticated. In others, its just par with a Bethesda game. But Bethesda has no monopoly on that type of complexity. If anything, Cyberpunk 2077 shows just how dated Bethesda games are.
Armenius said:
Steam numbers mean nothing when the game is also on Xbox app and Battle.net.
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This isn't entirely true. There is a definite correlation between low Steam numbers and a game doing poorly. We saw this with Star Wars Outlaws and Dragon Age Veilguard. If a game is doing badly on one platform, you can bet its doing badly on all of them. The problem is that we can't know for sure just how bad a game is doing.
cvinh said:
Been playing on Game Pass. I'm enjoying the game but seeing the comparison videos with Skyrim and an even older Oblivion, this game lacks so much (interactions with NPCs, environment, physics, etc.)

. It wouldn't be so bad if they weren't asking $70 for this game. It feels more like a $40 indie game to me.
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Nothing like paying $70 for a game that regresses gameplay back to the early 2000's with graphics from 10 years ago.
 
Blade-Runner said:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhL1NZugsBk&t=0s

Its amazing how much regression has occurred with the complexity and immersion of games over 2 decades.
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It's not regression, it's budget. Avowed is a AA game, Oblviion was a spare no expense AAA budget game.

Adding those little details open up cans of worms that end up being hundreds of man hours to make sure it doesn't end up jank.
I'm sure they wanted to add stuff like that or probably even experimented with it, but disabled it because they don't have the budget or time to make it good enough.

Dan_D said:
Cyberpunk 2077 has that level of complexity. In some ways its far more sophisticated. In others, its just par with a Bethesda game. But Bethesda has no monopoly on that type of complexity. If anything, Cyberpunk 2077 shows just how dated Bethesda games are.
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Do you remember how absolute garbage the police interaction in Cyberpunk was when it released?
 
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sharknice said:
It's not regression, it's budget. Avowed is a AA game, Oblviion was a spare no expense AAA budget game.
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If what a quick Google search tells me is true, that's a bullshit excuse. It's from a studio known for AAA games. It reportedly had a budget close to 100 million dollars and 125-150 developers. While that's on the low side of AAA game budgets out of US and Canada, its more than enough money to make a AAA game when a studio isn't mismanaged and bloated.

AAA studios do not need anyone to white night for them. They simply need to do better. Expecting these games to be at least as sophisticated as other entries in the genre for more than a decade isn't unreasonable. It's the minimum standard we should expect. Using the Unreal Engine also takes most of the excuses out of the occasion as the processes for implementing these features are not only well documented, but officially supported by the engine's developers.
sharknice said:
Adding those little details open up cans of worms that end up being hundreds of man hours to make sure it doesn't end up jank.
I'm sure they wanted to add stuff like that or probably even experimented with it, but disabled it because they don't have the budget or time to make it good enough.
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Again, you are missing some details. The game was in development for six fucking years.
sharknice said:
Do you remember how absolute garbage the police interaction in Cyberpunk was when it released?
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I do indeed. The game, while good was still in an absolutely unfinished state with many of the basics not being implemented and features not being complete or functional. I'm well aware of that games shortcomings. I have about 700 hours in it and I've played it since launch. Despite my obvious enjoyment of that game, it launched in an absolutely unacceptable state. Again, not having basic physics that have been not only possible, but common in games for the last 20 years is bullshit and its inexcusable.
 
Dan_D said:
This isn't entirely true. There is a definite correlation between low Steam numbers and a game doing poorly. We saw this with Star Wars Outlaws and Dragon Age Veilguard. If a game is doing badly on one platform, you can bet its doing badly on all of them. The problem is that we can't know for sure just how bad a game is doing.
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What we do know is that games released on Game Pass universally show low numbers on Steam. Just as an example is The Great Circle, which peaked at 12k concurrent players on Steam, but the game did well enough that Disney reportedly wants the Indiana Jones franchise to continue in more video games.

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/ac...eportedly-picked-up-the-phone-and-wants-more/
sharknice said:
It's not regression, it's budget. Avowed is a AA game, Oblviion was a spare no expense AAA budget game.

Adding those little details open up cans of worms that end up being hundreds of man hours to make sure it doesn't end up jank.
I'm sure they wanted to add stuff like that or probably even experimented with it, but disabled it because they don't have the budget or time to make it good enough.


Do you remember how absolute garbage the police interaction in Cyberpunk was when it released?
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Avowed is AAA. It's budget was reportedly $80-100 million. Skyrim was made for $100 million. You can't find it now, but I recall when Oblivion came out in 2006 that magazines reported its budget was $50-60 million, which is $80-95 million in 2025 money.
 
Dan_D said:
If what a quick Google search tells me is true, that's a bullshit excuse. It's from a studio known for AAA games. It reportedly had a budget close to 100 million dollars and 125-150 developers. While that's on the low side of AAA game budgets out of US and Canada, its more than enough money to make a AAA game when a studio isn't mismanaged and bloated.

AAA studios do not need anyone to white night for them. They simply need to do better. Expecting these games to be at least as sophisticated as other entries in the genre for more than a decade isn't unreasonable. It's the minimum standard we should expect. Using the Unreal Engine also takes most of the excuses out of the occasion as the processes for implementing these features are not only well documented, but officially supported by the engine's developers.

Again, you are missing some details. The game was in development for six fucking years.

I do indeed. The game, while good was still in an absolutely unfinished state with many of the basics not being implemented and features not being complete or functional. I'm well aware of that games shortcomings. I have about 700 hours in it and I've played it since launch. Despite my obvious enjoyment of that game, it launched in an absolutely unacceptable state. Again, not having basic physics that have been not only possible, but common in games for the last 20 years is bullshit and its inexcusable.
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I'm not white knighting these guys, it's just that I can understand the trade offs from my experience as game developer.
It isn't just a trade off with putting effort into other areas, it's also a trade off with performance.

Remember how Cyberpunk couldn't even run on low end hardware and there were mass refunds?
Remember how skyrim was locked to 60 fps? Their budgets dwarfed this and they still had major trade offs.

I actually do agree even with that budget they should be able to add things like that. I'm sure there is a lot of mismanagement and poor decisions.
But we see from other games how it's sometimes better to keep things simpler and less ambittious.
 
Oblivion I would imagine was also build on the shoulder of the previous games budgets, they build tech over time that they reuse and long build institutional know how (oblivion re-used Morrowind same engine I think).

Unreal 5 open world, first attempt, I could easily believe in a regression by dollar spent in many aspects, it is being compared to extremely good at it people.
 
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Just installed on x-box pass and automatically un-installed - no HDR on PC? In 2025? Hard pass.
 
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