Discussion Avowed by Obsidian

[GodisanAtheist]

First person "Skyrim" type game set in the Pillars of Eternity world.

After Outerworlds, which was a fine but really somewhat mediocre game from Obsidian, I'm a little hesitant about Avowed.

Game has a sort of colorful, cartoony look like Outerworlds did, and frankly doesn't really look like a 2023 game at first glance, but if it can nail that choice and consequence gameplay as well as land that ethereal fantasy feeling that's been lost from modern "Grimdark" fantasy games then there is definitely a market for it.

 

[EXCellR8]

Outer Words wasn't a bad game it just committed one really bad sin... pretending to create a bigger world then it actually allowed you to play in. Limited locations and no traversing space in real time kind of killed the experience for me. The visual style and gameplay was mostly there, with the exception of a few problems, but I think it had a hard time standing on its own. Obsidian were certainly on to something, though, and I'd argue that it could be something great.

Not sure what to expect from this latest title... I tend to lose interest in these types of games.

 

[aigomorla]

Outer Words wasn't a bad game it just committed one really bad sin

Nah it was pretty bad.
It tried to shove itself somewhere between borderlands and Fallout Vegas, which gave us the fruity colors like you were tripping on LSD like Alice and Wonderland, and very dry humor which doesn't live up to borderlands because only characters from borderlands could pull it off successfully.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Nah it was pretty bad.
It tried to shove itself somewhere between borderlands and Fallout Vegas, which gave us the fruity colors like you were tripping on LSD like Alice and Wonderland, and very dry humor which doesn't live up to borderlands because only characters from borderlands could pull it off successfully.

- Honestly I didn't find Borderlands particularly funny, either.

I agree Outerworlds it just felt too mashed-up, like it was trying to be 5 different games at once and failing at all of them.

There were some flashes of brilliance in there, such as the completely tone-deaf Spacer's Choice jingle as well as their rep on the groundbreaker, but overall it was pretty meh. Characters were mostly boring, the worlds started off fun but quickly got boring, enemy variety was boring, quests were boring, etc etc etc. Best thing you could really say about it is it was probably the least buggy, best executed Obsidian effort by a longshot, but it had no soul.

 

[CP5670]

Outer Worlds had some good moments especially with the companions, but the main plot and factions felt bland. I had a hard time relating to any of them or their motivations. There was nothing really wrong with the game, it just felt like a watered down New Vegas with less interesting factions or quests, smaller worlds and less weapon and gameplay variety. I still thought it was worth a playthrough though.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Outer Worlds had some good moments especially with the companions, but the main plot and factions felt bland. I had a hard time relating to any of them or their motivations. There was nothing really wrong with the game, it just felt like a watered down New Vegas with less interesting factions or quests, smaller worlds and less weapon and gameplay variety. I still thought it was worth a playthrough though.

-Vicar Max was fantastic... and uh... hmmm I feel like the quality fell off a cliff for the rest. Loved the idea of a "state sponsored priest" when the State is a corporation. Good layered narrative depth there, especially when his more vicious side starts to ooze through. I can barely even remember the rest.

Stakes never felt high enough. There was a lot of narrative hooplah about the collapse of the colony due to rampant commercialism but it never really felt real in the world. Everything was a bit too pretty and clean and plentiful.