Avowed Gameplay Preview: ‘It’s Like Skyrim with Improved Combat’ – A New Fantasy RPG Experience

“It’s like Skyrim with guns.” The infamous quote from the now-disgraced internet personality still seems to haunt many gaming conversations. So to satisfy my ego and push the conversation away from a very strange guy, I offer a new Skyrim-based comparison for Avowed. “It’s like Skyrim with good combat.” Do you understand? We even got as far as “It’s like Skyrim with the g-“

While it may seem like it’s the result of everything Avowed has to offer, it was the strongest feeling I had while playing through an hour. of Obsidian’s upcoming fantasy RPG. The gameplay demo was centered around one dungeon, and one mission at that. There are a few environmental puzzles, plenty of enemies to fight, and a mini-story that you can complete in one of several ways. A classic Skyrim-like experience, complete with your companion who crouches down as soon as you go into hiding and makes funny comments every time you round an important corner.

The dungeon design was mostly linear, but attractive nonetheless. In a few places we could blast a hole in a wall to find a new path, or cut electricity on a door to get some extra loot, but otherwise the structure was very well organized and brought you back to the first question once you. d finish your work. In the dungeon, we had to find a fragment of the tibia of a former god to prove ourselves to his biggest fan. We won’t reveal any of the many twists and turns, including what happened to a group of killers gone astray, and the whole plan with the tibia fragment, but it all came down to be a player based choice. The options I was offered at the end of the mission were interesting, and what I initially thought was a more sinister option turned out to be a heavier narrative element.

Here’s a hint:

It’s a little hard to say exactly where the Skyrim comparison felt stronger to me. Kai as a companion felt like Lydia on steroids, not only with his greater presence during the mission, but also his usefulness in battle. Perhaps the best thing I can say about Avowed is that after playing it, – after a rather rocky start – it felt a lot like my first time with the fifth game Elder Scrolls. To go into a cave or a cave, not knowing exactly what to expect, but knowing that I would find a story that I would remember.

Maybe I should stop comparing Avowed to a 13 year old game now, because Obsidian has made a very good modern RPG from the looks of it. The visual fidelity may come at the expense of 60 fps on consoles, but the game world looks very beautiful. From the large landscapes in the distance to the small details right in front of you, more than once I found myself looking around the environment as if I were giving an E3 presentation. If I had to point out something negative about the graphics, it would have to be the character models, where the non-human characters can look very scary at times. They look almost too realistic, like a person in cosplay rather than a real fantasy creature. The enemies don’t suffer from this problem, but for the first ten minutes or so I got a kick every time Kai got close.

The graphics may be beautiful, and the narrative may be going, but it is clear from the videos we have seen so far and from the game we have experienced that the main USP of Avowed is the combat. Taking inspiration from Fatshark’s Vermintide game, Avowed, you can go back to the lead when you fight, creating a faster pace as you find an enemy to turn before going back for one. your own A large stamina bar at the bottom of the screen is used when you’re normally attacking, sprinting or throwing, so you’ll want to keep an eye on it, as well as those pesky enemies which likes to include a vertical position. combat, but otherwise battles flow well in Avowed. The faster pace is a big help compared to other fantasy RPGs, and with the wide variety you get, you’ll quickly find a satisfying style to fight with.

Here’s a hint:

It can be more challenging at first, because you have a lot of buttons to push, but I was a little confused as to why a character wouldn’t just be a mage in Avowed. I played a bit of what Obsidian called the Barbarian in the demo, but the mage seemed to have the much better toolbox. Magic gives you access to solutions to all the environmental puzzles, while other buildings require you to carry certain items, and while you may have more buttons to press, there are as many things as you can to do because of the extra buttons feel more beneficial as I am. he got addicted to the games. It could just be personal preference and due to the limited time I had with Barbarian or other builds, but it definitely felt like magic had increased power.

Some crumbling lines of dialogue and a lack of excitement initially made me feel a little queasy when I first started Avowed, but as the game drew me in, I learned more of the systems. and I became more confident in understanding what it is, my happiness was for him. full release next year. I’m betting on a couple of visual bugs, so maybe Avowed is better off spending a little more time in the oven, but with combat that really sings along with reliable hands Obsidian on story and mission design, we’re in for a solid look. a fantasy experience at this pace.