Avowed Is Making It Hard to Go Back to Skyrim & Other RPGs, Here's Why

TNS: Avowed turned out to be a streamlined surprise which is a refreshing arcade change for Obsidian games because there's more focus on fun.

[Gamingsince1981]

Avowed is like a wish.com version of oblivion, it's like a massive downgrade to npcs, physics and character, the only thing this game does better is graphics and that's because oblivion came out nearly 20 years ago. Avowed is trash when you compare it to oblivion.

[RaidenBlack]

Well the marketing was clear, it was not targeted as a TES-like or TES-rival. Its a first person RPG take on the Pillars of Eternity series. (sort of similar if you think 2077 was the first person RPG take on cyberpunk genre)
But yes, some writing and NPC engagement/behaviour could've been better. And its other disadvantage was that it came just after KCD2, which is just straight up sim-RPG and hence got compared a lot coz both are first person focused RPG.
But thus article comparison is abit lame.
Compare Avowed to something like Veilguard or Outer Worlds or Valhalla.

[LordoftheCritics]

Yup it's on par with Veilguard.

Equally bland

[Armaggedon]

@LordoftheCritics

Ah, the first instance of true hate I have seen for this game. What of coincidence that the “lord of the critics” is the first one to appear on my radar

[CrimsonIdol]

"Well the marketing was clear, it was not targeted as a TES-like"
...it absolutely was targeted like that. Saying "Its a first person RPG take on the Pillars of Eternity series" doesn't negate that. It's much more like Skyrim than it is Pillars of Eternity in gameplay.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
read those comments. That's what people were led to think. I'm not having a go or anything but that's what the expectation was and I don't think that was accidental.

[KillBill]

@LordoftheCritics for 3 years they literally said it was not like TES and not to make the comparison. lol

[CrimsonIdol]

*game dev tells you not to make the blatantly obvious comparison to the most comparable game series because it might compare unfavourably*
*NPCs* OK!

[RaidenBlack]

@CrimsonIdol
people were led to think that 2077 would be 3rd person RPG from the initial reveal ... well that didn't pan out. people were led to believe that death stranding would be something like a traditional horror game from the initial trailer coming just after Silent Hills ... well that didn't pan out either.
We can't take our initial opinions from a reveal trailer as the de facto knowledge of what a game should be. All we can do at the time is speculate, till official info drops.
(another example'd be Capcom's Pragmata, we still don't know what it'd be, all we can do is speculate but that doesn't mean the game will actually turn out to be as fans hope, other than coincidence of course)

[CrimsonIdol]

Avowed IS a TES-like game. Just like The Outer Worlds is a Bethesda/Obsidian Fallout-like. And Fallout 3 is essentially TES with guns. They're comparable. Their differences make for points of comparison but there's no denying the similarities. Or at least I would have thought that if not for you people.

You can even look into how it was internally pitched. Skyrim was always part of the equation.

[Armaggedon]

Is it really? They are different.

[Gamingsince1981]

Yeah they are different, oblivion is good and avowed is trash 🗑

[Armaggedon]

Lmao. People are insane.

[KillBill]

I have to imagine you have never played the game. At first I watched a lot of streamers playing it during early release... and it didn't look that fun while watching them. But when it dropped on Game Pass I started playing it and it was much different than simply watching others do something. The game is so much into exploration and discovery than Elder Scrolls games. As well a very strong focus on combat and character customization attributes. There is no thief class so don't expect time in crouching and picking pockets all day. Or stealing every item in game to horde or sell in the market. It is very straight forward in its appeal. You can pick up things that deal with healing, essence and upgrading.
NPCs are story locked... they aren't random NPC day night cycle stuff like Oblivion. Focus of game is on combat, exploration, and story. So no killing NPCs... like Witcher 3 was. And they also don't bog you down with the romance nonsense in many other games. I don't need to marry someone or bed them for some connection with your companion. That is a good thing.
And you don't have to do some ridiculous minigame lock-picking task each time you want to open a locked item. Just need to make sure you have enough lockpicks to do the job. Some chests/doors require more lockpicks to open than others. Kind of like some other RPGs that require specific items to open chests. Just need enough of them.
Arrows are not an "item" in game they are not ammo. Weapons all have infinite use/ammo. So no need to treat arrows as some object in game to collect.No need to micro manage and search for ammo. YEAH!
This game is all about the combat and ability to pair your varied combat technique on the fly. A refreshing take to RPGs where it is not just about swinging a sword and hoping you can kill the enemy before it kills you. And the varied magic can be used in so many ways. You can literally cast ice magic on yourself so you can walk across a body of water by freezing it as you walk across the top.
Anyone hating on Avowed either hasn't played it or are upset because it isn't some other RPG they enjoyed.

[Gamingsince1981]

Never played the game ? I have 40 hours so far but unfortunately I have to keep restarting because my saves stop working.

[Gamingsince1981]

Btw I thought I might add, I didn't go the usual game pass way I actually paid for it unlike you, luckily I traded it in today at eb games, the guy at register said it was the most traded in game in months, so it's not looking good for wish.com oblivion.

[LonDonE]

Bill you absolutely NAILED it.. I am loving avowed and whilst i got it from game pass ultimate i will be buying a physical copy as i do with most games on game pass which i love as i love to support the awesome developers for making such a great video game.

@Gamingsince1981
You again? LMAO reading through your comments on this game, i can see your clearly a PS fanboy who has not played the game and is instead clearly upset its not on there fave piece of plastic.
wish.com LMAO dude stop crying and just buy an xbox or gaming pc.. and then play and LOVE everything.

NO unbiased gamer who actually is passionate about games will spew the nonsense you have been about the game. No chance you have played it for 40 hours.. prove it or it didn't happen.
I can fully get and admit its not perfect, but NO GAME Is. I can sit here and do a quick google search and find hundreds of videos about skyrim/oblivion which completely destroy the games and there problems and glitches.
But i can admit, whilst those games had problems, they were still great games and games which i love dearly.
Avowed is a game which borrows a lot of things which made oblivion and skyrim great but does combat So much better and animations and parkour too.
The graphics are incredible too, something we all can admit bethesda games always lack behind in.. but we accept it as the games are so large scope wise.
Seriously just stop or just go buy a pc or xbox and enjoy a great game, no one hear is believing you have played it for 40 hours. If you have and you still feel the way you do, then fine but no need to cry about it.
Play it or don't, if i didn't enjoy a game i would certainly not have spent 40hrs which is nearly 2 whole days and nights.. i would not spend that long playing a game which i claim i did not enjoy or is so bad or is such a bad version of oblivion or skyrim..

Your comment: I have 40 hours so far but unfortunately I have to keep restarting because my saves stop working. is rubbish and you know it.. the game is unbelievably stable and bug free. I cannot actually believe how bug free it is.. Bethesda can only dream about making such a bug free not broken game day 1.. I pray the new elder scrolls will be actually playable on day 1 and i wont encounter any game breaking bugs or glitches.

I don't believe you.. not even for one second. Oh well, you can always just watch someone playthrough the game and imagine your playing it.. Hell i am happy to let you watch me play through it if you want? LOL

This comment of yours had me in stitches: Btw I thought I might add, I didn't go the usual game pass way I actually paid for it unlike you, luckily I traded it in today at eb games, the guy at register said it was the most traded in game in months, so it's not looking good for wish.com oblivion. LMAO man your salty gamepass gamers get this great game for free while you gotta pay for it on pc or on ps..

[Vithar]

ugh Skyrim and even Oblivion is better than this lol

[Abear21]

Crazy that Skyrim is still the stick that all other RPG’s are still trying to measure up to. Im playing through it again now with all DLC and it’s just amazing. Graphics still hold up, animation is stiff for sure but I prefer First person RPG so it’s all good. Music and sound in Skyrim is seriously underrated.

[pwnmaster3000]

What you mean and even oblivion?
Don’t downplay oblivion lol
Played this recently on my Xbox again and it’s still fun

[Vithar]

lol ok i can see it but i meant it more as it's the older title :)
Love Oblivion

[ocelot07]

I have not played much at all of avowed yet. But from what I have played. It's reminding me of a very old title called Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. That was a ok type of game combat and characters where noting to write home about but at the time decent graphics and was fun to play for the most part.

No where near the length and fun and depth of Skyrim or oblivion or the fallout games.

[jznrpg]

That’s one of the handful of 360 games I still own but I played it on PC when it came out.
Decent game, like you said fun for the time but Morrowind was better by a lot.

[ocelot07]

Oh yes morrowind was a lot better. Even though I actually didn't play morrowind until around 2015 lol.

Avowed is certainly not a game I would pay £60 for. Though it's ok so far.

[InUrFoxHole]

We're still pretending Avowed isn't a good game? Keep it up fellas.

[trez1082]

I’m playing it and so far it’s a good game. If I start comparing it with other rpgs etc then yes it’s lacking but I just enjoy games for what they are and I’m enjoying it so far.

[InUrFoxHole]

Yeah but that's any game really. Like you said... gotta enjoy it for what it is. I think n4g gets too wrapped up in the most idiotic console war that most the gamers here forget the hobby is for fun.

[DarkkMinion]

Your nickname explains everything and how you like things.

[InUrFoxHole]

🙏

[isarai]

It looks like a fun solid game, but nowhere near being a replacement for any elder scrolls game.

[LonDonE]

Its a solid game which borrows some things from bethesda games, it does some things much better others not so much but is its own game. If you like elder scrolls, you should play it and see for yourself pal

[Gamingsince1981]

It does nothing better besides visuals, anyone old enough to have played oblivion in the day knows this.

[GhostScholar]

The combat is better in every way than oblivion. Especially the magic usage.

[LonDonE]

Agreed 100% this game is oblivion but iterated on massively and all the nonsense which is not needed cut away..
Like stacking a million potatoes in a room which is pointless.
This game really done mage combat in first person properly and also melee combat.. its just incredible to play.

[Gamingsince1981]

Yeah who needs actual physics or npcs that aren't shop mannequins, who wants an open world that feels alive. /sarcasm in case it wasn't obvious enough

IMHO the only people happy with avowed are people not old enough to have played oblivion.

[LonDonE]

@Gamingsince1981
Dude dont assume, not everyone licks tods Howards *****.. every game has its good points and its bad.. i am 40 plus and started gaming on a Sinclair and atari.. do the math.
Everyone cuts Bethesda so much slack and it needs to stop.. look where that got us with starfield, granted its a good game just not great like we all expect. While avowed is not as BIG as elder scrolls games its not trying to be, so much in those games just does not need to be there and maybe if they cut some of that excessive crap we would get a game launched day one which is actually playable.

Starfield was again buggy and bethesda never learn because of fanboys who just fanboy over them and gloss over the short comings.

Anyone who has played obsidian games knows these guys love todd howard games and so try to emulate it but with there own spin on it.
Nobody wants a carbon copy cat, the games industry has always been about iterating on what works and is good and cutting away what is not needed.
Obsidian at least launch games which are playable, hell i still remember the crap i had to do just to play skyrim on my ps3... what a joke it was.
People making stupid videos about arrows being shot up into the air and not falling down, or how pointless plates and cups cant be pushed off the tables is just stupid.
This is not elder scrolls.. its something different which borrows some parts of elder scrolls and some not so much as i said in my original comment.

I admit when i saw footage of this game originally it did look cookie cutter to me, but now playing it i am enjoying it a lot. Its a more an Action game with rpg elements.. like 99% of games made today.
Video games just cost too much money and sadly due to how toxic gamers are these days more and devs are going under and we are getting much less risky new ideas or games.
My criticism with avowed would be all the woke crap being rammed down our throats, i see it everywhere now even in adds.

I wont lie, reading todays article about how the new game will have ships and sailing etc has me nervous now.
I just want an upgraded oblivion and Skyrim which has EVERY mechanic iterated to perfection and a bug free experience which i know will never happen due to the scope of elder scrolls games but i would much prefer they cut some of the pointless crap if it meant a more stable engine and game.

Avowed is a great game and should be enjoyed by gamers as a game which pays homage to one of the great Bethesda ips, just like outer worlds pays homage to fallout.
But when people compare the franchises and criticize it for stupid ISH, its pointless.

and Dont IDOL worship and cut Bethesda so much slack, i love all there games just like you but want them to do better

Play avowed and tell me the combat system is bad.. its the next evolution for elder scrolls combat done right.. the swordplay, the mage combat, the parkour, the world, the story all are great.
Give it a chance and stop looking at it as a elder scrolls game and so critique the crap out of it, play it as its own game which borrows heavily some parts of elder scrolls and enjoy it for what it is.
Or don't, but this 1 star review bombing a game needs to stop by delusional fanboys.
Most of them probably just created a fake email and bought game pass for £1 and then downloaded the game on there crappy work laptop and then review bombed it.
Thats sad and pathetic, dont like the game, MOVE ALONG.. and let others who do own and play on every platform enjoy it.

[RiseNShine]

This is a joke, just search on YouTube "Avowed vs Oblivion Attention to detail" and try not to laugh at how hilariously bad Avowed is compared to a 20 year old game.

[RaiderNation]

Right article, wrong game. Substitute Avowed with Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and everything else written is correct.

[Blad3runner00]

Is it?
https://youtu.be/xhL1NZugsB...

There is no excuse for any RPG in 2025 to be worse in so many areas compared to a 20 year old game.

[GotGame818]

Most of the hate being thrown at this game seems to be coming from accounts that don't game on PC or Xbox! Bet half of the haters will end up buying this for PS5 when it comes to it. Sony doesn't have a very good 2025 lineup, compared to Nintendo and Microsoft.

Avowed is a great game, and it looks fantastic! It is addicting too! Hard to put down. The only complaint I have once you clear an area out enemies don't respawn, like in other games. You can't just hack and slash over and over in areas to level up quickly.

[GhostScholar]

@gamingsincr1981

I played oblivion (which by the way has some of the most cookie cutter repeated npcs ever) so don’t say the only people that like avowed are those that haven’t played oblivion. The only thing better about oblivion is the scope of the world.