Despite having never played any of the Pillars of Eternity games, I found myself weirdly excited for Avowed . I've never been able to get into another massive open-world RPG after 2011's Skyrim , and I had hoped that Avowed would be able to grab me as Bethesda's landmark RPG did.
After spending a couple of hours with an early beta build of the game, I've come to the conclusion that Avowed isn't necessarily the Skyrim -esque successor I thought I wanted, but it might very well be the RPG that I need. Déjame explicarte.
You play as the Envoy of Aedyr, sent to investigate a strange plague spreading across the Living Lands. Y como suelen hacer estos juegos, te desviarás por una multitud de misiones secundarias extensas que vienen con decisiones importantes que podrían afectar el resultado de varias historias secundarias. The good news, however, is that the Living Lands are not quite as massive as something like Skyrim or even a Fallout game.
Obsidian Entertainment has previously stated that Avowed is more similar to something like The Outer Worlds in terms of scale, which means fewer towns and cities to visit, but you can likely expect a richer, denser world with elaborate side quests to go along with it. From what I've seen in this beta build, there's plenty of potential here.
I started my adventure by creating a new character and choosing a background for her. I opted for the Noble Scion background, though there are a handful of other origin stories you can choose from. También tendrá la oportunidad de reasignar sus puntos de estadísticas si lo desea, y sus antecedentes y estadísticas determinarán los tipos de opciones de diálogo a las que tiene acceso al interactuar con NPCS.
Hasta ahora, todo bien. Avowed has all of the usual role-playing elements you're used to. El juego realmente comienza cuando llegas a las tierras vivas, y no pasa mucho tiempo antes de que te arrojen a una situación de combate para ayudarte a familiarizarse con lo básico. As a longtime Skyrim enjoyer who never even had any complaints about the combat in that game, I have to say that Obsidian has done a fine job in making Avowed 's combat feel weighty and punchy.
Fighting in Avowed requires you to pay attention to a stamina meter. Tienes tus ataques ligeros y pesados, y también puedes equipar un escudo en tu fuera de la mano para ayudar a mitigar el daño, aunque los ataques de bloqueo también consume resistencia. Opté por el estilo clásico de lucha de la espada y la tabla para este cambio, y el combate se convierte en un baile de blindaje solo cuando sea necesario y buscando el momento adecuado para balancear su espada mientras asegura que siempre tenga suficiente resistencia de respaldo en caso de emergencias.
Every connected hit felt good and crunchy, serving as a major step up from Skyrim 's combat that I never knew I needed until I actually experienced it. What's even more exciting is that there are so many other fighting options and layers to Avowed 's combat that I'm sure will make it even more dynamic and complex. Hay compañeros que puedes convocar para ayudar a ejecutar una habilidad única cuando la necesitas, así como tipos de armas más interesantes como varitas y armas para sacudir las cosas. Ya me estaba divirtiendo con solo la aburrida espada y escudo, lo que me emociona aún más de ver qué más tiene el sistema de combate.
Related: All Pre-Order Bonuses and Editions for Avowed
During my playtime, I also got to check out a handful of side quests. While it's still early days, if Avowed 's quests are anything like the ones from The Outer Worlds , then there should be plenty to look forward to here as well. It's clear right off the bat that many of these quests will have far-reaching consequences. Una búsqueda temprana te obliga a decidir entre dejar ir a un prisionero o mantenerlo encerrado y las cosas solo se complican cuando un compañero de confianza te aconseja que los dejes, a pesar de que cada hueso de tu cuerpo probablemente te dice que liberarlos es lo correcto. I wish I could've seen more of Avowed 's side quests in the beta build, but for now, they seem alright.
Truth be told, what excites me the most about Avowed is that it's clearly going to be much smaller in scope than your typical Bethesda RPG. Como estoy seguro de que la mayoría de las otras personas que ingresan a los treinta años pueden relacionar, me doy cuenta rápidamente de que simplemente ya no tengo el tiempo o el ancho de banda para comprometerme con un juego de rol de 100 horas de mundo abierto con una historia principal que puedo ver hasta el final. I'm increasingly finding games like Avowed — with a more condensed world and story — to be much more appealing because it still feels like you're getting that immersive RPG experience, just in a smaller, more manageable package.
There are some aspects to Avowed that will turn off potential players, I'm sure, such as its overly cartoonish art style and smaller selection of weapon types and play styles. That being said, for the player who wants something they can realistically beat while still getting that complex narrative and quest structure you want from a role-playing game, Avowed is an RPG that should absolutely be on your radar.
Avowed is set to be released on Feb. 19, 2025.
