I’ve been carefully tempering my expectations of Avowed—an upcoming RPG made by Obsidian, the creators of Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and The Outer Worlds.
I’m a fan of all of those games, though The Outer Worlds felt like it fell a smidge short of the studio’s usual CRPG pedigree—failing to get its hooks in me with its worldbuilding, characters, or RPG mechanics in the same way that Pillars did. I remember Aloth and Durance pretty vividly, but I couldn’t tell you a single thing about The Outer Worlds’ cast and crew from memory.
From what we’ve seen about Avowed, I was worried it might stumble into the same forgettable pitfalls. However, after seeing what Obsidian’s been working on during a 25-minute deep-dive that took place after the Xbox Games Showcase, I’m a hair more optimistic than I was before. Compared to the January direct, the game’s combat has far more heft overall—and we get to set eyes on a much prettier environment than a bland desert with some…