To each their own, but Bethesda’s games are all too often criticized for having breadth but not depth, and as time has gone on, I’ve agreed with that more and more. Avowed is scoped smaller than an Elder Scrolls, by a lot, but its depth appears to be in its combat.
Comment on Is anyone else playing Avowed? What are your thoughts so far?
k1ck455kc@sh.itjust.works 6 days ago
Being a skyrim and fallout fan, I wasnt necessarily disappointed by Avowed, just understimulated.
The whole 15ish hours I played i found myself just craving the depth of a bethesda game, which really wasnt there.
Cons: The lack of a fully integrated item physics system. No wanted or theft system. 1 dimensional npcs that only seem to physically adhere to any lore if they arent human. The human npcs look randomly generated in a character customization screen. The lack of an open world to explore and invisible walls all over. Shallow inventory management that doesnt feel like it matters. Very Mid story with a zero effort intro/character background. Weapons/magic combinations arent as versatile as I would like.
Pros: Streamlined inventory management, for people that dont enjoy it. Combat is solid. Magic and effects are beautiful, fun and tie into exploration well. Platforming is solid with excellent level design. Graphics and performance are great also. Unlimited stamina while exploring is great.
The scales just dont tip in the game’s favor, especially when a game from 2011 outdoes it in almost every way.
I understand that obsidian is focused on churning out more easily digestible games more often, but is that really what rpg fans want? More shallow games that leave us wanting?
Idk maybe skyrim left me with unrealistic expectations, but all i want now is that level of world building and depth when it comes to rpgs of this type.
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 6 days ago
k1ck455kc@sh.itjust.works 6 days ago
I guess it depends on what kind of depth youre looking for. Depth of lore, attributes and upgrades? Skyrim has plenty. Depth of gameplay? Things get a little more murky.
I will agree that Elder Scrolls games have never had combat be their strongest feature and that is definitely what Obsidian focused on with Avowed to make it stand out.
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 6 days ago
I think attributes and upgrades tie back into gameplay, but we also all ended up playing stealth archers, and even if you never put stats into something that made things like lockpicking easier, it kind of didn’t matter, because the minigame wasn’t difficult and lockpicks are cheap. I think Bethesda’s games at least up to Skyrim have been great evolutions of the medium, but it also feels like, for all the work they put into their systems, they never got anywhere close to what Larian has built since Skyrim’s release.
k1ck455kc@sh.itjust.works 6 days ago
I mean, yeah, the systems in skyrim werent deep, but at least they were there and somewhat entertaining. You just hold a button to “lockpick” in Avowed. Personally I never used bows in skyrim, always enchanted weapons and destruction.
Larian Should have built more intricate rpg systems since then and they have, Skyrim is a decade and a half old. The caveat is that they have done so by abandoning active combat gameplay. Theyre combat systems are fun, they just arent engaging like Avowed or even Skyrim. Again to each their own, im sure many rpg players dont care one bit about active/realistic combat simulation.
Again with Avowed, it is a brand new game and compared to its only direct competitor(14yo skyrim) it feels lacking in every way except when you hit something with a weapon.
simple@lemm.ee 6 days ago
Avowed reminds me a lot of Kingdoms of Amalur, in that it’s not really an RPG and is just an action game with some RPG elements. Still fun if you go in with the right expectations of just looting stuff and killing random enemies.
k1ck455kc@sh.itjust.works 6 days ago
Yeah i definitely think its a good game, just not the right game for genre veterans with high expectations.