Highlights

  • Avowed draws comparisons to The Elder Scrolls but will have a smaller scale, similar to Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas.
  • The game's smaller scale could be a perfect fit for Obsidian Entertainment, as it has proven its ability to create memorable experiences with limited resources.
  • Avowed's more intimate and densely packed gameplay aligns with current industry trends and the demand for fresh fantasy RPGs that offer a different experience from games like Skyrim.

Avowed recently received a lot of attention at this year's Xbox Developer Direct, being a bold fantasy RPG project from Obsidian Entertainment. The themes and core gameplay of the title have drawn comparisons to other fantasy giants like The Elder Scrolls for some time, although Obsidian is more at home with another major Bethesda franchise.

Although Avowed seems to share a lot of similarities with The Elder Scrolls, recent reports seem to indicate that the release will lack the same scale as the likes of Skyrim. This does not take anything away from Avowed, however, and Obsidian Entertainment's successful past project Fallout: New Vegas is a perfect example of how the studio can make more intimate games excel through quality, not quantity.

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A Smaller Scale For Avowed is a Perfect Fit For Obsidian Entertainment

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Avowed drew comparisons to The Elder Scrolls as soon as it was announced, with its fantasy RPG setting and wide range of combat having a lot of similarities with the Bethesda IP. With Skyrim now having originally released well over a decade ago, fans of TES are desperate for a fresh experience, and Avowed could fill the gap.

However, Avowed actually owes its fantastical roots to the Pillars of Eternity franchise; Avowed shares the same setting as the PoE games. With this in mind, it seems best that fans draw their expectations away from Avowed being a love letter to Skyrim. Obsidian Entertainment is arguably best known for its foray into the Fallout franchise, with 2010's Fallout: New Vegas becoming a sort of cult classic entry to many fans.

As a spin-off to the mainline Fallout games, New Vegas had much less available resources than the likes of Fallout 3, and Obsidian Entertainment proved itself as more than capable of meeting expectations despite this limitation. New Vegas made the Mojave feel vibrant and captivating despite its barren aesthetic, doing more for the lore of the franchise than many mainline entries in the eyes of some fans.

Avowed's Smaller Scale Could Be Just What the Industry Needs

Reports suggest that Avowed's scale will be more in-line with previous Obsidian games like The Outer Worlds as opposed to Skyrim, but this could easily be the best move for the upcoming title. Recent major releases such as Starfield have proven that bigger does not always mean better. The current landscape of the industry sees increasing demand for more intimate and densely packed experiences.

Fallout: New Vegas is the perfect example of Obsidian Entertainment being well suited to achieve this, with a smaller but more memorable experience seemingly being at the core of Avowed's development cycle. Avowed may just find itself in the perfect position to capitalize on the fan-led desire for a fresh fantasy RPG and smaller-scale games in general, and if the title is anything like New Vegas, it could be just as impactful as Skyrim without borrowing too much from the game.

While Avowed is currently being billed as a more intimate release, this could change further into the title's development cycle.