Avowed releases Fall 2024

[medinaria]

Poor Obsidian have zigged every time a corporate patron told them to zig. Now they're dropping a wander-and-loot Bethesda clone in the exact window when people are lowest they've ever been on that template and the highest they've ever been on deep isometric RPGs.

They could have been releasing a turn-based, story-driven, party-focused Pillars 3 for the millions of people who just ran out of Baldur's Gate 3 to binge.

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as someone who works at a company that's about to release a live-service co-op shooter... I feel for them, lol

it really is a shame, though - you're totally right about how well pillars 3 could have done in this environment. the world is so interesting and they've done such a great job with quest/lore depth, I think people would really have eaten it up if they continued iterating on the tyranny magic system and combined the two together.

I can dream, I guess

 

[krakenking189]

That "tree" in the background looks a lot like that glass tree mentioned in the Pillars 1 stronghold quest....

 

[Chippewa Barr]

All but one of the leads on FNV are no longer at Obsidian, and exactly zero of them are working on this game.

The Obsidian everyone worships does not exist anymore outside of Sawyer

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Ah dang.

I'm sure it'll be solid either way, looks decent so far IMO

 

[L11ghtman]

I'd be lying if I said this deep dive didn't leave me somewhat disappointed.

· 2-minute showing of serviceable combat systems.

· 3 minutes of showing a claimed complex quest system that drove the player into the grey area of morality choices, however, what was shown here wasn't actually that innovative or unique

·2 minutes of art direction, while it looks imaginative, it appears that the majority of the game happened on wastelands that are barren of many NPCs

Was I misheard, or was there any talk of fractions to join and companions?

Not a great presentation, and I'm hoping the rest of the game has a lot more substance.

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The combat just looked bad. I'm surprised people aren't piling on honestly. The enemies don't even really move in most of those videos.

All but one of the leads on FNV are no longer at Obsidian, and exactly zero of them are working on this game.

The Obsidian everyone worships does not exist anymore outside of Sawyer

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People do not understand. Most of these big studios Microsoft bought haven't had the teams that made the games people loved in years. People misplace their love for these games with the IP, when really it's the people who make the games you love.

 

[Katbobo]

The combat just looked bad. I'm surprised people aren't piling on honestly. The enemies don't even really move in most of those videos.


People do not understand. Most of these big studios Microsoft bought haven't had the teams that made the games people loved in years. People misplace their love for these games with the IP, when really it's the people who make the games you love.

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We've seen Obsidian make fantastic games recently in Pillars 2, Grounded, and Pentiment. Even if the New Vegas people are mostly gone, they still clearly have a ton of talented people working there.

Acting like they've drained talent doesn't seem true. Even their worst recent game, TOW, was still pretty fun and mostly seemed to be limited by budget since it was a AA game pretending to be AAA.

 

[DanteMenethil]

Man, after BG3 seeing the Pillars universe being turned to this hurts (for me).

 

[Bishop89]

Visuals aside, this doesn't really look good.
And I'm hoping they were demoing it in "story difficulty" because the enemy AI looked really dumb. Combat overall in the small snippets they have shown looks average

 

[Kidgamer]

We've seen Obsidian make fantastic games recently in Pillars 2, Grounded, and Pentiment. Even if the New Vegas people are mostly gone, they still clearly have a ton of talented people working there.

Acting like they've drained talent doesn't seem true. Even their worst recent game, TOW, was still pretty fun and mostly seemed to be limited by budget since it was a AA game pretending to be AAA.

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Exactly, I'm not excited for this because they made FNV. Im excited for this because it's basically Pillars 3 and those games, especially Deadfire, are classics.

 

[Vidpixel]

Looks much more impressive than the initial gameplay showing

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

Grounded rules and never for a second you look at the combat in that game and will think that it looks good, but the whole things really works once you are playing, plus the level design is great.

 

[HockeyBird]

I liked what they showed but I think this game needs a bigger deep dive. Usually when a developer talks about how your actions will change the world, they at least show some examples. I think a demonstration of someone going through a full quest, complete with dialogue choices, exploration, and combat would show the same in a more favorable light, hopefully.

 

[The Dave]

I'm not expecting this to be on the same scale as a Witcher, or Starfield. Obsidian are not that big, but it looks great. I expect an old school systems driven RPG.

 

[OrangePulp]

Poor Obsidian have zigged every time a corporate patron told them to zig. Now they're dropping a wander-and-loot Bethesda clone in the exact window when people are lowest they've ever been on that template and the highest they've ever been on deep isometric RPGs.

They could have been releasing a turn-based, story-driven, party-focused Pillars 3 for the millions of people who just ran out of Baldur's Gate 3 to binge.

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I know even Josh Sawyer has talked about going to turn-based would be the better business decision, but if Pillars came back only to ditch RTwP, it would hurt me in my soul. Especially after making something so mechanically satisfying as Deadfire.

 

[LumberPanda]

Poor Obsidian have zigged every time a corporate patron told them to zig. Now they're dropping a wander-and-loot Bethesda clone in the exact window when people are lowest they've ever been on that template and the highest they've ever been on deep isometric RPGs.

They could have been releasing a turn-based, story-driven, party-focused Pillars 3 for the millions of people who just ran out of Baldur's Gate 3 to binge.

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Alternatively, now they're filling a gap left by a particular title being mediocre instead of having to be compared directly to BG3.

 

[Vex]

The combat just looked bad. I'm surprised people aren't piling on honestly. The enemies don't even really move in most of those videos.

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This was my problem. I immediately stopped the video when the guy parried that skeleton dino. Wtf. There's no visual feedback at all. Wow.

Dead island 2 did better than that.

 

[Servbot24]

The combat just looked bad. I'm surprised people aren't piling on honestly. The enemies don't even really move in most of those videos.

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It's an RPG with FPS melee combat. No one playing this is doing so because they want good combat.

 

[Hella]

I know it's pre-release footage but the way the kobolds folded up like spiders when they died was the most memorable part of the show.

 

[krakenking189]

I'm really looking forward to this having a character sheet and the companion web from Deadfire.

 

[Titanpaul]

This was my problem. I immediately stopped the video when the guy parried that skeleton dino. Wtf. There's no visual feedback at all. Wow.

Dead island 2 did better than that.

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If you're looking for an RPG that has action game combat, you'll look forever. They're different games.

 

[krakenking189]

I know it's pre-release footage but the way the kobolds folded up like spiders when they died was the most memorable part of the show.

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They're actually called Xaurips and they're adorable!

 

[Zebesian-X]

It's an RPG with FPS melee combat. No one playing this is doing so because they want good combat.

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Yeah the combat is never The Reason to play these kinds of games. Which is why I wish they'd spent more time showing off the other systems/gameplay elements. Show me the consequences you're telling me about, the companions, the branching paths. Too much time spent bashing on lizards for my tastes lol

 

[vodalus]

It wasn't a good showing but at least they're making the kind of game they're good at. The initial teaser was an incredible nothing.

 

[Teeth]

It's an RPG with FPS melee combat. No one playing this is doing so because they want good combat.

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That's really unfortunate if, say, 40% of your time in the game is spent in combat.

I wouldn't say the combat looked particularly bad in Avowed, but there's no way that combat isn't a primary pillar of the gameplay. What other genre would one of the main ways to interact with it (and maximal time spent in that interaction) be something people should just overlook?

 

[NaikoGames]

not a fan tbh, the combat lacks a bit of an oomph and im not entirely sure i understand the tone they're going for it.

its on gamepass so im gonna try it but, idk

 

[L11ghtman]

It's an RPG with FPS melee combat. No one playing this is doing so because they want good combat.

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This is just not true and not a good perspective of the expectations we rightly have of modern game design of this caliber. Sorry but it's just not. There's zero visual feedback from the enemies on a lot of those attacks.

 

[BrightLightLava]

The proper nouns in the showcase were pretty rough, but the key art is slick as hell.

 

[Chance Hale]

from turn-based to action, from isometric to first-person, from M-rated to E10+ rated… not so much bizarre as obviously trying to reach a wider audience, for better or worse.

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Outside of nintendo don't m rated games sell better generally?

 

[KrAzY]

warming up to it after watching more but thought with microsoft backing, they'd be less jank, so ways away in 2024 so hopefully lots of refinement. I'm excited either way for the story and will play on easy if its not to my liking(the combat)

 

[Bradbatross]

It's always interesting seeing people in Avowed threads who have seemingly never seen a first person RPG before.

The combat just looked bad. I'm surprised people aren't piling on honestly. The enemies don't even really move in most of those videos.


People do not understand. Most of these big studios Microsoft bought haven't had the teams that made the games people loved in years. People misplace their love for these games with the IP, when really it's the people who make the games you love.

Click to shrink...

People aren't piling on because the game looked good, including the combat..

 

[Vic Damone Jr.]

That key art is some the best I've seen in a long time. Obsidian gonna knock it out the park, I need more on the narrative, companions, choices, and romance.

 

[ponzu_boy]

Poor Obsidian have zigged every time a corporate patron told them to zig. Now they're dropping a wander-and-loot Bethesda clone in the exact window when people are lowest they've ever been on that template and the highest they've ever been on deep isometric RPGs.

They could have been releasing a turn-based, story-driven, party-focused Pillars 3 for the millions of people who just ran out of Baldur's Gate 3 to binge.

Click to shrink...

It's crazy how important timing and trends are for a product release.

 

[Kittenz]

Man if people are only going to ever play RPGs with BG3 cutscenes, choice and facial animations or the visual acuity of Cyberpunk 2.0, the whole genre might as well just curl up and die.

Sorry Rebirth, but your player choice is insubstantial. You fail.

Sorry Infinite Wealth, you are not a technical marvel and your mo-cap doesn't look like Avatar. You fail.

People's expectations are wild.

 

[ponzu_boy]

Man if people are only going to ever play RPGs with BG3 cutscenes, choice and facial animations or the visual acuity of Cyberpunk 2.0, the whole genre might as well just curl up and die.

Sorry Rebirth, but your player choice is insubstantial. You fail.

Sorry Infinite Wealth, you are not a technical marvel and your mo-cap doesn't look like Avatar. You fail.

People's expectations are wild.

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people need to realize that every game doesn't need to succeed at everything.

 

[Starphanluke]

Key art is incredible. Game itself isn't doing much for me, but I'll still give it a shot!

 

[Vex]

If you're looking for an RPG that has action game combat, you'll look forever. They're different games.

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There are a lot of action RPGs tho 🤔 what

 

[Wolf]

I can't wait for this to be better than Starfield for 5% of the budget.

 

[Kasey]

People do not understand. Most of these big studios Microsoft bought haven't had the teams that made the games people loved in years. People misplace their love for these games with the IP, when really it's the people who make the games you love.

Click to shrink...

I'm so sick of this shitty, reductive talking point. Since NV Obsidian has shipped South Park, Pillars, Tyranny, Deadfire, Outer Worlds, Grounded and Pentiment, all excellent games, even the ones not directed by Sawyer or with Avellone as a writer. Perhaps people excited for Avowed aren't basing said excitement on a game released nearly 14 years ago, but rather the games they've made since.

This attitude is incredibly toxic to the people who are currently working hard on this game, including one of the few female directors in the industry.

 

[TheUnsungHero26]

I'm so sick of this shitty, reductive talking point. Since NV Obsidian has shipped South Park, Pillars, Tyranny, Deadfire, Outer Worlds, Grounded and Pentiment, all excellent games, even the ones not directed by Sawyer or with Avellone as a writer. Perhaps people excited for Avowed aren't basing said excitement on a game released nearly 14 years ago, but rather the games they've made since.

This attitude is incredibly toxic to the people who are currently working hard on this game, including one of the few female directors in the industry.

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Yup. I hate that type of rhetoric. Incredibly disrespectful to the talentes group of developers at all these studios.

 

[The Dave]

The combat just looked bad. I'm surprised people aren't piling on honestly. The enemies don't even really move in most of those videos.


People do not understand. Most of these big studios Microsoft bought haven't had the teams that made the games people loved in years. People misplace their love for these games with the IP, when really it's the people who make the games you love.

Click to shrink...

How toxic.

 

[krakenking189]

I'm so sick of this shitty, reductive talking point. Since NV Obsidian has shipped South Park, Pillars, Tyranny, Deadfire, Outer Worlds, Grounded and Pentiment, all excellent games, even the ones not directed by Sawyer or with Avellone as a writer. Perhaps people excited for Avowed aren't basing said excitement on a game released nearly 14 years ago, but rather the games they've made since.

This attitude is incredibly toxic to the people who are currently working hard on this game, including one of the few female directors in the industry.

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It's so insanely reductive to write things off like that. Pisses me off to no end

 

[Neuromancer]

I'm surprised some people think this looks bad. I thought it looked much improved since the summer trailer, like night and day.

 

[DeepChord]

I love PoE, bit this doesn't look good

 

[Bradbatross]

Man if people are only going to ever play RPGs with BG3 cutscenes, choice and facial animations or the visual acuity of Cyberpunk 2.0, the whole genre might as well just curl up and die.

Sorry Rebirth, but your player choice is insubstantial. You fail.

Sorry Infinite Wealth, you are not a technical marvel and your mo-cap doesn't look like Avatar. You fail.

People's expectations are wild.

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I honestly don't know what people expect.

 

[HellofaMouse]

They could have been releasing a turn-based, story-driven, party-focused Pillars 3 for the millions of people who just ran out of Baldur's Gate 3 to binge.

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i wonder if bg3's success translate to other c-rpgs. i bet most of them feel pretty archaic in comparison.

 

[HeavenlyOne]

Looks great. It manages to look colourful without looking garish like the last showing.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

i wonder if bg3's success translate to other c-rpgs. i bet most of them feel pretty archaic in comparison.

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I don't think it will. The similarities they do have are superficial and orthogonal to what made BG3 a big hit, imo. I also think BG3 itself is so content rich that you'll have quite a lot of people getting their fill on just it for a good long while.

I think Tango's move away from The Evil Within and towards doing an open world shooter thing just as Resident Evil got people excited for action-horror again (and even introduced stealth into RE4r!) was probably a more clearcut case of an ill timed pivot because I think those products were very similar in meaningful ways.

 

[OD_Koji]

Looks great. It manages to look colourful without looking garish like the last showing.

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Succinctly put. This captures my feelings on it.

 

[Sanctuary]

It's an RPG with FPS melee combat. No one playing this is doing so because they want good combat.

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This is the exact mindset that causes the first-person combat in these kinds of games to remain as terrible as they are. It doesn't have to be, and it's always the worst thing about them.
Zero progress in this area. It's more like people play these games despite the combat.

It's always interesting seeing people in Avowed threads who have seemingly never seen a first person RPG before.

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That sure is a take. How about people have seen them and are tired of seeing the exact same worn out stuff that's been around for two decades now?

There are a lot of action RPGs tho 🤔 what

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I can think of a few, but most of the ARPGs that have the really great combat (Souls, Dragon's Dogma) I don't even consider "RPGs", despite having some shared systems. I barely consider either of those in the "Action RPG" genre, and more Action or Action/Adventure, but I guess all three of those genres can have varying degrees of interpretation depending on the beholder. Especially now that pretty much every AAA game has "RPG elements" tossed in somewhere, whether it actually enhances the game or not.

 

[Vex]

The environments look good at least. Hmmm. Really good actually.

Still not sold in the combat.

 

[NippleViking]

I for one think it's refreshing how colourful and slightly stylised it looks. Always found it pretty uninspired how most fantasy RPGs seem to just ape real-world European settings and environments, despite being high fantasy settings. High fantasy gives devs the opportunity to run wild with environments, and Obsidian seems to be doing that here. All that fantastical and alien flora and fauna, and ethereal lighting really lives up to that "Living Lands" name.

I'm a little bit concerned about the RPG elements here, particularly as this supposedly isn't an open-world game but a linear (semi-linear?) experience. Combat is whatever - few RPGS if any have good combat systems imo, so usually the function is just as a palate cleanser and way of expressing the character's progression.