We learned in the Xbox Livestream that Avowed is releasing this Fall, available on Day One for Game Pass subscribers.
What We Learned from the Avowed Xbox Livestream
During the Avowed Xbox Livestream, Obsidian showcased the dynamic combat system, an in-depth look at questing, and much more scenery from the Living Lands region.
While Obsidian Entertainment did not announce a specific date this Fall, Obsidian clearly wants to position Avowed during a similar release window as Baldur’s Gate 3 last year.
Some of the more interesting information was what Obsidian showed and didn’t necessarily tell.
We learned about the Avowed Combat System
As we inferred from the Avowed trailer, combat will be dynamic and varied. You will be able to use many different weapon types. This lets the player pick and choose which weapons meet their specific play style.
We learned there are special skills you use to add extra layers to combat. In the above image, you can see the green roots surrounding an enemy in the background. This skill is called “Tangle Foot,” which roots an enemy in place. Using Tangle Foot, you can stop a melee enemy from attacking you at the same time as other enemies. While one enemy is rooted, you can take out some of the smaller enemies, showcased in the gameplay.
This combat style allows you to be as creative as you would like, combining spells, melee weapons, ranged weapons, and defensive weapons to take down many different enemies.
Using stronger weapons for different types of combat will likely reward you, although we didn’t see any specific build or skill trees. Instead of focusing on one weapon type and pouring skill points into that weapon, we might see more dynamic builds. This could allow you to mix and match weapons without needing to respec your skills.
In the gameplay showcase, we also saw wands for a significant portion, which the trailer didn’t show. Players can even dual wield two wands, slinging spells at a breathtakingly-fast rate.
We learned about questing in Avowed
During the Xbox livestream, we saw Avowed is taking a similar approach to modern RPGs.
In Avowed, you can make various decisions impacting how quests unfold. The team focused a lot on moral nuance in their quest storylines, requiring you to make difficult decisions. This allows you to better immerse yourself in your character. Quests like this make additional play-throughs more exciting. You can role play new personalities, focusing on different characters.
This also means questing will be more engaging.
During the livestream, Obsidian showcased a quest line where you continue to stumble upon fallen soldiers around a battleground. Running into one of the surviving soldiers, you’re tasked with returning their badges to their families. Gathering evidence from the battle ground, you have to decide what happened during the battle.
In another dialogue with Private Nauki during this quest line (shown above), you discover the soldiers were ambushed. This separated Private Nauki from the others. With different dialogue options, you can either blame him for fleeing the battle or take his word that he was merely separated from the pack. Your chosen dialogue has real consequences, impacting cities you return to after questing.
We learned more about the Avowed Living Lands
The Living Lands is the new region you are exploring in Avowed.
“The Living Lands is a continent of untamed valleys with widely varied biomes, from luxuriant forests to volcanic wastes, and each of those regions itself is a conflux of storied landscapes.”
Obsidian Entertainment – Developer_Direct 2024
We learned about “Shatter Scar” during the Xbox livestream, one of the Avowed regions.
Shatter Scar is a desert biome, with lively oases hidden in the region. This shows both destitute sand dune landscapes and dense opportunities for life.
Shatter Scar is a great example of what Obsidian Entertainment is trying to do with Avowed. Avowed is a dynamic, multi-faceted game. It combines the extremes of video game combat, questing narratives, and environments. This allows you to experience adventure and choose your own path through the open regions.
What did you think of the Avowed Xbox Livestream?
Overall, Avowed looks like it could really be a popular game. With it being available on Xbox Game Pass and the familiar style of gameplay, Avowed could gain traction with gamers who miss the feel of games like Skyrim or Fallout: New Vegas.
With Avowed coming out this Fall, Obsidian is positioning themselves in a competitive place this year. Obsidian won’t be competing with Dragon’s Dogma II during its March release. With large gaps in video game release dates this Fall, Obsidian can strategically pick a date to release Avowed so it doesn’t conflict with similar play style games.
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