Avowed’s Gameplay Is Based On Obsidian’s Player-Centric Approach

Obsidian appeared on a new episode of the Xbox podcast to share more details about their upcoming action RPG Avowed.

Obsidian director Carrie Patel and gameplay director Gabe Paramo explained that when they described this title as an extension of Pillars of Eternity, they didn’t just mean the story of their other RPG franchise.

While many familiar character types, settings, plot details, and pieces of lore will be familiar to people who have played Pillars of Eternity, Obsidian endeavored to apply the same player-centric mindset to this game as well.

In Carrie’s own words:

“Our studio’s motto is ‘Your World, Your Way’, and so the way we really approach choice, and consequence, and everything else, is just giving players opportunities to define who they are in this world, how they want to behave, what fantasy [and] what challenges they want to undertake.”

So, what does that actually mean when it comes to the gameplay? We already know that combat will be somewhat freeform, allowing players to build several weapon loadouts, and easily switch between them as they wish. Those loadouts can be as basic as a sword and shield combo, or it could be as wild as dual wielding magic wands.

Carrie and Gabe confirm that the game has skill trees, but those earned skills and abilities are themselves flexible, so that you can mix and match different abilities. This should also enable players to change to newer weapons anytime they wish.

The game also encourages that you switch weapons around for different situations. For example, some enemies that block attacks with shields are impervious to melee weapons. So, you’ll have to use a ‘power attack’ or switch to your wand, to use a magical attack against them instead.

Another really incredible detail is that you will be able to respec those skill trees. So, you really aren’t tied down to playing with the same weapons or loadouts that you started with, and you can switch things around as you find better weapons, or to better suit your earned skills.

There are also special abilities with particular use cases, and are generally fun to use. For example, Into The Fray allows you to move a ranged attacker closer to you. In contrast, if you use Tanglefoot, that opponent won’t be able to move, but they can still hit you with their ranged attacks.

So, instead of a pure test of eye-hand coordination motor skills, Avowed promises a bunch of gameplay systems that encourages experimentation. It’s not quite as freeform as the “physics” systems in the latest The Legend of Zelda titles, but the easier to understand structure might be better for many players as well.

Avowed will be releasing in the second half of 2024 on the Xbox Series X|S and on Steam. As a first party Microsoft Gaming title, it will also be Day One on Game Pass. You can watch the extended gameplay video below.