Avowedhas been public knowledge for about two years now, and so far, it has proven surprisingly airtight. Many games that spend that long in development face lots of significant leaks, but Obsidian Entertainment has mostly managed to avoid major leaks, aside from a few rumored gameplay details near the game’s announcement and a possible but dubious release date dropped by Nvidia GeForce Now. That said, Windows Central senior editor and known Microsoft leaker Jez Corden may have providedAvowedfans with a significant leak a little while ago. According to Corden, guns may be a central weapon type in Obsidian’s next RPG.
Corden claims to have seen some ofAvowed’s pre-alpha gameplay last year, and in the process, he supposedly identified muskets as one of the core weapon categories. Obsidian Entertainment has yet to confirm any broad strokes ofAvowed’s gameplay, let alone whether there areguns inAvowedor not, but Corden’s reputation makes the leak seem plausible. IfAvowedreally does stock some early firearms, then it might land in a great sweet spot as a fantasy RPG.Avowed’s setting, themes, and gameplay may give it a unique position betweenThe Elder Scrolls: SkyrimandFalloutthat allow it to compete with Obsidian’s new Xbox Game Studios sibling, Bethesda.
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Balancing Skyrim and Fallout
Skyrim– and more generallyThe Elder Scrolls– acts as an obvious competitor forAvowed.Skyrimremains extremely popular more than ten years after its release, soAvowedneeds to pull attention away from that title while anticipatingThe Elder Scrolls 6’s eventual releaseand offering features thatTES6likely won’t. Guns are one good way for Obsidian to kill two birds with one stone.The Elder Scrollsis highly medieval, merely offering bows as ranged martial weapons, so guns would open the door to an entirely new class of ranged combat inAvowedwhile modernizing the setting slightly.
At the same time, the rest ofAvowedmakes the game well-suited to compete withFallout.Naturally, ifAvoweddoes have muskets,Fallout’s list of gunswill inevitably be far more robust thanks to its more contemporary setting, butAvowed’s magic and fantasy lore will offer a lot thatFalloutsimply can’t. As good asFalloutgunplay is,Avowedhas richPillars of Eternitylore to work with, ranging from a variety of magic systems to a number of unique gods. Magic elements standing alongside early firearms will makeAvoweda totally different experience fromFallout.
Avowed as a Renaissance RPG
As mentioned above, the rumor of guns inAvowedis particularly exciting because of the implications for the game’s setting.Pillars of Eternityalready features some firearms, but ifAvowedintends to expand on the world’s guns, then players might find themselves watching Eora undergo major scientific breakthroughs as other kinds of technology develop.TheFablefranchisemay have received some criticism for abandoning its fantasy roots for a more industrial world, butAvowed’s position as a new story in Eora makes it a good opportunity for Obsidian to focus on a more Renaissance-style world that’s quickly changing through the power of science.
A healthy balance of technology and sorcery could be the key to makingAvowedstand out among competitors likeSkyrimandFallout.Few AAA RPGs aim to strike a balance in this department, usually opting to focus wholesale on fantasy, sci-fi, or modern technology. Blurring the lines a little could be great forAvowed’s image. Hopefully Obsidian Entertainment really does plan to expand the groundwork that it already laid down inPillars of Eternity,using guns as one part of a larger world that’s focused on innovation and discovery. At the very least, guns inAvowedseem plausible thanks toPillars of Eternity,and such a weapon class would already make the game a solid middle ground between other big RPGs.
Avowedis in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
