Avowed - Obsidian's new game, like Pillars of Eternity meets Elder Scrolls

[Mr. Manchester]

I'm still trudging along, it's getting harder to retain my interest in this game though. I got a new companion, she's a brown lady, but she's not ugly. They just gave her black people hair and a white person face and called it a day, which I think is pretty effective. She's also not annoying which is an added bonus. I'm in a rocky desert or something and the stated quest goal is to find the pink retarded furry woman because everyone says she's smart. I fought a new bug, but the bug just fights the same way everything does.

As far as dialog goes I'm always disappointed when I get a special option because they're often stupid and always meaningless. I really don't feel like which one I select matters. I have the Arcane Scholar background and very rarely do I get a good wizard response. I have a high int too and very rarely do I get a response that's actually intelligent. It's a long way off from retard mode in the old fallout games. Fake agency is just as bad as no agency, Obsidian.

I will remain determined on this journey though, I will do this for you here, even though nobody asked for it and I'm already regretting the decision.

 

[SpellforceFan]

I'm in a rocky desert or something and the stated quest goal is to find the pink retarded furry woman because everyone says she's smart.

Get used to that furry - she is literally a redditor (uses the newspeak vocabulary), is a sex pest (all of her banter reference her nature as a pervert and she hits on both sexes), and more importantly, her special skill (dispelling illusions) is completely exclusive to her, so you can't just stock on fruits as with all others.

I have the Arcane Scholar background and very rarely do I get a good wizard response. I have a high int too and very rarely do I get a response that's actually intelligent

If it helps, I got the scout background, and every single response longer than 3 words was the cringiest edgelord shit I've read outside of reddit. Those options are completely worthless, nothing ever fucking matters.

 

[30+GameOvers]

No idea why he's faking the accent, because the dude lives in Estonia and is an orthodox christian, and no westerner goes that far with larping as a slav.

FPS Russia did the bit pretty well, this is just sad.

 

[SIMIΔN]

The Pillars of Eternity fanboy sounds devastatingly let down by Avowed.

Now he's back to the 'bargaining' stage of grief.
TLDW, the game director was a story writer without any relevant experience, and the original scope was far more than they could have handled.

 

[Brap God]

No idea why he's faking the accent, because the dude lives in Estonia and is an orthodox christian, and no westerner goes that far with larping as a slav. My bet is on him being from Belarus, since he doesn't seem to hate Polish people.

His youtube shtick is just to be the cartoonishly stereotypical russian as seen by westerners, that's why. I was actually surprised when someone linked a video of his on this topic since I didn't know he still did yt, dude's been making the exact same style of video for 9 years now.

 

[BradeRunna]

I only have the first Pillars of Eternity game. It's the old school looking isometric CRPG style game. I never bought Pillars of Eternity II because I heard it was woke.

 

[Brap God]

I only have the first Pillars of Eternity game. It's the old school looking isometric CRPG style game. I never bought Pillars of Eternity II because I heard it was woke.

I don't think there was much in the sequel that made it that more woke than the first one. The worst thing about it has to be how short the main plot of the game is and how it never gives you any breathing room to explore without ruining suspension of disbelief.

 

[BlankSpaceBaby]

Now he's back to the 'bargaining' stage of grief.
TLDW, the game director was a story writer without any relevant experience, and the original scope was far more than they could have handled.

Spell&Shield has such obvious blind spots for his favorite games that it's pretty tragic to see how he is now just making videos to convince himself that all is alright. He did the same with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and now Avowed.

I can relate, but having seen all the catastrophes coming out in the last few years and how the game studios are run by developers with shit for brains or just plain deranged, how could anyone still have high hopes for their beloved IPs in this day and age? There's copium, and then there's just flat out delulu.

 

[Telvanni]

I beat Avowed. I'll try to be objective and not too wordy.
1. Don't play this game if you didn't play Pillars 1 + 2, there's way too much lore subjects and repercussions from those games that it cannot be ignored. Also, they're fantastic games
2. Story is serviceable, another God that's not part of the Engwithian cults who became the known Gods of Eora. Woedica reee'd and went full shut it down. Looks like since the Wheel is gone, they are on their last leg and only Woedica seems to be around; albeit no powers anymore.
2a. I'm not sure how to feel about Sapadal. Strange character, also a literal child. Though, a hard choice. The damage she did is objectively not her fault, but she also seems too dangerous to let live.
3. Characters- I like Kai and Marius. And I stop there. Giatta is meh and Yatzli is pure cancer and cringe. Also looks ugly. It's not an Orlan issue either, I liked Serafen and Hiravias.
3a. While I liked Marius the most, he still feels like a mid tier party member from previous games. I miss my niggas Eder and Aloth like you wouldn't believe.
3b. Though, I do like the interactions between then, they are very talkative and offer their input often whether asked or not. Though, it does have DNA of the quippy Marvel banter. Not a good thing.
4. Towns and Music. Nonexistant. I remember not a single soundtrack from this game and it's painfully obvious Bell is gone. I can easily recall the music from nearly everything Pillars 1 and 2. Top OSTs in my book. Now? Nothing. Utter, utter trash.
4a. Towns are one of the weakest points of the game. They're stale, frozen in time NPCs, and goes to show how forgotten they were. I loved hanging out in Defiance Bay or Nekataka Docks. Very lively.
4b. For fuck sakes, Oblivion is still the gold standard of town NPCs.
5. On the other hand, NOT being in town is the game's highest point. I liked the combat a lot, it was the highest point for me. Staggers, blocks, dodges, being forced to target certain enemies. It was great!
5b. As a mage, spells didn't feel as powerful as they should and aside spamming AOEs like Blizzard, I came to realize a fucking gun did much more wonders.
6. I kinda liked the end game. It feel like a mini Hoover Dam.
Overall, 7/10. It's not dogshit like they said it was, but it was great either. It has solid foundation and honestly, maybe DLC can fix some of this; Pillars 1/2 had great DLC.
Still....after beating this game I have an immense desire to replay Pillars 1 and 2.
Last thought which ties to point 1, I can see why people don't like the game, especially if they didn't play Pillars 1 + 2. Nostalgia and frequent call backs heavily carry this game.

 

[strawberry15]

Oh, we're already there. Morrowind is woke, Joshua Graham from New Vegas is woke, New Vegas itself is SUPER WOKE since it has faggots and women in military, tomorrow Tetris will be somehow woke because it was made by a communist. We're about to see skeptics 2.0 tier retardation with the anti-woke and anti-SJW grifters, and KCD2 gunt guarding has only been the tip of the iceberg.

I will say this: Avowed is a piece of shit, but at least it makes me want to play PoE, something that's been on my backlog for a while. Not PoE2, it looks like that one has broken balancing and really horny reddit dialogue.

Played Poe 1 in 2014, find it ok. played it in 2024, finished it in 2 months, full completion, really liked it, loved it, respected it. It has been 8 months since i have started playing it, it is shit. want to complate it, just for the story but story is shit, companions are shit, mechanics are shit (respect the idea but dont like it.) really hate every aspect of it...

I only have the first Pillars of Eternity game. It's the old school looking isometric CRPG style game. I never bought Pillars of Eternity II because I heard it was woke.

It is not woke per se, but woke in a more, roundabout way. Companions are dump and kinky, people are dump and kinky. then again i am not that far into it. still in act 2.

 

[Jhonson the Two]

I only have the first Pillars of Eternity game. It's the old school looking isometric CRPG style game. I never bought Pillars of Eternity II because I heard it was woke.

TBH the worst thing on POE 2 is the main quest

 

[Your Spiritual Liege]

I don't think there was much in the sequel that made it that more woke than the first one. The worst thing about it has to be how short the main plot of the game is and how it never gives you any breathing room to explore without ruining suspension of disbelief.

In general, the sequel was a dumbed and stripped down version of the first game: less classes, less class specialisation and less flexibility, when it comes to class usage, much shorter story and the last act that forces you to pick a side and antagonise the rest (this also means your party members, associated with this side, will turn hostile and will have to be killed), ship management and battles were more of a gimmick then an actual part of the game. I would say the woke elements were in some of the dialogs, when people were bossing you around or straight up shitting on you and you had to take it and in the fact, that you could romance your companions, regardless of your sex (everyone is bi).

If you liked the first game - the lore, world, mechanics - don't bother, unless you are REALLY starved for an rpg or REALLY want to see, how the story continues (in that case, keep your save from the first game, because a lot of choices from the first game give boons (or curses) in the second.

 

[Gravityqueen4life]

In general, the sequel was a dumbed and stripped down version of the first game: less classes, less class specialisation and less flexibility, when it comes to class usage, much shorter story and the last act that forces you to pick a side and antagonise the rest (this also means your party members, associated with this side, will turn hostile and will have to be killed), ship management and battles were more of a gimmick then an actual part of the game. I would say the woke elements were in some of the dialogs, when people were bossing you around or straight up shitting on you and you had to take it and in the fact, that you could romance your companions, regardless of your sex (everyone is bi).

If you liked the first game - the lore, world, mechanics - don't bother, unless you are REALLY starved for an rpg or REALLY want to see, how the story continues (in that case, keep your save from the first game, because a lot of choices from the first game give boons (or curses) in the second.

People tend to forget but you dont have to join any faction in the end. You could just sail to the final area on your own and no party member will leave or betray you.

 

[Brap God]

I would say the woke elements were in some of the dialogs, when people were bossing you around or straight up shitting on you and you had to take it and in the fact, that you could romance your companions, regardless of your sex (everyone is bi).

It's been a long while since I played it, but I don't recall getting unavoidably bossed around in a way that was much different to the first game where you had to bow to local authority or the gods. The Watcher only has so much weight they can throw around, so it makes sense you won't be treated as someone on equal or superior footing. The romance is more lazy than anything, I think there's less than a handful of scenes per romance. Everyone being bi is just a symptom of that. The most woke thing for me has to be Aloth with Iselmyr, which is a holdover from the first game. At least you can get her suppressed in game 1 so it's not a dealbreaker. I don't mind him as a character but he feels like he was written with some tranny vibes in mind. I just looked it up and apparently his author is the director for Avowed, Carrie Patel, funnily enough.

 

[Whoopsie Daisy]

Recently made it to the second area/map/town and it's obvious this game is two studios working together.

Mechanically, it's the smoothest FPSRPG I've ever played and one of the smoothest FPS's. The parkour, sprint, slide and combat are very well done. The level exploration of climbing, swimming and finding little nooks and crannies is fantastic.
As for the rest, good God. I am fucking sick of every leader, captain, blacksmith, important NPC and best ranger/warrior/mage being a fucking woman. NO, a 5ft 2 fat woman would not be a better warrior or captain than men, it's retarded. It's every interaction to the point where the game says "go find X person" I just know it's going to be a woman.

The message is strong in this game, but it seems more feminist-y than it does tranny and 'white man bad', so i suppose that it could be much worse.

The team that did the mechanics, level building, optimisation, graphics and combat are a very, very talented team. They should spin off and create their own studio.

 

[Male Idiot]

It does feel like there was a good working base thing, but it never got polished and got poz writing.

Arrows bouncing back from only 1 set of cannonballs just screams like a feature they forgot because who needs polish? Crime system? Etc.

 

[30+GameOvers]

It does feel like there was a good working base thing, but it never got polished and got poz writing.

Arrows bouncing back from only 1 set of cannonballs just screams like a feature they forgot because who needs polish? Crime system? Etc.

It does feel like they definitely had more planned, but for one reason or another many features are in a beta stage, unimpletented or barely implemented, or the whole idea was scrapped and they forgot this one instance.
I would love to see the cut content hidden within the files, I have a feeling there should be plenty of test areas, code remnants and unused items like in Outer Worlds that paint what the early drafts for the game looked like.

 

[Jhonson the Two]

The most woke thing for me has to be Aloth with Iselmyr, which is a holdover from the first game. At least you can get her suppressed in game 1 so it's not a dealbreaker. I don't mind him as a character but he feels like he was written with some tranny vibes in mind. I just looked it up and apparently his author is the director for Avowed, Carrie Patel, funnily enough.

Come on don't make one of our boys dirty like that man, poor fucker is already stuck with a bitch

 

[That Guy Who Likes The Chili]

1. Don't play this game if you didn't play Pillars 1 + 2, there's way too much lore subjects and repercussions from those games that it cannot be ignored. Also, they're fantastic games
2. Story is serviceable, another God that's not part of the Engwithian cults who became the known Gods of Eora. Woedica reee'd and went full shut it down. Looks like since the Wheel is gone, they are on their last leg and only Woedica seems to be around; albeit no powers anymore.

4. Towns and Music. Nonexistant. I remember not a single soundtrack from this game and it's painfully obvious Bell is gone. I can easily recall the music from nearly everything Pillars 1 and 2. Top OSTs in my book. Now? Nothing. Utter, utter trash.
4a. Towns are one of the weakest points of the game. They're stale, frozen in time NPCs, and goes to show how forgotten they were. I loved hanging out in Defiance Bay or Nekataka Docks. Very lively.

I've been looking for these simple questions since the game came out and haven't found an answer til just now, I appreciate it. I still won't play it, and even before all the woke controversy didn't plan on playing because I didn't like the switch from CRPG to first person. But I was really curious how/if the story would continue after the ending of Pillars 2.

Also I completely agree with the music, Pillars 1 and 2 has some of the most amazing OST's of any games I've ever played. I gave the Avowed OST a listen the other day and its generic forgettable fantasy slop.

 

[Your Spiritual Liege]

It's been a long while since I played it, but I don't recall getting unavoidably bossed around in a way that was much different to the first game where you had to bow to local authority or the gods. The Watcher only has so much weight they can throw around, so it makes sense you won't be treated as someone on equal or superior footing. The romance is more lazy than anything, I think there's less than a handful of scenes per romance. Everyone being bi is just a symptom of that. The most woke thing for me has to be Aloth with Iselmyr, which is a holdover from the first game. At least you can get her suppressed in game 1 so it's not a dealbreaker. I don't mind him as a character but he feels like he was written with some tranny vibes in mind. I just looked it up and apparently his author is the director for Avowed, Carrie Patel, funnily enough.

I should have been more specific: the game doesn't really have obvious, in your face, woke elements, the two i have mentioned are the ones that come as close as possible, to be categorized as woke. The game was written in 2016-2017, so the poz was not as developed and obvious as we can see it nowadays, my main gripe with the sequel is that, it's just a downgrade from the original, when it comes to mechanics, classes and (to a certaint extent) story. And, personally, playing PoE 2 just to see the bigger picture in Avowed is just not worth it, i would rather read a summery on the wiki.