Summary
Avowed’s director, Carrie Patel, has once again pushed back against comparisons toThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, noting that the game is actually most comparable toThe Outer Worlds.
From the moment that Avowed was first revealed during Xbox’s 2020 showcase, it instantly drew comparisons to one of Bethesda’s most iconic games - Skyrim. Despite being part of the Pillars of Eternity series,many thought that Avowed was going to be Obsidian’s answer to one of the biggest RPGs of all time, something that’s been walked back on in recent years.
When Avowed finally re-emerged after years of near-silence, it looked very different from what people were expecting, and it was soon made clear that it was going to be a smaller-scale adventure similar to The Outer Worlds. Even with that in mind, the comparisons to Skyrim have still been made, something that the game’s director is pushing back on.
Avowed Is More Similar To The Outer Worlds Than Skyrim
Game Informer recently had the chance to preview Avowed and talk to the game’s director, Carrie Patel, about how it’s development has been going. Aside from revealing a bunch of detail about the game’s mechanics,such as its third-person mode, Patel also opened up about the comparisons to Skyrim, which is something that the team is pushing back on.
When asked about if the team embraces the comparisons to Skyrim or rejects them, Patel said that she thinks the best comparison is The Outer Worlds, another game from Obsidian. Patel said that comparing it to that game gives a “much clearer idea of the scope” as well as the design and layout.
Specifically, Patel points out that the structure of the world is similar to The Outer Worlds, as Avowed has a series of “open zones” that are connected and become unlocked as the game progresses, instead of one massive map. Patel also pointed out that the quest structure and narrative structure are more similar to TOW.
In fairness to Obsidian,Phil Spencer has been saying since 2021 that Avowed wasn’t going to be like Skyrim, so it seems like something that’s been built up by fans instead of by the developers.
So there you have it, Avowed really isn’t aiming to be like Skyrim and is much more closely aligned with The Outer Worlds, something that should really have been clear from the first gameplay trailer. While that’s sure to disappoint some players who wanted a huge RPG, The Outer Worlds was great, so I personally don’t see an issue with it.
