Players who don't travel off the beaten path in compared to The Elder Scrolls in of its action combat and character customization, Obsidian has repeatedly made it clear that it's actually very different in structure.
But that doesn't mean it lacks elements of exploration. Avowed isn't technically an open-world game, but it has a lot of wide open areas that players can explore. And explore they should, as players stand a chance of missing out on much of what the game has to offer if they only follow its quest markers, and refuse to go down any other avenues.
Avowed's Quest Markers Are Helpful For Navigation
Open, But Not Open-World
Again, Avowed isn't an open-world game, but it doesn't put the player on rails, either. The difference is just that areas are unlocked sequentially, at certain points in the story, instead of whenever the player wanders into them. There are plenty of times within its campaign that players will be turned loose in large, open areas - in fact, that's what most will spend the bulk of the game doing.
Avowed's Character Creation Is Already Better Than Baldur's Gate 3's, At Least For A Certain Audience
Avowed has recently shown off a character creator that can be used to make truly awful characters, a beloved feature absent from Baldur's Gate 3.
With its central hub world that branches off into freely roamable, wide open areas, it adopts a structure that's become a lot more common in recent RPGs - think Final Fantasy 16's, or Monster Hunter Wilds' semi-open map. In order to aid players in navigating these often large, confusing maps, it employs a very traditional system of quest markers, which show the player exactly where they need to go (or, in some cases, the general area of their objective) in order to progress their current quest.
Quest markers manifest both as arrows that appear on the player's com, and as pins when they open the map. The idea is that the player can triangulate a quest objective's general location, and what's nearby, using the map, then navigate to it using their com. Of course, players will still have to use some of their navigational instincts and environmental cues to find their destinations. It won't always be as easy as walking forward with eyes glued to the com, but Avowed will do a fine enough job of pointing players in the right direction.
Only Following Quest Markers Means Missing Content
Avowed Has Plenty Of Secrets Off The Beaten Path
But here's the thing: Avowed isn't totally linear. There are tons of secrets to be found within it. Players are constantly given the opportunity to explore off the beaten path, and they're strongly encouraged to do so - if not by the game's pacing, by its overarching sense of wonder and player freedom. It's impossible what to say they'll find around every corner until they check it out.
Of course, there are the obvious secrets every RPG has: hidden treasures, enemy encounters, et cetera. These are useful in their own right, in that they provide the player with important resources or additional EXP. But they're not terribly exciting, and it's not a big deal if the player elects to skip past at least some of them to focus on Avowed's story.
Avowed’s Approach To Skill Trees Misses The Easiest Opportunity For Interesting Classes
Avowed's three, simplified skill trees are a disappointing departure from the truly unique offerings in its Pillars of Eternity predecessors.
But what's more important, and more unique to Avowed, is its inclusion of unmarked quests. While the grand majority of Avowed's main and side quests will be listed in the game's menu and appear, with markers, on its map, others won't be so obviously labeled. In an unmarked quest, a player may hear a rumor from one particular NPC that mentions a particular location offhand, but won't get a quest or a map marker. They'll have to pay attention, use their prior knowledge (or exploratory prowess) to find the place they're talking about and claim the reward.
Again, these are nothing new amid similar RPGs - New Vegas has plenty of unmarked quests - but they're usually pretty inconsequential. They might reward the player with some unique dialogue, or a one-of-a-kind item, but they're not particularly story relevant. But that's not the case with Avowed. In a since-deleted Sports Illustrated article on the game, partially reproduced in a comment by Avowed subreddit member Orduss, game director Carrie Patel explains that there's at least one hidden sidequest in Avowed that has serious story implications.
"You can make a very meaningful choice about whether to prevent something. But it relies on the player being curious, investigating their surroundings, and following these leads, but they’re not given to them as quest objectives." It's unclear exactly how this will work or what it'll involve. It's easy to envision the player hearing rumblings of something terrible happening somewhere else in the world - maybe reading notices posted in some town square about them, then, much later, being told of a mysterious disappearance by a worried NPC.
They'll have to put two and two together, without the aid of quest markers, to find out what's going on, and potentially stop it before it happens. Of course, this is all just speculation; we have no idea what this hidden quest will look like in the final game. Some have speculated that it might have something to do with Pillars of Eternity's connection to Avowed, but that's not clear. Players will need to seek it out for themselves and see what happens.
There's Plenty To Discover In Avowed Outside The Main Story
A Big, Beautiful World
It doesn't sound like this will be the only hidden quest in Avowed, either - maybe the most impactful one, sure, but certainly not the only one. It'll be up to players to use their eyes, ears, and intuition to discover as much as they can. Patel (and other Obsidian devs) have given lots of interviews talking about the inherent sense of mystery in Avowed, the magic of missable content, so that's clearly an experience the game prioritizes.
Avowed Will Feature Two Different Perspective Modes To Cater To All RPG Fans
A reminder of Avowed's ability to change perspectives from the first-person to the third has been noted on a Reddit post, with gamers praising devs.
But more so than the concrete rewards, Avowed's visual and narrative beauty and complexity make it worth exploring. It's a gorgeous game: from mossy bridges to ruins set in cliffsides to bioluminescently lit caves, there's a lot to see in Eora, and players are missing out if they just decide to run directly from one quest objective to another. Like Pillars before it, it's also full of complex characters and thorny political intrigue, both of which manifest themselves through elements of the physical world. Failing to take the time to immerse oneself in it is just a waste of time.
So, for these reasons and many more, players should leave no stone unturned. Avowed may not be a massive open-world game, but it is an intriguing one that's worth getting lost in.
Source: Sports Illustrated
Avowed
- Released
- February 18, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- Pillars of Eternity
- Number of Players
- 1
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- February 18, 2025
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