The excellent role-playing game landscape boasts a plethora of titles that, since the dawn of the legendary Eye of the Beholder, has managed to attract every type of player: if with old-generation consoles, and especially the PC universe, RPGs were almost exclusively the preserve of Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts and readers hungry for fantasy stories at any hour of the day, after the arrival of Diablo and Baldur's Gate at the end of the last millennium things began to change, in an increasingly rapid and dizzying way.
With the birth of new subgenres, settings and gameplay have been able to diversify and embrace even those who, until a few years earlier, wanted nothing to do with dragons, turn-based combat and various kinds of magic: the boot-shaped imprint of Skyrim carved a deep furrow in the genre in 2011, effectively marking a new dawn for RPGs.
Avowed, a title that is still rather obscure and shrouded in an intriguing aura of mystery, is being touted by industry insiders as the Skyrim for Xbox, destined to steal the spotlight in an hypothetical 2024, the current year. The game is an Obsidian Entertainment production, the makers of Pillars of Eternity, so to speak, and if the connection between this studio and the new RPG in development still were not clear, the currently sparse synopsis of the game goes a long way toward dispelling any doubt: Avowed is in fact set in the world of Eora, a setting familiar to anyone who had already played the previous titles created by the software house; the effort to connect the two franchises is therefore evident, in which Obsidian appears determined to level up, to use terminology so dear to purists of the genre.
Essendo in first person, exactly like the main mode of the aforementioned Elder Scrolls chapter, Avowed will drop players into a distinctly fantasy world with a visually classic feel, as can be seen from the official screenshots and the latest video contributions made available to users: the places to explore, both the cities and the outdoor areas, prove worthy of interest, well-crafted and quite interesting, especially for all those who enjoy getting lost in hours and hours of exploration in search of new monsters to hunt and hidden treasures to bring to light.
La open-world component, needless to say, is the essence of a title of this caliber and it is the element that must prove perfect for the player just as the edge of a magical blade can be for a warrior: Avowed promises a gigantic world with various different zones, each with its own ecosystem and races with their own customs and traditions, not to mention a varied bestiary where originality and tradition should go hand in hand, apparently.
The project is certainly ambitious and it can’t be said that Obsidian is backing down, going so far as to call upon a sacred monster like Skyrim: of course, it should be said that the aforementioned game is almost 13 years old, which in the video game world makes it practically a dinosaur, so the prospect of a next-generation title that can compete with it on equal terms is at the very least desirable.
In the end, the premises look good, the game’s working group is solid and their experience should not be underestimated; indeed, it represents an added value to take into account.
Will Avowed be able to shake off the reputation of being a Skyrim clone for next-generation consoles and show enough personality to stand out and emerge?
We’ll only find out by playing.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
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