WhenAvowedwas first announced, it wouldn’t have been out of the realm of possibility to perceive it as a dark fantasy epic along the lines ofThe Elder Scrolls 5: SkyrimorDragon Age: Origins. The reveal trailer for the game had a dull, gray color palette, and the tone of its music and narration gave off the impression of a grim and serious game.Avowedwent dark for several years following its initial announcement and, when it was finally re-revealed during the June 2023 Xbox Games Showcase, it looked a lot different from what the initial trailer depicted.
The second trailer for the game had a far more vibrant color palette than most were expecting, and its tone didn’t seem to be nearly as dark as early marketing materials suggested. Although it’s understandable why some could be disappointed about the matter,Avowedis still a beautiful-looking game in its own right. The game’s environments are stunning, and some of its areasreally pop on an OLED screenthanks to the use of vibrant colors.Avowedis, without a doubt, one of Obsidian’s most impressive games yet from a graphical standpoint, and this makes the lack of a Photo Mode especially unfortunate.
Avowed Really Needs a Photo Mode
Photo Modes Weren’t Commonplace in AAA Games, Until Recently
Back during the early 2010s,Photo Modes in video gameswere practically unheard of. In most instances, gamers could only take screenshots of games while playing them, and that’s it; any image editing would be done in a separate program on a PC or a mobile device. As the graphics in games improved, however, the demand for in-game photo-editing tools started to increase. In response to these requests, some developers began implementing Photo Modes into their games. These modes made it a lot easier to take artistic and cinematic screenshots of video games, and they allowed for greater experimentation with camera angles and filters.
Photo Modes were once a niche feature, but they’re now widely used in the AAA gaming space. These days, many companies, especially PlayStation-owned studios, are adding Photo Modes to their games in post-launch updates. Several recent titles, such asRed Dead Redemption 2,Horizon: Forbidden West,The Last of Us Part 2, and most notably of all,Ghost of Tsushima, have had really impressive Photo Modes. One of the few major companies that has yet to embrace this trend, though, is Obsidian since the only game it has ever included a Photo Mode in isthe 2022 survival gameGrounded.
Grounded is the Only Obsidian Game That’s Received a Photo Mode So Far, and Avowed Should Be the Next
Groundedis a cartoony, all-ages game with a fairly simple art style, so it’s somewhat surprising that it has a Photo Mode, butAvoweddoes not. Sadly, there’s no indication that this situation will change in the near future. Obsidian has discussed the possibility ofdeveloping sequels and expansions forAvowed, but it has not once brought up any plans to make a Photo Mode for the game.
The lack of a Photo Mode inAvowedfeels like a missed opportunity because, as previously mentioned, the game has impressive graphics. Obsidian’s latest RPGtakes full advantage of Unreal Engine 5, and it’s surprisingly well-optimized. Even on max settings, players can get good visual fidelity without sacrificing frame rate and resolution that much. The textures in the game’s environments, meanwhile, can look incredibly detailed at times.
A screenshot ofAvowedisn’t going to fool anyone into thinking it’s a real-life photograph, and yet the impressive art direction more than makes up for the game’s lack of realism. The colors used in the environments, from caves filled with glowing mushrooms to volcanic fields overflowing with lava, really showcase the ecological diversity of the game most effectively. Hopefully, Obsidian will let players take screenshots of these stunning biomes by adding a Photo Mode toAvowedin a post-launch update.
