The wait for Obsidian Entertainment’sAvowedis finally coming to a close as its February 18 release date draws near, with the RPG shaping up to be an exciting extension of thePillars of Eternityfranchise. More details are starting to surface regarding the finer mechanics that the title will or will not include, with the absence of one feature in particular drawing some question marks from fans.
In a recent interview, it was confirmed by Obsidian Entertainment thatAvowedwill not launch with a New Game Plus mode, with there being no plans to eventually add this feature to the game. Not only is it a shame to see this fairly common RPG feature be missing fromAvowed, but a lack of New Game Plus could directly impact the replayability of the title.Avowedis a title specifically designed to be enjoyed over the course of multiple playthroughs, making the absence of New Game Plus more restrictive than it might initially seem.
The Lack of New Game Plus in Avowed Takes Some Freedom Away From the Player
New Game Plus is becoming a growing staple of games with RPG elements, allowing players to start a new playthrough of a title without losing the progress and development of their character. Players are usually allowed to keep things like equipment, skills, levels, items, and more, through a fresh New Game Plus run, with enemies usually scaling their difficulty to slightly counteract these benefits. Games likeStarfieldhave even centered their end-games entirely around the concept of New Game Plus, with this being an excellent way to give near-endless replayability to a title when done well.
The story ofAvowedsees the player take control of a powerful envoy of the Aedyr Empire, sent to the Living Lands to bring an end to the deadly and mysterious Dream Scourge. Through multiple questlines and potential companions, Obsidian Entertainment have been very vocal inthe number of potential endings thatAvowedpossesses, with these likely being based around the many ways the player can decide to end or potentially embrace the Dream Scourge.
When considering this clear focus on narrative variety and multiple playthroughs, the confirmation thatAvowedwill not feature a New Game Plus modeis disappointing. Like other Obsidian RPGs such asThe Outer Worlds, the studio is encouraging players to tackle subsequent playthoughs from completely new save-files, and whileAvoweddoes seemingly have the variety to justify this, players should still be afforded the choice to replay the game with an entirely new character or to continue with a pre-existing one.
Avowed’s Wide Gameplay Variety Could Have Been Complimented By New Game Plus
As expected,Avowed’s character progression involves multiple skill-treesas well as a comprehensive weapon upgrading system, with players having no choice but to discard the time put into these elements of character progression without a New Game Plus option.Avowed’s wide range of weapon options only add to this issue, with players potentially being locked into certain weapon types without the added benefit of upgrading a variety of them over the course of multiple playthroughs via the same character file.
Alongside traditional RPG weapon types like swords, axes, bows, and magic,Avowedwill also allow players to use a range of firearms to fight the many threats of the Living Lands.
Repeat playthroughs ofAvowedto explore the game’s varied endings still seems like an exciting prospect without New Game Plus, and tackling each playthrough with a fresh character should add a level of challenge while encouraging different approaches. Despite this, it seems remiss to outright refuse players the choice of New Game Plus, which could have been a perfect fit for the importance that Obsidian has placed onfully exploring every narrative thread thatAvowedhas to offer.
