Although reviews forAvowed, the new game from Obsidian Entertainment, have largely been positive, they haven’t been as glowing as the ones for the company’s prior releases. One of the most common complaints about thisPillars of Eternityspin-off is that it lacks innovative features.Avowedis, for the most part, a traditional first-person fantasy RPG that follows in the footsteps ofThe Outer Worldsand, compared to recent titles likeKingdom Come Deliverance 2, the game doesn’t redefine the RPG genre in any major way. In fact, some may even say that it plays things too safe.
In spite of these criticisms, there are still plenty of things to like aboutAvowed. The game may not take that many risks, but it largely succeeds at what it sets out to do. Even though the company took a 6-year hiatus from making AAA RPGs,Avowedstill has most of the traits thatObsidian’s gamesare known for, such as good writing, meaningful exploration, and a decent amount of choice and consequence. In addition to this,Avowedeven includes a new gameplay feature that’s very reminiscent of one of the best features fromFinal Fantasy 16.
Avowed’s Dialogue History & Lore Feature is Similar to FF16’s Active Time Lore
FF16 Lets Players Look Up In-Game Lore Via the Active Time Lore Feature
Final Fantasy 16, the most recent mainline installment in theFinal Fantasyseries, doesn’t share a lot of similarities withAvowed, but they do have one thing in common: incredibly fleshed-out lore.Final Fantasy 16’s setting, the land of Valisthea, is filled with different countries, nation-states, and political groups, and it’s also home to a wide range of creatures, monsters, and other supernatural beings. Because of all these elements, the dialogue inFinal Fantasy 16tends to contain terminology that players will likely be unfamiliar with. The game’s story can be sometimes be hard to keep up with, as a result.
To make it easier for players to understand the game’s narrative, Square Enix addeda feature inFinal Fantasy 16called Active Time Lore. Simply put, Active Time Lore is basically a special menu that serves as an easy-to-access encyclopedia of sorts. Players can pauseFinal Fantasy 16during most gameplay sequences and cutscenes to open up the Active Time Lore menu, which contains extensive information on the game’s world. Using this feature, they can look up the profiles of the characters that are relevant to the main quest they are currently on, and they can find details about the many creatures and points of interest in the game.
Avowed’s In-Game Glossary Makes Its Story Far Easier to Understand
LikeFinal Fantasy 16,Avowedalso has an in-game encyclopedia that functions somewhat similarly to the Active Time Lore feature. InAvowed, players will often see certain words that are highlighted when talking to an NPC. These words are usually related toPillars of Eternitylore, which most people probably won’t be familiar with. Fortunately, for those who don’t know much about the franchise,Avowedlets players look up what these highlighted terms mean in-game. During any conversation, players can press the Dialogue History & Lore button to open up a glossary that defines all the highlighted terms that are relevant to the conversation a character is currently having.
Since its encyclopedia entries aren’t categorized,Avowed’s Dialogue History & Lore feature isn’t as organized asFinal Fantasy 16’s Active Time Lore, but it is still quite useful. Without it, it’d frankly be hard to understand anything going on inAvowedwithout playingPillars of Eternity1and2. This one minor quality-of-life feature not only saves people time from looking up what these terms mean online, it also makesAvowedfar more approachable for newcomers to thePillars of Eternityfranchise.
Avowed
WHERE TO PLAY
Welcome to the Living Lands, a mysterious island filled with adventure and danger. Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.You are the envoy of Aedyr, a distant land, sent to investigate rumors of a spreading plague throughout the Living Lands - an island full of mysteries and secrets, danger and adventure, and choices and consequences, and untamed wilderness. You discover a personal connection to the Living Lands and an ancient secret that threatens to destroy everything. Can you save this unknown frontier and your soul from the forces threatening to tear them asunder?
