Despite all the Skyrim comparisons, Avowed is much more like The Outer Worlds than any Bethesda RPG, according to its director.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, game director Carrie Patel was asked about the comparisons being drawn between Avowed and Skyrim. As a first-person fantasy RPG set in an established world, made by a studio with a history of working directly with Bethesda (on the excellent Fallout: New Vegas), perhaps the comparisons with The Elder Scrolls 5 are inevitable. But according to Patel, that's not necessarily how the game actually plays out.
"As far as comparisons go structurally and mechanically, I'd say it's a bit closer to The Outer Worlds," she explains. The one major difference Patel points to is The Outer Worlds' "very strong satirical bent" - as Obsidian's answer to Fallout, The Outer Worlds' parodical, anti-capitalist slant is made with its tongue firmly in its cheek, but that satire is something that "Avowed does not have."
"I think, like previous Pillars games, Avowed is more grounded in terms of tone," Patel explains, "but you've still got a variety of styles of content, and certainly plenty of humor and levity that is largely character-based."
Still, the Skyrim comparisons remain there for all to see. Patel notes that "Avowed is a first-person fantasy action adventure" that's all about "exploration, [....] discovering the world, [and] discovering these very deep mysteries within it." Much like Skyrim, you can dig into those mysteries as much or as little as you want to, diving deep into the lore of the Pillars of Eternity universe, or simply engaging with the main narrative that drives you through the game.
Despite the Skyrim comparisons, Avowed is an Obsidian RPG first and foremost: "Let's bring in all the greatest hits."
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