Avowed
Avowedattempts to fix a lot of the flunk of RPGs , from shrinking the bloated open worlds of games likeAssassin ’s Creedto making exploration experience genuinely meaningful thanks to a overplus of emerging bit and interesting loot . It also somehow wangle to have the best first - person melee combat , something that its competitors likeSkyrimhave give way to do for decades . There is a lot to love aboutAvowed , and the highly glowing reviews reflect that , make it well worth work , peculiarly for RPG sports fan .
However , despite being one of thebest RPGs of 2025 , there ’s a lot that it get wrong . Namely , Avowedfails to correct a mistakeSkyrimmade over a ten ago with its cities . While many may not ab initio conceive that cities are all that important in an RPG , bothAvowedandSkyrimprove the reverse . However , Avoweddidn’t betray due to a want of trying , rather it was an overcorrection on Obsidian Entertainment ’s behalfthat saw it skin to really peg a believable and compelling fantasy city , leaving the task still unfinished .
Avowed’s Cities Aren’t As Small As Skyrim’s
They’re Substantially Bigger
One ofSkyrim’sfew faultsis its cities . While many will likely fondly think Whiterun , Solitude , and Riften , they never experience truly believable . Bethesda displume out every conjuring trick in the book to make them as immersive as possible , including packing them full of interesting lore details such as the factions that inhabit them and the industry that sustain them . However , they all struggle due to their job with scale , feeling far too small and thus making the continent ofSkyrimfeel like a video game locationrather than a actual place as a resolution .
This was a limitation of the hardware it was hightail it on and the engine powering it , although , admittedly , Bethesda ’s metropolis design is brokeneven inStarfield . So , while it can make return toSkyrima piffling frustrating , for the most part , it is excusable . Future RPGs have attempted to rectify this subject , with the likes ofAssassin ’s CreedandCyberpunk 2077featuring tremendous city or even being set entirely within one . However , few RPGs have managed to feature multiple cities of a believable size of it . That is , of course , untilAvowed .
Avowed take into account you to switch between a first - mortal and third - person linear perspective , but one of these seems to be the optimum way to play the game .
Avowedabandons the open - world formula , instead featuring undecided areas . This was a smart move , as it allowed Obsidian Entertainment to backpack each area with a plethora of details and boast huge cities thatSkyrimcould only woolgather of . Avowedcities are truly monolithic , featuring wide-ranging districts , elaborate environments , and stack of interior placement . They ’re a marvel to lay eyes on , and will in all likelihood make players look in awe the first time they get into them . However , whatAvowedmakes up for in exfoliation , it loses in submergence .
Big Cities Feel Even More Empty Without Enough NPCs
It Feels Unrealistic
Avowed’scities have a major trouble that makes all the exploit of make them substantially bigger thanSkyrim’sgo to waste . regrettably , despite being rather spectacular to lay eyes on , they experience completely empty thanks to a lack of Nonproliferation Center . Wandering the empty streets of Paradis , for object lesson , gazump it of its majestyas it is hard to whole soak up oneself in the experience . While the lack of NPCs is n’t the independent reasonableness whyAvowedisn’t Obsidians ’s skillful game , it does make its urban exploration feel a little underwhelming .
The problem is that there are no NPCs wandering around the cities , which goes a longsighted way to making it palpate live . to boot , even when there are NPC , they are wholly still , or stuttering around as they move a unretentive distance . Cities feel static , as if they ’ve only just appeared the second the participant go far , which is made forged by the fact that there are few direction to interact with Avowed ’s NPCs and world . Players ca n’t commit crime , attack NPC , or really impact the area around them .
This may have something to do withAvowed’smultiplayer base . Originally , Avowedwas specify to be a carbon monoxide gas - op RPG , but Obsidian scrapped the multiplayer features to better the single - player side . It was a sassy move , but the remainder of its multiplayer root , such as a exanimate city which is a common feature in MMOs , distinctly linger . Avowed’sbest features still shinedespite the lacklustre cities , but it picture thateven while attempting to fixSkyrim’sbiggest problem , Obsidian has unluckily come shortsighted .
Custom Image by: Tom Wilson
Cities Might Be The Biggest Challenge In Modern RPGs
They’re Hard To Make Believable
forward-looking RPGs have really fight to make cities experience compellingor credible . While a few have tried , and some have even succeeded - the most notable case of which isThe Witcher 3- they often fall short . The biggest obstacle to making cities work out in RPGs is getting the scale and interactivity right field . In real animation , people can wander freely around cities , and while they ca n’t move into every house , they can still strike hard at the door , head into every shop , talk to every passerby , consume at every restaurant , and so much more .
TV game are n’t concerned in get players do that , as it rarely charm the main story of gameplay loop , unless it ’s a core ingredient of it . Games likePersona 5 , for example , give fan more ways of interacting with its city , as it ’s as much of a life sim as it is a JRPG . That ’s totally understandable , but it does n’t mean that RPGs should forsake submersion in its metropolis altogether . This is something thatSkyrimunderstood , even despite its small scale , as it populated its cities with call NPC who felt like they had lives , even if they were simplistic .
Avowed let in a radioactive dust : New Vegas Easter egg in the grade of one of the game ’s funniest quests which feels perfectly in - line with New Vegas ' pure tone .
Cyberpunk 2077attempted to build the ultimate city , but it fell short . While a lot of it feels veridical , there ’s so much that makesNight City experience unimmersive . NPCs used to not respond to the player , and still feel too glitchy even after multiple update ; there are n’t enough unique animation for passersby , many of whom just wander around aimlessly ; the tough wrongdoer is how it does n’t ever experience like it oppose to the player ’s actions . Of course , Night City andCyberpunk 2077as a whole are still a technical marvel , but they often shine short of feeling truly immersive .
RPGs have a long path to go when it comes to build realistic and believable metropolis . Avowedcame somewhat close , at least in term of scale , but felt empty , whileSkryim’sfelt believable but too little . There has to be a midway basis that a succeeding RPG , potentially even thelong - awaitedElder Scrolls 6 , can find . However , until then , Avowed’slarge and avowedly very beautiful , yet empty cities will have to do .
Source : Coollak966 / Reddit
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