Summary
It has been a long road for Obsidian Entertainment’sAvowedto finally get to have a release window of fall 2024, with the game gradually becoming one of the most highly anticipated of the last few years, seeing the multitude ofSkyrimandThe Elder Scrollsfans looking forward to it. However, Obsidian has responded toAvowedandSkyrimcomparisons, and it’s now more evident that the upcoming fantasy RPG is quite different from what Bethesda achieved all those years ago. Still, it’s going to be hard forAvowednot to be haunted bySkyrim’s legacy, and one of the starting points for this is the way their character creation processes will differ - withAvowed’s feeling like a downgrade based on recent news.
Skyrimdidn’t have the most advanced character creator, although it allowed players to change a lot of details about their Dragonborn, but that level of freedom eventually became a staple for the industry and RPGs that followed. WhileAvowedandSkyrimdo share some surface-level similarities, one of the more interesting comparisons between the two is how they are not new IPs, but rather part of a larger franchise. In the case ofAvowed, that isPillars of Eternity, but unfortunately, there is one big area tied to character creation and immersion that won’t carry over from it.
Why Avowed’s Character Creator is Already Limited
How Skyrim and Avowed’s Available Races Compare to One Another
UnlikeSkyrim, where everyThe Elder Scrollsplayable race does make a comeback from the get-go, and then some are added via mods,Avowed’s character creatoris confirmed to only have human and elf options rather than the full cast of creatures from Eora. Normally, inPillars of Eternity, there are six playable races among an even wider selection of fantasy creatures - some with anthropomorphic features that could warrant them becoming playable in the end. Still,Pillars of Eternityallows players to play as:
There are also several subraces available to all playable races inPillars of Eternity, and while it’s unclear ifAvowedwill feature them too, the main drawback of the upcoming RPG’s character creator is how it limits players' options. The sheer size difference across the various races in Eora is what drove Obsidian to choose between multiple options and an overall easier and more consistent approach to combat. Having size differences between the races would makeAvowed’s combat systemmuch more complex and hard to balance, so it makes sense to cut playable races to avoid that.
Why Avowed’s Limited Race Selection is Rough to Compare to Skyrim
How Fewer Playable Races Can Impact Replayability and Perceived Options
However, having only two races available when making a new character can heavily disincentivize replayability due to the limited options when making a new character, even if the character creation process ends up being deep and detailed. Likewise,Skyrim’s multiple races (as well asThe Elder Scrolls 6’s, presumably) do put a dent into a choice that’s only between two out of six available in pastPillars of Eternitygames set in Eora. This doesn’t mean players won’t see the various races of Obsidian’s universe, but rather it limits the point of view to only two.
What follows is that even a more technically complex and advanced character creator inAvowedmay end up being overshadowed bySkyrim’s, as the perception of options available can dramatically change. And thus while Obsidian may have a more polished product with a limited selection, it comes at the cost of immersion, both in terms of player agency and series lore, and that may not be a battle worth losing. It remains to be seen what the comparisons betweenAvowedandSkyrimwill look like in the end, but regardless of how fair they can be, they seem more like an inevitability at this point.
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?
