From the second its cinematic announcement trailer revealed that it will be performed from a first-person perspective, Avowed has been seen as Obsidian Leisure’s reply to Skyrim. It’s a place Obsidian itself has tried to distance itself from, largely as a result of Avowed is a smaller scale RPG made up of interconnected zones quite than an enormous, sprawling open world sport. Regardless of this, the Skyrim comparability makes a certain quantity of sense; after proving it might do Bethesda video games higher than Bethesda itself with Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian created its personal Fallout analogue in 2019’s The Outer Worlds. It lower brief the agonising look ahead to Fallout 5 with an identical fashion of RPG (positive, it wasn’t open world, but it surely was directed by Fallout’s unique creators), and so eyes have naturally turned to Avowed – might this be the sport that lastly provides us a brand new Elder Scrolls-like journey years earlier than Bethesda ships its personal Skyrim successor?
At gamescom 2024 I used to be capable of play an hour of Avowed. That’s hardly sufficient to say if it actually is able to standing as much as such a landmark RPG as Skyrim – I didn’t even get to discover exterior of a single cave. Nevertheless, what I did play steered it might effectively equal (or, hopefully, truly higher) Skyrim in a single vital space: the stealth archer construct.
It’s a meme among the many Skyrim neighborhood that everybody will ultimately spec right into a stealth archer construct, regardless of their preliminary intentions for a playthrough. That’s as a result of taking part in a shadowy sniper in Skyrim is extremely satisfying. You possibly can decimate total dungeons largely unseen and the thud of an arrow hitting an enemy’s cranium is pleasant each single time, significantly when it triggers a slow-motion killcam. I feel Obsidian is aware of all this and has gone to lengths to make sure its personal ranger class is equally robust.
The gamescom demo’s instance ranger construct was, naturally, outfitted with a bow. The basics of it is going to be acquainted to anybody who’s performed not simply Skyrim however every other sport with archery – goal, zoom, draw again longer to extend energy, and launch. However as any stealth archer is aware of, the primary shot is an important – if it doesn’t hit true, if it doesn’t kill the goal, then stealth is damaged and chaos ensues. Seemingly recognising this, Avowed shows a small crimson diamond-shaped goal on an enemy’s weak level whenever you zoom in, a function seemingly pilfered from the equally killing shot-obsessed Sniper Elite video games. Whereas I’m completely able to aiming between the eyes with out help, I truly don’t thoughts this – it’s like a HUD illustration of your character’s archery prowess. They know precisely the place to strike.
Archery is bolstered by two passive expertise – energy assaults and Regular Purpose. Holding the drawn-back bow string engages the ability assault, which empowers the notched arrow with a silver flame-like power (I’m guessing it’s because you play as a Godlike, a supernatural race from the Pillars of Eternity RPGs with which Avowed shares a setting with). Regular Purpose, in the meantime, slows down time whereas aiming that energy assault. These are, in fact, repackaged variations of archery expertise we’ve seen in Skyrim and past, however I’m glad they’re right here as a result of they’re an important ingredient within the stealth archer’s return.
The place Avowed’s pattern archer construct begins to deviate from Skyrim’s template is relating to sneaking. Naturally, you may crouch to scale back your visibility and crawl into lengthy grass to vanish utterly. However Avowed rangers even have entry to the Shadowing Past ability, an lively means that renders you absolutely invisible till you make a fight motion (supplied you may afford its mana-draining price.) It’s as efficient because it sounds; after actually tearing a gap in actuality and slipping into some sort of parallel shadow realm, you’re capable of stroll proper via enemy patrols with out disturbing even the air molecules. It’s the stealth archer’s dream, enabling you to bypass difficult encounters or reposition to a extra advantageous sniper’s perch. It’s a capability that’s exhausting to return by in Skyrim; in Tamriel, a stealth archer must both discover the Bow of Shadows and make use of its invisibility perk (which is nowhere close to as highly effective or versatile as Shadowing Past), or prepare as an illusionary mage to be able to forged the invisibility spell.
Sustaining silent stealth isn’t only for ranged encounters, although. I used to be happy to see that Avowed has a correct stealth takedown assault; faucet the assault set off whereas an unaware enemy and your character lunges ahead, a spectral dagger-like weapon forming round their fist. The blade reduces the enemy’s physique to shimmering ash, leaving no proof of your kill for enemy guards to stumble throughout. It’s a really satisfying animation and a capability I’m positive will form the course of a stealth archer’s general method.
In fact, not each encounter goes to stay silent. For the events the place issues warmth up, the ranger’s Tanglefoot spell means that you can summon thorny vines that root enemies to the spot for a number of seconds. It retains them at a distance, letting you snipe them earlier than they get into slashing vary. I discovered this ability was additionally useful when mixed with different ranged choices; the demo character’s backup weapon was a pair of flintlock pistols that are naturally louder and extra explosive than a bow (plus will be fired twice in succession because of being dual-wielded), however they demand that enemies are stored distant because of their lengthy reload occasions. Good use of Tanglefoot, in addition to directing my AI companion, Kai, to make use of his personal skills actually helped right here.
Speaking of Kai, I used to be happy to see that Avowed’s companions don’t appear to get in the best way of your stealth techniques – one thing a lot of Skyrim’s clumsy companions are unforgivably responsible of. Kai by no means busted my cowl and I feel he even disappeared from view together with me once I used Shadowing Past. It’s issues like this that make Avowed really feel like a Skyrim-style sport from the 2020s – the motion, the power to mantle as much as vantage factors, the environmental hazards, the influence of fight, and the overall polish all make Avowed really feel just like the sort of Elder Scrolls expertise I wish to have within the trendy age.
I perceive why Obsidian tries to push the dialog away from Skyrim when speaking about Avowed – its zone-based environments seemingly will make the sport structurally very completely different from The Elder Scrolls collection. However there’s far more to Skyrim than its open world, and it’s these different parts that I feel Obsidian can provide a wonderful, up to date analogue to. Hopefully, when we now have the prospect to discover past the demo’s cave and expertise the grander scope of Avowed’s setting and story, it’ll additionally show itself a well-designed, modern-feeling RPG within the vital areas: character, stage, and quest design. However for now I’m left feeling fairly assured that Avowed will, on the very least, tickle the identical bits of my mind that Skyrim did once I let unfastened a well-aimed arrow right into a lizard man’s face.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s Senior Options Editor.