Avowed Players Say This Feature Should Be the “New Standard” for RPGs

Avowed has a small, but very useful feature that players think should be a standard for future RPGs. Video games are constantly moving forward at a rapid rate and every studio is learning something from each other. It’s a very innovative industry and one that is also often chasing trends. Things like live service games, battle royale titles, and hero shooters are some of the most iterated types of games out there, it seems like every video game publisher wants one of those things under their belt. However, there are also much smaller ways to learn from each other that can make all the difference.

Avowed is the latest release from Obsidian, one of the most renowned RPG developers in the world. The studio was acquired by Xbox in the late 2010s and was seen as a sizable acquisition and one that would prove valuable for the gaming giant. Now, Obsidian has released its first brand new game that was completely conceptualized and developed under Xbox. While there has been some contention over its quality among gamers, Avowed has been a hit with critics thus far and continues Xbox’s recent stellar exclusive line-up following Stalker 2 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. It’s largely seen as a successor to Skyrim as it lifts a lot from the beloved Bethesda RPG in terms of gameplay and overall aesthetic, but Obsidian did toss in one small feature that really sets it apart from other games.

Avowed’s New Lore Feature Should Be in More RPGs

Avowed has a feature that essentially allows you to view a glossary for key phrases pertaining to the game’s rich lore. During conversations with characters, Avowed will highlight key words that may not immediately make sense to players. You can then open up a menu within the dialogue tree to quickly read a quick definition/description of what these words mean. It is immensely helpful to quickly understanding what people are talking about without disrupting gameplay. Of course, Avowed isn’t the first game to have lore dumps or anything like that, but those are usually buried deep in the menus with lengthy walls of text.

This particular feature is much more easy to grasp and allows you to access it to help inform how you respond to characters in Avowed. I have personally used this menu a lot while playing Avowed and can vouch for how useful it is, especially as someone who hasn’t dabbled in Pillars of Eternity – the universe that Avowed is set in. It was one of the key points I cited in my review for Avowed as to why the game is so great. Other seem to think so as well as members of the Avowed subreddit speak highly of it, noting that they’ve appreciated it since its inclusion in Pillars of Eternity.

This should be the new standard for lore explanation in RPG. It's an elegant solution and I'm using it all the time.
byu/Orfez inavowed

Whether someone like Bethesda will take advantage of this feature in The Elder Scrolls VI, especially since they are colleagues with Obsidian as Xbox studios, remains to be seen. Either way, it’s nice to see a studio not compromising on crafting rich lore for its game, but also making sure there are ways for players to easily digest it. Players have been praising Avowed for its beautiful world since its early access release and even discovering fun secrets, such as an Avatar: The Last Airbender Easter egg.