Do Choices Really Matter In Avowed?

As an RPG, players are likely curious to know how much their choices will matter in Avowed. Any game that includes dialogue trees and makes conversation an active part of the game likely has at least some element of choice to it. Still, despite being able to choose what the protagonist says, it doesn’t always mean that the game at large will be affected by those choices. It can be understandably frustrating to learn partway through a game, after carefully weighing dialogue options, that they ultimately don’t matter as much as they initially seem.

Anyone who enjoys a deeper role-playing experience is likely going into Avowed hoping that it falls closer on the spectrum of choices mattering to something like spin-off of the Pillars of Eternity franchise, a prime example of games where choices matter. Even players more interested in exploring or combat will want to know whether they have to pay attention to conversations in Avowed and how much they affect the overall experience.

Choice Plays A Big Role In Avowed

Avowed’s Developers Made Player Choice A Priority

Choices made by players have a major impact on Avowed. As the game’s developers have noted in multiple interviews leading up to the game, Avowed is very dedicated to preserving the role-playing aspect of RPGs. For instance, in an interview with exclusive interview with Screen Rant, saying that Avowed was “an RPG that’s really built around choice and around players defining their character.”

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Choices in Avowed don’t just dictate what happens in the game’s story, but they can also affect the type of experience players want to have. In the same interview with Screen Rant, Patel noted that the developers wanted to create the option to opt in and out of content depending on their preferred playstyle. There are difficulty settings for players who mostly want to experience Avowed’s story, and there are ways to quickly move through conversations for players who prefer combat and exploration. This means player choice is important both in the world of Avowed and from a gameplay perspective.

See Related: Avowed Wiki

Avowed’s Choices Have Big And Small Consequences

Player Choice Is Constantly Taken Into Consideration In Avowed

One of the best things about choices in Avowed is that players won’t have to wait until the end of the game to see the effects of their decisions. Smaller interactions near the beginning of the game will sometimes quickly come back to help or hurt the player, depending on the choice they’ve made. This helps Avowed show players right away that they’ll need to be careful about what they choose to do.

Avowed gives the player just as much control over the big events in the game as it does smaller ones.

A good example of this is also one of the earliest decisions players make in Avowed. Shortly after starting, players will meet an imprisoned woman named Ilora who they can decide to help free or leave in her cell. After freeing Ilora, she will briefly the player before heading out, but her impact on the game doesn’t end there. Later, during the Escape Plan quest, Ilora will help the player negotiate a deal with a ship captain to ferry some Aedyrans out of Paradis. It’s still nice to see player choice incorporated even in smaller side quests.

As the game progresses, players will also be able to make larger choices that have greater effects on the game’s story. Whether it’s deciding where to send a large group of people, or the entire fate of the Living Lands, Avowed gives the player just as much control over the big events in the game as it does smaller ones. This helps any given playthrough of the game feel tailored specifically to how each player decides to interact with the Living Lands and its inhabitants.

Avowed Continues Obsidian’s Legacy Of Respecting Player Choice

Obsidian Has Made A Name For Itself With Complex Choice-Based RPGs

Pirates fight aboard a ship in Pillars of Eternity II

Obsidian is somewhat known for creating complex RPGs that offer players a lot of agency. The studio showed its skill in creating morally grey narratives full of interesting choices from the jump with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. This trend continued in Obsidian games like Fallout: New Vegas and the Pillars of Eternity series which directly led to Avowed. Respecting player choices seems to be a high priority for the developer, so it’s nice to see Avowed continuing that trend.

avowed double pistol wielding in first person

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For long-time fans of Obsidian games, Avowed will likely be a new favorite, as it fits nicely in with the studio’s past work. It’s also hopefully a sign that The Outer Worlds 2 will follow suit when it comes out later this year. Players who have never played one of Obsidian’s RPGs are in for a big treat, and will likely find a reason to revisit some of their older work after playing Avowed.

Source: Game Rant