Once famed as a developer of licensed sequels like Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: the Sith Lords or Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian Entertainment has come into their own as a game studio, publishing original IPs such as the survival sandbox Grounded and the first-person open-world fantasy RPG Elder Scrolls VI?
Obsidian Entertainment's last best-seller, a colorful open world sci-fi RPG called a spiritual successor to Fallout: New Vegas, an Obsidian-developed Fallout game widely held to be the best in the post-apocalyptic franchise to date. In the wake of a troubled development cycle for Fallout 76, many Fallout fans have viewed The Outer Worlds as the focused, more sophisticated Fallout game they should have gotten from Bethesda, which has made some wonder: what would an Elder Scrolls title look like in Obsidian's hands?
Information about both Elder Scrolls VI is currently scare, but the trailer for Avowed is far more informative than the trailer for Elder Scrolls VI. In The Elder Scrolls VI's trailer, all viewers see is a slow coastal pan along a water-torn coast, followed shortly after by the main logo. In the trailer for Avowed, on the other hand, players see actual story events with all the gravitas of the Lord of the Rings movies: archers atop a castle fire flaming arrows at undead giants, a lone adventurer draws a rune-carved sword and traces a magical glyph with their other hand, while an unseen flaming creature roars from the entrance of a vast ageway and a narrator waxes about "The Weight of a Crown." From these elements alone, RPG gamers have gained a better picture of Avowed than they have for Elder Scrolls VI, while also getting a clear sense of how Obsidian and Bethesda develop games differently.
Obsidian's Gameplay Tends To Be More Professional
Bethesda has a long-running reputation for glitches in their RPGs, sporting minor graphical errors and physics engine quirks that don't break the game but do break immersion to a degree. A famous example of this is the infamous glitch in Skyrim where a giant's heavy attack sends the player's corpse soaring into the stratosphere.
Obsidian's more recent games, on the other hand, have a consistently smaller number of glitches upon release, thanks to a design philosophy which emphasizes developing a smaller number of quality gameplay features rather than a larger number of functional features. An example of this is Obsidian's decision to cut out unarmed combat in The Outer Worlds due to how awkward it looked in-game. This more focused, efficient approach to game development may well lead to the Avowed RPG coming out before the Elder Scrolls VI, despite the former being announced earlier.
Obsidian's Storytelling Is More Nuanced Than Bethesda's
Both Obsidian and Bethesda have a reputation for creating well-drawn worlds for their RPGs, with fascinating details, beautiful scenery, and a colorful cast of NPCs. When it comes to the storylines, however, works like The Outer Worlds and the Pillars of Eternity games tend to have fewer, more vivid ing characters with character arcs greatly influenced by the player character's decisions. Players frequently also have more non-violent options for dealing with challenges in Obsidian games, ranging from character skill checks to choosing the right remarks in dialogue trees.
Obsidian is a smaller company famed for making smaller, more focused open world RPGs. Bethesda is a larger company that makes larger, more cluttered open world RPGs. If these trends hold true, Avowed and the Elder Scrolls VI may both be able to find their niche in the first-person RPG market. Players who want a game with more breadth can go adventuring across the continent of Tamriel, while gamers looking for a smaller experience with more depth can explore the god-scarred land of Eora.
