Avowed

[Metroid66]

I've got 4 hours in on this since launch, including an unusual day session today because I've (half) blagged the wife that I'm feeling under the weather and need to take it easy for a busy weekend's work.🤧😃. Will look to get to level 5 tonight.

 

I'm really liking it. It's looking and playing really well on PC, with a saturated graphical style similar to the Outer Worlds, but very much refined.

 

It's very early, and I don't want to end up with egg on my face by over-enthusing, but it's far better than I was actually expecting. 

 

What I want from an open world RPG is, just now and then, to happen upon an NPC just through exploration, who draws you into a quest that branches into numerous paths and lasts for ages, offering lore and moral dilemmas along the way.

 

That's happened already. Great. But it happened rather early in Starfield, and never happed again. So, here's hoping.

 

I'm working on a one handed shield bearer on this first play thru. I've heard there are easier builds, but the combat is so fast, brutal and well put together that I'm having a whale of a time. I'd say it's one of the best first person mêlée games I've ever experienced. You're character really does what you want her to, and you know instantly if you've run out of steam in a fight, with a very well put together UI for things like stamina and  special move cooldowns.

 

I'm loving it up to now.

 

[Nag]

I've got to agree with this mostly (not the PC bit... I'm on Series X)... playing on balanced mode with unlocked framerate enabled. 

 

My character is running around whacking things with one handed weapons in their main hand and holding a Grimoire in their offhand to enable easier spellcasting. Gonna concentrate on medium armour with perks that knock back the disabilities of wearing those sets.

 

I'm liking how bright and cheerful everything looks even though some of the notes and whatnot I've read already are actually quite dark... off to a good start for me too then.

[mmmark]

Avowed is fun. Lots of things to get into I hadn’t expected. Very rpg with all its numbers and stuff to do but not overwhelmingly so. 

Damn too many games I have on the go now.

[Maf]

I got to the first town and uninstalled. Boring ass Skyrim also-ran 

[mmmark]

You mean you took the boat from the starting area to where the game begins? 
 

Played more today and yeah love it more. Might turn the difficulty down one notch tho. I don’t know whether to wand or sword my way through. I don’t want to be just average at both and struggle.

[Metroid66]

Try those bounty hunter missions in Paradis. General exploration, too. I've picked up some killer gear that's seen me prevail against 💀💀 and 💀💀💀 enemies.

 

Having said that it is an RPG, so you can always 'come back stronger later.'

 

I think I've done what @Mafdid here on a game. In fact I think I did it on Skyrim 😀. I've played that fucker about 9 times since.

If you're not in the mood then that's it, really.

[Nag]

I got the second companion today, the dwarf... are we allowed to call him a dwarf? Who knows nowadays and quite frankly who fucking cares.🤣

 

I know you don't get the third until moving areas so I'm gonna spend my time traipsing around this island for the foreseeable...

[Nag]

Don't know if this has received a patch overnight or something but my quests are now missing the difficulty indicators... so I have no idea if I'm wondering off for no other reason than to get my arse kicked.

 

This needs sorting ASAP.

[shinymcshine]

Played for around 3 hrs and just done the...

 

Spoiler

Fight with the diseased bear to rescue the ambassador 

 

It's okay - doesn't feel particularly open world - more like areas with some optional paths to explore - and a bit frustrating that you cant sometimes backtrack due to going down ledges you can't then climb etc.

 

So it seems a bit reminiscent of those early PS1/PS2 adventure RPGs (e.g. Heroes of Might and Magic, Summoner 1/2) more than it does Elder Scrolls.

 

But, I quite like PoE setting, from their CRPGs so I'll stick with it and see how it goes.

[Nag]

I don't think this was ever sold on being open world, was it?

[Nag]

Had a weird bug earlier... confronted someone (being vague here) in a cistern and decided to let them go peacefully, yet when the conversation ended the whole group attacked me and I couldn't damage them at all... luckily the game autosaves right as the conversation ended so reloading sets the game back to the state it should be at.

[Maf]

I knew it would get to me but the first thing I hated about this game was the dialogue and dialogue choices. That opening cutscene was about 30 minutes long and I just don’t care at all

 

I think what I’d really like to see from this genre is a game where every interaction is completely optional. If you don’t want to stop and talk to anyone, then you don’t have too. If that means you never end up completing the story? Well fuck it, that’s the choice. But you should be allowed to just play the game and stop when you want to stop not when the game wants the player to. Even in the tutorial I started mashing past the dialogue and picking whatever. I don’t even know if I want to play this game yet, don’t waste my time figuring that out with digital characters talking nonsense at me

 

Games have such a big problem of trying to drop a bunch of bullshit lore before I’ve even pressed any buttons. I have to care about playing the game first before I care about the world, etc. this is why games are games and not books, etc. Story should be a nice diversion in between gameplay when I need a break or some downtime 

 

I almost might be done with the way these games do conversations as well. Just two characters standing there, sometimes walking about, having the most stilted conversations ever

 

It would be more exciting instead of picking sentences if you just had 10 seconds to press a button for a kind of answer. The way Mass Effect used to have paragon or renegade interrupts, but expand on that and that’s the whole conversation system

[mmmark]

So anyway… those skulls on sticks is that an indication of the difficulty of the quest?

 

I think wand plus book of magic is a lot of fun but I seem to be open to attack easily. Still experimenting. 
 

6 hours ago, Nag said:

I don't think this was ever sold on being open world, was it?

Nope, just seemed to be assumptions I guess? Which I understand. 

[Nag]

9 minutes ago, mmmark said:

So anyway… those skulls on sticks is that an indication of the difficulty of the quest?

 

If they're what I think you mean yeah... do you still have them then? As mine have disappeared. 

[Metroid66]

I must have the wrong idea what an open world is. I just thought it meant you get to the map and you can just wonder over it having adventures, limited sometimes by higher level enemies, oceans or broken bridges as in some GTA stuff. That's not to say another area won't be forthcoming, as in Witcher 3.

[mmmark]

7 hours ago, Nag said:

 

If they're what I think you mean yeah... do you still have them then? As mine have disappeared. 

They are yeah. Maybe they’re not a danger to you anymore or something?

 

6 hours ago, Metroid66 said:

I must have the wrong idea what an open world is. I just thought it meant you get to the map and you can just wonder over it having adventures, limited sometimes by higher level enemies, oceans or broken bridges as in some GTA stuff. That's not to say another area won't be forthcoming, as in Witcher 3.

 

Not calling this open world is nit picking tbh but it’s not my rules. Basically there’s massive areas connected by loading screens. 

[shinymcshine]

I mentioned the 'open world' thing based on my limited experience of the first few areas, where it felt that rather than being able to freely explore I was being guided down a linear path, often with no opportunity to turn around and explore previously visited locations.

 

If the rest of the game opens up then all the better for it.

[Nag]

10 hours ago, mmmark said:

Maybe they’re not a danger to you anymore or something?

 

Nah, I had quests with three skulls next to them... there's no way I've levelled up that much.

 

Edit... new quests seem to still have them, so it seems like I'll need to just steamroll my existing list and anything new will be back to normal

 

 

3 hours ago, shinymcshine said:

If the rest of the game opens up then all the better for it.

 

It does open up in the next area, as far as I can tell you're free to wonder off as you like.

[mmmark]

2 hours ago, Nag said:

Edit... new quests seem to still have them, so it seems like I'll need to just steamroll my existing list and anything new will be back to normal

Looks like a common bug after the patch

 

Difficulty icons gone

[shinymcshine]

Spent a good few hours wandering around (6.5 hrs on my last save) so thought it was finally time to press on with the main quest and actually go to Paradis.

 

You don't seem to get all that much experience from free wandering and killing occasional things (even some guy with a skull marker in the Godless area), and finding a treasure map, so thought I'd better toe the line and do some more quests in order to progress and level up.