Xbox has a number of hotly anticipated exclusives on the horizon, includingIndiana Jones and the Great Circle,Avowed,Fable, andSouth of Midnight. All of them look set to finally correct the baffling lack of Xbox exclusives, which makes me, and I imagine many others, very happy. Xbox has been a bit behind when it comes to justifying buying its expensive, not-so-new-anymore console, but thankfully that is all about to change.
Importantly, at least for me, one of its upcoming exclusives has me finally excited to be an Xbox owner. While there are plenty ofgreat Xbox Game Pass games, I’ve always struggled to find a reason to hold onto my dusty Xbox Series S. As a big fan of the 360 era, I found myself compelled to invest in Xbox’s hardware this generation, but it has yet to pay off. Of course, as I’ve alluded to,one of its upcoming games has gotten me more excited than I have been for any game in recent memory.
Avowed Is Shaping Up To Be The Next Skyrim
It Looks Like A Genuinely Compelling Adventure
Avowedrecently got a string ofpreviewsshowcasing the start of the game, and they were extremely glowing. I’m not usually one to get easily sucked in by previews, butAvowedis absolutely shaping up to be everything I have wanted from a fantasy RPG for a long time. It baffles me how few games likeSkyrimthere are and how the majority of fantasy RPGs tend to be confined to the wonderful yet overwhelming CRPG genre. As much as I adore the likes ofBaldur’s Gate 3, there is something so appealing about the blockbuster simplicity ofSkyrim.
Much like howFallout: New Vegaselevated theFalloutformula while retaining much of its charm,Avowedmay enhanceSkyrim’sexperience, and that is an incredibly appealing prospect to me.
Of course, that’s not to say thatAvowedis an overly simple RPG, as that absolutely doesn’t seem to be the case. Much like howFallout: New Vegaselevated theFalloutformula while retaining much of its charm,Avowedmay enhanceSkyrim’sexperience, and that is an incredibly appealing prospect to me. By far the one aspect thatSkyrimgot so perfectly right was its exploration, which, no matter how simple the reward ended up being, consistently felt satisfying. There was a wonderful sense of discovery found throughout all ofSkyrimthatAvowedis seemingly bringing back.
Additionally, according to the more positive previews,Avowed’smany unique featuresseemingly help it stand out from its contemporaries, and, most importantly,its gorgeous world is brimming with genuinely fun content to discover. However, it’s not just the fact thatAvowedis getting rave previews that have me excited, but rather the fact that it both finally gives me an excuse to dust off my Series S and offers me a strong alternative to the rathercontroversialDragon Age: The Veilguard.
Avowed Could Beat Veilguard In A Big Way
Dialogue And Choices Seem Far Better
Dragon Age: The Veilguardhas a lot ofincredibly positive aspectsthat make it a fairly competent high-fantasy adventure that appealed to me when it first launched. Admittedly, I enjoyed a lot of whatVeilguardhad to offer, even if it was severely lacking in a lot of respects. However, once the credits rolled, I felt that what I had been craving all along were those missing features, the sense that choices actually mattered, that I could truly roleplay any type of character, good or evil, and that romance was more than a surface-level mechanic.
Avowed Developers On Making A Game Where “The Politics Are As Dangerous As The Creatures”
The developers behind upcoming fantasy RPG Avowed talk with Screen Rant at Summer Game Fest about returning to the Pillars of Eternity universe.
Avowedlooks set to right all of those wrongs, at least, again, according to those previews. The choices made when creating a character, for example, are referenced multiple times in the early portion of the game, giving weight to them in a way thatThe Veilguardfailed to achieve. Similarly, exploration seems to be a far bigger focus inAvowed, as aforementioned. WhileDragon Age: The Veilguardhas plenty of opportunities to explore, it often feels shallow thanks to the limited pool of attractive loot worth getting.
Perhaps most importantly, at least to me, is thatAvowedlets you be genuinely mean to your companions. While I’m not exactly one for going around berating my digital friends, I do think it adds a lot to the believability of a game world where characters can be more than, at worst, passive toward the player and vice versa.Dragon Age: The Veilguard’soverly sweet approach to companionsmeant that it never felt like any conflicts could arise and be subsequently solved. This made the dynamic feel far too skewed towards a sycophantic relationship rather than an equal one.
Obsidian Entertainment has a good track record of producing well-written games that go on to become critically acclaimed for doing exactly what players wantedVeilguardto do.
Of course, there is every possibility thatAvowedonly manages to accomplish this in its early portion and ditches it all immediately afterward. However, Obsidian Entertainment has a good track record of producing well-written games that go on to become critically acclaimed for doing exactly what players wantedVeilguardto do. Its stories are mature and nuanced, its characters likable yet morally complex, and its worlds are more cleverly thought out. Suffice it to say,Avowedis coming at the perfect time to help cure myVeilguardblues.
Avowed Will Likely Be The Xbox Series X’s First Good Exclusive
Nothing Else Has Quite Grabbed Me
It’s clear that both PlayStation and Xbox have failed somewhat at producing compelling exclusives that warrant spending hundreds of dollars on a new console. However, for the most part, I’ve managed to justify my PS5, albeit only just.My Series S, on the other hand, remains practically unusedas Xbox has failed to give me any real reason to play on it.Starfieldwas a huge disappointmentfor me,Hellblade 2was poorly reviewed,Halo Infinitewas a mess at launch, and I’ve never been a bigForzafan.
Of course, the recentSTALKER 2reviewed well, and I’m enjoying it, although its buggy state is making it hard to get fully invested in.Avowed, however, seems like a genuinely compelling experience,one that I could absolutely imagine myself buying an Xbox for if I didn’t already own one. It also seems like the perfect game to tide me overuntilElder Scrolls 6releasesas well as all the other intriguing-looking Xbox exclusives, likeSouth of Midnight,Fable,Towerborne, andPerfect Dark.
Xbox’s Most Exciting Exclusive Has Bad News For Series X Players
As Xbox fans around the world prepare for Avowed’s launch, Obsidian has bad news for Xbox Series X players hoping for a next-gen experience.
I hope that everyone else is getting more use out of their Xboxes than me, as frankly, I feel like a bit of an outlier when it comes to not enjoying the publisher’s recent output. However, I am excited to finally get on board the bandwagon and start tooting the Xbox horn whenAvowedreleases in 2025. There is a very good chance thatAvowedcould become one of my all-time favorite games, and I haven’t felt that way about a game in an incredibly long time.
