Avowed: Fun Over Immersion – Why Simplicity Works Better

In my opinion, the game titled Avowed has been criticized for not having some shared immersive aspects with similar games, but I believe these critiques tend to overlook the true intent of the game. If you’ve paid attention to discussions about Avowed, you’ll notice numerous comparisons to Skyrim. However, it’s not accurate to assume that Obsidian aimed to create a duplicate of an existing game and fell short. Instead, many of the notable differences appear to me as intentional design decisions made to prioritize entertainment over immersion.

It seems people often confuse immersive game mechanics with those that are captivating, however, the immersion aspect of a game doesn’t automatically make it superior. Many immersive elements in action RPGs can slow down progress and require tedious tasks that aren’t engaging. I found my initial playthrough of Avowed enjoyable enough to start a second one, mainly because the game eliminated the frustrating aspects that typically drain my interest in games like Skyrim. Although Avowed might offer a less immersive experience, for me it results in a more engaging gaming session.

Not Having Ammo Makes Playing A Ranger A Better Option

Avowed Doesn’t Force You To Pick Up Arrows Or Buy Bullets

Just like many players of Skyrim, I’ve experimented with the stealth archer build. Although it was enjoyable, keeping a plentiful supply of arrows felt too cumbersome for my preference. Each fight often left me scrambling to retrieve any remaining arrows, and I frequently found myself having to quickly travel to towns to restock. In my recent playthroughs, I’ve chosen to utilize either melee weapons or magic to steer clear of the hassle associated with ammunition.

In the game Avowed, they effectively resolved the issue by making one straightforward design choice: there is no need for ammunition. You can freely use bows and firearms without wasting time on looting, crafting, or purchasing additional items to keep them functional. This time-saving feature makes the Ranger class more appealing, a role I might not have contemplated playing if I had to consistently manage my ammo stockpile.

In video games like Avowed, having an abundance of ammo for weapons such as guns or bows might not seem particularly immersive, yet it definitely adds a lot of enjoyment. The decision between wielding a gun versus a sword is no longer about practicality or saving time, but solely dependent on your preferred gameplay style. It doesn’t disrupt the immersion to such an extent that it pulls you out of the game, quite the contrary; I found myself more engrossed in Avowed’s story because I could progress at a more natural pace, rather than spending excessive time searching for ammo.

No NPC Schedules Cuts Down On Waiting

NPCs Are Always Where You Need Them To Be

One point often raised about the game Avowed is its absence of schedules for Non-Player Characters (NPCs). In contrast, games like Skyrim or Fallout have NPCs who move around and places like stores that open and close at specific times. While this lends a sense of realism to the game world, it may not enhance the overall gameplay experience. Instead, it introduces unnecessary pauses in the game for no apparent benefit. I can’t grasp what spending time waiting for a store to open brings to my gaming experience.

As a dedicated gamer, I must admit that the “immersive” aspect of games like Skyrim sometimes pushes me to adopt actions that seem rather unrealistic. For instance, I’ve found myself utilizing the wait mechanic numerous times just to skip hours and engage with shopkeepers. This process, while it may be part of the gameplay, is often tedious and takes away valuable playtime. Moreover, considering that I can tolerate the Dragonborn standing still for extended periods, it’s not a stretch to accept that shopkeepers in games like Avowed would always be ready to serve customers during my virtual shopping sprees. After all, suspension of disbelief is part of the gaming experience!

Once again, Avowed simplifies gameplay and maintains a fast-paced experience, which might suggest that the developers intentionally omitted wait functions or schedules, as they were present in Obsidian games like Fallout: New Vegas and The Outer Worlds. This could imply that it was a design choice rather than an oversight or mistake on the part of the developers.

Highlighting Loot Prevents Long Stretches Of Boring Gameplay

Avowed Makes Finding Loot Easier Than More Immersive RPGs

I particularly enjoy how Avowed marks lootable items, as it significantly saves time in the game, even though it may diminish the immersive aspect slightly. In essence, any item that can be looted is illuminated with a noticeable glow, making it simple to spot at a glance. Moreover, chests are distinguished by different colors based on the rarity of their contents inside. Therefore, if you come across a chest that appears golden, you can deduce that it’s worth attempting to reach or using your lock picks on.>

As a quick aside, lock picking is another aspect of Avowed that I really appreciate. Unless someone can develop a lock-picking mini-game that is more than just trial and error, I would much rather a game not have one. Instead of locks with increasingly smaller success windows, Avowed skips the mini-game and simply requires you to have a certain number of lockpicks to open locked chests or doors.

Many people might not share my viewpoint on this, but I’ve noticed that some gamers spend a lot of time searching for valuable items in games like Fallout, poking through drawers, cabinets, and ovens. Avowed, the game you’re playing, recognizes this behavior and offers an option to turn off Loot Shimmer in the UI settings if you prefer a more immersive search experience. However, I don’t believe it’s incorrect for Loot Shimmer to be enabled by default because Avowed appears to prioritize delivering a gameplay experience that avoids wasting time.

In the realm of gaming, immersion has become quite trendy, but it’s essential to recall that a game ought to primarily provide enjoyment. For me, the enhanced immersion of Resident Evil 4 VR is less appealing because while playing, I get a strong sense of impending nausea rather than immersion. Contrarily, Avowed demonstrates that a game need not be an immersive spectacle to be captivating. On the contrary, my engagement in this game was greater than in many action RPGs, primarily because it lacked those monotonous or vexing aspects that often disrupt the gaming experience.

2025-03-03 06:08