Unlike similar first-person action RPGs, Avowed does not feature an open world, but this decision ultimately makes the game better. While the world of Avowed may not be one contiguous map, that doesn’t mean it feels small. There are still plenty of chances to explore, and the game still offers the sense of adventure players expect from a title like this. However, by sectioning its map into smaller regions, Avowed allows for some unique benefits that similar games can’t manage due to their single-map structure. Avowed’s story in particular benefits from this decision.
Avowed is far from the first RPG to opt for a more segmented world. Obsidian’s very first RPG, Knights of the Old Republic 2, had a similar structure, with players traveling between different planets. Obsidian maintained this trend with its unique sci-fi IP, The Outer Worlds. The Pillars of Eternity games that preceded Avowed also had players traveling between distinct areas of the world as opposed to wandering around one big map. Obsidian is a company known for creating RPGs that give players a lot of agency, and it seems like no coincidence that the company oftens avoid open worlds.
Avowed Isn’t An Open-World RPG
Avowed Is Split Into Four Regions
It’s important to make a distinction between what is and isn’t considered an “open-world” game when saying that Avowed isn’t one. Avowed not having an open world doesn’t mean players are set on one linear path through the game. There are plenty of opportunities for exploration within the game’s regions, and players have the freedom to complete objectives within a region in different orders and in a variety of ways. The difference between Avowed and a true open-world game is that the entire map of Avowed’s Living Lands isn’t available right from the start of the game.
The above images show only a part of each map. Each overall region is larger.
Open-world games like Skyrim or Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild give players access to their entire maps from the start of the game (short prologue sections notwithstanding). In contrast, players will need to advance the story in Avowed to unlock new regions. There are four regions in Avowed: Dawnshore, Emerald Stair, Shatterscarp, and Galawain’s Tusks. Players can travel back to previous regions, but they can’t go to any region they want right from the start of the game. These regions also don’t all exist on one contiguous map, instead remaining confined to their own maps.
Choices & Consequences Matter More Because Of Defined Zones
Having Defined Zones Allows For Game States To Be Altered Off-Screen
Although a sectioned-off world may seem more restrictive than an open one, Avowed’s distinct regions actually make it easier for the game to give players more agency. Because entire sections of Avowed’s worlds are inaccessible from the beginning of the game, these sections can change dramatically depending on a player’s choices. Since they aren’t loaded in at all times, the game is able to adjust each region’s current state based on the choices players make before they’re allowed to go there. This is an option that fully open-world games don’t have.
Related
Avowed Hits Impressive Steam Charts Milestone Before Official Release
Days before its release, Avowed has already hit a major milestone on Steam’s Top Sellers Chart, proving that the RPG already has a lot of fans.
In a true open-world game, each section of the map needs to more-or-less function like it’s the first place that the player is visiting, as it very well could be. While it is possible to make some changes to different parts of an open-world game based on a player’s choices — Skyrim’s Stormcloak Rebellion is a good example — there’s more of a limit on how big these changes can be. This is because there’s no easy way for a game to make major changes to its world state when the entire map exists in one instance.
In contrast, Avowed knows that players won’t see the Emerald Stair until they’ve completed certain quests within Dawnshore. This allows the game to account for any decisions made in the first region and load them in when players first visit Emerald Stair. Later regions can account for even more player choices, as they can work with decisions made in any of the previous sections of the game. Galawain’s Tusks, the final region players can visit, can therefore look different based on choices made in each preceding region. This allows the game to be shaped more distinctly around player choices.
Related
Avowed Review: The Fate Of The Living Lands Is In Your Hands
Avowed is the latest RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, and it’s an incredible showcase of the beloved studio’s writing and world-building.
Because players need to load into each region individually, this also allows choices made in a subsequent region to then affect a previous region. This can end up making a world feel real despite being segmented into distinct levels because it feels more alive and able to be interacted with. For a choice-based RPG like Avowed, this can be a better choice than a truly open world.
Avowed Prioritizes Detailed Choices Over Open Worlds
Avowed’s Development Team Chose To Focus On Player Agency
Avowed includes aspects of exploration, but the game’s main priority is its role-playing. In an interview with Xbox Wire, the game’s developers made it clear that they opted out of an open-world model specifically to give players’ choices more weight. Both Region Director Berto Ritger and Narrative Designer Kate Dollarhyde described how splitting the game into different regions helped pace the game’s story better and shape the world around different decisions. It’s not that Avowed’s team didn’t consider an open world, or couldn’t make one, it’s that they knew not having one was a better fit for their game.
Related
“I’m Really Excited For Players Just To Get Into The Exploration”: Avowed Developers On Worldbuilding, Quests & Its Annihilation Influences
ScreenRant spoke with Avowed’s Game Director Carrie Patel and Region Director Berto Ritger to discuss the game’s world-building and RPG elements.
By prioritizing choice, Avowed doesn’t just create a more individualized experience for players but also makes the game highly replayable. Providing the ability to make big changes to the world of the game and the flow of its story will inevitably make players curious about the outcomes of other choices they could have made. While an open-world game allows the freedom to replay a game in a different order and ignore certain quests the next time around, the individual story beats will stay largely the same each time.
It’s no coincidence that RPGs that put a higher emphasis on story choice continue to use this model. As of now, having individualized sections of a game world as opposed to one big map makes it easier for developers to incorporate branching choices into a game’s story. Although Avowed is an action RPG similar to open-world titles like Skyrim, it’s clear that the developers wanted its story to skew closer to something like Baldur’s Gate 3, where player choices have a large impact on the story from one section to the next.
Source: Xbox Wire
- Released
-
February 18, 2025
- ESRB
-
Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
-
Xbox Game Studios
