re: Avowed is looking like it's going to be another great game from Obsidian

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If buying a couple games a year makes you poor you probably shouldn’t be talking about others.

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Some of you are so stupid.

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These flaws are largely imagined

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It’s fine if you feel this way. As I said earlier in the thread though I don’t think your stance is the majority opinion. Xbox would be wise to begin introducing a lot more quality control imo, lest eventually the value proposition of gamepass (which to be clear I do still right now believe is the best in gaming) be torn down by mediocrity.

It is worth asking why they cost so much now to make though? It isnt simply due to inflation alone. There are other factors at play here the studios and publishers have control over but refuse to reign in and then insist on passing the cost on to us all under the banner of "muh inflation."

I really really hope Claire Obscure explodes in sales not because im really excited for it but because theyre selling it for 50$. Most games could actually likely benefit from cost reductions, not increases.

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It’s fine if you feel this way. As I said earlier in the thread though I don’t think your stance is the majority opinion. Xbox would be wise to begin introducing a lot more quality control imo, lest eventually the value proposition of gamepass (which to be clear I do still right now believe is the best in gaming) be torn down by mediocrity.

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I think some of this is due to some of these studios being new to Microsoft. Redfall would be a good example of a game that was clearly not ready but they had just purchased Bethesda and were faced with a "release it or trash it" scenario. They've essentially said as much in interviews. I never played Redfall because it was obviously a dumpster fire, but I've been happy with nearly everything I've played on Game Pass.

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BTW, Clair Obscur is hitting Game Pass day one.

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I mean this is a good thing for the users of game pass. As I said above even though I have my nitpicks with the quality of games the model produces (which really only applies to xbox studios or games that are going to rely on gamepass for a majority of its users) its still likely the best value proposition in gaming.

As I also said above though I have no issue buying the game, in fact I think it extremely important this game be supported financially due to them selling it for only 50$.

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I think it extremely important this game be supported financially due to them selling it for only 50$.

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Definitely need more games releasing at this price tag. I think AAA and AAAA games are getting beat out left and right by the "lower tier" games. Hopefully that will start a trend away from the massive, soulless games.

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I think a lot of that has to do with all the effort both companies put into the MS/ABK purchase (MS in completing it, Sony in opposing it).

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That literally has nothing to do with it. It has everything to do with publisher consolidation, high interest rates making it more expensive to do business, and the cost of game development reaching exorbitant levels thus requiring everything to have mainstream appeal.

We are in a very dark period for games. Almost everything that releases is a letdown or just straight up trash. I’ve been wowed by more indie and AA budget games recently than AAA work

A lot of the problem is that game development is too corporate. WIth that comes a desire to make games that appear to the largest demographic possible (and hence look, feel, and sound exactly the same) as well as the desire to rush products out the door before they are ready in order to make quarterly profit.

I would also say though that the big AAA studios have a lot of people working there who have zero passion whatsoever for what they do, and it's just like any 9-5 job to them. This is what has lead to such bland design.

I played through it already, it's a fun little game. Probably took me ~25 hours and I didn't do everything I could.

I chose the difficultly level below the highest, so combat was tough and engaging as a strictly melee character.

Things I liked:

- exploring felt natural, good parkour elements in there
- dialogue was above average with some skill based checks in there for good measure
- combat was meaty without feeling either too OP or UP.
- interactivity with companions was crazy, they have something to say about almost everything you do and the same goes for talking amongst themselves. I feel like Obsidian really put a lot of focus on this part.

Things that need work:

- the inventory system is not great and the same goes for the crafting/enchanting system. The unique weapons you find allow you to upgrade into one of two branches but they don't feel unique enough.
- feels like a lot of the unique combat effects and combos are in the magic skill tree which I didn't dabble in at all.
- this is kind of limited in annoyance but something to mention. Each companion has an environment interaction to remove things in the game world but you can find a way around it for every companion but one. There is no way to dispel an illusion without that character and it annoys me.

Overall I'd give it a 7.5 or an 8.0 - kind of the same thing I felt about Outer Worlds. It's not Skyrim, don't go into looking to poke and prod and get a reaction from every single object in the game and you might find you have a good time.