The wait for Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed is finally coming to a close as its February 18 release date draws near, with the RPG shaping up to be an exciting extension of the Pillars of Eternity franchise. More details are starting to surface regarding the finer mechanics that the title will or will not include, with the absence of one feature in particular drawing some question marks from fans.
In a recent interview, it was confirmed by Obsidian Entertainment that Avowed will not launch with a New Game Plus mode, with there being no plans to eventually add this feature to the game. Not only is it a shame to see this fairly common RPG feature be missing from Avowed, but a lack of New Game Plus could directly impact the replayability of the title. Avowed is a title specifically designed to be enjoyed over the course of multiple playthroughs, making the absence of New Game Plus more restrictive than it might initially seem.
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The Lack of New Game Plus in Avowed Takes Some Freedom Away From the Player
New Game Plus is becoming a growing staple of games with RPG elements, allowing players to start a new playthrough of a title without losing the progress and development of their character. Players are usually allowed to keep things like equipment, skills, levels, items, and more, through a fresh New Game Plus run, with enemies usually scaling their difficulty to slightly counteract these benefits. Games like Starfield have even centered their end-games entirely around the concept of New Game Plus, with this being an excellent way to give near-endless replayability to a title when done well.
The story of Avowed sees the player take control of a powerful envoy of the Aedyr Empire, sent to the Living Lands to bring an end to the deadly and mysterious Dream Scourge. Through multiple questlines and potential companions, Obsidian Entertainment have been very vocal in the number of potential endings that Avowed possesses, with these likely being based around the many ways the player can decide to end or potentially embrace the Dream Scourge.
When considering this clear focus on narrative variety and multiple playthroughs, the confirmation that Avowed will not feature a New Game Plus mode is disappointing. Like other Obsidian RPGs such as The Outer Worlds, the studio is encouraging players to tackle subsequent playthoughs from completely new save-files, and while Avowed does seemingly have the variety to justify this, players should still be afforded the choice to replay the game with an entirely new character or to continue with a pre-existing one.
Avowed’s Wide Gameplay Variety Could Have Been Complimented By New Game Plus
As expected, Avowed‘s character progression involves multiple skill-trees as well as a comprehensive weapon upgrading system, with players having no choice but to discard the time put into these elements of character progression without a New Game Plus option. Avowed‘s wide range of weapon options only add to this issue, with players potentially being locked into certain weapon types without the added benefit of upgrading a variety of them over the course of multiple playthroughs via the same character file.
Alongside traditional RPG weapon types like swords, axes, bows, and magic, Avowed will also allow players to use a range of firearms to fight the many threats of the Living Lands.
Repeat playthroughs of Avowed to explore the game’s varied endings still seems like an exciting prospect without New Game Plus, and tackling each playthrough with a fresh character should add a level of challenge while encouraging different approaches. Despite this, it seems remiss to outright refuse players the choice of New Game Plus, which could have been a perfect fit for the importance that Obsidian has placed on fully exploring every narrative thread that Avowed has to offer.
- Released
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February 18, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence
- Publisher(s)
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Xbox Game Studios