It has been a few weeks since Obsidian Entertainment surprised the Microsoft community with the announcement of its first-person fantasy RPGAvowed. Apart from the debut trailer, there is still not much information out there about the upcoming game. Now, it appears that many players are already expectingbig things forAvowed, with some hoping for it to become a spiritual successor toSkyrim, at least beforeThe Elder Scrolls 6releases.
Skyrimis without a doubt one of the most successful fantasy RPGs to date, which is evident with its huge fanbase who has since remained loyal to the game for nearly a decade now. However, if Obsidian truly wants toeclipse the success ofSkyrimwithAvowed, it must offer an even better gaming experience for players, and one way it could achieve this is to look at one feature from another popular fantasy RPG game, which is BioWare’sDragon Agefranchise.
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What Should Avowed ‘Steal’ From Dragon Age?
Although theDragon Agefranchise is not as popular as Bethesda’sSkyrim, at least in longevity, it has one better feature. That’s the way it incorporates the player’s companions in the game. FromOriginstoInquisition, companions in theDragon Agefranchise are just as important to the story as the player’s character. Interestingly enough, some companions in the series have since appeared in more than one game, which is something that the player’s character, apart fromHawke inDragon Age 2, hasn’t done. This just goes to show just how important some companions are inDragon Ageto the overall plot of the franchise.
In comparison,Skyrim’sfollowersare not as involved in the game’s story as those inDragon Ageare. Sure, players may need to complete a specific side quest for a certain follower to have them follow the player permanently. On the other hand, there are also some companions that would only be with the player during a duration of a specific side quest. However, one thing that is lacking in these followers is a deeper connection to the player and the game’s story. WhileSkyrimandDragon Ageare similar games in relation to genre, their gameplay is vastly different from one another with the former favoring a true open-world experience while the other putting a heavy emphasis on the story but is still set in a semi-open world environment.
Why Should Avowed Implement Dragon Age’s Companion System?
Although it is still unclear which direction Obsidian plans to takeAvowed, it could still offer players an even better experience overall by adapting the morein-depth companion system of theDragon Age franchiseeven if the game offers the same level of freedom asSkyrim. This way, companions won’t just serve as an extra hand in combat or as extra inventory for players to store their battle loot.
Additionally, having a deeper companion system would also allowAvowedto tell an even better story by offering personal side quests and storylines for companions that would have a bigger impact on the game’s story. Also, having aDragon Age-level companion system inAvowedwould also makeromances even more meaningfulshould the game allow players to pursue companions.
In the end, given thatAvowedis still in its early stages of development, there is no way of knowing how the game would eventually tackle the companion system, granted that it has one in the first place. Although there are many elements inSkyrimthatAvowedcould adapt and even improve upon, it is without a doubt thatDragon Age’scompanions are vastly superiortoSkyrim’sfollowers. IfAvowedwill include memorable companions in the game, then it is already slightly better thanSkyrim, at least in that one aspect.
Avowedis in development for the PC and Xbox Series X.
