Summary
Avowedhas been looming on the horizon since its initial reveal in 2020. Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming dark fantasy FPS RPG will take much of the groundwork and significant world building that was constructed for the studio’s prior CRPG series,Pillars of Eternity, and expand on them while telling a new story.Avowedwill also place fans in a previously unseen part ofPoE’s land of Eora, promising intriguing additions to the existing lore and further fleshing out the setting.
Earlier this year,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the highly anticipated second entry in the modern remake series of the beloved JRPG classic, was released to wide acclaim. AsRebirthcontinued the tale of Cloud Strifeand friends, one noticeable difference from 2020’sFinal Fantasy 7 Remakewas in the size of the overworld and the manner that fans are granted access to each subsequent locale within it.Rebirthwas much bigger thanRemake, pound for pound. However, it also took more of an “open-zone” approach, partitioning portions of the world out incrementally as the story advanced versus being completely explorable from the start. Based on what Obsidian has stated and shown so far about its intents forAvowed, it looks like it may end up feeling closely akin toRebirth’s design philosophy in this area.
Avowedhas previously been compared toSkyrimsince its announcement, but the developer has commented on the differences that will separate them, including its overall scale and other elements.
Avowed’s World Design Could Heavily Mirror Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Regional Divisions
Compared toFinal Fantasy 7 Remake,Rebirth’s map is assuredly much larger.FF7 Remakewas mostly contained to Midgarand the immediate surrounding areas of the city, in many cases displaying an almost linear design through various sections.Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthopened up the land of Gaia to encompass an impressive swathe of the landmass. Still, as large as these sections are, they are gated off by major story events, and fans are not technically free to roam and explore all of them from the very beginning.
While this direction makes sense narratively in the grand scheme, and it would likely be quite odd if, for example, players could visit theGold Saucer inFF7 Rebirthwell before it becomes relevant or necessary for the story, it does, by nature, preclude it from being classified as truly “open-world”, at least by strictly traditional definitions. In practice, whileFF7 Rebirthmay not feel as restrictive as described, it nevertheless has firm boundaries in what areas of the world are accessible at any given point.
Why Avowed’s Map Design Could Contain Major Shades of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s
Obsidian has been transparent aboutthe scale ofAvowed’s world, with it apparently having undergone a couple of revisions throughout development. At present, expectations are thatAvowedwill take a similar approach to the studio’s previous sci-fi title,The Outer Worlds.Fans' progression throughAvowed’s region of The Living Lands will seemingly be closely tied to significant plot advancements, being parceled out sequentially ala bothTOWandFF7 Rebirth.
None of this is to say that this is inherently inferior or not fitting forAvowed’s vision, though. Parallel toFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s seven major regions, if the story factors are in place, this could then smoothly translate to an enjoyable part of the greater experience. Accessing further areas inAvowedcould then feel like a reward unto itself, versus giving players the absolute freedom to go wherever they wish from the start, and possibly detracting from the carefully crafted tale that Obsidian is aiming to tell. The decision to haveAvowed’s world and map function in a manner that can be likened toFF7 Rebirthimplies it will be integral to the narrative in the same ways. And Obsidian focusing on incorporating this aspect similarly indicates it has a clear path in mind to make it work in its favor.
