Thirteen years later, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has proven its lasting appeal by being one of the longest-played single-player games ever made. To this day, players still return to the world of Skyrim to enjoy being creative with unique mods designed by the community, and the many mysteries hidden within the game's world continue to be revealed as players explore the farthest reaches of Skyrim. However, now, Obsidian Entertainment's fantasy RPG Avowed is about to arrive on the scene and may offer one of the very things that has kept Skyrim alive for so long, though Avowed appears to be quite different.
It may seem blasphemous to imply that a game like Avowed would have any chance of standing up to the behemoth that is Skyrim, but it really only needs a few key ingredients to make that happen. One ingredient, in particular, would allow Avowed to continuously provide a fresh experience for the most dedicated players, much like Skyrim has for its community. While the creative and often bizarre mods designed for Skyrim certainly help it to stay above ground, its world is full of secrets that only those who spend a significant amount of time exploring it are able to find. As it turns out, Avowed is very similar in that respect.
Avowed's Secrets Give It a Competitive Edge Against Skyrim
A Significant Contributor to Skyrim's Lifespan Is the Many Secrets Its World Holds
Plenty of different things have contributed to Skyrim's long life, including mods and several re-releases. However, there is one distinct characteristic of Skyrim that is also a significant contributor to its lifespan. In the world of Skyrim, players can find a multitude of secrets, some of which are literally hiding beneath the surface. As players continue to enjoy Skyrim to this day, they are still uncovering many of these mysteries and sharing their findings with friends and those they encounter online. This helps breathe new life into the game and gives it continued relevance, even as more games like it are released.
Many of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim's secrets are rather outlandish, to say the least. For example, there is a secret room called the Dead Body Cleanup Cell, which serves as a place where the bodies of deceased NPCs go to increase the game's performance. This particular room can only be accessed using console commands, so it's amazing that it was ever found in the first place. Other secrets in Skyrim include a chicken reanimator, a giant island filled with Nirnroot, and the fact that fishing improves during rainy weather.
Avowed Will Have Plenty of Missable Secrets That Players May Never Find
While players have yet to explore the Living Lands in Avowed's world of Eora for themselves, it has already been confirmed by Obsidian that there will be plenty of missable secrets for players to find. During an extended gameplay breakdown for Avowed with Obsidian in a January episode of the official Xbox podcast, the game's director, Carrie Patel, said, "One of the big delights of being a developer on a game like this is creating so much for players to find, and knowing that not everybody’s going to seek it out, and not everybody’s gonna find it, but knowing that the players who do are really going to enjoy the secrets they discover."
It's currently unclear what mysteries await players in Avowed, but it will likely be an extensive journey if the secrets are as numerous as they sound. Much like Skyrim, Avowed could very well go on to live a long life as players continuously discover the secrets hidden within its world for years to come. Avowed may not be as large as Skyrim, but that may not stop it from feeling large with so much to uncover.
Avowed
- Released
- February 18, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Welcome to the Living Lands, a mysterious island filled with adventure and danger. Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.
You are the envoy of Aedyr, a distant land, sent to investigate rumors of a spreading plague throughout the Living Lands - an island full of mysteries and secrets, danger and adventure, and choices and consequences, and untamed wilderness. You discover a personal connection to the Living Lands and an ancient secret that threatens to destroy everything. Can you save this unknown frontier and your soul from the forces threatening to tear them asunder?
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
- Franchise
- Pillars of Eternity
- Platform(s)
- Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
