If you’ve ever played Skyrim, you already know the deal, medieval settings, a color palette of brown and grey, and a world that takes itself seriously, except when you’re launching a cabbage into orbit with a glitch.
Then along comes Avowed, a game that’s more vibrant, colorful, and, dare we say, fantastical. Obsidian Entertainment, known for Pillars of Eternity and Fallout: New Vegas, had to figure out how to make a fantasy RPG that wasn’t just Skyrim, but different.
By the time Avowed was re-announced in 2023, the game had taken a visible leap from the brooding, grounded aesthetic many expected. Instead of muddy realism, we got a lush, vibrant world that felt less like Medieval Grit and more like Psychedelic Enchantment. The goal? To carve out an identity in a genre largely defined by its moody, dragon-infested cousin.
Why is it so hard to escape Skyrim’s shadow?
Here’s the thing, Bethesda’s Skyrim isn’t just a game, it’s a cultural phenomenon. Since its release in 2011, every open-world fantasy RPG has, in some way, been measured against Skyrim. Want a big open world? Skyrim did it. Want to throw cheese wheels at enemies? Skyrim did that too.
For Avowed, breaking free from this gravitational pull wasn’t just about making the game look different, it was about feeling different. That’s a tall order, considering Obsidian has dabbled in similar medieval fantasy worlds with Pillars of Eternity.
But whereas Skyrim leans into Norse inspirations with cold, harsh environments and a muted color scheme, Avowed decided to crank up the saturation and lean into something more mystical. After the announcement of the game, Avowed game director Carrie Patel said (via Eurogamer),
It is something that felt very different from what a lot of audiences were used to and understood very clearly in terms of, like, a very grounded, grim, serious fantasy. It is grounded, it is serious, but it’s also very colourful, it’s also very fantastical.
Traditionally, darker colors and dreary aesthetics are shorthand for gritty and realistic. But Avowed challenges that idea, proving that just because a game is colorful doesn’t mean it’s not deep or weighty. Imagine if The Witcher 3 had a baby with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, that’s sort of what Obsidian was aiming for.
Avowed is grounded, but also magical
Balancing the serious and the fantastical isn’t easy. Too far in one direction, and RPG purists lose immersion. Too far in the other direction, and it becomes a whimsical fever dream. That’s the tightrope Obsidian had to walk, maintaining deep world-building while embracing a visually striking fantasy setting.
This is where Avowed truly differentiates itself. While Skyrim gives players a rugged, untamed world where every road leads to adventure or a bandit ambush, Avowed layers in the unexpected.
The magic, the creatures, the biomes, all lean into high fantasy rather than Bethesda’s grounded approach. Instead of walking into a village and wondering if it has another blacksmith or tavern, Avowed wants players to step into areas where they’re not entirely sure what’s waiting for them.
And honestly, that’s a breath of fresh air. Sure, Skyrim lets you “Fus Ro Dah” NPCs off a cliff, but does it give you an entire world where color and mysticism intertwine in ways that constantly surprise you? Not really. Avowed might just be Obsidian’s boldest attempt yet to prove that fantasy RPGs don’t have to be washed in shades of brown and sadness to be compelling.
So, while the comparisons to Skyrim are inevitable, Obsidian is doing everything in its power to make sure Avowed isn’t just another Skyrim-like. It’s a challenge, sure, but one they seem more than ready to embrace, with plenty of color along the way.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
