Is Avowed open-world? What the developers have said

But what we really love about Elder Scrolls is the open-world nature of the map. Everybody's playthrough is different, and we often get lost in side quests over the main story.

Is this the case with Avowed? Is it truly open-world?

The answer is yes and no. We'd say that Avowed to Elder Scrolls is what The Outer Worlds (another Obsidian game) is to Fallout.

Allow us to explain.

Is Avowed open-world?

The world of Eora is made up of various regions, and you're free to explore each one. So Avowed definitely has open-world elements.

However, if you want to travel between the game's regions, you'll have to fast travel. And this, of course, will bring up a loading screen, which kind of ruins the immersion of an open-world experience.

This is why we say it's like The Outer Worlds; lots of worlds to explore, but it's not one big map.

Perhaps we'll make it plural, then, and say that Avowed has open worlds.

What the developers have said about Avowed's world

The Avowed narrative designer Kate Dollarhyde has actually commented on Avowed having multiple maps, rather than one big one.

In an interview with Xbox Wire, she said this actually serves the game better. This is because huge open-world games can struggle to keep up with where the player is up to with the main story, and have it all reflected across the larger map.

"Pacing is really tough in open-world games," she said. "You never know where the player is and what they’re doing at any given time.

"Having these zones that happen in sequence means we always know what content you've just come from on the critical path. Maybe not what side quests you've done, but we always know you’ve just had this [core] experience."

You can read the full interview now.

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