What I would like to see in sequel/expansion.

[Wormerine]

I have been mulling over why Avowed missed a mark for me.

1) Combat - I think Avowed suffers from lack of unique encounters. While combat is satisfying, vast majority of enemies comprise of the same template - be it Xourips, undead or Dreamthralls, they are all essencially the same thing. Than there are couple monster enemies: bears, spiders, Wraths, etc. which are all ok, though they don't exactly shake things up too much. Where Avowed really lacks IMO is lack of proper bosses. Bosses in this game (including the final one), mostly feel like a bit more spongy basic enemies. As such the game really lack spikes in excitement. If you find a dungeon you know there will be no unique enemies to find in there - if you get lucky you will get a bit buffed up generic enemy, and that's about it. Which leads

2) Exploration - like combat exploration is done well. While artificial, finding chests and items usually requires deliberate input from the player - the sound alerts to loots existence, and it is up to the player to analyse surroundings and figure out where it could be hidden. Fun! Rewards, while not too exciting, tend to be also universally helpful. Upgrades are welcome for majority of game's runtime, and ability to scrap/sell spare weapons and armor, means that any old rusty sword is still of some value. Still, I think exploration suffers from the similar issue as combat: lack of surprises. You KNOW more or less what you will find in each chest. You know a quest is likely to reward you with unique item. Generic exploration will grand you upgrade materails, in one form or the other. If you are REALLY lucky, you might run into one of the totem fragments, which while you are unlikely to ever turn on and use, at least will reward you with story tidbit at the end.

What this design lacks is an element of surprise. I don't think you need to hide something new and exciting behind every corner, but if every once in a while you allow player to find something surprising they will be more motivated to keep looking for more. And masterful example of that is, of course, the Elden Ring - which while predictable in most cases, occasionally hides a real surprise to treat the players for exploration. While of course it is tough competition, I think Avowed would be better if it had few more cards hidden in it's sleves. Small narrative quests hidden around the map? Perhaps, items that will help you in resolving main story quests in different ways? Unique items to be found by exploration only? Maybe a hidden dungeon or two?

Avowed has so little special content, that it feels that game can't efford players to miss it - maps guiding to special items, all dungeons have easily findable quests that lead to it. That unfortunately, in my mind creates a clear distinction between "quality content" and "filler junk" which is not great considering how much more filler there is in Avowed. If core appeal of Avowed is to just walk around collect stuff and kill enemies, I think this core experience would need to be more varied and rewarding.

Edit: For a sequel:

3) voiced protagonists - I am a bit fan of silent protagonists, but only if they are highly customisable and definable in-game. Which how it is, Envoy is remains a player Avatar, devoid of connection with the world or personality. Considering how little players can interact with the world and story, I think Avowed would be better of with more defined and compelling protagonist to drive journey. Choices in the game meant little to me as a player, as I barely had an opportunity to interact with the world and characters (beyond slaughtering everything that looked at me, and stealing everything that hasn't been nailed down), but perhaps those choices could mean something to the Envoy.

Edited Saturday at 01:35 PM by Wormerine

[keriana]

I enjoyed the game a lot! I especially liked the magic combat and that it has 3rd person.

Agree about adding boss fights with unique mechanics in an expansion or sequel.

For a sequel or expansion I would also like to see more done with companions: more companions, companion quests for each companion, ability to dismiss companions, romances, and more banter when exploring instead of having most banter at camp. 

I would also like a camp pet.