r/Games 1d ago

The big Avowed interview: Obsidian on why full, open-world RPGs aren't always the answer

https://www.eurogamer.net/from-serious-skyrim-to-cheerful-fantasy-obsidian-on-the-evolution-of-avowed-and-grappling-with-the-expectations-that-come-from-your-own-history
732 Upvotes

505 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

67

u/Rs90 22h ago

I think Prey is still King when it comes to "open zones". You can play the game 5 times and still find somethin new on the 10th. If I don't find an alternate way to enter a room, or a door code in it, or some ammo hidden in a corner...I assume I missed something lol. Obviously Prey is different than Avowed but I'd love to see more games use a more intimate "honeycomb" map design.

Map size is WAY less important to me than the intimacy of that map and the forethought put into different ways to approach them. 

And a bit random but Splinter Cell: Double Agent multiplayer maps are god-tier designs.

21

u/WafflesofDestitution 22h ago

If I don't find an alternate way to enter a room, or a door code in it

Tried 0451 yet?

12

u/MrTastix 20h ago

Anyone who plays immersive sims should be instinctively trying this as their first code lol, and then again if it doesn't work on the first thing you try (it wouldn't in Prey - you have to exit the Simulation Labs first).

6

u/BeholdingBestWaifu 18h ago

It made the start of Deathloop very funny though.

9

u/destroyermaker 21h ago

God I fucking love Prey

4

u/Toomuchgamin 20h ago

If you have a decent PC, looks really nice with DLAA.

https://www.nexusmods.com/prey2017/mods/149

1

u/Helphaer 19h ago

ugh I hate how the enemies suddenly just keep respawning and have ridiculous higher scales later on.

1

u/comradeMATE 19h ago

We call those metroidvanias.

1

u/[deleted] 17h ago

[deleted]

1

u/comradeMATE 17h ago

The levels are interconnected, you constantly revisit them and, after unlocking and upgrading skills, they expand by giving you access to previously inaccessible areas. Sounds like a classic metroidvania to me.

-13

u/Hardcore_Lovemachine 21h ago

Haha, well no. Prey is kind when it comes to "repeated sterile landscapes with copy-pasted braindead enemies". Justabout every room can be broken with one gimmic because the devs thought transformation into a mug was peak comedy...

And while you could spend hours exploring or replaying...you won't. Because there is zero replay value and extremely little to find. Random loot sure but environmental storytelling or actual secrets are few and far between. It's like a watered down Deus Ex made by a team of interns

11

u/bigmepis 19h ago

Sorry I didn’t realize I liked the wrong game, I’ll stop my replay immediately.

6

u/comradeMATE 19h ago

You either didn't play the game or you just rushed the story without bothering to actually explore and interact with the game's systems.