This Week in Gaming (Week 8)

[TheLostSwede]

Welcome to another week of new game releases and this week's AAA title takes place in the same world as Pillars of Eternity, for those that were a fan of that game from a decade ago. If RPG games aren't your cup of tea, how about a face full of Norwegian snow, or maybe the summer of 1995? How about some equestrian challenges, some pirate ninjas or maybe something a bit more dystopian? If so, we got the games for you this week.

Avowed / This week's AAA title / Tuesday 18 February
Avowed is a first-person fantasy RPG set in the world of Eora, where your choices carve a path through war, intrigue, and ancient mysteries. Navigate a land in turmoil, forge powerful alliances or deadly rivalries, and wield magic and steel to shape the fate of the Living Lands—and your own destiny. Steam link




SNØ: Ultimate Freeriding / Monday 17 February
SNØ is a game about downhill skiing where you carve your way down various mountainscapes trying to score as many points as possible by pulling off high risk maneuvers and tricks. Go for the high score or simply flow through serene, arctic landscapes. The controls are easy to learn, and there are endless procedural mountains to explore. Steam link



Lost Records: Bloom & Rage / Tuesday 18 February
Embark on a new narrative journey by the creators of Life is Strange. Film your summer of 1995 and create memories of a lifetime with your new friends. 27 years later, confront the dark secrets that made you all promise to never speak again after that fateful summer. Steam link



Unbridled: That Horse Game / Wednesday 19 February / Early Access
Unbridled: That Horse Game offers you the ultimate horse experience, giving you the freedom to follow your own dreams and create your own unique story. Experience the freedom of riding, the challenges of horse sports, and the joy of breeding horses - all in a stunning virtual world. Steam link



Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii / Thursday 20 February
Embark on an over-the-top, modern-day pirate adventure with an ex-yakuza, now pirate captain & his crew. Engage in exhilarating combat on land and sea in the hunt for lost memories and treasure. Steam link



Peripeteia / Friday 21 February / Early Access
Peripeteia is a first-and-third-person role-playing stealth game taking place in alt-history cyberpunk Poland. Inspired by immersive sims from Ion Storm and Looking Glass Studios, Peripeteia expands on the formula with new ideas and an original setting. Steam link



Also launching this week:
Microtopia and Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[lepudruk]

That color palette of Avowed.. It just looks odd. However the real downside is the lack of original classes, skills and spells known from Pillars of Eternity. Ciphers were cool..

 

[Hyderz]

Apparently avowed uses unreal engine and I have heard that it’s well optimized apparently but so far titles that run on unreal engine seems to be mediocre hope avowed gets tested in tpu

 

[AGlezB]

Peripeteia looks very interesting.

 

[Frick]

That color palette of Avowed.. It just looks odd. However the real downside is the lack of original classes, skills and spells known from Pillars of Eternity. Ciphers were cool..

It's probably more action-RPG than "pure" RPG.

 

[Rjc31]

Yo ho ho! So excited for the new LaD! Going back to the beat em up style of the old Yakuza games... Plus adding in the sea battles! I'll probably try Avowed as well on Game Pass

 

[FoulOnWhite]

Just tried Avowed, it is well worth 60 quid. it looks amazing and runs real nice. Running at 3440x1440 Someone with a better GPU than a 3080 will really appriciate this game

 

[Beer4Myself]

Yo ho ho! So excited for the new LaD! Going back to the beat em up style of the old Yakuza games... Plus adding in the sea battles! I'll probably try Avowed as well on Game Pass

Same here ... but before i buy these i should finish Lost Judgment and Ishin first.

 

[Rjc31]

Same here ... but before i buy these i should finish Lost Judgment and Ishin first.

I should do that too... But I won't

 

[JIWIL]

All the official screenshots of Avowed look so bad and yet the in-game footage I've seen on DF looks amazing. I don't know how they managed to get that so backasswards.

Never got into Pillars, put off by RTWP and the massive loredump that I just couldn't get invest into. Might give this a go after sales though.

 

[FoulOnWhite]

All the official screenshots of Avowed look so bad and yet the in-game footage I've seen on DF looks amazing. I don't know how they managed to get that so backasswards.

Never got into Pillars, put off by RTWP and the massive loredump that I just couldn't get invest into. Might give this a go after sales though.

Been playing Avowed for about 2 hours now, it is pretty good.

 

[dirtyferret]

Just tried Avowed, it is well worth 60 quid. it looks amazing and runs real nice. Running at 3440x1440 Someone with a better GPU than a 3080 will really appriciate this game
View attachment 385176

on my list of games to get

 

[alwayssts]

so far titles that run on unreal engine seems to be mediocre

Woman with the sword as a hair tie says hi.

Might have to grab Avowed or LAD...but man I've got quite the backlog of Yakuza games to get through already. Glad people are enjoying them both.

 

[Rjc31]

Woman with the sword as a hair tie says hi.

Might have to grab Avowed or LAD...but man I've got quite the backlog of Yakuza games to get through already. Glad people are enjoying them both.

See that's the nice thing about this LaD... Side story/spin off so it doesn't NEED to be played in order... It'll help but it isn't required

 

[bl4C3y3]

Peripeteia looks very interesting.

Wow, the trailer threw me back quite some time ... it reminded me of "Malice for Quake" ? (played the GLQuake version at the time)
Seems to have a similar dark and gritty atmosphere ...

 

[Gucky]

If you want play Avowed, maybe play it in the Gamepass...
I'll try it, but I was never a fan of the Scrolls games.

 

[mechtech]

Just tried Avowed, it is well worth 60 quid. it looks amazing and runs real nice. Running at 3440x1440 Someone with a better GPU than a 3080 will really appriciate this game
View attachment 385176

hmmmmm I see BG3 on sale though

Probably don'y have the time to play them enough to do them justice.............

 

[Aoyagi]

If you want play Avowed, maybe play it in the Gamepass...
I'll try it, but I was never a fan of the Scrolls games.

It's not a Scrolls game.

 

[AusWolf]

SNØ looks like a great concept... I just can't stand the simplistic art style. Shame.

 

[SN2716057]

Just tried Avowed, it is well worth 60 quid. it looks amazing and runs real nice. Running at 3440x1440 Someone with a better GPU than a 3080 will really appriciate this game
View attachment 385176

This Harry Potter game

 

[EatingDirt]

All the official screenshots of Avowed look so bad and yet the in-game footage I've seen on DF looks amazing. I don't know how they managed to get that so backasswards.

Never got into Pillars, put off by RTWP and the massive loredump that I just couldn't get invest into. Might give this a go after sales though.

I'm the opposite in terms of CRPG combat preference. I prefer RTWP combat, BG2 being pretty much my all-time favorite CRPG. So really enjoyed my playthrough of Pillars 1, and got most of the way through 2. Pillars 2 has a Turn-Based Combat mode, so it might be something you're interested in.

I've only made it through most of Act 2 in BG3 because I really dislike turn-based combat in RPG's. Breaks my immersion of playing a character in a different world and reduces it to playing a bundle of numbers rolling against another bundle of numbers. I know I'm mostly in the minority when it comes to CRPG players.

For me, Avowed looks interesting. I've heard good things about the casting, but not-so-good things about the melee combat, and I typically prefer to play Melee in my RPG's. It might be something I pop a gamepass for a month to try out to see if I spend more money on it.

 

[boomheadshot8]

Avowed it's the worst "rpg" by obisidian
water : 0 physics
pnj : 0 interaction no talk, no moves, nothing
combat is meh
The lore is no comment
80 by "the press" on metacritic such hypocrisy

This type of behavior will not make video industry better quit the opposite

 

[FoulOnWhite]

Avowed it's the worst "rpg" by obisidian
water : 0 physics
pnj : 0 interaction no talk, no moves, nothing
combat is meh
The lore is no comment
80 by "the press" on metacritic such hypocrisy

This type of behavior will not make video industry better quit the opposite

Don't play it then

 

[AGlezB]

Avowed it's the worst "rpg" by obisidian
water : 0 physics
pnj : 0 interaction no talk, no moves, nothing
combat is meh
The lore is no comment
80 by "the press" on metacritic such hypocrisy

This type of behavior will not make video industry better quit the opposite

I'm still undecided about playing it and not for any of the reasons you listed.

You see, I dislike magic in gaming (too many bright flashes) and the way I get over that in games that are otherwise pretty good is by turning wizard-type characters into walking nukes capable of wiping the map in one shot (so no more bright flashes). According to Mortismal, in Avowed stats above 15 have no gameplay effect so no walking nuke for me which means no Avowed for me either, pending verification.

EDIT: One more thing. Unlike TOW, Avowed isn't on GOG so I'll wait anyways.

 

[Kapone33]

Avowed is a classic Action RPG. The Game is even playable in 3rd person. Where the Game shines is challenge. You have to learn the Combat system but the enemies are not easy. A distinction is multiple Boss fights to achieve objectives. This Game has RT turned on but you can turn it off. It makes no difference in quality to me. The textures are very high but the people don't look natural like the Witcher 3. Magic is good but I need to level up my character to take full advantage of it.