Avowed Discussion Thread

[Kaamos_Llama]

metacritic is where you go to do political review bombing without having to actually buy the game. It's useless and insufferable.

Ive seen it in Steam as well sometimes. Not sure if they have moderated it there and cleaned it up now.

This isnt a AAA budget game as we know it and they are selling it for $70, but thats only a problem if you have a PS5 because Gamepass is 11.99 a month.

This was a bad way to put it. Its not a massive sprawling open world like an Assassins Creed, Fallout or Elder Scrolls, but its a big game with a lot of stuff to do.

 

[ZedClampet]

Ive seen it in Steam as well sometimes. Not sure if they have moderated it there and cleaned it up now.


This was a bad way to put it. Its not a massive sprawling open world like an Assassins Creed, Fallout or Elder Scrolls, but its a big game with a lot of stuff to do.

You do get the occasional DEI complaint on Steam in reviews, but not nearly as often as on metacritic, but if there are too many DEI, or any type of political, complaints, then Steam doesn't count them. They are considered off-topic and not included in the score. They aren't moderated, but you won't see them when you scroll down to reviews unless you request to see them. Another important factor is simply being required to buy the game to leave a review, and Steam won't necessarily refund the game for you if you are buying games, leaving reviews and asking for refunds. You can only do that a couple of times before Steam denies your refund request, and then you won't be able to refund any game for awhile.

 

[DXCHASE]

The amount of hate this game has been getting is kind of astonishing. Gamers are an insufferable lot, that I know, but this time around particularly they seem enraged for a variety of reasons. I did see some mention W word and the like, but mostly just been seeing people trash talking the game without even trying it themselves. Saying things like "this looks ugly", "this looks mid", "boring AF game", but that is the extent of their comments. Every game deserves some criticism, but only from those who have experienced it themselves.

The hate is astonishing to me too. Its an actual full-fledged, well optimized game. I mean, take a look at games like LOTR Golem or Skull Island: Rise of Kong. Two games released by major, or at least well-known, studios and were just awful and down right bad execution, not just graphics and janki-ness, but the gameplay, UI, sound, voice acting etc. etc.. There are plenty more, Concord for one and does anyone remember Babylons Fall? Yea these two games were so bad they were closed down.

Those are bad games, but you really only saw hate around them around the time before and after their initial release. The way people are ripping on Avowed or when Dragon Age Veilguard landed, two games that are decent enough games and even though they have their criticisms, are far superior to the ones mentioned above.

The term "DEI" wasnt thrown around as much even as little as 2-3 years ago and now thats just the catch-all phrase along with "woke" for people to just hate a game without actually playing it. Lets not forget all the fake images and taken out-of-context lines of dialogue displayed around to further get people to dismiss and hate on a game they never played.

I do get valid criticisms of Avowed, a 70 usd price tag is terrible for any games basic edition for one, but nowadays, gamers just attach themselves to whatever their friends or favorite youtuber say about the game. Thats why people like Asmon need to go away expeditiously because the amount of biased reviews is at an all time high right now imo.

 

[neogunhero]

Thats why people like Asmon need to go away expeditiously because the amount of biased reviews is at an all time high right now imo.

He is definitely one of the major factors feeding into the gaming communities’ extremely negative mindset. He’s one of the loudest voices in game streaming, and typically the stuff he says is pure negativity and hatred, and his audience adopts that same way of thinking. Dude couldn’t even bother cleaning his house for years and this is the guy people choose to listen to when it comes to any sort of valid critique on games lol.

 

[ZedClampet]

He is definitely one of the major factors feeding into the gaming communities’ extremely negative mindset. He’s one of the loudest voices in game streaming, and typically the stuff he says is pure negativity and hatred, and his audience adopts that same way of thinking. Dude couldn’t even bother cleaning his house for years and this is the guy people choose to listen to when it comes to any sort of valid critique on games lol.

Even Stephanie Jim Sterling, at the height of their madness, weren't just slamming games to slam them. Glad I don't watch Asmondwhatever.

 

[Pifanjr]

nowadays, gamers just attach themselves to whatever their friends or favorite youtuber say about the game. Thats why people like Asmon need to go away expeditiously because the amount of biased reviews is at an all time high right now imo.

I'm pretty sure gamers have been talking bad about games they've never played for years. There were console wars 30 years ago, probably even longer, and I doubt most of the fanboys really knew what they were talking about. They just parroted random facts and opinions they heard somewhere because some people just like complaining about what other people like so they can feel superior about their own choices.

 

[Alm]

I'm pretty sure gamers have been talking bad about games they've never played for years. There were console wars 30 years ago, probably even longer, and I doubt most of the fanboys really knew what they were talking about. They just parroted random facts and opinions they heard somewhere because some people just like complaining about what other people like so they can feel superior about their own choices.

I agree with this. I find people more reasonable these days, but that could be because I limit myself to this forum!

In the early 2000's you were "gay" for disagreeing with people who hated things. Everything was "for the lulz". People didn't listen and just took the mick.

 

[neogunhero]

I'm pretty sure gamers have been talking bad about games they've never played for years. There were console wars 30 years ago, probably even longer, and I doubt most of the fanboys really knew what they were talking about. They just parroted random facts and opinions they heard somewhere because some people just like complaining about what other people like so they can feel superior about their own choices.

While that is true, and there is no real way of measuring how much "hatred" a game gets based off online comments alone, I feel generally these days people are way quicker to jump on a bandwagon of hate and not give any meaningful critique. It all comes with the destruction of our attention spans due to internet use/social media. People are easily persuaded in their opinions, and social media makes it much easier to make someone think one way or another.

With Avowed specifically, the amount of Youtube comments Tiktok videos/comments trash talking this game is way higher than I at least personally have noticed. Heck I just seen this guy on Tiktok who's whole schtick is "if this game fails to impress me in 30 minutes then I move onto the next game" and he didn't even get past the opening sequence before deeming Avowed to be a bad game, then everyone in his comments sees that and starts agreeing.

This whole convo isn't about me defending Avowed because I think it's the best game ever made, it's just all the poor opinions being spewed about this game that just irks me. I only call them poor because as I stated above, it seems nearly everyone talking bad about it has not actually played the game or given it a fair chance at all. Now with the internet you are able to throw your opinion out there and find a hundred people who agree, which then just keeps getting echoed and grow louder. I have only seen one video where I felt the person gave the game a very fair shot and came to the conclusion that the game just isn't for them, which I completely respect. That guy had the decency to play 10 hours of the game before making that video, and that is more than a fair shot at it.

 

[ZedClampet]

I still firmly say that the underlying cause of all of this is gamer abuse by companies like EA, Paradox, Firaxis, etc. and all the publishers who are releasing broken crap.

• You can't just buy a game. You have to pick a tier. Pay more and play earlier.
• Companies knowingly release unpolished and unoptimized games that people paid $70 for.
• Companies often put out 30, or even vastly more, DLC, some of which hobble the base game, some of which require other DLC to work properly. The cost of the total game becomes outrageous.
• They trap large portions of the games behind battle passes and charge a fortune for even single outfit cosmetics.
• They sometimes charge as much for minor DLC as full games used to cost.
• Pay-to-play games are set up like free-to-play games used to be.
• They ignore what gamers want in favor of what they think could make them the most money.
• They do playtests and then promptly ignore all suggestions.
• They release sequels that have the same bugs that were in the last game.

And there's so much more bad behavior. If I tried to include it all, the list would be massive.

And then they have the audacity to say things like "Games should be twice as expensive because we haven't kept up with the rate of inflation." Well a dollar in 2010 is equivalent to $1.45 today, yet their earnings have more than doubled during that time, and it isn't because they are working harder and making more and better games. It's the opposite of that. They are bleeding customers for everything they're worth and releasing the same trash over and over again and still they are tossing employees overboard because it can never be enough for them. If they could somehow murder customers and increase their stock prices we'd all be in serious trouble, and that's just barely an exaggeration. Hell, some days I think it may not be an exaggeration at all.

So are gamers angry and lashing out? Of course they are. It would be better if we didn't do it indiscriminately, like against Obsidian who have always been "the good guys", but it's completely understandable and not really the fault of gamers because they've been bullied and robbed as surely as any mugging victim.

 

[Alm]

I think we are seeing the limited usefulness of reviews. And negative bandwagon jumping.

But I do think all of the things Zed mentioned do detract from modern gaming and I agree that people are angry and rightly so.

Edit: I do wonder if Game Pass detracts from day 1 sales.

 

[ZedClampet]

I think we are seeing the limited usefulness of reviews. And negative bandwagon jumping.

But I do think all of the things Zed mentioned do detract from modern gaming and I agree that people are angry and rightly so.

Edit: I do wonder if Game Pass detracts from day 1 sales.

Don't get me wrong. I'm against all the gamer backlash. I've seen too many good games get caught up in all of this. I'm just saying that gamers have a right to be angry, though I wish they would be smarter about it.

As far as Game Pass goes, I don't know, but I find it interesting that they hide the major releases on launch day. When games like Avowed launch, Steam and Epic are all over it and display ads for the games all over the place. Then you go to Game Pass, and they are advertising some life sim, and the game isn't even included in the "recently added" list. I can only assume Game Pass is costing them a fortune in sales, and it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't start delaying the games coming to Game Pass, like making you wait 3 to 6 months.

Little do they know how patient PC gamers are.