Within seconds of being set loose in a behind-closed-doors demo of Avowed at Gamescom, I had already walked up to a plant and ripped it apart for some key ingredient. The Skyrim-ness of Avowed has been much debated—Obsidian repeatedly downplaying the comparison, no doubt due to fears of disappointing anyone expecting something the size and scope of Bethesda's sandbox behemoth.
This is all fine and good—I cannot speak to the size of Avowed, or the depth of its story. What I can say is that...