A big update for Avowed has been released today and reveals more to come

Obsidian Entertainment have announced that the big 1.4 update for Avowed is out now and that they have outlined the future for the game as well. First let’s talk about what the new update provides.

The big new addition is that you can now turn off spiders in the game, this just replaces the character models with a weird sphere. This is not the first time the studio has done this, Grounded also had a mode where it would let players toggle the amount of spider-shaped enemies in it, you can see what the new look is below.

While personally I commend the inclusion of the toggle, I have to question where the line is going to be drawn. I know people that don’t like fire, I myself am not great with the ocean and many people dislike heights. I am all for games being accessible to as many folks as they can, but with the alternative option below, you have to wonder how far developers will have to go, in order to accommodate everyone.

These are the changes that Obsidian have called out in the new update, in addition to the Arachnophobia mode:

• Map Exploration Enhancements

  • Once most of a map’s accessible areas are explored, the fog of war will now fully clear.

  • Entering a city on an overland map (e.g. Northern Paradis in Dawnshore) will now reveal that portion of the map.

  • Increased radius for fog clearing as you explore.

• Critter Loot Drops

  • Critters can now be defeated—and may drop loot!

• New Party Camp Feature

  • Players can now wait at the Party Camp to advance time.

• Improved Soul Pod Functionality

  • Soul Pods now dispel illusions (except for Ryngrim’s entrance, which still requires Yatzli’s help).

• New Settings Options

  • Chests now optionally appear on the minimap.

  • Power attacks with the Bow and Arquebus can now be cancelled with a new setting.

As for the roadmap for the game, that is a bit different. Sometime this Winter the next update will arrive and feature the following:

• Cooking and Crafting Improvements

• New NPC abilities and behaviours

• New active and passive abilities

• New unique weapons and armour

• Custom map markers

Nothing in that batch seems particularly exciting, but for someone it might be the best one. The final update is expected sometime this Spring and will contain:

• New Game Plus

• Photo Mode

• New weapon type

• Changing appearance in world

• New character presets

• More godlike feature presets

The addition of the top two is great, but the photo mode should have been there at launch. You can see the roadmap below, just remember that it’s made for America and as such the seasons are wrong for us.

The game is out now for Xbox Series X|S and PC, you can read our review here.