Joining the legion of mobile artificial intelligence features, Moto AI is now available on Motorola Razr 50 devices as part of an open beta soft launch.
Like Apple Intelligence and its gradual rollout, Moto AI is taking a gentle approach to dipping Motorola’s toe into on-device generative AI. It’s separate from Google’s Gemini assistant, although the intent of enabling natural language requests is the same.
For those with Motorola Razr 50 Ultra and standard Razr 50 phones, you can access several features aimed at summarising text, transcribing conversations, and gleaning information from images.
If you come back to a phone flooded with messages and notifications, “Catch me up” condenses them into a single summary. “Pay attention” is Motorola’s voice recording and transcription tool that also summarises the main talking points of a meeting. There’s also “Remember this”, similar to the Pixel Screenshots feature on Google’s latest phones. This feature lets you screenshot visuals for future reference, pulling any text to help you search for information later.
Image: Motorola.
Motorola also highlighted a new and improved search bar as part of its AI feature rollout. According to Motorola’s blog announcement, it’s designed to streamline finding what you’re looking for and quickly access regularly used features.
Notably, Moto AI includes features mainly focused on productivity and information recall. Every brand is playing with generative AI image editors, but transcriptions and smart screenshot integrations are arguably the most useful tools.
To try out the beta features, update your eligible phone and then search “Moto AI” via the Google Play Store. From there, you can join the open beta, follow the instructions, and try the Gen AI software. All the details are on a dedicated webpage if you’re keen to find out more.
In a big shake-up to Australia’s mobile telco market, Telstra has acquired youth-focused prepaid SIM brand Boost Mobile.
Integrating the Boost Mobile brand under the Telstra banner, the acquisition adds the SIM provider next to Telstra’s existing budget telco brand, Belong. As clarified in a media announcement, Telstra already led Boost’s product development, with the latter primarily handling public-facing activities like marketing.
A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) selling prepaid SIM plans with full access to Telstra’s 5G network, Boost also announced Boost Broadband, an NBN provider. The landing page for Boost Broadband still says “coming soon”, with no word of an expected launch date.
Telstra confirmed that current Boost Mobile customers won’t see any changes to their plans.
“Boost Mobile has been a fantastic partner of Telstra for 13 years and this acquisition cements just how much we value the Boost brand,” said Brad Whitcomb, Group Executive for Telstra Consumer. “We know Boost branded products are a fantastic option for those seeking more affordable mobile connectivity and we are committed to providing that choice in the market.”
According to a Telstra media release, “most” of Boost Mobile’s existing staff will join the telco as a standalone team. Peter Adderton, Boost Mobile Chairman described the acquisition as a “natural evolution of the brand”.
“The team at Boost are the best in the business and I wish them all well on the next part of Boost Mobile’s journey,” Adderton said.
Black Friday is finally here, and Roborock has some of the best deals we’ve seen so far. Its Roborock vacuum cleaners are up to $950 off as part of the Black Friday sales, including a range of great models.
Its flagship mode, the S8 MaxV Ultra is $700 off, while the reliable mid-range Q8 Max+ is also heavily discounted. Even the new Qrevo Master is part of the Roborock Black Friday sale, dropping below the $2,000 barrier only months after launching in Australia.
We consider the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra to be the best robot vacuum right now, making the deal a tempting offer. In our review, we praised the flagship model for its overall cleaning performance across both vacuuming and mopping, and its high-quality navigation.
For something a bit more affordable, the Roborock Q8 Max+ is a good mid-ranger. For less than $1,000, you get a robot vacuum that deals with hair tangles easily, and navigates homes better than many similarly priced robots.
Roborock Black Friday sale 2024
Here’s where you can find some of the best deals on Roborock vacuums, including a range of links to Amazon and Roborock’s online store:
In one of the best PS5 deals so far, EB Games‘ Black Friday sale means you can grab a console for as little as $558. That’s a whopping discount for the disc version of the PS5, which normally retails for $799.
Listed for $628 on EB Games’ eBay store, a further discount is available with a coupon accessible by eBay Plus members. The same additional discount also applies to the digital PS5 without the disc drive, making it even cheaper.
eBay Plus subscribers can even get $100 off the PS5 Pro, Sony’s new higher-powered console. Here’s where you can find each discounted console:
If you want my advice, I suggest acting quickly on this deal. I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if stock sold out in the blink of an eye.
Keep in mind that the PS5 Pro also doesn’t include a disc drive. If you choose either the Pro or the digital version of the base console and want an add-on disc drive later, you might have to wait a while. PS5 disc drives have been out of stock throughout Australia, and many other parts of the world, with no word on when to expect restocks.
Regardless, this is a significant PS5 deal; good luck finding a better price between now and the end of the year.
More than just a time to buy discounted appliances, clothing, and whatever assorted bric-a-brac takes your fancy, the Black Friday sales are also a good time to save money on the essentials. Black Friday deals on speedy NBN plans mean you can save hundreds on your home internet, a vital utility for any modern household.
Whether you want high-speed plans to breeze through big downloads, or something more affordable yet good enough for streaming Netflix, there are a bunch of good deals around.
Cherry-picked from the current cheapest NBN plans, these are the standout Black Friday internet deals.
NBN and home internet Black Friday deals
Superloop Black Friday sale: Save $240 on high-speed NBN
One of the Black Friday NBN highlights comes from Superloop, coming through with a whopper of a deal. The telco’s NBN 100, NBN 250, and NBN 1000 plans are all $20 off each month for an entire year. Most internet sales only last for six months at a time, so this is a huge deal for long-term savings.
As a heads-up, Superloop’s Black Friday sale lasts until 8 December 2024. You can also get a six-month discount on the telco’s 25Mbps and 50Mbps plans, offering something for everyone.
Buddy Telco Black Friday deals: Up to $10 off per month
Buddy Telco, the budget-friendly offshoot of Aussie Broadband, currently has up to $10 off each month for the first six months across several of its plans.
Buddy’s Black Friday deals are active now until 3 December 2024.
Optus discounts NBN and 5G internet by up to $180 for Black Friday
From now until 4 December 2024, you can save up to $180 on Optus NBN internet over six months, including the following fixed line plans:
There’s also a decent saving on Optus 5G home internet, including one deal that comes with a Netflix subscription:
Save up to $19 per month with Exetel
Exetel is another telco with an extended Black Friday sale, offering up to $19 off each month for the first six months. This deal lasts until 8 January 2025.
Save up to $15 per month during TPG NBN Black Friday sale
For the TPG Black Friday sale, you can grab $10 off each month for three months. This also applies to its existing NBN 100 deal, adding a further discount (check the website for T&Cs).
5G home internet gets the best discounts here, taking $15 off monthly for the first six months.
iiNet discounts NBN and wireless home internet
Offering $10 monthly discounts for the first six months, iiNet’s Black Friday NBN deals span the telco’s full spectrum of speeds:
Like TPG, iiNet also offers a tidy $15 monthly discount on home wireless 4G and 5G internet:
Kogan drops its cheap NBN plans further
One of the cheapest NBN providers, Kogan’s sale includes up to $16 off per month for the first six months:
Are you looking for the cheapest NBN plans to save money on your internet bill? We’ve compared many of the biggest telcos to find the best deals for you in each speed category.
Many Australians will be paying more for home internet as a result of wholesale price increases. Those on NBN 50 plans will feel the pinch the most, adding further financial stress to thousands of households.
So, what’s the solution? Shop around frequently. Many internet service providers (ISPs) offer introductory deals, including generous discounts for the first six months. Afterwards, it’s always worth comparing providers so you’re not left paying more than you should. Most ISPs don’t use lock-in contracts, making it relatively easy to swap to a better-value plan.
Here are the cheapest NBN plans at the time of writing. We update this article monthly, but the prices listed in the tables update frequently, giving you up-to-date and accurate information.
Many of the retailers display promotional prices aimed at new and returning customers. These offers generally involve paying a discounted rate for six months before reverting to a standard price. To view the details of promotional offers, click on the green text labelled ‘deal’, which will also show the standard price.
Each plan featured here includes unlimited data. Some providers let you save a few dollars every month by choosing a plan with a data cap. If you know you don’t need much data, use this search tool to find plans with monthly data allowances.
NBN 12 plans
Aimed at people who only need the internet for browsing online and checking emails, an NBN 12 plan isn’t blazingly fast but saves money. Once upon a time, you could regularly find plans for less than $50. Unfortunately, changes to the wholesale pricing structure put an end to that.
Moose stands out with its sub-$50 plan, considerably cheaper than other telcos. For the first six months, you can get an NBN 12 plan for $47.80 a month. Afterwards, it costs $59.80, which is still comfortably cheaper than the competition.
For the most part, you’d be better off scrolling down and looking at faster speeds available for the same price or less.
NBN 25 plans
Suited for streaming videos in HD in addition to basic online tasks, an NBN 25 plan gives you a bit more flexibility and much more value for money. Mate has the standout deal this month, priced at $40 per month for the first six months. Its standard price is $70, making it a $30 monthly discount. You can also bundle Mate internet and mobile plans together for $10 off your monthly internet bill.
Moose, Tangerine, Southern Phone, and Exetel also have decent deals, hovering around $50 per month for the first six months. Exetel also claims one of the cheapest non-discounted NBN 25 monthly prices at $63.99.
Otherwise, most NBN 25 plans cost less than $70 per month, making the speed tier one of the cheapest options outside of promotional periods.
NBN 50 plans
Australia’s most popular internet plan, NBN 50 balances value with performance. These plans support 4K video streaming and can sustain multiple simultaneous users. It’s not as cheap as it once was, but there are still plenty of good deals available.
Dodo currently leads the way among the cheapest NBN 50 plans, offering a discounted $59.75 plan for the first six months. Mate and Exetel both sit around $60, with plenty of similarly priced deals available.
After promotional pricing, NBN 50 plans hover around $80 per month. Buddy Telco, from Aussie Broadband, is one of the cheapest non-discounted plans, priced at $75 after its promotional $65 period.
NBN 100 plans
NBN 100 plans let your household stream multiple 4K videos at once, download files, and still have bandwidth for online gaming. Marginally more expensive than the slower 50Mbps tier, NBN 100 plans are still good value for most people.
Mate leads the discounted plans, costing $60 per month for the first six months. Another good deal comes from Dodo, only charging $64.75 a month for the first six months. You then pay $88.90, which is around the mark of other ISPs.
Most other telcos currently have discounted NBN 100 plans hovering around $65, giving you plenty of options.
NBN 250 plans
Not content with just streaming videos, NBN 250 plans significantly reduce the time waiting for large downloads. Whether you want to download the latest video game or save a whole bunch of media for offline viewing, this gets it done quicker.
Looking at the cheapest NBN 250 plans, Spintel, Dodo, and Swoop are all in the running, priced at less than $80 per month for the first six months. Spintel is also one of the cheapest NBN 250 plans outside of discounts, priced at $89.95 per month. Its advertised peak hour download speeds have picked up too, now hovering around 235Mbps, which used to be 211Mbps.
Faster tiers like NBN 250 are among the major beneficiaries of the changed wholesale pricing. It’s led to more competition among higher-speed plans, which is nice for anyone wanting to swap from a slower tier.
NBN 1000 plans
You don’t like waiting for downloads to finish, that’s why you’re looking at this section. As long as you don’t expect to hit full speeds during peak periods, NBN 1000 plans are for households that live on the internet. They’ve even got faster in recent months, delivering more consistent performance during busy hours.
Superloop has one heck of a Black Friday offer, selling its Lightspeed NBN 1000 plan at $89 per month for the first 12 months. That’s right, an entire year.
Another option to consider is Buddy Telco’s $99 plan. Aussie Broadband’s budget brand recently boosted its typical evening download speeds to 875Mbps, up from 600Mbps, making it one of the fastest residential plans available. Another positive is that the $99 price is set in stone; it’s not a discounted price, so it’s cheaper in the long run than most competitors.
What you need to know
If you want broadband internet in Australia, your main and most reliable choice is via the National Broadband Network (NBN). Although the NBN provides the internet backbone, it does not sell plans directly to the public. Instead, telecommunication vendors package up retail and business plans, which include different features and levels of customer support.
NBN availability
The NBN is available to all Australians, but the way you access the NBN may be different. This might include a fixed cable into your home, wireless access via an antenna on your roof or a satellite dish.
To see what technology is available to you, start by visiting the NBN getting connected page. After entering your address, you will be shown the technology available at your address. You will also see which providers or NBN retailers sell access in your area. In Sydney alone, we were presented with 123 different retailers.
Speed and reliability
It is important to understand that the speed and reliability of your NBN plan can differ by retailer. Each buys internet capacity from the NBN. This capacity is then shared with a certain amount of the retailers’ customers. This means that a retailer may have faster speeds in one suburb versus another based on how many customers are accessing the overall capacity. It’s always good to ask your neighbours who they are with and their experience with a particular NBN retailer.
It’s also worth checking the ACCC website regularly. They publish quarterly broadband performance results, measuring how well telcos deliver on advertised internet speeds. You want to be certain that you’ll get the speeds you pay for, so this is a good starting point.
Having good internet speed is more than just a fast broadband connection. For more, be sure to check out GadgetGuy’s guide to improving your internet for more information.
Which NBN plan?
When evaluating an NBN plan, consider the following criteria:
Data Limits – Is there a monthly download limit of data, or is the plan unlimited?
Download Speed – Best measured at its busiest in megabits per second (Mbps) typical evening speed. Is it enough to watch Netflix? (Netflix requires 10-25Mbps depending on resolution quality.) Larger households with members using the internet simultaneously will require higher download speeds.
Cost – How much do you pay each month, and is there a connection fee?
Contract – Are you locking yourself to a retailer for a period, or is it month to month?
Telephone – Is a fixed-line telephone service bundled into the plan?
Customer service – What hours are supported, and is it an Australian-located call centre?
Upload speed – Important for people who save large files online, like photos and videos.
Changing providers
If you wish to change internet providers, the process involves signing up with the new retailer in-store or online. You may receive a new Wi-Fi router, and you may have to return your old router to your previous retailer. The retailer-provided router is generally low quality but provides a fixed-line telephone connection if selected.
Your retailer might offer you an email address. Still, we recommend using a non-telco-specific email address such as Gmail or Hotmail, allowing you to easily change NBN retailers.
The NBN changeover process can take less than an hour, but depending on the location and NBN technology, it could take a few days. To take advantage of introductory offers, you could swap your provider every six months.
Suppose you do not wish to leave your existing provider. In that case, you may be able to negotiate a better rate by comparing it to cheaper offerings.
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Are you looking to save on your phone bill? We’ve rounded up the cheapest SIM plans from a range of different carriers to help you find the best price. If you’re unsure about whether a SIM-only mobile plan is what you need, our quick guide to SIM only mobile plans will get you up to speed.
Generally speaking, if you don’t want a new phone or a lock-in contract, a SIM plan is the way to go. It’s easy to get what you need without paying for excess features. Unlimited phone calls and text messages usually come standard, with data and international roaming the main points of difference. If you do want a phone, however, check out the current deals on phone plans, including discounted handsets.
We update this article monthly, so bookmark this page to keep up to date with the cheapest SIM plans. Prices update in real-time, meaning you get the latest deals available in Australia right now. You can also use a custom search to choose a plan that suits your exact needs. All of the plans featured in this article include an expiry period of at least 28 days. You can purchase a SIM plan with a shorter recharge window, ideal for travellers who only need a bit of data while visiting Australia.
Among the Black Friday sales, Moose Mobile claims the current cheapest postpaid SIM plan at $10.80 per month. This specific plan is on the Optus 4G network, with the discounted price lasting six months.
Optus MVNOs continue to dominate the cheapest plans, with various 4G and 5G products available at low prices. Circles.Life, Spintel, Aussie Broadband, Southern Phone, and Dodo all have compelling offers. Throwing the kitchen sink at its promotion, Circles.Life’s 10GB comes with a bonus 40GB for the first six months, adding up to a sizable 50GB monthly data allocation.
Numobile and Tangerine are the cheapest options on the Telstra network currently, priced at $22 per month for 12GB of data.
Prepaid
Reliable enough to set your watch to, iiNet and TPG are the cheapest prepaid SIM plans. Each one costs $12.50 per month for the first six months, connecting you to the Vodafone 4G network.
Many prepaid plans operate on a 28-day recharge cycle, so you get slightly less use than most postpaid plans. TPG and iiNet are exceptions with their monthly expiry cycles, an advantage they have over competitors.
If you don’t need much data, Lycamobile’s (Vodafone 4G) $15 is one of the cheaper plans. Just keep in mind that it recharges on a 28-day cycle, not a full month.
Cheapest 5G SIM plans
As 5G rolls out to more parts of Australia, and compatible phones become cheaper, it’s easy to take advantage of higher download speeds. 5G SIM plans cost more, making them better suited to users who need the extra speed or perhaps don’t have reliable NBN connections.
Postpaid
At the top of the cheapest 5G postpaid SIM plans is Moose Mobile. $14.80 per month with 25GB is a tidy offer, followed by higher data allocations from Aussie Broadband and Southern Phone.
Belong remains the cheapest 5G postpaid SIM plan on the Telstra network at $30 per month. Its 25GB allocation isn’t quite as tempting as the double data offers from the likes of Tangerine and Mate though.
The Vodafone 5G postpaid SIM plan is reasonable value, discounted to $39 for as long as you remain connected. It also comes with 50GB of data plus a three-month subscription to Binge.
Prepaid
Most of the cheapest prepaid 5G SIM plans are starter packs that then cost full price after the first recharge. For ongoing savings, your best bet is either the iiNet or TPG plans. Both are half-price for the first six months, priced at $17.50 and include 50GB of data. Download speeds for both cap out at 150Mbps.
Alternatively, you can pay a bit extra for 100GB of data and speeds reaching 250Mbps. Felix is another option, which is $10 for the first three months, down from $25. Its 25GB data allocation is comparatively less but still ample for most users.
Cheapest 365-day SIM plans
If you know what you need over a longer period and want to save money in the process, a 365-day SIM plan might do the trick. Simply pay once per year, and get a bank of data to use with unlimited calls and texts. It’s a cost-effective way of paying your phone bill for basic internet users who aren’t big downloaders.
Kogan (Vodafone 4G) and Catch Connect (Optus 4G) have the current cheapest 365-day SIM plans, starting at $109 for 140GB. Arguably the best-value offer comes from Kogan; its 300GB plan costs just $159, down from $275. If you work out the monthly equivalent, that works out to be $13.25 and 25GB per month, which is a nice deal.
What you need to know about SIM only plans
It’s fairly easy to change your SIM plan provider. Even more so with the rise of embedded SIM (eSIM) technology, letting you change plans almost instantly with a compatible device. Instead of requiring a physical card, eSIM stores network information directly to your phone.
Irrespective of which service provider you go with, the actual network used will be either Optus, Telstra or Vodafone. Many of the cheapest SIM plan providers are mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). This refers to carriers that use the network infrastructure of another company.
Boost Mobile is a popular MVNO that has full access to Telstra’s network, reaching 99.5% of Australians. Not every MVNO includes a network’s full coverage, so it’s worth checking a company’s website to ensure your area is serviced.
In terms of how much data you should choose, data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found that Australians generally pay for more than what they need. On average, Aussies use 10.2GB of phone data per month, so it’s likely you could get away with a smaller allowance that costs less.
It also depends on how much you stream and download content using your phone. If you mainly use home or office Wi-Fi and don’t stream much, stick with a cheaper plan.
Postpaid versus prepaid
There are a couple of slightly different SIM plan options to choose from. Postpaid refers to plans that operate on a monthly billing cycle, where you pay at the end of each cycle. Postpaid SIM plans generally don’t involve a lock-in contract, so you can freely swap if your needs change or a better deal comes along. If you hit your data cap for a month, your telco might limit speeds until the next cycle or charge extra costs, so check the fine print beforehand.
Prepaid, on the other hand, sees you pay at the start of each cycle for a fixed number of days. Most prepaid SIM plans have a 28-day expiry cycle instead of a full month. Shorter expiries are also available if you need a SIM while travelling, making it a flexible option. The upside is that if you go over your data limit, you won’t incur extra costs. A lot of prepaid plans don’t automatically recharge by default but you can set up auto-recharge manually, with some telcos offering discounts or bonuses if you do so.
Phone number portability
The SIM changeover process takes about 10 minutes of your time or even less if you choose an eSIM. You will receive instructions to visit a website, provide your details, prove your identity (online) and then insert your new SIM.
Note you will have a choice to migrate your existing mobile number or choose a new one. About 15 minutes later, you should be up and running. However, the documentation will indicate it may take up to 24 hours and be affected by working hours.
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Move over Maxwell Smart and James Bond, LG’s latest gadget looks like fiction made reality. With the appearance of a spy briefcase, the LG StanbyME Go display has launched in Australia.
First shown at IFA last year, the Go builds on LG’s upright-standing model with a more portable twist. Designed as a screen suited to outdoor use, the StanbyME Go houses a 27-inch 1080p touchscreen supported by a 20W four-channel speaker array.
Within its briefcase confines, the screen supports adjustable height and viewing angles, so you can set it up for comfortable viewing no matter where you are. LG rates its built-in battery as lasting up to three hours, so it might not last a full viewing of The Lord of the Rings extended versions, but most other movies will be fine.
If you include a picture of a cat in the press kit, I’m including it. Image: LG.
Its touchscreen means you can control everything via taps and swipes, providing access to many of the popular streaming apps. Apple AirPlay also comes supported, letting you cast media directly from your phone to the display.
You can even lay the briefcase TV out flat in ‘Table Mode’ for an alternative experience. This mode gives way to digital games or a virtual record player for everyone to gather around and enjoy.
Poring over the spec sheet reveals that the LG StanbyME Go has a ‘Game’ picture mode, although the screen’s refresh rate caps out at 60Hz. Granted, the hassle of lugging around a PlayStation or Xbox for outdoor use would be reserved for the absolute diehards.
Out now in Australia, the LG StanbyME Go costs $1,999 from LG’s online store and Harvey Norman. It’s a luxury item, for sure, albeit packed with personality that’ll surely turn heads at the campsite or the beach.
Tiny in size, the newly launched DJI Mic Mini certainly lives up to its name, providing a small wireless microphone option for creators.
A single microphone weighs only 10 grams, even smaller than the impressive 28-gram DJI Mic 2. As good as many of the existing wireless clip-on mics are, they can still look a bit messy on clothing, something the DJI Mic Mini tackles.
It’s also a far more affordable wireless microphone than the current crop of premium devices. For $245, you get two transmitters, a receiver, a charging case and various accessories. Contrast that with the $529 price tag for the equivalent DJI Mic 2 bundle and it’s immediately more attractive to hobbyists and early-career creative pros.
The DJI Mic Mini goes head-to-head with the new Rode Wireless Micro, priced at $249 for its similarly-sized 12-gram mic transmitters. Both brands feature heavily throughout the creator scene, so it’s no surprise to see such tight competition.
Image: DJI.
Even with the cheaper price and smaller form factor, the DJI Mic Mini still comes pretty feature-packed. It supports multiple noise-cancellation levels, on-device gain settings, and auto-clipping prevention to help prevent audio peaking. if you’re the type to walk and talk, audio transmission works from as far as 400 metres away from the receiver.
As you’d expect, the microphone pairs seamlessly with DJI’s suite of creative gear. Without using the receiver, you can record microphone audio to the likes of the Osmo Pocket 3 and Osmo Action 4 cameras. Similarly, the petite DJI Neo drone supports streamlined connectivity via the DJI Fly app.
Available to order today from DJI’s website and various retailers, the Mic Mini also comes in a $125 version. This cheaper option doesn’t include the charging case, and includes one transmitter and receiver.
Between DJI and Rode, there are some fairly compelling wireless microphones on the market that don’t cost an exorbitant amount of cash.
Avowed might be classed as an RPG, but it doesn’t follow the same playbook as many of the games that came before it. Adopting a more freeform approach to combat and character customisation, it’s an intriguing take on the widely beloved genre.
Avowed also marks a significant departure from its source material. Set in Eora, the same world as the Pillars of Eternity series, it adopts a first-person perspective where the action happens in real-time. So, instead of the isometric perspective used by Baldur’s Gate 3, for example, it looks more like an Elder Scrolls game – at least on the surface.
There’s some serious pedigree behind Avowed in the form of Obsidian Entertainment. The North American studio is known for making story-rich games like The Outer Worlds, Pentiment, and the cult-classic Fallout: New Vegas.
To find out what goes into making an Obsidian game, I spoke with Ryan Warden, Production Director on Avowed, about the daunting task of changing up well-established RPG conventions. I also played an hour vertical slice of the game based on an earlier preview build – since then, a more recent wave of previews took place that give a closer look at what to expect ahead of next year’s launch.
Going classless
RPGs and archetypes go hand-in-hand. Fire up any roleplaying game and you’re usually presented with various categories, or “classes”, of playstyles to choose from. Warriors, rogues, and mages are common starting points – each one comes with its own set of pre-determined abilities and progression paths.
That’s not how Avowed works. It instead employs a “classless” system, letting you freely swap between weapon types and abilities as you so choose. Warden explained that this approach was the brainchild of Carrie Patel, the game’s director.
“Carrie was very, very strongly pushing for a classless RPG,” Warden said. “And I think some of that harkens back to Obsidian’s model of ‘your worlds your way’.”
Ryan Warden, Production Director on Avowed. Image: Supplied.
“We’re not going to provide a button in character creator that says, ‘make me a wizard’.”
Your worlds. Your way. It’s the guiding principle prominently displayed on Obsidian’s website, referring to the studio’s approach to making non-linear games driven by player choices. This time around, Avowed brings that philosophy to the tangible gameplay, not just the dialogue and story decisions.
For my preview session, I played as a magic-wielding gunslinger who shot their way through problems. Outside the confines of the preview session, I could have wielded a pistol in one hand, and a shield in the other. Or a sword. Or a magic wand. You get the idea. What’s important is that Avowed lets you combine different sets of gear in a way that most RPGs don’t.
From a game balance perspective, that sounds like a development nightmare. For Warden – whose production experience spans Mass Effect, DragonAge, and League of Legends – it was a challenge, but one the team was up for.
“It’s possible that we’ve made it difficult on ourselves in terms of balancing and trying to get the gameplay to feel awesome right across the board,” he said.
Image: Obsidian Entertainment.
To tackle the mind-boggling number of potential variations, the Avowed quality assurance team made a comprehensive library of save data at every part of the game. At any moment, they could load a save from anywhere in the game, and test different combinations of equipment and abilities to ensure everything felt balanced.
Worst case scenario, if you get stuck with a character build you don’t like, you can change without needing to start fresh.
Bridging Avowed and Pillars of Eternity
Although not a direct sequel to the Pillars of Eternity games, jumping into a game like Avowed, with so much existing lore, might be intimidating to newcomers. Even for me, someone who has played Pillars of Eternity, albeit a while ago, I worried about how many proper nouns I needed to remember to get the best experience.
Fortunately, Avowed makes a strong effort to cater to fresh faces. During dialogue encounters, names of places, characters, and important information are highlighted. Selecting the text provides a tidy summary of everything you need to know, giving you helpful context clues on the go.
“We’ve been doing a ton of playtesting with the Microsoft User Research group, where we bring in players and have them take a look at some pretty unfinished gameplay and then ask them questions about ‘how did this land for you?’” Warden said.
“And they identified a couple of key things, one of which was that lore highlighting.”
Image: Obsidian Entertainment.
To address the feedback, the Avowed team borrowed the lore refresher system used in Pentiment. According to Warden, it helped quickly answer questions about the in-game deities like Eothas, including “why should I care? And how does that impact my story?”
Existing lore is one thing, while a change of perspective is another. A major reason behind the shift to first-person was to encourage a “sense of exploration and verticality” and more responsive combat.
From my brief session with Avowed, the heightened focus on exploration came through clearly. Winding caverns encourage you to snoop around for hidden treasures and approach combat encounters from different angles.
Moving through the game felt a bit stiff, like I was remotely controlling a camera more than I was a character. When it came to combat, the movement coalesced better, which could’ve simply stemmed from me gleefully firing my dual pistols like an old-timey cartoon sheriff.
What do rocks sound like?
More than anything during the early preview session, Avowed‘s strong audiovisual design stood out. Bathed in picturesque blue and green hues, I caught myself gawking at the eye-catching vistas around every corner. Even restricted to a small area of the game, I wanted to know what other visual delights awaited me.
Everything looked and felt familiar yet a little strange at the same time. Warden pointed out this likely came from the team deriving inspiration from Annihilation, a film that explores the mix of nerves and excitement of exploring the unknown.
I also asked about the key artwork featured prominently as part of Avowed‘s promotional materials. As it turns out, the kaleidoscopic skeleton came from an external agency, based on Obsidian’s Sergio Toppi-inspired 2D art featured throughout the game.
Image: Obsidian Entertainment.
One of the main things Warden and the team wanted to avoid while making Avowed was making something that felt “generic fantasy”. Music and sound design formed a core part of differentiating Avowed from other fantasy games.
Venus Theory composed the game’s soundtrack, aiming to blend organic and synthetic instruments together to the point where you can’t quite tell the difference. Self-described as ” the kind of guy who likes a little salt with his sugar”, Warden explained the complexities behind Venus Theory’s work.
“One of the things that I really wanted to get was a sense of cinematic beauty, but with an undertone of just a little bit of tension,” Warden said. “That makes it more complex, I think, and delivers a richer experience.”
That level of meticulous detail also feeds into some of the most seemingly minute details. When testing an early build of the game, Warden described to a sound designer that the silence of a cave felt “off”. In response, the sound designer casually mentioned they hadn’t done a “rock pass” yet.
“What do rocks sound like?” Warden asked.
His recollection of the amusing anecdote concluded with the sound designer matter-of-factly explaining that it was their job to find out exactly what the rocks in Avowed sound like.
Avowed is an RPG for time-poor gamers
As much as I love a meaty RPG, I simply don’t have time to play them all. Fortunately, Avowed seems to be similar to The Outer Worlds in terms of scale. It’s not a fully open-world RPG, with Warden instead using the “open zone RPG” classifier.
“We’re talking open zone regions and tons and tons of exploration,” he said. “I think we’ve hit a pretty good spot where there is an awful lot of exploration for you. The game is not short, but it’s also not a seven-zillion-hour open-world RPG.”
It lines up with Obsidian’s “always be shipping” focus, referring to the studio’s approach to making games with a well-defined scope without spending too long on them.
Image: Obsidian Entertainment.
However, even before the delay bumped Avowed from November this year into 2025, Warden described the development schedule as being slightly longer than most Obsidian games. Conversely, there was a trick to ensuring it didn’t balloon out any further.
He explained that the team would polish each region to 80% complete before moving on to the next section. This way, they’d get through production quicker, and then apply lessons learnt along the way when returning to complete each region – something Warden also elaborated on in a GamesHub interview.
I’m going to borrow that approach when working on bigger projects – I hope Warden and the Obsidian crew don’t mind.
Although my time with Avowed was brief, it piqued my curiosity ahead of next year, ready for a return to Eora. A shorter, more freeform RPG is an organic-synthetic blend of music to my ears.
Avowed launches on 18 February 2025 for Xbox Series X|S consoles and PC, including day-one access via Game Pass.
