UNVEILING EORA'S NEXT CHAPTER: AVOWED'S ENTHRALLING JOURNEY AWAITS

An entire world is on the cusp of change. Another world. One that, if Avowed is anything like Obsidian Entertainment’s popular RPG strategy Pillars of Eternity and its sequels, could be waiting for you to run around and make first contact with. Like that other world, Avowed’s name is derived from the region it’s set in, which this time is ‘Eora’. While we have yet to see much of it, fragments of lore suggest we’re headed to a land not unlike the ones players have discovered in Obsidian’s Eternity games. In other words, according to a recent look behind the scenes of the upcoming RPG, players will arrive at the ‘cusp of human history’ in a world, and they’ll need to make it their own.

EMBARKING ON AN UNFORGETTABLE QUEST

An epic-scale quest, played out amid dazzling vistas on a truly mythic scale in the great landscapes and long lore of Eora. To say that Avowed is nearing completion cannot be stated with more certainty than it was in a deep dive on the Xbox Podcast with Avowed Game Director Carrie Patel last month, or a cinematic reveal at the Xbox Games Showcase late last week. True, that was a Reveal Trailer, not footage pulled from the game in development. But that does not preclude a demo when the time is right. So enthusiasts can hope that this much-anticipated, pie-in-the-sky RPG, which looks and feels like the game Obsidian was born to make, will materialise in a playable form on Xbox and PC in the foreseeable future.

A NEW LENS ON EORA

GROUND-BREAKING GAMEPLAY MECHANICS

With its brilliant new gameplay mechanics, Avowed is taking a welcome new approach. Its first-person/third-person toggle is really cool, allowing for play from different viewpoints. This offers a new level of way to engage with the world and its characters as you explore and fight.

THE SOUL OF THE STORY

In Eora, spiritual force has a tangible, physical impact, and Avowed truly gives the narrative its due, sending players at the behest of the emperor of Adayar to the Living Lands to uncover what has caused a deadly soul plague to break out. Magical, mysterious and Machiavellian in content, Avowed’s tale unfolds in a storyline that lets players make choices that have consequences for the story and towards a number of endings.

AN ENSEMBLE OF COMPELLING CHARACTERS

COMPANIONS AND CAMPFIRE CONVERSATIONS

Companions are at its beating heart: the stories they carry, the skills they contribute, and the dynamics of being friends. The party camp that’s used to upgrade gear also functions as an arena for relationships to grow. Here, with the fire crackling and the smoke rising, dialogue is shared, backstories are revealed, and the nature of the player-characters’ friendships are explored – a small yet vital oil to the game’s gears.

MASTERY THROUGH CHOICE

STRATEGY AND SPEC

In Availed, combat is a dance of tactics, and choice is your dance partner. Players will adjust their approach to a conflict based on the breadth of abilities, spells and enchantments at their disposal. Respec characters allow for experimentation and adaptation, so adapting and creating a gameplay style unique to your vision should always be viable.

EMBRACING DIVINITY

A GODLIKE PRESENCE

As a Godlike, you are marked by the gods, feared and revered. But you are also unseen, your very presence kept a secret. The complexity of this Godlike situation serves as the key theme in Avowed: you’re feared by others, both revered and reviled, yet you’re hidden away. Esben works through this duality of identity, both as a player and as a Godlike on his quest.

FINAL REFLECTIONS

Avowed showcases Obsidian’s storytelling skills, and their ability to dream big. Its lofty world, its detailed game systems, its narrative in which choice and consequence matter – the game has every chance of becoming an RPG classic. What remains of Avowed is its polish, and the wait to play it. When it comes out later this year, it promises to be both a sweeping, epic adventure and a detailed, intimate one.

UNDERSTANDING SENSE IN AVOWED'S WORLD

Sense in Avowed is not just what one sees in the game world; it permeates the player in an experience that is as tactile as it is emotive, capturing the experience of discovery, the precipitation of combat, and the weight of choice. By crafting through its novel play mechanics, narrative storytelling and adherence to the lore of Eora, Avowed invites the five senses into the game world, asking the player to not only bear witness to the evolving saga of the Eora but also participate in it. With Obsidian Entertainment girding for titans to return to Eora, Avowed is poised to change what it means to sense, feel, and conquer an RPG world steeped in magic and mystery.