## UNVEILING THE MYSTERY: AVOUED'S JOURNEY INTO THE LIVING LANDS AWAITS

When the Xbox Games Showcase, a firmware-fest of announcements and trailers, started on 12 June, Obsidian’s Avowed was there. Going by the trailer, the studio’s new RPG is a gorgeous open-world RPG with a setting and visuals that will make any Elder Scrolls fan foam at the mouth. It didn’t announce a release date. But even without a date, Avowed is already sounding like a must-play game. What’s so special about it? Here’s what we know so far. What’s It About? Avowed is fantasy RPG set in the same world as Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity and its 2018 sequel, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. The trailer, if you’ve missed it, mostly shows the player character walking through Eir Glanfath, the northern country of the setting. The player can snipe soldiers from afar or blast enemies up close. There are dragons.

## AVOUED'S ANTICIPATED RELEASE: A TALE STILL UNTOLD

Avowed returned to the Xbox Games Showcase stage again despite a strong presence last time, promising little in the form of release dates. We saw some new footage of it at the Developer Direct event earlier this year, with Obsidian showing off another fresh trailer for the game. Despite all this build-up, there’s still no word on when precisely the game will release. In the Living Lands, the Avowed player character is tasked with solving a mystery called the ‘Dream Scourge’ by the will of the Emperor. There are hints of allegiances being questioned in the trailer, suggesting all is not what it seems.

## THE LIVING LANDS AWAIT: AVOUED’S RICH TAPESTRY

The new trailer didn’t add new gameplay elements, but it did emphasise the depth of choice over how combat unfolds. If you like the sound of swords clanging, magical cantrips chanting, guns booming or bows twanging, Avowed has an adaptable arsenal on offer that you can change on the fly. Combined with fast and fluid parkour across chasms, over traps and through pits, Avowed keeps action and tactics in lockstep with the player’s own mission.

## THE WORLD OF EORA: AVOUED’S MYTHICAL SETTING

Based in the lore-rich universe of Eora, which was first introduced in Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity series, the game takes place on a brand-new island within the universe and tells a new story that, according to Howard, can be separate from the stories in the previous games. “There’s stuff in the game which will resonate for fans of Pillars of Eternity,” Howard explains, “but this story can be standalone; stuff from the previous games could happen before, at the same time or after.” Avowed is, in other words, a gateway into Eora for new fans, as well as for veterans of the series.

## EXCLUSIVE REALMS: WHERE TO EMBARK ON YOUR JOURNEY

Announced as a console exclusive for PC and Xbox, Avowed will use ‘the power of Xbox Series X/S and PCs’ for crystalline results, and will be available on Steam or from Game Pass when it launches (tentative window: 2024). So we’ve got time. Plenty of time to drool.

## HIGHLIGHTING AVOUED: A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT LIES AHEAD

Avowed promises to advance not only what we expect from RPGs, but also how developers can tell stories and create rich worlds. As Obsidian works to paint its grand canvas, there is no knowing exactly what stories might play out and what dangers might be found on the path to the Living Lands.

## THE ESSENCE OF AVOUED: UNPACKING THE HIGHLIGHT

Its guiding idea, the thing I hope it will celebrate most, is this: depth and choice, in story and play. We turned to the first meaning of ‘highlight’ to emphasise the focus you can have when crafting an experience – making every choice, every fight, yours to forge. You can adopt a wide range of weaponry on your journey, you’ll be encouraged to make subtle, morally difficult decisions, and you’ll reach a world as alive with the possibilities of adventure as you could ever want. The possibilities are, literally, endless.

It’s another chapter in the life and times of games. It’s a story filled with choice and consequence. It’s a tale that transports people to unexplored places. Avowed doesn’t have an exact release date yet, but the brief peeks we’ve been given suggest it will be a story worth waiting for, and not just because of what happens inside the game to the player character. It’s also a story about waiting and wanting. As 2024 draws closer and closer, more and more people are anticipating Avowed’s trek into the Living Lands. It’s a game that will surely be one of the best in RPG history.