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  • This article or section is based on pre-release information about upcoming content. The covered facts may change, when the content is released.
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Explore the Living Lands, a mysterious island filled with adventure and danger.

Avowed (original working title Project Alabama) is an upcoming single-player first-person fantasy role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. It was revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase on July 24, 2020[2][3][4], and is set to be released in late 2024 on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Game Pass, and Microsoft Windows.[1]

Set in the world of Eora, it is a spin-off of the Pillars of Eternity series.

Setting[ | ]

Is an oath worth the weight of a crown?
~ Trailer tagline

Avowed takes place in the fantasy world of Eora, on the far northern continent and island of The Living Lands. The Living Lands is an undiscovered frontier, home to bustling port towns and rolling hills and valleys adorned with weird and fantastical plant life. It's a dramatic landscape full of different unique biomes and is host to a diverse range of ecosystems.

The deity Woedica (the Exiled Queen, the Oathbinder) is prominently featured, being one of the most commonly worshiped gods in the Aedyr Empire. Effigies to Galawain, the patron of the hunt and the wilderness are also shown in the trailer. The Aedyr Empire plays a major role in the game, and many of the factions present in both Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire return.

Three regions have been named, Dawnshore, a coastal port town which is overlooked by the Eastern Overlands, Galawain's Tusks, a rocky mountainous area with an active volcano nearby, and Shatterscarp, an arid environment containing the Rauataian settlement of Thirdborn on the coast.

The settings of Avowed do not overlap with the settings explored the Pillars franchise.[5]

Plot[ | ]

In the game, you assume the role of an envoy from the Aedyr Empire, the personal representative of the emperor who is tasked with investigating rumors of a spreading plague corrupting souls on the distant island of The Living Lands.

As you delve into the mysteries of the Living Lands, you discover a personal connection to the land itself. You encounter danger, adventure, and secrets that gradually unveil an ancient and perilous secret threatening to destroy everything. As the forces behind this ancient secret aim to tear apart the island and your soul, it falls upon you to save both.

Chronologically, Avowed takes place shortly after the events of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, but is not narratively connected to it. In an interview with Eurogamer, Carrie Patel explained that the stories are "as separate as the continents they take place on", and that the changes set into motion by the god Eothas at the end of Deadfire "slowly change the world over generations, not overnight."[5]

Gameplay[ | ]

Exploration[ | ]

The scope of the game is "more focused on depth than breadth," with a focus on narrative, stories and companions.[6] It is less open world than that of titles like Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or Fallout 4, and more comparable in scale to Obsidian's past titles like Knights of the Old Republic II and The Outer Worlds, set up "as a series of interconnected and open zones that players can explore at their own pace."[7]

Combat[ | ]

The game uses a first-person perspective with a focus on visceral real-time combat using traditional melee weapons (swords, maces, shields, etc.), ranged weapons (bows and arrows and firearms), magical implements (wands, scepters, and grimoires), and throwable items (grenades, spears). The player may approach combat encounters any way they desire, and can mix-and-match combat styles at a whim. You're free to dual-wield one-handed weapons, and wield both magic and melee simultaneously.[6] Developers cited games like Warhammer: Vermintide and Vermintide 2 as the inspiration for the combat feel of Avowed.[8][9]

The game is systemic, where elements like water and lightning, fire and ice, etc interact with each other.[6] In combat this system occurs as elemental damage types on your weapons and abilities. This allows them to, for example, freeze enemies with Freeze freeze damage, set them on fire with Burn burn damage, stun them with Shock shock damage, and dissolve their armor with Corrode corrode damage. During exploration and outside of combat, they're used in interactions and puzzles, for example being able to burn brambles to get through an area, or freeze paths in water to walk over it.[9]

Enemies must be approached with different strategies, and each has their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, some enemies hold shields that absorb hits, some are resistant to certain types of damage, some stand back and shoot at you from a range, and others charge directly at you.

The player can quickly switch between loadouts, consisting of different sets of weapons. Weapons are handled at different speeds, with some being fast and typically low damage, and others being slow and typically high damage. Weapons deal damage of a particular damage type, which are compared to the defender's armor to determine how much damage goes through, and others have enchantments that modify their attacks in some way.

The player may perform different types of attacks, including regular and heavy attacks. Regular attacks are fast, deal a moderate amount of damage, but aren't effective against shielded units. Power attacks are slower, but do more damage, can stagger, and go through shielded units. Most types of weapons share these modes of attack, for example, you can channel a powerful wand attack in the same way that you can charge up a heavy swing with a sword. Enemy attacks made against the player may be blocked with a shield, or parried, which causes them to be knocked back for a short time.[9]

Abilities may be cast in the midst of combat, with some abilities taking a long time and requiring free hands to cast, and some having a short cast time, and able to be cast even with your hands full. Abilities are cast with a single pre-assigned key or button press, each with their own dedicated button. This extends to companions, who will have context-sensitive abilities that the player can ask to cast.[5] Into the Fray is an example of an ability, which pulls an enemy towards the user. Knock Down is another, which causes the user to charge towards an enemy. Tanglefoot binds an enemy for a time.[9]

Avowed gives the player some options to avoid combat, and employs dialogue solutions to be able to talk your way out of an encounter, or stealth options to avoid it entirely.

Progression[ | ]

See also: Avowed abilities

Experience is gained by killing enemies and completing quests. As you level up, the focus is on unlocking abilities contained in a series of categorized ability trees that you sample from and progress through. Classes aren't present in the traditional sense, and players aren't restricted to a single set of abilities for a particular class, or railroaded into a specific playstyle. In addition, you don't distribute points into stats to grow stronger.[10]

Players are able to easily respec to try different builds and ways of playing.[9]

This mindset carries over to weapon upgrades, where the developers aimed to have fewer but more meaningful upgrades between weapon tiers, so that the difference between two different weapons is more apparent to the player.[6]

The game features character creation, where the player is able to select from a number of options that define their character.[5] The player's origin and role (of an Aedyran envoy) is fixed and unchanging, as is their race, you're restricted to either a human or elf (as Aedyrans are primarily those two races). Things like your background, personality, appearance, and philosophy are up to the player to decide.

Dialogue[ | ]

The player's interaction with other characters resembles Obsidian's previous titles like Pillars of Eternity, The Outer Worlds, and Fallout: New Vegas where dialogue options allow for different tones of communication. The developers aimed to strike a balance in writing these options, infusing them with enough personality to be enjoyable and engaging, while also allowing enough flexibility for players to inject their own character's headcanon into the choices they make.[6]

Dialogue is branching, where the player can make dialogue option choices which influence the story's direction. Skill checks are present, which assess the character's traits and add complexity to the dialogue by giving dialogue outcomes certain criteria. Dialogue is often impactful, and changes the outcome of a quest, or affects the wellbeing of characters or communities.

Companions[ | ]

Main article: Avowed companions

Unlike optional recruits in other games, the companions in Avowed are core to the game and are deeply intertwined with the story and your party. These companions are just as essential to your personal story as the major events you encounter, creating a sense of shared discovery and danger as you explore together. Each companion has their own combat specialities, unique personalities, and story arcs to explore.[6]

Only two companions may accompany you at a time. Some companions can be recruited at earlier or later, but they'll all join your party by certain known points in the game. When not in the party, companions can be found at a "party camp", where they can be interacted with or asked to rejoin the party. There are "a few cases" where you must include a particular companion in your party because their knowledge or expertise is relevant to the situation, otherwise it's up to you.[11]

You can issue basic orders to companions both in and out of combat, but you won't have to micromanage them, or pause to give them granular instructions. For example, you can ask them to interact with the environment, move to a particular spot, perform a basic task, or cast a context-aware ability. Generally, however, they will be able to fight on their own and assist the party without intervention.[11]

The player has quest-based interactions with companions, and talking with them can influence them down a particular course and shape the outcome of their story arc. Companions don't have a strict approval system, and you won't have to "maintain" your companions and their relationship with you to keep them in the party.[11] By extension, there are no romance options for companions, as there was in both Pillars games.[5]

Like the player character, companions will also gain experience, level up, and you can choose where their skill points go.

News and development[ | ]

Avowed was in its early stages prior to Microsoft's acquisition of Obsidian Entertainment on November 10, 2018. At that time, Obsidian had been pitching the project to multiple potential publishers.

Obsidian posted a number of job listings in late September 2019, seeking applicants for range of roles, including artists, programmers, and game designers.[12] Some of the listings mention "combat with an emphasis on an exceptional first-person melee experience", "combat actions utilizing both first and third person animations", "branching dialogue", "conversations and cut scenes", and "day/night cycles".[13] Several jobs mentioned "experience with Unreal Engine" as a requirement. Microsoft's acquisition of the studio had driven attention and focus towards new intellectual properties as a result of the additional funding and support. Development on Obsidian's The Outer Worlds, another first-person title was wrapping up before its release in October 2019, suggesting work was ramping on a new title at this time.

Teaser cinematic and early development[ | ]

Avowed was announced by Obsidian Entertainment on July 24, 2020[2], and a teaser cinematic was shown at the Xbox Games Showcase.

After the reveal trailer for Avowed was released, Josh Sawyer - the lead designer for Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - said that he would not be involved in its development[14], though he said he would be giving advisory feedback on the project as the studio's design director.[15][16][17]

In June 2022, Avowed was rumored to have been going through development issues, as Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier stated in a forum post that it had undergone multiple reboots and directorial changes.[18][19] Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart originally pushed for the game to have a strong focus on multiplayer, as a way to entice and provide a "more interesting" product to potential publishers prior to Obsidian's acquisition.[20] This focus meant a significant amount of time and resources were spent attempting to restructure their existing development pipelines for features like quests and dialogue, which up to that point had not been geared for cooperative gameplay. Ultimately the game pivoted, and multiplayer was dropped to shift focus on things that Obsidian "was best at".[21]

As of 2022, Carrie Patel was brought in to direct the project, serving as one of the lead writers and narrative designers on Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. In an interview during the Obsidian 20th Anniversary Documentary, Patel said that she was stepping into a role where the goal was to stay true to the Pillars of Eternity universe and create a game that was more approachable and accessible to those who hadn't played Infinity Engine games, or who may not have even played the original games at all. At the start of the pivot from multiplayer, Patel and the team had to refocus and create a vertical slice in only 8 months' time.[22] Marcus Morgan, Head of Strategy and Operations at Obsidian, and Patel expressed concern about trends surrounding the public expectation of Avowed.

The music will be composed by Raison Varner, and Paul Kirsch was confirmed as a senior narrative designer.[23]

First gameplay trailer[ | ]

On June 11, 2023, the first gameplay trailer for Avowed was shown at the Xbox Games Showcase.[24][25][26][27] It showed in-game footage and graphics, and confirmed the setting of The Living Lands, additionally detailing some information about the plot and gameplay. It was narrated by Kai, a coastal aumaua and one of the companions in-game. Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart wrote a blog post on Xbox Wire, further describing some of the features of the game in reference to the trailer.[1][28] During an exclusive interview with PC Gamer, Carrie Patel - the director of Avowed - gave more details about the gameplay, progression systems, combat, and the scope of the game.[6] In an additional interview with Feargus Urquhart, Avowed was confirmed to be using Unreal Engine 5, where previously it had been based on UE4.[29]

At Xbox Games Showcase Extended 2023 on June 13, 2023, in an interview with Tina Amini, the director of broadcast and events at Xbox Games, Patel elaborated on the gameplay trailer and provided some additional insight.[30][7] She stated that Avowed was made for both new players and fans of the original series, but that returning players would recognize many tidbits. Notably, a couple of characters from Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire in particular were returning, as well as some of the factions and settings featured in both games. She also confirmed that the player is not a Watcher, but does have a soul connection with the Living Lands and the mysterious forces at work there.

Goodname Digital Art Studios were hired to create some of the concept art shown, including the portraits of Kai (and later of Giatta) along with a series of cosplay guides featuring renders of the clothing, weapons, and accessories worn by the companions.[31][32][33]

Devoted Studios, a company specializing in outsourced and co-produced content, were brought onboard to assist in the development of 3D assets for Avowed, including characters, creatures, props, and ships.[34][35]

Second gameplay trailer[ | ]

On January 18, 2024, Carrie Patel presented an extended "deep dive" look at Avowed during the Xbox "Developer_Direct", alongside gameplay director Gabriel Paramo, who demonstrated the various combat styles available to the player, and art director Matt Hansen, who showcased the unique art that has been created for the game. Dialogue was also shown for the first time, featuring the companion Giatta who was originally seen in the first gameplay trailer. It was announced that Avowed would be released in "Fall 2024".[36][37][38]

Shortly thereafter, on January 23, 2024, game director Carrie Patel and gameplay director Gabe Paramo made guest appearances on the Official Xbox Podcast. During the show, they offered an in-depth exploration of the quest featured in the Developer_Direct. They provided more detail on the moment-to-moment experience of the flexible combat system, and discussed how this particular quest fits into the larger narrative of Avowed.[39][9] Later that month, Patel and Paramo were interviewed by several media outlets, including Eurogamer and PC Gamer, and made appearances on more podcasts, including the Creature Cast and Dropped Frames podcasts.[40][41]

Avowed is Obsidian's third foray into first-person gameplay using their own setting, following The Outer Worlds and Grounded. It is developed by around 100 employees at Obsidian, with some work being outsourced. The game is still in full production, and has a release date of late 2024.

Gallery[ | ]

Note: These screenshots were shown during the Extended Gameplay Breakdown on the Official Xbox Podcast.[9]

Note: These screenshots were shown on the recap blog post for Developer_Direct 2024.[38]

Note: These are screenshots from the deep dive.[36]

Note: These screenshots were shown on the blog post that accompanied the first gameplay trailer, shown during the Xbox Games Showcase 2023.[1]

Note: These are screenshots of the gameplay trailer, shown during the Xbox Games Showcase 2023.[1]

Videos[ | ]

Reveal Trailer (July 24, 2020)[43][44]
Gameplay Trailer (June 12, 2023)[26][25]
Avowed Deep Dive (January 18, 2024)[36][37][45]
Avowed Extended Gameplay Breakdown with Obsidian | Official Xbox Podcast (January 24, 2020)[9][39]

Notable points (reveal trailer)[ | ]

  • 0:14 Symbols to Woedica.
  • 0:25 Statue of Galawain.
  • 0:52 Aedyran symbols on sword, spelling "OATHBINDER" from top to bottom on left, and the reverse on the right, a reference to the deity Woedica, sometimes referred to as "the Oathbinder".

Notable points (gameplay trailer)[ | ]

Media[ | ]

External links[ | ]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Obsidian’s Avowed Is Coming in 2024: Learn More About the First Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Wire
  2. 2.0 2.1 Obsidian [@Obsidian] (July 24, 2020). "Avowed Obsidian Entertainment's next epic, first-person RPG set in the fantasy world of Eora." (Tweet) via Twitter.
  3. "Introducing the Largest, Most Creatively Diverse Games Lineup in Console History, Led by Halo Infinite" - Xbox Wire
  4. Obsidian Announces Two Titles and Preps Release of a Third at Xbox Games Showcase - Xbox Wire
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Obsidian interview about first-person RPG Avowed | Eurogamer.net
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Exclusive: Obsidian breaks 3-year silence to spill the secrets of Avowed, its next big RPG | PC Gamer
  7. 7.0 7.1 Xbox Games Showcase Extended 2023 - YouTube @ 48:09
  8. Obsidian's next big RPG Avowed is looking to Vermintide's 'masterclass in having a sense of hitting and impact' to make its first-person sword-swinging feel weighty | PC Gamer
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Avowed Extended Gameplay Breakdown with Obsidian | Official Xbox Podcast - YouTube
  10. Obsidian's Avowed is going 'classless', ditching Pillars of Eternity's crunchy stat-heavy builds in favour of Skyrim-like ability trees | PC Gamer
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Avowed's companions won't ditch you for making the 'wrong' choices: 'It's not about maintaining their approval, it's about getting to know them' | PC Gamer
  12. Job listing Obsidian Entertainment - LinkedIn (Current)
  13. Obsidian are hiring staff for their "next world class RPG" - PC Gamer (September 23, 2019)
  14. Josh Sawyer [@jesawyer] (July 24, 2020). "No, sorry." (Tweet) via Twitter.
  15. Frog Helms Fan Club — Do you have any involvement on Avowed? I was...
  16. Frog Helms Fan Club — I'm sure everyone is dying to know; could you tell...
  17. Frog Helms Fan Club — Hi Josh, I'm a big fan of PoE I and PoE II, I was...
  18. Xbox Game Studios & Bethesda Softworks | OTXIX | Twenty-Five Years In The Making | Page 198 | ResetEra
  19. Jason Schreier [@jasonschreier] (June 12, 2022). "Avowed has gone through some reboots and changed directors pretty recently. Dunno if it'll be there today, but I wouldn't expect to play it for a while" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  20. Obsidian 20th Anniversary Documentary | Part 5 Finale - YouTube Feargus Urquhart at 18:22
  21. Obsidian 20th Anniversary Documentary | Part 5 Finale - YouTube Justin Britch at 19:02
  22. Obsidian 20th Anniversary Documentary | Part 5 Finale - YouTube Carrie Patel at 19:35
  23. Publications | Paul Kirsch
  24. Get Ready for the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature Airing June 11
  25. 25.0 25.1 Avowed - Official Gameplay Trailer - YouTube
  26. 26.0 26.1 Avowed - Official Gameplay Trailer - YouTube
  27. Xbox Games Showcase + Starfield Direct - YouTube
  28. Obsidian | Avowed Gameplay Trailer is Here
  29. What makes an Obsidian game? Playing tonnes of old Obsidian (and BioWare) games | PC Gamer
  30. Xbox [@Xbox] (June 13, 2023). "Swords, shields, and spells ahead⚠️⚔️ Get a closer look at Avowed with Director Carrie Patel: https://xbx.lv/43B3Zry | #XboxShowcase" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  31. Avowed — Art Outsourcing Studio | Goodname
  32. Avowed [@AvowedTheGame] (August 2, 2023). "While we wait for more information regarding Kai to be released, you can check out the official cosplay guide! In it you will also see some of the fantastic concept art done by our friends over at Goodname who have been amazing to work with. 🙌 https://obsidian.net/news/obsidian/official-avowed-kai-cosplay-guide" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  33. Avowed [@AvowedTheGame] (January 18, 2024). "The official Avowed Giatta Cosplay Guide is now available. The guide includes a detailed character model with a multitude of angles showcasing her weapon, accessories, and much more! 🪡 https://avowed.obsidian.net" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  34. Devoted Studios on LinkedIn: #avowed #partnership #gaming #gamedevelopment #exdev #obsidianentertainment
  35. Devoted Studios [@devotedstudios_] (August 16, 2023). "Exciting #Avowed gameplay trailer unveiled! #Adventure, #magic, and epic #storytelling await. More in 2024! Devoted Studios helped shape stunning #3D assets. Journey with @Obsidian for a boundary-pushing #gaming experience!🚀Watch: https://youtube.com/watch?v=cv23HkHm3AQ #gamedev #AvowedTrailer" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  36. 36.0 36.1 36.2 Avowed Deep Dive - Xbox Developer_Direct - YouTube
  37. 37.0 37.1 Developer_Direct 2024 - YouTube
  38. 38.0 38.1 Xbox Developer_Direct: All the News and Announcements - Xbox Wire
  39. 39.0 39.1 Diving Deeper into the World of Avowed - Xbox Wire
  40. Obsidian's Carrie Patel & Gabe Paramo Join Us To Talk About Avowed - Creature Cast | Podcast on Spotify
  41. Suicide Squad Impressions + Interview w/ Avowed Director - Carrie Patel | Dropped Frames Episode 377 - YouTube
  42. Mikey Dowling [@MikeyDowling] (January 20, 2024). "Since a LOT of you have asked, we worked with the same agency that we worked with for the Pentiment key art, Skylight. We'll look into finding the artist's name for you all if they want to share so you can see more of their work." (Tweet) via Twitter.
  43. Avowed - Reveal Trailer - YouTube
  44. Avowed - Official Announce Trailer - YouTube
  45. Originally uploaded 20 hours earlier (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni50utYFq14), but was replaced with a new video to remove the ESRB "Everybody 10+" rating.
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