Avowed’s Tone Shifted Mid-Development To Be Closer To Pillars Of Eternity

Obsidian’s upcoming action RPG Avowed and its beloved CRPG series Pillars of Eternity share a world, making the former an interesting case study in adapting an IP. While Pillars of Eternity is critically acclaimed, CRPGs remain relatively niche, meaning the wider audience of players interested in Avowed will be largely ignorant of the setting the game is built upon.

Avowed’s announcement trailer in 2020 briefly mentioned the setting of Eora in its description, but its tone was more desolate and apocalyptic than one would expect of Pillars of Eternity. Subsequent trailers showing off the Living Lands and the effects of the metaphysical fungal ‘disease’ the Dreamscourge were more what you’d expect from a narrative set in Eora.

Tonal Shift

In an interview with Kinda Funny Gamescast, game director Carrie Patel addressed the tonal shift of Avowed, revealing that the project changed direction in early 2021. “There was a shift,” Patel began. “What we’re targeting right now, Deadfire is probably our best target. That’s a game that balances this very grounded political reality and this very grounded political conflict with this very metaphysical, kind of esoteric divine conflict and backstory, and the set of mysteries you’re unravelling. Then, in between that, all of the conflict, all of the characters you can discover, there’s a lot of tonal variety.”

“That is a shift from where the project started out […] We wanted to embrace something that felt a little bit closer to the Pillars aesthetic, pick a setting and an approach to both the story and the content that felt very true to what our strengths are as a studio and also what makes the Pillars IP very unique,” Patel revealed.

Avowed’s gameplay director Gabe Paramo then added that though Obsidian has shown off some of the game’s more vibrant locations, there’s still plenty of darkness to be found in Avowed.

I previously wrote that Avowed is set to be more like a 3-D Pillars of Eternity rather than Obsidian’s take on The Elder Scrolls, and Patel’s comments seem to support this notion. The game director also confirmed that Avowed takes place just a couple of years after the events of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Avowed is set for release sometime in 2024, though an exact release date has yet to be confirmed.

Next

Avowed’s Companions Will Be “Critical” To The Story, Combat, And Moral Decision-Making

Avowed’s art director Matt Hansen says you can “choose to ignore” the companions’ moral compass.