Avowed Features "Incredible Freedom", As The Developers Claim Players Will Choose Their Own Adventure

Published Jan 25, 2025

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The developers of the much-anticipated RPG Avowed want to make one thing clear to players — they will have an incredible amount of freedom to shape their story. Ahead of the release of the Xbox exclusive, developer Obsidian Entertainment wanted to inform players that Avowed will give them the freedom to explore the game and make game-altering decisions their own way.

In a preview with Xbox Wire, developers from Obsidian Entertainment explained to the outlet their design philosophy behind giving players a huge amount of freedom to shape the story of Avowed. Obsidian is known for its deep RPGs, like Fallout: New Vegas and The Outer Worlds, packed with content and meaningful choices. Now that Obsidian is under the umbrella of Xbox Game Studios, the developer is set to deliver one of its signature RPGs on February 18, set in the world of Eora from Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity series. Ahead of the release, Obsidian Region Director Berto Ritger had this to say about the level of choices players can make in Avowed:

"There are choices you can make and consequences of actions you can take or not take, whether they are forecasted to you or not, that will impact the future of entire settlements, individual people, groups of people — the whole spectrum basically."

Avowed Allows Players To Curate A One Of A Kind Playthrough

There Are Many Different Paths For Players To Take

Custom Image by Lee D'Amato

The developers also promised that no two playthroughs of Avowed would be exactly alike. According to Obsidian Narrative Designer Kate Dollarhyde, this is by design, as Obsidian wants to leave as much as possible open to discovery. Dollarhyde explained to Xbox Wire that Obsidian doesn't want the correct answer to be obvious to players; they want players to engage in all the systems provided in the way they want to and not to force them down any given path. This could help quell some fears from fans, who believe there might not be Avowed.

A skeleton from Avowed over Pillars of Eternity gameplay.

Do You Need To Play Pillars Of Eternity To Play Avowed?

Avowed is connected to Obsidian Entertainment’s Pillars of Eternity series, which will likely make players wonder if they need to play it first.

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Game Director Carrie Patel echoed Dollarhyde's sentiments that making consequences obvious to players isn't rewarding. Patel explained that there needs to be a balance between consequences being impactful but also not surprising the players. Obsidian went through a lot of iterations on the game, playtesting it and getting as to how players might feel about unforeseen consequences of the actions they take in the game. The developers feel confident their final product will keep fans engaged, as players are set to explore the Living Lands soon.

Choices Matter A Lot In Avowed

There Will Be Consequences For Your Actions

Choice is the backbone of everything in Avowed. From the choices players make in their character builds to the narrative choices, what the player decides will guide the game in a different direction. The narrative team for Avowed broke down choices into three categories: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. Short-term choices could be choosing dialogue prompts that get more information from NPCs that could impact a quest or have them react differently, while medium- and long-term choices will shape the narrative as players go through the entire game. This is all in service of a game where the politics and choices players engage in are as dangerous as any enemy.

"For us, choice and consequence are not about every single thing you do affecting the heat death of the universe; it's about everything being believably built to," Patel said to Xbox Wire. Obsidian wants the player's choices to stack on top of each other to build the experience they want and to make a cohesive narrative for them. The developer's philosophy is to find ways to fulfill the consequences of the player's actions in believable ways that will make the player want to dig further and see what else they can do. Avowed offers a huge amount of freedom without being an open-world title, and those wanting to dive into the RPG can do so on Xbox Game at launch.

Sources: Xbox Wire