Upcoming Xbox RPG Avowed features some "darker, scarier areas" and "tonal variety," according to directors

What you need to know

• Avowed is an upcoming fantasy role-playing game being developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. 
• Speaking with the Kinda Funny podcast, Avowed directors Carrie Patel and Gabriel Paramo talked about Avowed's atmosphere and tone, noting that the "target" is similar to Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. 
• The directors add that there are "darker, scarier" places in the game that haven't been shown so far, with "tonal variety" throughout the game.
• Avowed is currently slated to launch at some point in 2024 across Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, as well as being available day one in Xbox Game Pass.

Players looking forward to Obsidian Entertainment's next fantasy role-playing game (RPG) will experience some variety in the world that they explore. 

That's according to game director and gameplay director Carrie Patel and Gabriel Paramo, respectively, who spoke with the Kinda Funny podcast about a number of topics for upcoming Xbox Game Studios RPG Avowed, including the atmosphere of the game. 

Speaking on the overall tone of Avowed, Patel notes that there was a shift in direction years ago, a shift that had already begun what she began working on the game back around January 2021. Patel says that the "target" for the overall experience is comparable to Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, a top-down RPG from Obsidian that was released back in 2018, though Patel adds that there's a lot of "tonal variety" depending on the exact side quest or section of the main path players are on.

The Pillars of Eternity games are set in the fantasy world of Eora, the same world that Avowed is set in. In Avowed, players are exploring the Living Lands, a place in Eora that's been mentioned before but not actually explored in either of the Pillars games.

"If you actually go through and explore the world, you're gonna find darker moments," says Paramo. "We've shown the vibrant, colorful things, but there's some darker, scarier areas too."

Do companions stick with you in Avowed?

In the interview, Patel and Paramo also talked about how the player will interact with companions, confirming that once a companion has joined a player, they'll be around for the rest of the journey. When not actively taken out on a quest, companions can be found lounging at the party camp. The only exception to this is that there are a few quests that will require the player to take a particular companion with them.

There are four companions for players to venture with in Avowed. Giatta is a magic-wielding Ocean Human, Kai is a brawling Coastal Aumaua, Marius is a Mountain Dwarf ranger, and Yatzli is a spell-slinging Hearth Orlan. 

Analysis: I'm eager to see it

I've been interested in Avowed since it was first announced all the way back in 2020 simply by dint of it being an Obsidian Entertainment RPG. As the developers have shared more details, such as revealing the third-person mode, that interest has only steadily grown. Having variety sounds good, so I'm looking forward to diving in when this game arrives. 

On that note, we do really need a release date for this — as well as Bethesda Softworks and MachineGames' Indiana Jones and the Great Circle — soon. Both games are slated to launch later this year, but all we've got is "2024" for now. 

Avowed is coming to Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, as well as launching day one on Xbox Game Pass.