Avowed just confirmed at Xbox Direct that it's launching later this year in the Fall. It'll be available day one on Game Pass.
The gameplay showcase gave us a further look at the different weaponry and spells we can expect, with wands, muskets, swords, and shields all on display. You can kick enemies back, charge forward with your shield, and parry attacks. Obsidian also confirmed that you can swap between spellcasting, sharpshooting, and melee on the fly.
Avowed was announced three years ago now in 2021.
As for the story, we're venturing into Pillars of Eternity's world from a wholly new perspective to stop "a mysterious spiritual plague [...] and discover a secret at the heart of the Living Lands".
The gameplay footage also sheds light on one of the quests, a murder mystery in which we will have to determine who, if anyone, is at fault. This isn't the first time that Obsidian has delved into the world of whodunit. The Outer Worlds, its space-fairing Fallout-like RPG, had an entire DLC called Murder on Eridanos in which we had to quite simply "solve a crime".
Another major thing of note from the gameplay trailer is the lack of a voiced protagonist. During the murder mystery quest, we see very Bethesda-y dialogue boxes, building on The Outer Worlds', and when the player picks a response, they don't speak. This is something gamers have been speculating about since Avowed was announced, but now those theories can be put to bed as we'll be silently stumbling through the world.
We hadn't heard much about Avowed before today, but some interesting details have been shared over the years. Rather than having a truly open world, it's split into smaller zones like The Outer Worlds. That means you can press on with the story and get through it in a fairly linear fashion or try and uncover everything in each area you find.
Xbox described Avowed as its "next big thing" after Starfield.
It was also revealed in Obsidian's 20th-anniversary documentary that Avowed was nearly a multiplayer game. Studio head Feargus Urquhart "really pushed" for this to happen, but he eventually conceded that it was the wrong decision. He did so before Microsoft acquired Obsidian because the team needed a hook to make it more appealing to publishers, but with Avowed now an Xbox exclusive, things are different.
And of course, we know Avowed has guns. Obsidian beat the modders to it, this time.
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