In a 31-minute Gamescom preview of Avowed by GameSpot, Obsidian has lastly revealed when within the Pillars of Eternity timeline its upcoming motion RPG, Avowed, takes place. The primary-person Pillars spinoff begins in some unspecified time in the future after the tip of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire.
Avowed was by no means billed as a direct follow-up to Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity video games, however moderately one other story in the identical setting of Eora. Nonetheless, the occasions of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire specifically had been so large, so transformative, and with so many ending permutations, followers like me needed to marvel if Avowed came about after the unique video games, or in some unspecified time in the future in Eora’s distant previous.
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And my assumption—which gave the impression to be the neighborhood consensus—was that Avowed would go the prequel route. Its first trailer regarded a bit extra medieval than the gunpowder-infused age of sail in Pillars correct. And if you wish to get actually into the lore weeds, the prominence of the Aedyr Empire—Avowed’s protagonist is the emperor’s envoy—lent additional credence to the prequel principle. Aedyr’s entered its “terminal imperial decline” period by the point of the Pillars video games.
However nope, not solely is Avowed set after Pillars of Eternity 1 and a couple of, the hunt on the middle of its Gamescom preview cheekily references the occasions of Deadfire earlier than immediately confirming the timeline. The search sees you serving to out a priest of Eothas—the godly antagonist of Deadfire, who possesses a magic crystal colossus to wreak existentially-motivated havoc—in digging up a relic of Pillars’ most “problematic fav” deity. Within the background, you’ll be able to see that the disturbingly serene priest is constructing some form of big crystal effigy to Eothas.
In deliciously traditional Obsidian style, the pleasant priest is definitely a little bit of a freak, identical to his god, and the crystal statue is somewhat magic Gundam he is ready for the Eothasian artifact, a type of mini me to Eothas’ continent-killer type in Deadfire that is equally powered by damned souls. Lest you assume it is only a meta reference for gamers to get, dialogue within the quest immediately references Eothas’ Deadfire rampage as a previous occasion.
So Avowed is transferring the world of Eora ahead, which is especially thrilling given how a lot Deadfire’s ending upended issues: Irrespective of your decisions, Eothas manages to undo the setting’s cycle of dying and rebirth, leaving the individuals of the world to wrestle with the implications. The Dwelling Lands’ remoteness from Deadfire and the Dyrwood, in the meantime, frees the workforce from having to handle the nitty gritty of how gamers left the world, although I am excited on the prospect of seeing a well-known face or two. We’ll know all the pieces for positive as soon as Avowed lastly releases on February 18.