Highlights

  • Avowed, an upcoming RPG by Obsidian, promises a deep fantasy world in the Living Lands of Eora with a focus on player choice.
  • While little is known about companion characters, Kai and Giatta have been revealed, hinting at potentially diverse species joining in the fight.

Avowed is an upcoming fantasy action RPG by Obsidian Entertainment, developer of hits like the Pillars of Eternity series, Fallout: New Vegas, and The Outer Worlds. Avowed will take players to the Living Lands in Pillars of Eternity's world of Eora, where they have been assigned to investigate a spiritual plague known as the Dream Scourge and subdue any threats they encounter along the way.

Obsidian revealed a surprising number of Avowed's features in January's Xbox Developer Direct, including the game's weapons and weapon systems, emphasis on player choice in combat and dialogue, quests and side quests, and more. However, one feature that was largely sidestepped in the showcase and almost every reveal since then has become a standard expectation of modern RPGs, especially those of developers like Obsidian. Specifically, very little is still known about Avowed's companion characters — who they are, where they are from, and how they may impact the player's journey.

Avowed logo over light and dark environments
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All of Avowed's Companions Have Likely Not Been Revealed

Two of Avowed's Companions Have Already Been Revealed and Confirmed

During an extended gameplay breakdown on the Official Xbox Podcast, Obsidian confirmed two of Avowed's companions who have both appeared in the game's trailers and the Xbox Developer Direct showcase. Giatta and Kai are two characters who will be allying with the player at some point during their journey in Avowed, and they both have very distinct backgrounds, though not much has been revealed about Giatta.

Obsidian has confirmed that Kai, on the other hand, is from the Aumaua kingdom of Rauatai, making him an Aumaua as well. The developers also noted that Kai has some sort of deep history with Shatterscarp, which will serve as a key location in the game. While Giatta's background has been kept under wraps, it is fairly easy to discern that she is a Human.

Despite only two of Avowed 's companions being revealed and confirmed so far, there will likely be many more potentially accompanying the player, simply due to the game's Steam page description and expectations set by the Pillars of Eternity series.

Avowed Will Presumably Have More Companions

According to Avowed's Steam page, "companions from a spread of species" will be joining the fight alongside the player. This heavily implies that there will be a decent number of companion characters in the game, most likely more than the two that have already been confirmed.

As Kai and Giatta are an Aumaua and a Human, respectively, and there are six races in the Pillars of Eternity universe Avowed is set in, this "spread of species" may involve the other four races and therefore could mean at least four more companions. More species represented among companions would be especially welcomed, as Avowed's character creation restricts players to either a Human or an Elf.

If there are indeed more than two companions in the game, it might do well for Obsidian to introduce them before Avowed releases this fall. Perhaps a showcase solely revolving around each of the game's companion characters would be enough to allow players to get to know them before launch, and if they do end up having a choice about whether to recruit them, maybe that showcase would give them plenty of time to at least consider it beforehand. However, the developer may choose to continue keeping that under wraps so as not to spoil anything.