Avowed Release: Obsidian's Skyrim Killer Has a Date With Destiny

November 12, 2024

Avowed Release: Obsidian's Skyrim Killer Has a Date With Destiny

Mark your calendars, RPG enthusiasts: February 18, 2025 is when Obsidian finally lets us loose in their first-person take on the Pillars of Eternity universe. After years of teasing us with "Skyrim but with actual choices that matter," Avowed is almost here. Time to clear your schedule and prepare for another Obsidian game where your dialogue choices have more weight than your armor rating.

What Is Avowed, Really?

Think of it as Obsidian asking "What if we made Skyrim, but people actually cared about the story?" Set in the Living Lands of Eora (the Pillars of Eternity world), you play as an envoy investigating a mysterious plague. Spoiler alert: it's probably more complicated than just "plague bad, cure good."

First-Person Pillars - All the deep lore and world-building of Pillars of Eternity, but now you can actually see the existential dread up close.
Classless System - Build your character however you want. Tank mage? Sneaky warrior? Pacifist pyromaniac? Go wild.
Dual-Wielding Everything - Wand in one hand, sword in the other. Because why choose when you can have both?
Companion Drama - It's an Obsidian game, so expect companions with more emotional baggage than a therapist's waiting room.

Combat That Doesn't Feel Like Morrowind

Remember Morrowind's "swing and pray" combat? Obsidian apparently does too, and they're determined to avoid it:

Magic That Feels Magical - Spell combos, environmental interactions, and actual impact. No more shooting peas at enemies and calling it "Fireball."

Melee With Weight - Swords actually feel like they're hitting something, not just phasing through enemies like a disappointing lightsaber.

Guns in Fantasy - Because it's a Pillars game, firearms exist. Nothing says "medieval fantasy" like shooting a wizard in the face with a blunderbuss.

Stamina That Matters - Can't just spam attacks like you're playing Dynasty Warriors. Timing and resource management are key.

The Living Lands: Not Your Average Fantasy Setting

Forget generic medieval Europe analogues:

Weird is Normal - The Living Lands are known for strange phenomena. Expect reality to be more of a suggestion than a rule.
Colonial Commentary - Obsidian doing what they do best: making you think about real-world issues while fighting fantasy monsters.
Faction Politics - Multiple groups with conflicting interests. Side with one and watch the others plot your demise. Classic Obsidian.
Environmental Storytelling - Every ruined structure has a story, usually depressing. This is the studio that made Fallout: New Vegas, after all.

What We Know So Far

The Good:

Runs on Unreal Engine 5 (goodbye Creation Engine jank)
Day one on Game Pass (your wallet rejoices)
No level scaling (enemies won't magically get stronger just because you did)
Mod support confirmed (Thomas the Tank Engine dragons incoming)

The Concerning:

Not fully open world (more hub-based like Outer Worlds)
No third-person option (first-person haters in shambles)
Smaller scope than Skyrim (quality over quantity, hopefully)
Made by Microsoft-era Obsidian (please don't be sanitized)

Community Expectations vs Reality

The hype train has some interesting passengers:

"It's Skyrim but good!" - Slow down there, chief. It's more like "Skyrim's literate cousin who went to college."

"Will it have romance?" - Obsidian confirmed yes, but knowing them, it'll probably involve philosophical debates about the nature of souls.

"Better than Starfield?" - Different games, but the bar isn't exactly high after Starfield's "thousand planets of nothing."

"Please don't be buggy" - It's an Obsidian game. Expect some jank, but hopefully not "New Vegas at launch" levels.

Why February 2025 Matters

Avowed is launching in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 world. The bar for RPG writing, character development, and player choice has been raised to the stratosphere. Can Obsidian match Larian's new standard while doing their own thing?

Competition:

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 just launched
The Witcher 4 looming on the horizon
Elder Scrolls 6 still years away (probably)

Should You Be Hyped?

Get excited if:

You think Skyrim needed more moral ambiguity
The Outer Worlds was too short for your liking
You've played Pillars of Eternity and wanted to explore that world in first-person
You trust Obsidian despite their occasionally rocky launches
Game Pass means you're playing it anyway

Temper expectations if:

You want Skyrim 2.0
Open world freedom is non-negotiable
You're expecting Baldur's Gate 3 levels of production value
First-person fantasy isn't your thing

Avowed represents Obsidian's biggest swing yet. It's their chance to prove they can do the AAA first-person RPG thing while maintaining their signature storytelling and choice-driven gameplay. Will it dethrone Skyrim? Probably not. Will it offer something different and meaningful? If Obsidian's track record holds, absolutely.

February 18, 2025 can't come soon enough. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to replay Pillars of Eternity to brush up on my Eora lore. Those gods aren't going to understand themselves.