If you play as a pacifist in role-playing games, stealth titles or immersive sims and prefer not to kill anyone, then Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed may not be for you. Unlike the developer’s previous tile, The Outer Worlds, director Carrie Patel told PC Gamer, “This isn’t a game where you’re gonna have a pure pacifist run.”
However, not every situation demands throwing hands, spells or blades. Since it’s based on Pillars of Eternity, a computer role-playing game with extensive amounts of choice, there will be other options. “Players can expect to see solutions and opportunities to use dialogue, maybe take advantage of reactivity with regards to characters they might have helped or met earlier in.” There will also be some “stealth solutions” but the focus is firmly on combat (which isn’t the worst since you have abject freedom with character builds).
Also on the bright side, Avowed won’t have a single path you must traverse through its many environments. “We’re not planning on one specific linear path that players are going to take through that world. So we’re trying to account for the various places they could be, and the various points of interest they might find and what they might see from there.” Who knows? Perhaps players can devise a solution that involves the lowest body count.
Avowed launches in Fall for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Check out an extended gameplay breakdown with the developer here for more details on the setting, companions and more.
