Avowed's shared universe with Obsidian's excellent Pillars of Eternity games is the subject of a new series with a recognizable narrator.
It's almost time for Avowed to show us all what it's got. Expectations are already set pretty high - it is an Obsidian RPG, after all - and over the last couple of years it's done a pretty solid job at showcasing its gameplay. However, with Avowed sharing the same lore and universe as Obsidian's criminally overlooked Pillars of Eternity games, the studio is doing a last-minute push to help newcomers understand the world of Eora. Oh, and it's roped in prevalent voice actor Matthew Mercer to be Loremaster General.
With the Avowed release date less than a month away now, Obsidian has just dropped the first episode of a five-part video series called Lore of Eora. As mentioned, the focus of the series is to fully explain Avowed's shared universe for anyone that hasn't indulged in Pillars of Eternity before. Despite how excellent both the first and second Pillars games were, they were nowhere near as popular as some of the other best RPG games of the 2010s, so this is definitely a necessary exercise.
If you are a Pillars aficionado, you're probably very knowledgeable on all the locations, races, historical moments, and other key bits of lore that prop up Avowed. But for the newcomers that Obsidian and Microsoft are desperate to attract, this video series will be super helpful. As Obsidian itself has stressed many times, you absolutely don't need to have to played Pillars of Eternity before to understand and appreciate Avowed, and there will be in-game lore systems to help you out too, but it's still a very handy resource.
It's also really beautifully made. Well, at least the debut episode is, anyway. It's got a lovely, hand-drawn art style and the dulcet tones of Matt Mercer guide you through. The first episode revolves around the five species of people that inhabit Eora - humans, aumaua, orlans, dwarves, and elves. These five species are collectively known as the Kith.
In rare cases, people may be born as godlikes, beings that harness powers and unusual appearance traits from Eora's deities. In Avowed, you will play as a godlike, but you can still of course form allegiances or rivalries with different species and evolve your personal appearance to look more like an elf, for example.
The remaining four episodes will gradually trickle out in the build up to Avowed's launch on Thursday, February 13.
If you really want to get in the mood for Avowed, go and give Pillars of Eternity a go, or try out some of our favorite open-world games and fantasy games instead.