The process of life, death, and reincarnation in Eora is a part of a natural phenomena known as The Wheel. The cycle of reincarnation goes on forever, but every time a soul goes through The Wheel it can lose a little bit of its essence to entropy. Once in The Beyond, a soul’s next life is chosen through a process known as the soul lottery. Not all souls are subject to the soul lottery, howe
Obsidian could just as easily come up with something even more surprising. A recent job listing from Obsidian revealed that it’s starting work on an unannounced project supposedly set in an open world, which could mean The Outer Worlds 2 , or it could mean something completely different. In fact, since Obsidian has been establishing quite a few new IPs in the form of Grounded and The Outer Worlds lately, it seems pretty likely that the studio has another big idea that it wants to expl
Obsidian has had a rocky history, sometimes needing to crowdfund its games to get their development started. Now it’s in a very different place with Microsoft’s help. Frankly, it’s great to see someone as influential in the game industry as Microsoft acknowledging what Obsidian is capable of and giving it a much greater level of stability to help develop its ga
Pillars of Eternity takes place in a period of Eora’s history which is roughly technologically parallel to the real world’s early modern era, from around 1500 to 1800. While Pillars of Eternity has guns , bombs, and galleons, the trailer for Avowed shows more medieval architecture and weaponry. Not only that, but the trailer references oaths multiple times, as well as “kings and queens.” This hints that it is set during Woedica’s reign as the queen of Eora’s gods, as her domain includes rightful rulership and oa
The Living Lands could be a setting that initially appears to be generic and predictable, but which reveals itself to be far more than first meets the eye. The origins of the gods of Eora as seen in Pillars of Eternity borders on sci-fi, with the Engwithans building ginormous machines to manage the souls of the dead, create their own gods using animancy, and discover the answer to life’s existential questi
In both The Elder Scrolls and Lovecraft , the idea of an immensely powerful being simply dreaming the universe plays on the existential dread that the universe, despite containing consciousness, doesn’t have any real direction or agency, and is chaotically amoral. However, Avowed ‘s world imagines a very different kind of existential dread – discovering that there are no gods at
Pillars of Eternity has a fascinating setting. At the time the first game takes place, Eora has settled into its rough equivalent of the early modern era. There are guns, galleons, and even powerful magical explosives in the form of the Godhammer bomb. In contrast, the setting of The Elder Scrolls doesn’t seem to have had a major technological development since the Second Era, at least if The Elder Scrolls Online is anything to go by. Leaning into the early modern influences could be a great way for Avowed to differentiate itself, but there’s already a prob
Lovecraft’s Azathoth and The Elder Scrolls ‘ Godhead are both consciousnesses that exist beyond reality. Lovecraft’s other powerful beings like Cthulhu are still ultimately subject to the subconsciousness of the Blind Idiot God, while Tamriel’s Nine Divines are still just figments of the Godhead’s dream
In Pillars of Eternity , Woedica is the deposed queen of the gods. She is the goddess of justice, oaths, and rightful rule, with a strictly authoritarian streak. Like all the gods in Eora, she was actually created by the long-extinct Engwithan civilization from a single ideal using the souls of the Engwithan populat
The Avowed Collectibles trailer hints that the game may be set during Woedica’s reign. There’s mention of war turning “heroes into queens and kings.” Not only is this well within Woedica’s purview – rightful rule – but the narrator’s claim that “now our oaths are lost” suggests that these rulers made deals with Woedica , and are now being punished for not living up to their end of the bargain. Even the word “avowed” itself has strong links to Woedica’s dom
When Avowed was revealed last year, fans of both Obsidian and Bethesda were quick to notice the similarities between the upcoming RPG and The Elder Scrolls games. Not only that, but Obsidian had already revealed more about its upcoming project than Bethesda has revealed about The Elder Scrolls 6 since its announcement in 2018. Many concluded that, as with The Outer Worlds and Fallout , Obsidian was developing another first-person RPG to attract Bethesda fans who felt dissatisfied with the studio’s recent releases, or lack ther
Skyrim ‘s dungeons are not poorly designed by any means, but it isn’t long into the game before they begin to get somewhat predictable. A large Nord tomb will almost always begin with winding underground crypts leading to a larger cave system, which in turn leads to a “puzzle” door which can only be opened with a Dragon Claw . Beyond the door is a final fight, a world wall, and a conveniently placed secret door which leads right back to the entra