Even for the most avid fans, the depth of lore and mechanics in CRPGs like Pillars of Eternity can be hard to follow, so for new and old players alike, Avowed is set to have its own glossary to help players navigate its most confusing concepts.

Scheduled for release in early 2025, Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming RPG Avowed takes place in the world of Eora, first established in its previous Pillars of Eternity series. Keen to make sure the game is as approachable for new players as it is to long-time fans, region director Berto Ritger spoke in an interview at EGX about the steps being taken to achieve that.

With two Pillars of Eternity games establishing Eora’s deep lore, bombarding new players with information would likely drive people away rather than engrossing them, so the way Avowed is written is key to drawing those newcomers in. "While it's an existing IP, we've kind of made it as accessible as possible for people that are new to Pillars of Eternity." Ritger begins. "Everything is written so that it's paced out, so you understand the concepts that are core to the world of Eora."

Further to that, Ritger confirms that Avowed will feature a glossary to help players dive more deeply into the lore, or simply to find out or remember information about a particular concept—a feature found in other Obsidian games such as Pentiment. "You can pause conversations anytime, see what people said, and then you can also look up terms that are highlighted in those conversations."

With Avowed already being compared with Baldur’s Gate 3, Obsidian Entertainment is likely keen to follow in Larian Studios’ tremendous success, and for Ritger, ensuring those of you new to the genre or franchise are not put off by the depth of the series' lore is paramount to that. "We wanted to make it as accessible as possible." he declares.

Before Avowed releases, why not play something from our list of the best RPG games?