Avowed Has a Little Bit of Romance In It After All

Obsidian's Avowed, now available in early access, has surprised players with a romantic subplot, despite earlier statements from the developers. While Obsidian previously stated Avowed wouldn't include a dedicated romance system, focusing instead on "thoughtful relationships" with companions, early gameplay reveals at least one companion, Kai, develops romantic feelings for the player character.

This contradicts a previous statement by Avowed game director Carrie Patel in an IGN interview, where she explained their decision: "We are building thoughtful relationships with our companion characters," Patel stated. "Ultimately, I personally am a fan of making that an option, but I feel like if you're going to do it, you really, really have to commit and make sure that you're giving all to fulfilling that in a way that feels both true to the character, but also creates an engaging player experience. So not something we're doing for Avowed, but I wouldn't say never."

Proceed with caution! Significant spoilers for interactions with Kai follow. If you wish to experience Avowed unspoiled, stop reading now.

**Warning! Avowed spoilers follow: