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 initial claims to the contrary. 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 earlier statements by Avowed game director Carrie Patel, who, in an IGN interview, explained the decision to forgo a traditional romance system: "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."

However, player reports and reviews indicate a romantic element with Kai has emerged. Significant spoilers regarding Kai's interactions with the player character follow. Readers wishing to avoid spoilers should stop reading here.

**Warning! Avowed spoilers follow:

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