This all feeds into the various cultures you will encounter along the way — what’s important to them (like their gods) is what gives life to the game. The Aedyrans, for example, are a nation that heavily values the ideas of rightful rule, leadership, and order – and now they’re plopped into the greatest frontier of Eora. What would it look like as they start to try and blend in with the locals? It may be a small change in their outfit or adapting to how they choose to live. This “Wild West” attracts all sorts, and rigidity may not blend very well with what’s required to survive the Living Lands.

“Someone who primarily reveres [the goddess] Woedica, values her emphasis on law, order, justice, and rightful rulership above other things. If you venerate Abydon, who is the Smith, it’s not that you don’t believe in the other gods, but you value that sense of industry, hard work, and dedication above other things. This allows us to imbue those factions and groups with certain ideals that are recognizable and help us clearly inform the player about what they’re about,” adds Patel.

I see this in the architecture and outfit design as well, and how the two feel intricately woven together. “This world has been an actual, living, breathing thing. It’s represented in the game, but it feels like it’s been like that in the development,” explains Lead Environment Artist Dennis Presnell. “It’s such an iterative process that as we go, and as our team members come up with new assets or clever ideas or storytelling, we all build upon that and stand on each other’s shoulders. All of it coalesces into something that has so much variety; a big, cohesive, authentic world.”

Much like real-life isolated island locations, such as New Zealand, Australia, or Madagascar, these places can feel alien because they’ve evolved on their own timeline, without interference from the rest of the world and its ecosystem. That’s true for the Living Lands as well. You’ll see this manifest in dramatic environments, with metaphysical and spiritual reasons to account for these differences, with hints of evidence of past civilizations that remains a mystery, and that’s a fascinating aspect of Avowed’s environments — the haunting mystery of the civilizations that came before.

“Part of what made the Living Lands an appealing setting is the promise of having distinct environments and biomes, making you feel like you’re traversing a big, wild land,” explains Patel. “In the lore of Pillars, the Living Lands is described as a strange island where you see things you don’t see anywhere else. It’s carved up by mountains and valleys, allowing for distinct biomes and climate zones to exist in proximity to one another.”

“We really wanted to build an authentic-feeling world,” explains Presnell. “Even if it’s not populated with NPCs or player characters, there’s a history there, and you’ve seen evidence of activity that makes it feel authentic. There’s so much to explore; there’s no way you’re going to see everything available in the first playthrough.”

So far, we’ve seen big chunks of Dawnshore from our hands-on experience, as well as elements of the Emerald Stair region on the Xbox Podcast last June, which is a very lush, but slightly gloomy region. And we’ve seen glimpses of Shatterscarp in other gameplay footage, which is a high desert region. This is to illustrate that the Living Lands are going to be a wild, big place of both promise and danger, and it’s something that civilization is just starting to move into. That brings both good and bad — it’s a space of conflict and transition that will be very interesting to play in and feels like a natural evolution of what Obsidian has been doing from game to game in Pillars.

“We know that whether someone is returning from having played Pillars of Eternity, or they are entirely new to the IP, the setting of the Living Lands and the story of Avowed will be new,” Patel explains. “As with any larger IP, you have this sense of connectedness with the larger world and timeline through current events and characters with experiences and perspectives. But you want to be careful that the bulk of your content is focused on the present story in this time and place. That’s where you draw the line between references and the core content that players are concerned with.”

These environmental designs also have a purpose for your adventure beyond expanded lore and being stunning to look at. Early on, you are shown the various ways you can approach a situation while circumventing the environment by tapping into the power of a grimoire, setting fire to a blocked passageway. How you choose to interact with this game’s world will build upon the incredible immersion factor as you move through the Living Lands.

“We always want to give the player a few different ways to solve some of the problems ahead of them,” explains Patel. “For example, there are certain obstacles that might require fire to burn through. In combat, fire also does great damage over time. You can use it to ignite things like explosive barrels to do more damage. You could have a spell or an enchanted weapon that does fire damage. You may have Magran’s Fury, which are essentially little fire grenades you can find in the world that will do the same thing. You can also have (your companion) Kai use one of his special abilities outside of combat to burn through obstacles that require fire to continue traversing.”

And it’s not just how magic allows you to interact with this world in tangible ways. It’s also how you choose to explore the world of Eora. As Presnell shares with me, lots of attention has been given to rewarding players who choose to veer outside of the main quests or the quick path.

“It’s something I personally love in games when developers take the time to populate and world-build off the beaten path,” explains Presnell. “I’ve always checked around corners and looked over and under things, and I was overjoyed when I saw the time and care put into detailing those parts. We do so much of that in this game. We really reward the player for exploring the world as much as possible. Our team is so good at telling amazing little stories for those detail-oriented enough to look for them and put the pieces together.”