Now that Avowed is available in early access and on the precipice of launching worldwide, players are discovering that romance is a feature within the game.

Ad

This is notably unexpected as it's something that developer Obsidian Entertainment has previously pushed back on. The studio has had this thinking for decades going back to Fallout: New Vegas, Knights of the Old Republic 2 and most recently, The Outer Worlds. So why is it any different in Avowed?

Well, it's not. There's no straightforward romance in Avowed with only one character currently available to be "wooed".

Let's break this all down with what Obsidian has stated and what we've found from our playthrough so far.

Is there romance in Avowed?

Two characters in Avowed getting ready for battle
Avowed. Obsidian Entertainment

Yes, there is romance in Avowed though it's extremely minimal. While players shouldn't expect anything like The Witcher 3 or Mass Effect, the option is there.

This is surprising as developer Obsidian has repeatedly stated that it will not be a feature in the lead-up to the game's release.

"We don't have romance in Avowed," Obsidian game director Carrie Patel explained in an interview with Windows Central back in July 2024. "I know it's something that many players love, and it's something that we very seriously talked about, and considered the investment required to do it."

In the same interview, Patel added: "Given how much we were investing in our companions as characters who are really tied to the central story in a way that they haven't been in many of our previous games, we wanted to make sure that if we were going to do romance, we were going to really, really, really do it right – or not at all. For Avowed, we decided to focus on other aspects of our companions."

All romance options in Avowed explained

So far, we've only discovered one romance option surrounding one of the four companions in Avowed. Here's what you need to know – also be aware of some spoilers.

Kai

Kai in Avowed
Kai in Avowed. Xbox

To romance Kai, the first companion you meet and a member of the Coastal Aumaua race, players need to complete the character's personal quest. Specifically, the following steps need to be followed:

  • Recruit Kai by completing the tutorial and arriving in Dawnshore
  • Speak to Kai multiple times at Party Camps
  • Complete the 'Battle Scars' personal questline for Kai
  • Choose the dialogue option: "I feel like we've really gotten to know each other, haven't we?"
  • Kai will then reciprocate and suggest picking the romance up later (after the final boss)
  • If done correctly, a small epilogue notes that the pair's relationship has blossomed.

There are some SPOILERS in the next paragraph - a couple of things to avoid in the final stages of the game if you want to see the romantic epilogue at the very end.

There are a couple of things that can put Kai off and stop you from seeing the romantic ending: if you merge yourself with the god Sapadal, or if you join the baddies of the Steel Garotte within the final few hours, Kai won’t stick around for a happy ever after.

It doesn't matter what gender you are or any other differences like being human or elf.

There may be more romance options in Avowed, so we'll make sure to update this piece if/when we find out more.

Avowed is available across Xbox Series X/S and Microsoft Windows.

Ad

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

Black-and-white photo of Matt Poskitt
Matt PoskittFreelance Writer

Matt Poskitt is a freelance journalist who specialises in arts and culture – be that movies, TV, video games, tech or otherwise. Matt headed up the games and entertainment section at T3 (Future Publishing), alongside being found across The Guardian, CNET, PC Gamer Mag, GamesIndustry.biz, Insider, iNews, IGN, TechRadar, PC Gamer Mag, NME and many more.

Ad
Ad
Ad