Why Aowed's World Could Feel Similar to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's

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Important takeaways

  • Aowed will expand on the Pillars of Eternity story and explore The Living Lands territory in Eora.
  • The game's design philosophy mirrors Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's approach to map progression.
  • The world of Avowed will be unlocked incrementally and tied to significant plot events, similar to FF7 Rebirth.



Avowed has been lurking on the horizon since its initial reveal in 2020. Obsidian Entertainment's upcoming dark fantasy FPS RPG will take much of the groundwork and substantial world-building built for the studio's previous CRPG series, Pillar of Eternityand expand on them while telling a new story. Avowed will also place fans in a previously unseen part of PoEs land of Eora, which promises exciting additions to the existing lore and further enhance the environment.

Earlier this year, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirththe highly anticipated second entry in the modern remake series of the beloved JRPG classic, was released to great acclaim. As Rebirth continued the story of Cloud Strife and friends, a noticeable difference from the 2020s Final Fantasy 7 Remake was in the size of the overworld and the way fans are given access to each subsequent locale within it. Rebirth was much larger than Remakepound for pound. But it also required more of an “open zone” approach, breaking up parts of the world incrementally as the story unfolded versus being fully explorable from the start. Based on what Obsidian has said and shown so far about its intentions Avowedit looks like it might feel closely related to Rebirths design philosophy in this area.


Avowed's World Design Could Mirror Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Regional Divisions

Compared to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Rebirths map is certainly much larger. FF7 Remake was mostly confined to Midgar and the immediate surrounding areas of the city, in many cases showing an almost linear design through various sections. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth opened the land of Gaia to encompass an impressive portion of the landmass. Still, as large as these sections are, they're shut off by major story events, and fans aren't technically free to roam and explore them from the get-go.


Although this direction makes sense narratively in the grand scheme of things, and it would probably be pretty weird if, for example, players could visit the cauldron of gold in FF7 Rebirth long before it becomes relevant or necessary to the story, it inherently precludes it from being classified as a truly “open world,” at least by strictly traditional definitions. In practice, while FF7 Rebirth may not feel as restrictive as described, but it still has firm limits on what areas of the world are accessible at any given point.

Why Avowed's map design could contain major shades of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's

Obsidian has been transparent about the scope of Avoweds world, where it has apparently undergone a couple of revisions during development. Currently, the expectations are that Avowed will take a similar approach to the studio's previous sci-fi title, The outer worlds. The evolution of the fans through Avoweds region The Living Lands will seemingly be closely tied to significant plot advancements, and are handed out sequentially TOW and FF7 Rebirth.


None of this is to say that this is inherently inferior or not suitable Avoweds vision though. Parallel to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirths seven major regions, if the story factors are in place, this can smoothly translate into an enjoyable part of the larger experience. Access to additional areas i Avowed could then feel like a reward unto itself, versus giving players the absolute freedom to go wherever they want from the start, potentially detracting from the carefully crafted story Obsidian aims to tell. Decided to have Avoweds world and map work in a way that can be compared to FF7 Rebirth means it will be integrated into the story in the same way. And Obsidian focusing on incorporating this aspect similarly indicates that it has a clear path in mind to make it work to its advantage.

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