I’m always rooting for Obsidian, even though they were gobbled up by Microsoft. I hope Avowed is good, but I found PoE2 a really difficult play in a way that gives me pause over that IP. The first POE was okay, even if the story was a bit forgettable, but the design decisions introduced in the second game were really unpleasant for me. Also, the games take themselves soooo seriously, which can work, but I don’t think Obsidian sufficiently pulled that off. Even Diablo 2 had a few scattered moments of comic relief. I don’t expect all RPGs to indulge in Divinity or FF7 levels of absurdity, but at a certain point I found both of the POE games to be overbearing in their joylessness.
