At least one of Avowed's companions can be romanced by the player character, flying in the face of multiple pre-launch warnings by Obsidian that we shouldn't expect that from them. We're not talking a full-on Baldur's Gate 3 or Mass Effect multipart courting with premium cable nudity at the end of the rainbow, but the romantic subplot we can confirm so far is an interesting outgrowth of an already standout companion quest. Mild Avowed spoilers, including that companion's identity, below.
Obsidian is very much on the record as the anti-RPG romance developer. Studio design director Josh Sawyer has expressed a distaste for them that goes back decades, arguing they're often objectifying, crass wish fulfillment. When there are romantic subplots or themes in Obsidian games, they typically run toward the tragic or subversive:
