Tyranny shows how Obsidian is ready to explore its dark side

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Obsidian Entertainment unleashed its follow-up to Pillars of Eternity today, and it’s Tyranny, another Infinity Engine-inspired role-playing game that focuses on story choice … and what happens when a player serves an evil empire instead of trying to save the world.

Tyranny is making its debut at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, publisher Paradox Interactive revealed during its press briefing this evening. While the studio plans to share more details later this month about this PC RPG, what we know now is that the player’s character must navigate a world where an evil overlord has conquered all, serving this Kryos while also carving out his own destiny.

This Obsidian joint builds on the work it did with the acclaimed Pillars of Eternity, which was No. 10 on GamesBeat’s list of the best releases in 2015. Brian Heins, who worked on the also acclaimed South Park: Stick of Truth for Obsidian, is Tyranny’s director. It’s the first time he’s helmed a project at the studio.