Owen did get a little bit of a refresh, so his art was updated. I think the updated lighting enhances his appearance, too.
I have an idea of why Owen acts the way he does, and it does involve how he grew up, but it won't be anything overly traumatic. There's a level of realism in what I write to keep the game grounded, but it's primarily a fantasy game, so I don't want to dip into anything too dark.
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Griffin's story is definitely a little more complicated than most other characters. I wouldn't say it goes super dark, he's not an evil person or anything, but he does have motivations based on resentments that could lead to some morally ambiguous choices on his part.
Nothing that will take consent away from Connor, to be clear! Connor will have agency, and his own choices (so yours as the player) will influence the ones Griffin makes.