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8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2683 Ratings

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  1. Mar 27, 2015
    7
    As someone with little to no cRPG experience I felt I should make the jump with this game. Lesson learned. I got very little from my experience. Though, if you know you're a fan of cRPGs, especially Baldur's Gate, I suspect that you'll love it.
  2. Apr 11, 2015
    7
    I could blithe on about my history with Baldur's Gate 1&2, Icewind Dale, etc... but this isn't about them and really comparing a game today to a classic game, which was a part of my youth isn't really fair anyway; good memories are hard to beat. And that is how I am judging Pillars. Do I get that, "this will leave a good memory" vibe. If i'm honest, I knew this answer pretty fast andI could blithe on about my history with Baldur's Gate 1&2, Icewind Dale, etc... but this isn't about them and really comparing a game today to a classic game, which was a part of my youth isn't really fair anyway; good memories are hard to beat. And that is how I am judging Pillars. Do I get that, "this will leave a good memory" vibe. If i'm honest, I knew this answer pretty fast and it's no. But it does have most of the components for it.

    Pillars is a fun game; I'm enjoying myself and having fun playing. But what holds the score down for me is the writing. The story line is pretty good, and the quest lines are ok, but it feels more often than not, they used writers who went out of their way to create a civilization and it's cultures with very little knowledge how these things work. The history, the various dialects, the ways of life, all seem so forced. All the user created mods can't fix this fundamental flaw. And then there is the user created "back stories" and epitaphs. Most of them needed an editors hand to help clean up their story, and it doesn't seem this happened. The idea is great, in my opinion. But the application should have been vetted more thoroughly. And the books, with history and lore in them, are bad. I want to read them, and do, but it hurts every-time.

    Additionally, I don't think it's worth the 45 on up, US dollars. But money is a fluid thing, and if you have means to spend that kind of money without worry, then your thoughts will be different. So this is more personal opinion. Still...

    Ok, that out of the way, Pillars is still a lot of fun. The game play is quite fun, and I like the combat system a lot. It requires you play your game based on your party. It also gives you enough choices when leveling up to make a character feel somewhat unique. You also get some unique options how to respond depending on your class, build, and choices you've previously made in the game. To me, that's awesome.

    Overall, this is really fun for me. The writing hurts, but it's not horrible. Probably not nearly as-bad-as I make it seem. That said, it does affect immersion in my opinion and lasting appeal. Still, the game play, battles, interactions, ambiance, etc... all more than make up for it. If you like a good D&D style turn-based game, I would be surprised if you didn't enjoy this. There is so much that is fun and enjoyable. If you're a reader, or lover of a good back-story, you may have issues but reading so many other reviews, I think the majority found the writing just fine. So take my criticism with a grain a salt, I suppose.

    Either way, if you do get it, I hope you find it worth the time and money spent. I know I am.

    Happy gaming.
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  3. Mar 31, 2015
    7
    This game is good but it is not perfect by any stretch. All the tens are vaguely ridiculous. Since everyone else is comparing Pillars of Eternity to Baldur`s Gate I will as well. There are a couple of glaring weaknesses which should become apparent when one does this to prevent giving a 10. A 10 means a perfect game. PoE is not perfect.

    The single biggest problem with PoE is this: In
    This game is good but it is not perfect by any stretch. All the tens are vaguely ridiculous. Since everyone else is comparing Pillars of Eternity to Baldur`s Gate I will as well. There are a couple of glaring weaknesses which should become apparent when one does this to prevent giving a 10. A 10 means a perfect game. PoE is not perfect.

    The single biggest problem with PoE is this: In Baldur`s Gate you had a whopping 25 NPCs scattered around the game you could include in your party. PoE has 8. Not only does it only have 8 of them but there is no rogue and no barbarian. This almost forces you to play as a rogue if you want to avoid eating traps and not being able to unlock things. And you can forget about ever playing a barbarian. I didn`t start as a rogue, not being aware of this lack of companions, and now have an ill-suited priest disarming traps and unlocking chests. To me this is more than enough to drag the score of this game down to an 8 or a 9 all by itself. It is just not good enough and in comparison to Baldur`s Gate, the "spiritual predecessor" to PoE, it is embarrassing. Yes you can make your own party but it will not be interactive or have any stories or side quests. And you could do that in Baldur`s Gate too. Just a loud "where the hell are the NPCS?" from me on this issue. The other big problem with this glaring lack of NPC companions is that it severely reduces the replayability of the game - a huge strength of Baldur`s Gate precisely because it had so many of them. You could start over and over again and never have the same party. You could try gimmick runs and only recruit the mages available or any other sort of wild scheme you could cook up. In PoE you will necessarily always have nearly the same party if you start over because you only have three more than you need to fill the group. I see at most one possible replay of this game for this reason. And it is not good enough. Not good enough at all.
    There are a few other minor annoyances as well, although nothing major. The loading screens are all over the place and last for far too long, whatever the reason is. Exploring towns becomes a huge pain the the butt as a result. "Omigosh I hope there isn`t a second floor! That will mean four loading screens of 30 seconds each and what if there`s not even anything interesting up there?" Five districts in Defiance Bay of this will have anyone staring in dread at any building they see.
    I do miss some of the AD&D stuff, and multiclass/dual class in particular. The combat and class system they have replaced this with is alright though. Some things I like and some I don`t. But that`s probably too subjective and not really something that will be likely reduce most people`s enjoyment of the game, unless they are AD&D fanatics. There is a lack of scripting options for the characters you control though and an abundance of required micromanagement as a result. Some associated annoyances ensue from this because you don`t get any indication of spell range and a few other things. Make a mistake and your caster will barge into melee range and get splattered when he tries to move back out again. And you will make mistakes because you will have to tell your characters what to do in every single fight because of the lack of scripting options.
    The final issue I have with PoE is simply that it is not better than Baldur`s Gate, which was released in 1998. It should be better but it is not. Perhaps it`s just a tall order. BG is a classic that has stood the test of time remarkably well. But it still feels disappointing that PoE falls short of its inspiration, which I think it clearly does. And the conclusion to draw from that is that PoE works fine as a nostalgia trip but not quite as well as a game in its own right. It is still good, don`t get me wrong. But it just shouldn`t be worse than a 17 year old game in the same genre. And it is. And this alone MUST lower the score by at least one point. Baldur`s Gate is a 10. Therefore PoE can not be a 10 because it isn`t as good.

    Other than these points, PoE is a well made and highly enjoyable CRPG with a lot of positive aspects. There are colorful characters (The few you`ll find that is), the graphics are mostly good, although somewhat bland at times. The music, VA and sound effects are for the most part also nice, if not exactly groundbreaking. And of course there is tons of dialogue, a nice story and a compelling game world to explore. There are also some new developments, most notably the stronghold feature, which is interesting without being great.
    In most respects PoE is an enjoyable throwback to the days of the IE engine. But a 10 it is not. If it had a few more NPCs it would probably qualify as an 8. But it doesn`t.
    If you want the cutting edge of this genre go play Divinity: Original Sin. If you fancy a retro romp through the beginnings of it then PoE is for you. But you`re better off playing the original IE games if you haven`t already.
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  4. May 20, 2015
    7
    A very good quality product of crowdfunding isn't something you see every day, but this it. Delivered what it promised, perhaps even surpassed the expectations. In the first act of the game, that is, after that the game goes downhill and ends prematurely in an anticlimactic 'poof' of a rushed, pathetic boss fight.
    Would be 10/10 if the game managed to keep up the quality it shows in the
    A very good quality product of crowdfunding isn't something you see every day, but this it. Delivered what it promised, perhaps even surpassed the expectations. In the first act of the game, that is, after that the game goes downhill and ends prematurely in an anticlimactic 'poof' of a rushed, pathetic boss fight.
    Would be 10/10 if the game managed to keep up the quality it shows in the beginning throughout the experience.
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  5. Mar 26, 2015
    7
    As a 32 year old guy who grew up playing the Infinity Engine RPG's, I was really looking forward to this. It is a love letter to a type of game that I had missed. Or at least thought I had missed.

    PoE is full of flaws, just like the older games. The limited budget is constantly obvious. Most of the dialogue is not voice acted, and the different locations are tied together by "story
    As a 32 year old guy who grew up playing the Infinity Engine RPG's, I was really looking forward to this. It is a love letter to a type of game that I had missed. Or at least thought I had missed.

    PoE is full of flaws, just like the older games. The limited budget is constantly obvious. Most of the dialogue is not voice acted, and the different locations are tied together by "story cards" that narrate the cool things that happened in the meantime, rather than cutscenes that show them. I wasn't surprised, I expected that much.

    So, is the story any good? The characters? The lore? The answer in my opinion is that they are... adequate. The story has enough to keep the player going, but is not nearly as epic as Baldur's Gate 2. The characters are ok, they have backstories and everything, but they never transcend the norm to become truly special and memorable. There is no Morte or Ignus here. The lore tries to offer a lot, but without the rich established DnD background to back it up, it often devolves into a confusing mess.

    The combat feels fine at the start, but as the game progresses, the amount of micromanagement that is required to not die becomes quite ridiculous, even on medium difficulty. Icewind Dale did a great job of streamlining that combat system and making it feel more impactful, but PoE throws most of that work out the window and obfuscates the combat through hidden rolls and mechanics that I think most players won't have the patience to fully research.

    It is obvious that Obsidian tried their absolute best with the means they had. PoE is a beautiful game, and also a surprisingly polished game. A lot of planning, a lot of writing, a lot of drawing and countless sleepless nights went into this game. That much is clear. It's a shame that their best is not enough to deliver something truly spectacular, something that you can't wait to come home from work to play.

    If you want to call it "Baldur's Gate 3", be my guest. There it is. Baldur's Gate 3. Warts and all. It's good. But it's not great.
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  6. Mar 31, 2015
    7
    It was great fun until the bugs started coming in one after the other. Stat bug, companions inventory deletion bug, load and save times going from 3 seconds to 40. I really like this game but its doing everything it can to brick my save.
  7. Jun 18, 2015
    7
    + + + Pros + + +
    1. Very long campaign with plenty of maps and side quests.
    2. Nice graphics,great level design and amazing soundtrack. 3. Smooth gameplay,interesting characters,writing and dialogues with lots of choices. - - - Cons - - - 1. Plenty of unnecessary loading times (even when you are on the same map). 2. No voiced dialogues (text only). 3. The combat rules,casting and
    + + + Pros + + +
    1. Very long campaign with plenty of maps and side quests.
    2. Nice graphics,great level design and amazing soundtrack.
    3. Smooth gameplay,interesting characters,writing and dialogues with lots of choices.

    - - - Cons - - -
    1. Plenty of unnecessary loading times (even when you are on the same map).
    2. No voiced dialogues (text only).
    3. The combat rules,casting and survival handicaps the player greatly (and the A.I. is one of the worst I´ve seen in a while).

    Classic RPG with modern graphics and some annoying old-school and technical flaws. Overall an enjoyable experience.
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  8. Aug 3, 2015
    7
    Don't look at people saying the combat is boring or the game is buggy. Those are people playing on a Commodore 64 and that unfortunately don't have any finger on their hands.

    The combat is good, the graphics are great, the gameplay is very intuitive. I really enjoyed playing it, however I can barely recommend it. You are looking for an old style RPG, ok go for it. You are looking for
    Don't look at people saying the combat is boring or the game is buggy. Those are people playing on a Commodore 64 and that unfortunately don't have any finger on their hands.

    The combat is good, the graphics are great, the gameplay is very intuitive. I really enjoyed playing it, however I can barely recommend it.

    You are looking for an old style RPG, ok go for it. You are looking for a new Baldur's Gate? Nope...

    I don't think that I enjoyed BG because I was a teenager and now I grew old, the game is just not playing in same league.

    - Epicness of BG2 - Forget it. Are you saving the universe, thanks God no. However, are you following such an interesting story as to replace the Lord of Murder himself? No... Or are you seeking who you are and are throwed in a story you don't know where it will end (PST)? Not really... The story is just average.

    - Variety of BG2 or even Icewind Dale - Forget it. In those games you were exploring so many places, each of them being extremely different than the previous. Here... No, the World map is just too small... The cities are empties and few things to do. You are in the capital, you feel alone. In BG2, only in Amn (representing a very small part of the game) you had so many quests to do, so many things to make. Every neightboorhood had plenty of zones, plenty of people to speak to...If you were playing a fighter you could your castle, and it was feeling alive. Here in PoR, you are in your castle, stupidly you think that as you are upgrading it people will come, you'll see farmers, bartenders, a court... No... There's just no one throughout the entire game... Feels extremely empty on that side.

    Apart from that the game as serious other flaws of which the MOST AWFUL one: loading time... This is just horrible... You cannot camp as many times as you want. Which is a good idea in theory, but practically you just want to quit the game... "Ok, limited camp supplies, I have to watch out, play strategically, cannot screw up". Good, but... You can play as good as you want, your mage-retarded psycho elf is tired after having done 300 meters... So, you are in the Endless Paths, 3 screens away from the surface. 3 loading screens. Then walk up to the tavern, enter the tavern, loading screen. Walk on the first floor, loading screen. Sleep, go away and again 5 other loading screens to go onto battle... Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus...

    So all in all... The game is good, and any people who like occidental RPG will like it and should go for it, but it's not even 50% as good as Baldur's Gate or IceWind Dale. In every point it's just below...
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  9. Oct 13, 2016
    7
    Five Word Review: Modern RPG, classic look/feel.
    Favorite Thing: An epic adventure with plenty to see and do.
    Least Favorite Thing: Really dislike the progression system. Levels are few and far apart and you don't feel much more powerful with each advancement.

    Playtime: 80h (includes White March I & II)
    Enjoyment: 7/10
    Recommendation: Yeah, if you have copious amounts of time to spare.
  10. Sep 19, 2017
    7
    Having played BG 1 & 2 and enjoying them, I found this a little more of a struggle to get in to. While overall it is very similar in many mechanics I could not get in to the overall story and found it a drag after 20 hours of gameplay.
    Fans of Baldurs Gate style games will definitely enjoy this, if you after more of a Diablo type experience maybe stay away.
  11. Apr 1, 2015
    7
    What we have here is a graphic novel with interactive areas and a bolted on RPG system, leveling seems to take place once every blue moon and I have found characters with a 7 in lore could not use scrolls that needed 2 in lore, so the RPG side is simply not working.

    It relies heavily on text based story telling to create game play, combat, exploration, all seem secondary to this one
    What we have here is a graphic novel with interactive areas and a bolted on RPG system, leveling seems to take place once every blue moon and I have found characters with a 7 in lore could not use scrolls that needed 2 in lore, so the RPG side is simply not working.

    It relies heavily on text based story telling to create game play, combat, exploration, all seem secondary to this one part of the games design. Unfortunately the story just is not that interesting, I have put books down that have been more interesting than this.

    If you check the steam stats and achievements for the game, you will notice a trend, most of the advanced features of the game are not getting used, most folk use the creator an adventurer feature, only 25% have actually finished act 1. This should tell you a lot.

    It actually reminds me of a computerised version of the old paper and pen RPGs where the dungeon keeper tells you what you are looking at. Trouble is, this is computer game where we can see what we are looking at and half the time it does not match the text.

    I have seen this compared to Baldurs gate a lot, honestly, it is not Baldurs gate, its not even in the same league as Baldurs gate but the game does have its charms if you sit back and treat it like an interactive book with pretty average if long winded story line.

    If I was to give it a score it would be 7 out of 10. Worth owning but not for £35. I would say pick this up when the price hits £22 which is closer to its truth worth.

    I would ask obsidian one question though, where did the $4 Million dollars from kickstarter go because this game is not worth $4.

    Worth buying but wait for the sales.
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  12. Apr 6, 2015
    7
    I'm digging it so far, I just have 7 hours under my belt, but I am liking the graphics ad the story so far.

    Combat is fluid and fun, a little clunky with path finding or guys not attacking when something is smashing their faces in. Level design so far is really good and I am a big fan of the infinity engine from baldurs gate and icewind dale series. Having a hard time with certain
    I'm digging it so far, I just have 7 hours under my belt, but I am liking the graphics ad the story so far.

    Combat is fluid and fun, a little clunky with path finding or guys not attacking when something is smashing their faces in.

    Level design so far is really good and I am a big fan of the infinity engine from baldurs gate and icewind dale series.

    Having a hard time with certain classes though, like having a cleric with me in the middle of my group. I send in my warriors first to get initial agro, then they just switch to my cleric and literally rape him... over.. and over again.. I just got to the point of replacing him with another warrior.
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  13. Apr 10, 2017
    7
    It's pretty good. It has some really cool stuff about it, great graphics and great ability of story telling. But at the same time it's very much how you expect it to play. If you've played any of the original Fallout games or Baldur's Gate or even shades of Diablo II.
    So it is a good game, but that's all I would say on it, that's it's good. Worth a purchase in a sale.
  14. Jul 3, 2016
    7
    At first I really liked the game. A lot of variety in character choices, etc.
    At lot of fun at first but frankly the game just gets monotonous.
    The game doesn't scale well, and you will hit the level cap before the end of the 2nd act (out of three). The whole thing get monotonous. It's the same thing over and over, and over again. I would play the game for a while and fall asleep.
    At first I really liked the game. A lot of variety in character choices, etc.
    At lot of fun at first but frankly the game just gets monotonous.

    The game doesn't scale well, and you will hit the level cap before the end of the 2nd act (out of three).
    The whole thing get monotonous. It's the same thing over and over, and over again.
    I would play the game for a while and fall asleep.

    I feel now it was a mistake to get the expansion. If it were not for the expansion I probably would have made it to the 3rd act.

    For some reason most game developers, who's ever in charge, seem to think well if I don't put 100+ hours of play in a game people will complain that it's too short.
    It's as if every new movie had to be six hours long. Most people couldn't sit through it and with this game like most it's just too drawn out.

    I even used Cheat Engine hacks to supercharge my characters to roll through the battles thinking I would make it through the 3rd to finish the game.
    To boring, couldn't do it even then.

    The game is fun for a while, but take my advise and don't bother getting the expansion unless you finished the game and really want to add many hours of the same thing..
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  15. Apr 5, 2015
    7
    The game started on Kickstarter which explains why it's overrated. I find the interface cumbersome. And generally the whole interface lacking.........
  16. Apr 1, 2015
    7
    Is this game as good as it's proponents say it is? No, despite superficial similarities it isnit the second coming of Baldur's Gate.

    Is it a bad game? No, despite mechanical peculiarities and Obsidian's obligatory bugs, its actually good fun. Not great fun, it's a little too grindy for that IMO, but it has an interesting if clichéd world and story, and some solidly written NPC's, as you
    Is this game as good as it's proponents say it is? No, despite superficial similarities it isnit the second coming of Baldur's Gate.

    Is it a bad game? No, despite mechanical peculiarities and Obsidian's obligatory bugs, its actually good fun. Not great fun, it's a little too grindy for that IMO, but it has an interesting if clichéd world and story, and some solidly written NPC's, as you would expect from an Obsidian game.

    Not a great game but a good one, well worth picking up ones the obligatory Obsidian bugs are ironed out.
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  17. May 21, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you think Baldurs Gate is today a 10/10 stop reading because Pillars of Eternity is a 10/10 for you too.If you think Baldrus Gate is still a great Game but you think in 2015 that formula needs improvements read my review.I compare Pillars to Baldurs Gate 1 and2 , its really close and that game is the spritual predecessor.Before i go into detail i think i should mention that i think a game in 2015 need more then just what Pillars delivers.

    Visuals:Its ok.Visuals are not that important to me.The backrounds are hand-drawn as far as i know, you can see that.Some backrounds are really nice, others not so much.Its a mixed bag.What i miss is more variety.Most maps are pretty generic i think.I miss lightning effects that impresses me, but thats because of the engine they use.Its an enhanced version of the old engine that runs Baldurs Gate.And its ok, the game is not bad looking.The artdesign is something that i dont like.The armors for example, even the "special" ones dont look that impressive.There is nothing special.

    Sound:I miss great music.There is SOME music but its not really special.Thats a little moodkiller for me.The voiceacting is for the most part ok.Not everything is great, some characters are not that good.
    What i really dislike is that sometimes one part of a discussion is voiced, others not.That happens often in the conversations with your partymembers.That is distracting and disrupts the flow of the conversation.
    What i miss too are sounds when you fight.Music is playing, fine, but what about some weapon-sounds?
    Like in KOTOR?In KOTOR you have sounds when weapons are used, you even see little flashes.Here?Nothing!

    Gameplay:I think the gamplay is a mixed bag too.There are some great ideas.For example that the game explanis in a text what happens and you can choose with a click what you want to do.That is really fun and you need to pay attention and sometimes you need to know the abilitys of your partymemebers.Unfortunately this feature is rarely used and sometimes the best choice is so bluntly presented that its is boring.A giant letdown is the combatengine.In combat the pathfining AI is terrbile.In houses and dungeons you will get stuck.Even when there is enough space to go your companions will just stand there and watch.This can kill off your entire party.That is something the game inherritted from BG and that in 2015!!!For that, ill substract 1 point from the endscore.What is a letdown too is the character development.Its to simple.You can choose some paths but i tried different stuff with the adventureers you can hire.Most skills are too weak.I chose my rogue so that she crits nearly with EVERY strike, 2 weaponstyle with sabers.At the end of the game, she was maxed out and 85% of her hits were crits while she killed more enemys then the entire party without her together.I think i broke the combatsystem with my build because even on higher dificulty the game was far too easy.When i read some reviews and hear about "challenging combats" i can just laugh, im sorry.Its unbalanced as hell and if you understand how the engine works that can be work in your favour.A problem i see is the selection of possible companions.The cast is uninteresting at best, there is no real dynamic in the group.They wont leave you, they wont turn against you.No love interest, i miss that when i think back to BG2!There are other not so great points, ill not go into detail, most of them are just minor points.

    Summary:I played BG1 weeks prior to the release, so i can compare pretty good.Pillars is on par with BG1.Weak points and strong points are nearly the same.In the end, BG1 is a better game for me.The cast of possible companions is more interesting, the mainstory is more interesting and there is even some dynamic when you are good and some members of your group are evil for example.Where is all that in Pillars??Baldurs Gate 2 is a 10/10 for me, even today.BG1 is a 8/10 for me, cause that game is missing some of the great parts from BG2.Pillars is weaker when it comes to story, even the sound is weaker, so its a 7/10 for me.That makes it a good to great game.Something for comparison:The highest score i ever gave was a 8/10 for last years surprise "This war of mine".Maybe Pillars 2 will be better.....
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  18. Oct 2, 2015
    7
    Tier 2
    + Interesting story and side characters, a lot of nice expository details
    + A pretty world with a lot of spectacular details and environments
    ? Pacing of the story is a bit slow and all over the place
    - Combat feels messy and unrefined, real-time gameplay is very chaotic
    - Character items and models are visually unimpressive and immersion breaking
  19. Dec 11, 2015
    7
    Good game, but I really hate those stupid pseudo real-time turn-based combat crap. Makes the game look really dumb. Aside from combat, which you cannot avoid at all in the game, you have a good story. It does not seem that your choices matters in the game. I've done like 25% of the game, and my choices have made no difference and had no impact on the story.

    There are some nice and
    Good game, but I really hate those stupid pseudo real-time turn-based combat crap. Makes the game look really dumb. Aside from combat, which you cannot avoid at all in the game, you have a good story. It does not seem that your choices matters in the game. I've done like 25% of the game, and my choices have made no difference and had no impact on the story.

    There are some nice and unusual options in the options menu of this game. You can actually hide metagaming information, which increases replayability... well, it would increase it alot if the choices you take would change the story like in Age of Decadence, which is a much better game overall, especially in the storyline department (you live according to your choices. Went through half the game without fighting a thing, just talking, plotting and manipulating people into doing things for me.)

    Pillars of Eternity is not really worth the price tag it currently has, but it's worth paying 20-25$ though. More if combat was better.
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  20. Apr 10, 2015
    7
    As a longtime fan of CRPGs, JRPGs, and with hundreds of hours of Fallout 1, 2, Baldur's Gate, etc, I came to this game with very high expectations and perhaps they were a bit too high. While this is definitely a good game, there are aspects which hold it back from being great.

    First, the art assets and graphics. They are very inconsistent in quality and I feel like the early design
    As a longtime fan of CRPGs, JRPGs, and with hundreds of hours of Fallout 1, 2, Baldur's Gate, etc, I came to this game with very high expectations and perhaps they were a bit too high. While this is definitely a good game, there are aspects which hold it back from being great.

    First, the art assets and graphics. They are very inconsistent in quality and I feel like the early design choice to go with a Semi-Realism art style really hurt the game. I think it would have been a better use of their resources to stylize it, as style can make low graphics much more appealing. Most of the characters look similar to Taric from League of Legends. While he's fabulous, he's also a bit blocky. Since the first thing we are thrown into is the character creator, it also puts a bit too much emphasis on one of the poorer parts of the game. That said, the team is very imaginative with area designs. If you want some very cool places to explore, they are here, there are many of them.

    The lore and history are a strong point. Many people have low standards when it comes to these things and confuse shallow/broad/vague lore with deep lore. A lot of love was given to story telling and history and it pays off in a big way. A minor gripe is that you can take certain actions in the game and their consequences are ignored. For example, within the first 15 minutes of the game, you get the option to throw your weapon in a text choice. However, even if you make that choice, you will still have your weapon.

    The actual game-play feels fairly unimpressive, clunky, and not intuitive. Most of the time I was playing I thought-- there has to be a way to make this more satisfying. The class designs are also a bit stacked-- some classes are absolute monsters, others feel entirely unimpressive even in the area they are supposed to be good at. The stat system is extremely weird, with a stat like Might that improves spellpower and physical weapon power.

    Strategy feels a bit limited since the ideal setup seems to be 2 strong front line people who tank, then 4 damage dealers. I don't think anything else would really work that well. The blunderbuss is also perhaps a bit too powerful.

    There's loads of bugs but I don't really mind that, since I've played CRPGs that are basically made of bugs. It comes with the territory.

    Overall, the gameplay is the weakest element when it should be the strongest. The art could be better-- it feels like so little progress was made since Arcanum. However, if you want a long and enjoyable game and are willing to learn the systems in place, and you can look past the graphics, it's a great experience.
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  21. Aug 8, 2015
    7
    Not that good for me. Loved BG1, BG2, and the Icewind series. This game is extremely faithful to the old iso rpg's, and I suspect that that's part of the problem in my case. It's so faithful to them, it's like a reapeat of your favorite tv show. Not bad, but not as good as the first broadcast. Really solid programming and wonderful efforts on all technical fronts, but these don'tNot that good for me. Loved BG1, BG2, and the Icewind series. This game is extremely faithful to the old iso rpg's, and I suspect that that's part of the problem in my case. It's so faithful to them, it's like a reapeat of your favorite tv show. Not bad, but not as good as the first broadcast. Really solid programming and wonderful efforts on all technical fronts, but these don't contribute to the magic as much. as they did in the old days. It was all new in the old days, and BG! was wayy ahead of the competition. I don't think that you could reasonably expect BG1 to thrill you these days either, so maybe absolute fidelity to the "old school" systems is not such a great thing after all.Technically, everything is as good or better than BG1 or BG2, but the fun factor isn't there for me as much. I think if you haven't ever played a top-down CRPG before, this might prove to be a unique and challenging game, but in my case right from the start I felt that I was going over old ground again. Way back when, BG1 was my introduction to CRPG's, and I flat out loved it., so much so that I actually ditched work over it and used it as the benchmark to compare rpg's to it for years. But that was 17 years ago, and things have changed. This isn't a new idea anymore, no new ground is broken in the game, and it all feels really "used" somehow. Nowhere is that feeling more apparent than in the overly used cookie cutter combat music and sounds. Each new combat starts with what seems to be the exact same sound bytes and effects, regardless of the monster or actor being challenged. This is the single biggest technical gaffe in my opinion, but it's not a show-stopper by any means. I feel that technically the game is very good to excellent, but that isn't what makes a game fun as we all know. I think that it meets the bar set by BG1, but that is old and somewhat tired standard. Things change and the idea of a good game must change also. Kudos to the developers for the excellent job, but sadly, for me, the magic just isn't there. I'm going to 7 out of 10 for respectable design and programming, excellent art and mechanics, but the 3 missing points are for the "fun factor". Not much innovation here, feels like an expansion to BG1 would , and in 2015, it's somewhat anachronistic. Also, I totally agree with dinin70 and his description of the loading screen runaround. You ARE at all times at least 5 or 6 loading screens away from getting any movement done, and it takes away from the fun factor IMMENSELY when you have to go to a certain town or area from a distant one. I would have shaved 10 hours from my over 120 hour total if I could just have avoided all the loading time. Not so much fun. I may sound like I'm saying this isn't a good or great game and I don't want to take away from the great work the devs have done, but it is what it is. If i could go into the high 70's i would, but somehow I just didn't experience the BG magic this time around. It IS very much an experience that feels a little too nostalgic. Like they say, "you can never go home again". I feel that this is a deeply admirable, capable, and polished effort to recreate the magic of the originals, but because we HAVE been here before, it's never as good the second time around. First timers may have a completely different experience, so i would tend to recommend this game highly to newcomers to the genre. Veterans, not so much. Expand
  22. Jan 15, 2018
    7
    An enjoyable story in a wondrous land that's spoiled by engine choice and technical problems. Pillars uses the Unity engine which is known for having performance issues and it's no different here, during combat the frame rate swings wildly on hardware that far exceeds the recommended specifications, beyond that the game also suffers with a tremendous amount of load screens which are alsoAn enjoyable story in a wondrous land that's spoiled by engine choice and technical problems. Pillars uses the Unity engine which is known for having performance issues and it's no different here, during combat the frame rate swings wildly on hardware that far exceeds the recommended specifications, beyond that the game also suffers with a tremendous amount of load screens which are also quite long even on a SSD. There's even a delay before you can loot after a fight, everything in Pillars just feels a bit clunky and it all comes down to picking Unity for this project.

    The highlight of the game is the story and voice acting which is absolutely top notch, it's just a shame only about 50% of the dialog is actually voiced which results in a ton of reading which did get a little overwhelming at times. Where the game collapses is the gameplay, the combat is unsatisfying and quite awkward, with really awful pathing issues that prevent your party from attacking.

    Overall the game was good but let down by technical problems and a fairly janky combat system, if you're a fan of RPGs of this type I'm sure you'll enjoy Pillars, I did but I was left a little disappointed.
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  23. May 31, 2015
    7
    If I had 2 words to describe this game it would be "Repetitive micro-management..." or is that three word? How about 2 words and a hyphen...

    EDIT 5/30/15: This game has gotten extremely monotonous and boring. I jumped straight into the hardest difficulty and once I understood the system it became extremely boring. Every battle is exactly the same and there are so many useless trash mobs
    If I had 2 words to describe this game it would be "Repetitive micro-management..." or is that three word? How about 2 words and a hyphen...

    EDIT 5/30/15: This game has gotten extremely monotonous and boring. I jumped straight into the hardest difficulty and once I understood the system it became extremely boring. Every battle is exactly the same and there are so many useless trash mobs to kill that it really does get old very fast. by the time I hit level 8, all battles became trivial because all you need to do to win is have 2 tanks and they can hold anything back forever. Then its a matter of whittling the enemy down. I restarted and tried playing as a rogue and tried to play with no tanks but it turns out that without tanks the game is basically impossible. So you are stuck with either boredom or impossible (requiring cheese strategies to win). I deducted 1 point and I stopped playing the game. I did not finish it but I might come back to it some other day.

    I have to admit that this is a good (above average) game; and this is coming from someone who absolutely hates Obsidian (their lazy backsides mucked up some of my favorites like KotOR II and especially NWN2). The story is fine, and characters are ok and gameplay is above average however it really gets dragged down by lack of companion AI. I really got tired of casting the same thing over and over and over in every single encounter and the short timers on skills and spells make it that much worse. They really needed to implement some better automation to take care of repetitive tasks.

    I did not like the itemization in this game... gear in this game is unbelievably boring. I can tell that they wanted to maintain a tight grip on game difficulty but seriously... its a single player game... what is the point? They keep wasting time re-balancing classes and spells in patches as if there were some sort of competition to be had when there is not... They should spend that time to add more items, spells, skills and feats to the game to give it more flavor and add fun to the game.

    The game is satisfactory in difficulty. I played it out of the gate on "Path of the Damned" and was happy to see that the game actually managed to kill me a few times while I learned the ropes. The bad news is that it seems that on that difficulty, you pretty much have to resort to cheap tricks to get through the 1st 4-5 levels depending on what class you pick at the start. This does not bother me very much because I enjoy the progression from being weak to becoming something that no longer needs to resort to cheap tactics but clearly the beginning of the game needed better balancing. I assume on "normal," this game is a cake walk.

    The game tries a few odd gameplay methods such as doing away with healing hit points and making it so that you can only heal endurance (fatigue) during combat. Endurance essentially becomes a second form of "hit points" and you can use spells to replenish it during fights but you dont die entirely unless your hit points go to 0. When endurance hits 0 you simply get knocked out but if your party wins, you will get back up, recover your endurance, and carry on with however many hit points you had left. You can only recover hit points by resting outside of combat. It sounds more complicated than it really is and frankly, it is just a convolution of the original system we are all used to and I dont think it adds much to the game (it also cheapens the value of hit points significantly).

    The one thing I dont like is how easy it is to reduce endurance even on tank built characters since many spells and abilities target it directly though other resistance (like reflex and such). I've frequently see my warriors knocked out while still having more than 90% of their hit points in tact... its a bit silly when you see that happen and it completely negates the value of hit points.

    There are other nagging issues like the need to walk around a lot due to lack of camping supplies (you have to return to town to rest instead) and other minor things but overall id say this is a good game. Characters are well written although not much humor in this game. Story progression is good. I wish they spent more time on the keep but it was not bad either. A solid above average 7 (recall average is 5 on these online sites due to how the statics play out with more people voting).
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  24. Feb 11, 2019
    7
    I tried to play this game twice. Twice around thirty hours of playtime. Just can't sink my teeth into it though I'm an avid rpg gamer. It just never gets online for me, never really gives me the feeling that those characters are mine, doesn't suck me into the story. No doubt I will try again in some years.
  25. Apr 5, 2015
    7
    IE Game #6. Remove the passage of time from the equation and this game will feel as if it was made by Black Isle, and released just after Icewind Dale 2. It's *that* faithful of a successor. It has many of the things that we loved about the BG games, the IWD's, and even Planescape Torment. You can totally control a party of up to 6. The class, race, spell, ability, buildIE Game #6. Remove the passage of time from the equation and this game will feel as if it was made by Black Isle, and released just after Icewind Dale 2. It's *that* faithful of a successor. It has many of the things that we loved about the BG games, the IWD's, and even Planescape Torment. You can totally control a party of up to 6. The class, race, spell, ability, build choices/combinations are almost as vast as they were in Baldurs Gate. The dungeons drip with atmosphere. Many of the quests are quite good. Level advancement is old-school slow, rewarding and allows you to choose how you advance your build in a way I haven't seen in any RPG in a really *really* long time. The UI is slick and intuitive - gloriously designed for PC. The bestiary is suitably large and varied. The attention to detail *everywhere* is unmatched..

    It's just a flat out solid game.

    ...With a few glaring flaws (at least in light of the very games the Kickstarter pitch name-dropped and claimed to take cues from).

    --Loot itemization is bland. and soulless. And unmemorable. Remember when your party found The Wolf Talismen in Icewind Dale? or Carsomyr in BG2? Or Bassilus's Hammer in Bg1? Yeah. That doesn't happen in this game. The labor of love simply isn't there with the magic loot.

    -Combat is dull. I get what they were trying to do by eliminating the ability to pre-buff, and incorporating an engagement mechanic, as designing spell and ability durations to last 2 or 3 seconds. But it just doesn't fit. The IE games weren't action RPGs. But this game tries to be.

    -I don't have much to say about the story, because I didn't understand it. I'm sure it was excellent (this is an Obsidian game we're discussing), but the way the game dumps its lore on you, and the overly cryptic delivery of its narrative resulted in me not understanding what's going on, and consequently not caring about it.

    -The pacing. Ok this is the reason I'm giving PoE a 7 instead of a 9 or 10. The pacing in this game was terribly amateurish. You're either tirelessly engaging in combat every time you take a step, or else exploring whole districts of a city without engaging in any combat whatsoever. There's no in between. The plot delivery is, again, also wonkily passed (is that a word?) There's no slow dip to the lore and plot (like there was in the BG games and in Planescape torment). Instead, It's dumped on you at an incomprehensible rate....and then it's not. There's no in between.

    Overall though, this is a *good* game. And a long one. (took me 100 hours to complete). Probably the best game Obsidian's ever made. I'll take another!
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  26. Jun 19, 2015
    7
    I like it, but there are so many flaws. The one thing that keeps me playing it, is the story/stories, even if it can become very confusing at times. I feel combat has been ruined by confusing terminology, math, and mechanics. Too much magic which you never can use, too few meaningful weapons/armour upgrades. Many things in the game prove to be practically meaningless, but then there areI like it, but there are so many flaws. The one thing that keeps me playing it, is the story/stories, even if it can become very confusing at times. I feel combat has been ruined by confusing terminology, math, and mechanics. Too much magic which you never can use, too few meaningful weapons/armour upgrades. Many things in the game prove to be practically meaningless, but then there are some things you can miss which makes it very difficult. This game could have been so much better, so it's clearly not a 10. Expand
  27. Apr 4, 2015
    7
    As everybody who marks this lower than an 8, I feel I must justify my taste - I grew up on Infinity Engine cRPGs. All of them, from the first Baldur's Gate to Icewind Dale 2. Hell, just last year I re-played a heavily modded Baldur's Gate 1 TuTu and BG2 and I loved every second of it. I'm also a huge fan of Obsidian. So, when I got this game and "New Game", I was a giddy as a kid in aAs everybody who marks this lower than an 8, I feel I must justify my taste - I grew up on Infinity Engine cRPGs. All of them, from the first Baldur's Gate to Icewind Dale 2. Hell, just last year I re-played a heavily modded Baldur's Gate 1 TuTu and BG2 and I loved every second of it. I'm also a huge fan of Obsidian. So, when I got this game and "New Game", I was a giddy as a kid in a candy store. After years of waiting, I'll finally see two of my favorite things in gaming make a tag-team comeback.

    As it turns out, my enthusiasm didn't last long. The very first dialogue in the game is almost a case study in how not to begin your 60-hour epic that requires nerve and commitment from a very specific player-base. You are immediately bombarded with custom-made fantasy geographical, historical and societal terms that make almost every wall of text a humorless front-loaded slog to read through. A big part of why a classic fantasy setting is so ubiquitous is that familiarity which allows us to immerse ourselves into a new setting with ease. Unfortunately, Obsidian has mashed together a relatively straight-up port of D&D, full of dwarves, elves, sword and sorcery, with a high-fantasy Tolkien-esque attempt to reinvent the wheel in every regard - a new continent! New languages! New histories! New races (if you can count Avatar's Na'vi as new)! New terms for everything - Legacy! Skean! Hollowborn! Woedica! Watcher! Engwithans! Galawain! None of it is too hard to digest, mind you, but when taken in its totality, the game's constant attempts to flesh out its daunting backstory and terminology, rather than its characters and plot kills any immediacy in the game. At about the 30-hour mark, I stopped, read the journal, reviewed everything I learned and realized that I had only the faintest idea why I was on the quest, what my character's motivation was or why I had just tracked half-way across the continent. And that feeling kept coming back, catapulting me out of the experience and making every other new wall of text feel like a history class I walked in on by accident. The story itself, which I won't spoil, is serviceable, but one that I won't remember in T-minus one week. The villain, in particular, is not memorable, only made slightly more interesting through his connection with the player. Planescape, Mask of the Betrayer or Baldur's Gate, this ain't.

    What about the gameplay? It's quite good - the combat is fluid and tactical, with huge replay value. Every class has its own dynamic and the fact that at any point in the game you can create your own party in an inn leads to the fact that no two play-throughs will be the same. I personally rolled with two custom made characters and had a blast. I have two gripes with the combat though - there are no experience points per kill (only per bestiary entry), making it hard to motivate yourself to kill your 300th troll that day. The level of micromanagement is high, and the number of encounters is enormous. If Baldur's Gate 2 had this many fights per square meter, you'd barely be able to leave the first dungeon! It doesn't help that very few encounters can be done on auto-pilot, meaning that you'll have to think about every fight, with no experience rewards and mostly junk loot.

    The art direction in the game is stunning. Incredible detail has been paid to every cobble-stone and bush. You can look for hours and hardly ever notice "assets" being used - only details on beautiful, painstakingly drawn objects and backgrounds. The music is...fine. Nothing to write home about. Same goes for the voice-acting, as rare as it crops up.

    In the end, it was the combat, variety and presentation that made me last through till the end, weirdly enough. The two elements that I routinely praise in Obsidian games - character and story, turned quickly into obstacles to my enjoyment, rather than center-pieces. I finished the game's campaign more out of a sense of obligation and an appreciation for a well-crafted game than a feeling of intrigue or immersion. I can recommend it and Obsidian deserves your support, but I cannot shake the feeling that I lost more time with Pillars, than I got back in true enjoyment.
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  28. Apr 9, 2015
    7
    After just finishing this game I am giving it a solid 7/10 - which means it's a good title, there's just some areas where it falls a bit flat.

    Strong points: - Great atmosphere, immersive world. - Overall good quests - Most companions have an interesting background and personality Weak points: - UI is not on par with 2015. While this is a revive of the genre, it doesn't have
    After just finishing this game I am giving it a solid 7/10 - which means it's a good title, there's just some areas where it falls a bit flat.

    Strong points:

    - Great atmosphere, immersive world.
    - Overall good quests
    - Most companions have an interesting background and personality

    Weak points:

    - UI is not on par with 2015. While this is a revive of the genre, it doesn't have to bring back the frustration of the 1990-s UI! Also it loves to bug a lot (for example you equip an item that grants you a spell, but you don't see it in your bar until you reload)
    - Stealth options are minimal and bland. Yes, you find the odd hidden object or door, but too rare. Most of the time you use stealth mode only to detect traps, which in itself doesn't make much sense - traps should be detected by a high PER char regardless.
    - Due to the isometric view, the combat can get difficult when you can't see your guys because of a tree/rock/ruin in front of them.
    - While the story is interesting in act 1 and 2, it really falls flat in act 3 - I personally was disappointed and kindof rushed the end just to get over with it.
    - The stronghold ends up being just a Copper Sink, with no other real influence over the world or quests or anything meaningful.
    - Lackluster Skill System - out of the already few options (5!), only 3 make any real difference.
    - Cosmetic dialogue choices - even though there are many skill checks, few of them alter the outcome in any way. What's even more disturbing is that only your main character's stats matter towards these skill checks, which doesn't make much sense in a party based game...
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  29. May 11, 2015
    7
    Let's face it, we were expecting so much more from this game. Unless this was so long awaited dearest child of Obsidian, the successor of BG, this game would easily worth 10, not question about it. If it wasn't...

    The game would always give me this feeling "oh, this was such a great idea but they just ruined it halfway": + new IP, new world, new races, so much to explore! - main
    Let's face it, we were expecting so much more from this game. Unless this was so long awaited dearest child of Obsidian, the successor of BG, this game would easily worth 10, not question about it. If it wasn't...

    The game would always give me this feeling "oh, this was such a great idea but they just ruined it halfway":

    + new IP, new world, new races, so much to explore!
    - main story line is so abstract from the world — it could just happen in any other world without any changes
    - to feel and live this world, you are to read the books and companion quests give very small glimpse on the world, otherwise world doesn't unfold, no immersion
    - the whole world is like a dull countryside. where are immense cities? where are wizard academies and stuff? where is something magical, charming, fairy, inspiring?
    - the story... well I must admit that unfurls the right way, I was "guessing", imaging and "inventing" how it should end till the last scene. and this last scene was nowhere near my expectations.

    + weapons are quite realistic: there weapon types and there multiple levels of quality
    - there is nothing really special about any weapon type
    - some weapons are just crappy in every situation, others are good in all situations. doesn't matter too much if you fight a goo or a skeleton, your choice stays the same. you are a fan of dual-dagger slinky shady rogue? tada, daggers do no damage in this game no matter what!
    - artefacts are a complete bummer. almost all of them are sold by merchants in towns... unique artefacts are sold by generic merchants, Karl!!! more on it, there is almost no way you acquire an artefact out of a boss/location/quest, you generally buy them. and almost all of them are rubbish. there's maybe 2-3 artefacts in the game that actually a bit better then normal items

    + new deep mechanics, health/endurance mechanism is damn awesome! I mean it!
    - while races carry new names, acute observant will easily find matches with canonical races
    - non-restricted class choice is somewhat ridiculous from lore perspective. tanking elf monk? fragile Aumaua (half-orc) druid? sensitive dwarf cipher? oh come on, this is crippled.
    - intellect allows barbarian to make wider swipes... might improves spell damage... facepalm
    - race choice makes no difference with it's +2 to attributes comparing to 75 attribute points to distribute without progressing "price"
    - there should be more spells!

    + many checks against attribute/skill/race in dialogues
    - totally no impact. doesn't affect the story, doesn't allow to avoid bloodshed (except for 2 or 3 minor occasions), doesn't change anything but the text of next phrase by NPC
    - party member skills do not help. my party with 12 lore skill mage couldn't read a simplistic writing that required 4 lore because my main character had no lore leveled
    - dialogues are reduced to meaningless chatter and some checks vs skill/attr. no branches and varying outcomes. you don't need to think what you are saying, pick random options and you end up with totally same story/behaviour/attitude
    + punishment for not having skill for party members
    - in practice this only relates to athletics and worst thing you may face out of it is like 6% damage reduction till next rest

    + there were such nice stretch goals: stronghold, 2nd big city, crafting...
    - stronghold is nothing but cosmetics. no noticeable bonuses
    - crafting is something you will use once or twice during whole game
    - 2nd big city... there is actually no even single big city to be honest.

    Looks like I can continue all night. And it's so sad that the game "encourages" so much whimper and complains.

    Main positive thing: it looks like there will be PoE 2 and it will actually become a master piece. After all, BG 1 was nothing close to BG 2.
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  30. May 29, 2015
    7
    I am a huge fan of Baldur's Gate and other D&D games so was excited when I heard this was coming out. There are some things that are great about this game and some things that are not so great.

    First up is character creation and this is done well. Different races have different strengths and different classes need points put into different stats as expected. The gameplay has
    I am a huge fan of Baldur's Gate and other D&D games so was excited when I heard this was coming out. There are some things that are great about this game and some things that are not so great.

    First up is character creation and this is done well. Different races have different strengths and different classes need points put into different stats as expected.

    The gameplay has moved on a lot from the original D & D games and I think it works well. You will get a different experience tactically playing as a druid compared to a mage. I played this through as a mage, druid, rogue, cipher and warrior. All great fun especially the cipher and the mage. The ranger is dissapointing and I haven't tried the monk. The priest class isn't that exciting either.

    Most of the experience in the game comes from doing the quests, and it is therefore strongly recommended to do as many side quests as possible. You have to do the quests to level up. There is plenty of interesting loot to collect and I strongly recommend doing all the dungeon levels under your keep as well as all the bounties if you want the best loot.

    I would have given this game a 10 except for two things. The NPC's are not great companions and the main story is a massive let down. I was particularly annoyed at the story for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was somewhat inconsistent and contradictory, and secondly, it reeked of an agenda.

    I'm not going to spoil the plot for anyone who hasn't played the game, but the ending seems to go against the experience of much of what you had to do in the game. I also think a lot of games are strongly but subtly pushing various political, anti religion messages through their games. Constant references to inquisitions etc. Can we have some games that are just fun and don't try to influence our thinking either way please?
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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 71 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 70 out of 71
  2. Negative: 0 out of 71
  1. Jul 7, 2015
    70
    Pillars is a title that should make old-schoolers happy while still offering a solid core game, story, and a rich setting for new-schoolers.
  2. May 25, 2015
    93
    Pillars of Eternity stands on its own merits without resorting to nostalgia too much. Truly a CRPG masterpiece, the game offers old school, real-time strategic combat, and a vivid world to explore. Not only do you get an overall well-made experience, but also a challenge you haven't seen since the 90's.
  3. Games Master UK
    May 24, 2015
    82
    A sprawling game in a familiar setting, and a clever tune-up for the cRPG. Just what the backers hoped for. [June 2015, p.74]