Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 127 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 75 out of 127
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 127
  3. Negative: 27 out of 127
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  1. Mikeb86
    Sep 17, 2017
    9
    Wasn't to sure about this going in to be honest, after playing witcher, dragon age, Skyrim etc, but wow it had me hooked almost instantly! Loved it, very tactical, can also be very punishing but not make you rage quit punishing, story's great, voice acting great, locations very cool, I even love the art style, genuinely can't fault it, if graphics are all that matters ( which is to me aWasn't to sure about this going in to be honest, after playing witcher, dragon age, Skyrim etc, but wow it had me hooked almost instantly! Loved it, very tactical, can also be very punishing but not make you rage quit punishing, story's great, voice acting great, locations very cool, I even love the art style, genuinely can't fault it, if graphics are all that matters ( which is to me a big issue nowadays, people let it go, if it's a good game it's a good game simple as that, get over it fickle children) then maybe pass, I think it looks and plays great. Do yourself a favour, if you like rpgs give it a try, you won't regret it!… Expand
  2. Teela
    Sep 11, 2017
    10
    This is a wonderful old-school isometric RPG. Love it!
    I can imagine it's not for everyone, but if you like old-school RPG (Diablo, Baldurs Gate, Divinity etc.) this is a must have.
  3. Cherryleaf
    Sep 22, 2017
    10
    This is a game in Old-school ISO-metric gfx (similar to: Baldurs Gate, Diablo, Icewind Dale, Fallout 1-2 etc) is an outstanding RPG very complex and deep, that has a great story to be told, with interesting characters. It has good voice-acting, but those moments are rare, since this game is a very text-heavy tale, so if you despise reading your stories this RPG might not be for you.

    Was    This is a game in Old-school ISO-metric gfx (similar to: Baldurs Gate, Diablo, Icewind Dale, Fallout 1-2 etc) is an outstanding RPG very complex and deep, that has a great story to be told, with interesting characters. It has good voice-acting, but those moments are rare, since this game is a very text-heavy tale, so if you despise reading your stories this RPG might not be for you.

    Was a bit sceptic at first, since on PC there is so much mouse-clicking, and menus that it simply seems so much better suited for a PC, but it makes me happy to say: this port from PC to console is surprisingly good. Though, not sure if they patched it, but the loading times is horrible, sure not at first, but the longer in you progress, the longer the loading times.

    Despite this, this is a game I'd warmly recommend to any person who is fond of a text-heavy ISO-metric RPG.    … Expand
  4. Achebomb
    Sep 22, 2017
    4
    I just don't know what I'm missing here. I very much enjoyed the PC version, but got distracted with a move and never quite returned to it to finish it up. I've been doing a lot of PS4 gaming lately so I was excited to get back into this world to finish up the adventure, but man...what a mess.

    Between the godawful interface (and I mean, it's just terrible) and the interminable load    I just don't know what I'm missing here. I very much enjoyed the PC version, but got distracted with a move and never quite returned to it to finish it up. I've been doing a lot of PS4 gaming lately so I was excited to get back into this world to finish up the adventure, but man...what a mess.

    Between the godawful interface (and I mean, it's just terrible) and the interminable load times (I can wait sometimes a minute or more when going from one floor to another in a dungeon), and I just cannot believe this game wasn't pilloried by reviewers (professional or otherwise). I remember the load times on the PC were pretty bad, but this is "screw this, I'm uninstalling" territory especially when considering how small most area are, with each requiring a load screen.

    I'd give this adaptation one star if it weren't for the awesome game it's based on. The story is still great and the mechanics and play style are a wonderful throwback. Nevertheless, I'm giving this one up and going back to my Steam copy and wishing I'd spent the money on Original Sin instead.    … Expand
  5. maddiplomat
    Jul 19, 2022
    5
    Thankfully I have access to this game for free. This is supposed to be a spiritual successor to games like Baldur's Gate? After about 20 hours in, I am bored and I'm just playing the game to be done with it. The story is pretty uninspired and the writing is pretty terrible. While the game is not awful, it's painfully mediocre overall. Enough so that I keep wondering why Obsidian did such aThankfully I have access to this game for free. This is supposed to be a spiritual successor to games like Baldur's Gate? After about 20 hours in, I am bored and I'm just playing the game to be done with it. The story is pretty uninspired and the writing is pretty terrible. While the game is not awful, it's painfully mediocre overall. Enough so that I keep wondering why Obsidian did such a poor job on this.… Expand
  6. Hyper-Dash
    Jan 18, 2018
    7
    This game is not bad, it's just that, it's not very accessible. And it has its problems, too.

    Yes, I've gotten accustomed to the fact that, even 12 hours into the game with a full party, you will still encounter a mob that can crush you like it's nothing. But I can't get over the fact that you have to PAY money to craft stuff, or the fact that potions cost ridiculous amount of money to    This game is not bad, it's just that, it's not very accessible. And it has its problems, too.

    Yes, I've gotten accustomed to the fact that, even 12 hours into the game with a full party, you will still encounter a mob that can crush you like it's nothing. But I can't get over the fact that you have to PAY money to craft stuff, or the fact that potions cost ridiculous amount of money to buy (the ones that are actually useful later on in the game), or the fact that there are two values to handle your health, or the fact that gears cost ridiculous amount of money to buy, or the fact that you can't really find any useful gears while exploring or off of enemies, and so on and so on...

    And then there is the combat... I've played Divinity Original Sins prior to this game and I loved its turn based combat where you have every means to control your party and use strategy against your foes. In this game however... it's a mess as it's running in real time. Although you can pause the combat so you can collect yourself for a moment once in a while, it's not meant to be strategic. But to be frank, I don't know what the hell combat is supposed to be. And since you can't rotate the camera, whenever there are more than 4 enemies on screen (happens a lot), it's pure chaos. And since it's running in real time, you can't really control your party, even if there's a pause option.

    And then, there is the difficulty. The game suggests to play on easy (they couldn't bother making the normal diffulty the recommended setting). After 9 hours or so, I just wanted to get through this game as quick as possible so I turned the difficulty down all the way to its lowest setting, ignoring every side missions and skipping 80% of the dialogue. And even THEN, I was getting crushed by some of the mobs.

    And if you've skipped most of the side quest, you're underleveled for the last boss.

    But all that being said I thing this game still has its qualities.    … Expand
  7. dingobreath
    Aug 31, 2019
    5
    This is an old school isometric game similar to the d & d games that were famous years ago. Everything seems fine, good story, good characters, good options....However THE LOADING TIMES really wreck this game! 1 - 2 mins to load a new location and more than 30 seconds to enter a new room inside a building? This is not acceptable. I nearly fell asleep while this game loaded and I on someThis is an old school isometric game similar to the d & d games that were famous years ago. Everything seems fine, good story, good characters, good options....However THE LOADING TIMES really wreck this game! 1 - 2 mins to load a new location and more than 30 seconds to enter a new room inside a building? This is not acceptable. I nearly fell asleep while this game loaded and I on some occasions thought the game had crashed as the loading bar was soooo slow. The game takes many many hours to complete, this just adds to it, however not in a good way. I commend thee developers for porting this to console, however the load times ruin it. As of writing this review the game has been our about 2 years on ps4 and there has been no patch to improve the loading times at all. Very disappointed indeed.… Expand
  8. sedra42
    Feb 6, 2018
    2
    I signed up to Metacritic just to leave this review.

    I like fantasy games and I like RPGs. I don't care about graphics. This is just a terrible game. Poor in so many ways. Fanservice - you get an unskippable loading screen to tell you about Kickstarter. You get other loading screens that mention it. Then you get many random NPCs that are written by Kickstarters. Then there are    I signed up to Metacritic just to leave this review.

    I like fantasy games and I like RPGs. I don't care about graphics. This is just a terrible game. Poor in so many ways.

    Fanservice - you get an unskippable loading screen to tell you about Kickstarter. You get other loading screens that mention it. Then you get many random NPCs that are written by Kickstarters. Then there are all the memorials dotted around the map written by Kickstarters. Does anyone care about immersion anymore?

    Loading screens - 36 seconds every time I want to enter a room or area. If you want to talk to someone on the upper floor of a building, it is a two minute wait to get in and out, all together. If you need to reload because you made the wrong decision, it's a good minute and a half of loading screen. I spend more time reading my book than "playing" this.

    Combat - you enter a new area, you meet a couple of huge beetles you dispatch without issue. You open a door - surprise! Six enemies that can kill you without effort. There is no indication in some areas of how tough you need to be in order to advance.

    Quests - you should NEVER be allowed to unwittingly make a choice that means you cannot advance another quest. I am thinking about letting the spider queen live, which means you can't enchant a weapon. Is there a warning? No. Does it make sense? No. Why should you kill something that is no threat to you?

    The reputation thing - far too easy to end up with a grab bag of reputation. How can I have a reputation for honesty and deviousness? Wouldn't it be a sliding scale?

    Unplayable. I'm in Act II and I have decided to try to sell it.    … Expand
  9. Tjohnson
    Sep 20, 2019
    0
    If you like a game that crashes constantly with ps2 graphics then this is the game for you. If you want a game that that allows you to take a bath between load screens, yes this game can accommodate you! The story is decent but the constant pause screen that automatically pops up every 10 seconds during a fight is insanely annoying. I’m around 90 hours into it and still have a dlc toIf you like a game that crashes constantly with ps2 graphics then this is the game for you. If you want a game that that allows you to take a bath between load screens, yes this game can accommodate you! The story is decent but the constant pause screen that automatically pops up every 10 seconds during a fight is insanely annoying. I’m around 90 hours into it and still have a dlc to start. It is a huge time commitment. I like long games but every time you go anywhere, whoop you get an extensively long load screen. It’s probably a good game on computer, but the ps4 just can’t handle it correctly. Nothing is more fun than fighting a boss for half an hour and then having the game crash. Which it does 5 or 6 times every time I play it.… Expand
  10. aspentitan
    Apr 24, 2018
    8
    This is a very hard game to review. On one hand it was intended to be a retro style game...and on the other hand it's current generation....so what to pick on? Almost everything I want to say bad can be argued good and vice versa. In the end I guess I'm gonna say this is a game that offers a lot of user options and customization but is a bit on the boring side considering what options haveThis is a very hard game to review. On one hand it was intended to be a retro style game...and on the other hand it's current generation....so what to pick on? Almost everything I want to say bad can be argued good and vice versa. In the end I guess I'm gonna say this is a game that offers a lot of user options and customization but is a bit on the boring side considering what options have been provided. Gameplay can be tragically slow...pause, command. Instant pause, target unpause..game pause...re-enable..pause-attack....rinse-repeat..you get the picture. Maybe too much pausing wasn't meant to be cuz honestly it really numbs all the immersion the game could of made u feel. That said full player control is appreciated. This truly is my dilemma with this game. I'm not sure without fully random loot drops I'm willing to play this game over and over without micromanaging every battle swing. In essence my ability to pause the game at any given moment allows me to "attrition" the game at the cost of me enjoying the real time fantasy version that would surely be an unplayable difficulty but beyond awesome fantasy. Somehow xcom enemy within succeeded with this concept whereas this game didn't. That's not to say I don't really enjoy this game, I actually really do but it feels somehow broken by not allowing the brilliant lore to critically percolate through me....it's just a graze.… Expand
  11. Sweetew
    May 5, 2018
    9
    Amazing game, should be played by anyone who likes these kinds of games. Deep story, deep combat, cool characters. Definitely reccommend buying it
  12. Kai82
    Dec 19, 2020
    3
    A truly great game and I would give a 9/10 or 10/10. However it has a serious bug that will drop my rating. When in the PS4 version your save-file gets to big you are prevented from loading your save-file. Customer help was not that good and this destroyed the experience. It happen at approx 50% of my play-through. Games should be shipped in a working state and this is unforgivable. AnyoneA truly great game and I would give a 9/10 or 10/10. However it has a serious bug that will drop my rating. When in the PS4 version your save-file gets to big you are prevented from loading your save-file. Customer help was not that good and this destroyed the experience. It happen at approx 50% of my play-through. Games should be shipped in a working state and this is unforgivable. Anyone who defends this and even a day 1 patch should rethink about this insanity (Would you accept a car in this state?). The game itself was a spiritual successor to Baldurs gate and a positive example for a successful Kickstarter crowdfunded game. It is set in the world of Eora in the region of the Easter Reaches. The world is a fantasy setting with technology in a development state past the middle-ages as firearms were invented but are not common. A scientific breakthrough has proven the existence of souls and a transfer is possible atop of other possibilities. A plague occurs since a few years were some children were born without a soul. Your player character starts his journey when his caravan is attacked and shortly after he witnessed a strange ritual were he gains the powers of a Watcher. Basically it is a blessing and curse as you can interact with spirits, relive some past events and more. With this you start to investigate the plague and events that changed you. The main story is pretty good, well written and kept me entertained. This is also valid for sidequests and character related once. The recruitable party members have their own personalities, quests and start conversations with each other from time to time which I enjoyed as it gave them more depth (Like in Baldurs Gate 2 and Dragon Age). Special praise for Aloth here. There are also multiple outcomes for some and I was invested in them (Also multiple outcomes / approaches for side quests). Gameplay-wise you create your player character and I advice you to use care and read a guide or two as a few descriptions are a bit of and the mechanics are interwoven. It is comparable to D&D. Chose your race, attributes and character class with its skills / spells / abilities. As you level up you improve the characters. For me the Cipher w( A kind of mind mage) as an interesting concept and got really good later on. Remark: Your chosen background has actually some effects and can help you in certain situations. I have nothing to complain for graphics, soundtrack and art style. It is all excellent. Bonus point for the stronghold and exploration of the underground levels. From this alone we are in the 9-10/10 realm but there are negatives. The already mentioned critical bug should never been in a released game and I will never take people who defend this malpractice serious. You would never accept other products which such flaws like food, your car or your gaming PC. A minor complain is that it took a bit until the game took momentum. Could be below the threshold of others. With this I mean that they stop playing the game shortly after the beginning and wonder why others praise this game. Overall this is an excellent game but I wished I had bought the PC version instead. I want to decrease my rating to 1/10 but think it would be too hard. I will give a 3/10 and it should be a clear sign how good it was that I tolerated this bug so much.… Expand
  13. maddendiehard
    Feb 14, 2018
    9
    I just started playing this game a couple of days ago and have put in 8-10 hours already and it is quite challenging. After reading reviews of this game, I have to be honest I am every bit satisified so far. The are a lot of combinations of races, social economics, and character classes to weave your character into. I have to be honest, I didn't know if the PS4 would get some of the reallyI just started playing this game a couple of days ago and have put in 8-10 hours already and it is quite challenging. After reading reviews of this game, I have to be honest I am every bit satisified so far. The are a lot of combinations of races, social economics, and character classes to weave your character into. I have to be honest, I didn't know if the PS4 would get some of the really good cprg's for the system, but they seem to be getting them. It's a throwback to PS2 in my opinion. This game has ported over nicely from the computer. The game is challenging not to the point you are so frustrated that the game collects dust. Having a stronghold and building it up is awesome, it reminds me of the Suikoden series. Side quests are varied which is nice.… Expand
  14. Gotrek74
    Feb 26, 2018
    8
    Here lies a wonderful hark to RPG's from yesteryear which mimics the playstyle of games such as Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, Champions of North etc. which is sadly marred by a few bugs.
    If you have played the games mentioned previously then you will know what to expect: an isometric, party based RPG with a combat and magic system which is deep and rewarding and an    Here lies a wonderful hark to RPG's from yesteryear which mimics the playstyle of games such as Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, Champions of North etc. which is sadly marred by a few bugs.
    If you have played the games mentioned previously then you will know what to expect: an isometric, party based RPG with a combat and magic system which is deep and rewarding and an element of loot grinding. Much of the system is heavily borrowed from Dungeons & Dragons with spells and abilities renamed so as not to encroach on any copyrights. If you know that system of RPG then the learning curve is significantly easier than if you don't.
    The story is Pillar's best asset and your actions within that affect things which come to pass later which is not to put down any other gameplay element. It's weakest asset? Bugs. I experienced myriad crashes, mainly when loading an area, which caused the game to crash to the dashboard and even once had a corrupted save file due to a crash that occurred during saving the game.
    If you can get past the game issues and don't mind reloading the game (a bit too often to be honest) then 100+ hours of RPG heaven is right here. I would have rated this at around 92/100 if it wasn't for those bugs.    … Expand
  15. CoreGamer1408
    Nov 2, 2019
    3
    Wow the constant lengthy frequent load times and the worst A.I. pathing ever. Yeah they really went for the old school feel not just on the artistic level, but the actual technical level ( sarcastic.exe. executed ). The story and combat was not compelling enough to override the technical mess. I was out after several hours of what is supposed to be a seventy hour journey or something. GladWow the constant lengthy frequent load times and the worst A.I. pathing ever. Yeah they really went for the old school feel not just on the artistic level, but the actual technical level ( sarcastic.exe. executed ). The story and combat was not compelling enough to override the technical mess. I was out after several hours of what is supposed to be a seventy hour journey or something. Glad we can still trade in games on console unlike PC woo hoo!… Expand
  16. DarrionVale
    Aug 14, 2019
    7
    My personal rating for "Pillars of Eternity" (PS4): 7,2/10 - Good
    Gameplay: 7,5
    Video: 7
    Audio: 8,5
    Scope: 9
    Balance: 5
    Story: 6
  17. Piter_Ballack
    Jul 6, 2021
    5
    El juego parte bien, a pesar de los graficos de principio de los años 2000. Va avanzando la historia y se torna muy monotono, lento de progresar. Sumado a los eternos tiempo de espera de carga de cada zona. Las ultimas dos semanas era como un sacrificio seguir jugando, finalmente lo dejé partiendo el acto 2. Tienes que ser super fan para que te guste. Si no, es muy lento, monotono, yEl juego parte bien, a pesar de los graficos de principio de los años 2000. Va avanzando la historia y se torna muy monotono, lento de progresar. Sumado a los eternos tiempo de espera de carga de cada zona. Las ultimas dos semanas era como un sacrificio seguir jugando, finalmente lo dejé partiendo el acto 2. Tienes que ser super fan para que te guste. Si no, es muy lento, monotono, y parece juego de hace 20 años atras… Expand
  18. rdbyant29
    Apr 18, 2020
    9
    It's been a long time since I've played a game like Pillars of Eternity. A deep role playing game with great tactical control, and amazing magic and combat leveling. One of the biggest selling points for me is always the story, and this game does not disappoint. The idea of children being born without souls, and the impact it would have on society is well explored here. The characters areIt's been a long time since I've played a game like Pillars of Eternity. A deep role playing game with great tactical control, and amazing magic and combat leveling. One of the biggest selling points for me is always the story, and this game does not disappoint. The idea of children being born without souls, and the impact it would have on society is well explored here. The characters are fleshed out well and the story threads all weave in nicely to form an overall great experience.… Expand
  19. karmic_devil
    Jan 9, 2021
    5
    Pillars of Eternity does what it sets out to do. If feels like a slightly more modern Baldur's Gate but compared to most modern gaming experiences it is slow and oftentimes tedious.

    If you love Baldur's Gate and want a game with similar depth and mechanisms you may enjoy it but if you wa game that looks and feels like a modern strategic RPG you may want to look for something else.
  20. BarelyLewd
    Mar 14, 2019
    8
    An old school top down RPG, giving everything you could ever want in a RPG, even things you didn't think you wanted.
  21. Momonga
    Mar 2, 2019
    10
    Este juego es la mar de dibertido me gusto descubrir un mundo nuevo, experiencia que no tenia desde e DA origins. Un sistema de combate Clasico y de alguna forma actual que no se siente que me mima ni me retiene, es como si dijera aqui estan tus armas tus conjuros usalos como mejor quieras. Historia completamente genial y ORIGINAL, yo no soy un erudito pero hasta el momento es una de lasEste juego es la mar de dibertido me gusto descubrir un mundo nuevo, experiencia que no tenia desde e DA origins. Un sistema de combate Clasico y de alguna forma actual que no se siente que me mima ni me retiene, es como si dijera aqui estan tus armas tus conjuros usalos como mejor quieras. Historia completamente genial y ORIGINAL, yo no soy un erudito pero hasta el momento es una de las pocas historias originales y bien ejecutadas de el genero… Expand
  22. Mooteddy
    Apr 21, 2020
    0
    F*** ZERO!

    I'll tell you why: This game has an enormous reliance on stats! And there's are enemy types like ghosts that take sh*t on your stats. SINCE 2015 has this not been fixed. FOR FIVE YEARS NO PATCH. This defeats the purpose of an RPG. You can't do anything against this enemy except praying. I don't care how great your story or writing is, okay? You're selling an RPG. If your    F*** ZERO!

    I'll tell you why: This game has an enormous reliance on stats! And there's are enemy types like ghosts that take sh*t on your stats. SINCE 2015 has this not been fixed. FOR FIVE YEARS NO PATCH. This defeats the purpose of an RPG. You can't do anything against this enemy except praying.

    I don't care how great your story or writing is, okay? You're selling an RPG. If your RPG has enemies that you can't do anything about except getting on your knees and praying for the dice to roll in your favor - F*** OFF. I wasted two hours figuring out how to challenge those ghosts only to read on the forums that those are basically balance bugs and there's nothing one can do really. GREAT.

    WORTHLESS GAME but a great book.    … Expand
  23. DevilSurvivor
    Nov 18, 2021
    4
    I really wanted to like this game, I went in without any expectations other than I really want to like it, but I couldn't even get past the 2nd story arc. Everything is just so god damn BORING man... The combat is boring even on higher difficulties, the characters all feel bland even though they have some interesting stories... And the locations are the most dull I've ever seen... By theI really wanted to like this game, I went in without any expectations other than I really want to like it, but I couldn't even get past the 2nd story arc. Everything is just so god damn BORING man... The combat is boring even on higher difficulties, the characters all feel bland even though they have some interesting stories... And the locations are the most dull I've ever seen... By the way, whose idea was it to have a huge city separated into 5 different districts with a LOADING SCREEN every time?? And whose idea was it as well to make all of the quests happen in different districts, so you keep having more loading screens than gameplay??

    The story also looked to be your bland WRPG story, wow something totally not predestined and obvious happened to you and now you're whacky whacko special, great.    … Expand
  24. Mully79
    Aug 5, 2020
    3
    So I ran out of games to play and decided to pick this up. Hands down one of the worst RPG’s I have ever played. The game is physically exhausting to play. All the effort put in to create an immersive experience is wiped away with the constant loading screens at every turn. Divinity Original Sin is 100 times better at ever turn.
  25. hyun8801
    Nov 30, 2020
    6
    game that was released in 2015 with ps2 graphics + ridiculously long loading times ruined the experience for me.
  26. nexus151196
    Dec 25, 2020
    7
    Моя вторая изометрическая РПГ, первая - Neverwinter Nights, в которую играл еще в 2003.(Dragon Age - не считается) С чего бы начать.... В игре очень интересные и хорошо написанные диалоги(Крис Авеллон - батя). Графически игра хороша, из Юнити выжали все соки, сразу видно. Музыка - бесподобна, сюжет интригует, хоть и не так как побочки, как по мне - они интереснее. Крепость добавлена дляМоя вторая изометрическая РПГ, первая - Neverwinter Nights, в которую играл еще в 2003.(Dragon Age - не считается) С чего бы начать.... В игре очень интересные и хорошо написанные диалоги(Крис Авеллон - батя). Графически игра хороша, из Юнити выжали все соки, сразу видно. Музыка - бесподобна, сюжет интригует, хоть и не так как побочки, как по мне - они интереснее. Крепость добавлена для галочки, смысла в ней нет. Со сложностью, как по мне - перегнули. Если полезешь не в то место - тебя развалят даже на новичке. Игру не прошёл, остановился на Арсенале. Может быть потом продолжу. Игра все равно неплохая - 7|10. Читать интересно, играть - нет.… Expand
  27. Jajooka
    Nov 14, 2020
    4
    I just cannot take this much loading time. Otherwise the game would probably be around 7. I liked the story very much, the voice acting is great, the battles are a bit chaotic and found the window of tactical possibilities a bit narrow, but still decent. I feel like they just stole the whole class and progression system from D&D, but since that is decent too I don't really consider it aI just cannot take this much loading time. Otherwise the game would probably be around 7. I liked the story very much, the voice acting is great, the battles are a bit chaotic and found the window of tactical possibilities a bit narrow, but still decent. I feel like they just stole the whole class and progression system from D&D, but since that is decent too I don't really consider it a downside. So it would be a good game really, but the long loading screends just suck the good out of it. I would want to finish it but cant make myself doing it. I could accept if it had like 5 minutes loading time between 2 big areas. Then I would drink, pee, take a short break while it is working. But it has like 1 min loading screen between two levels of a house, or when you enter a tiny cave or anything similar. Imagine: the task is simply to speak with someone in town. You are already in that town but she is in the neighbour-disctrict and in a house on the second floor (ex. one of the main quest giver is like this) that means 5 (FIVE) f*kin loading screen. Out of town when you don't have that much closed spaces it is tolerable (just barely, but it is). But in town it is just too much.… Expand
  28. Aliensymbiote00
    Jan 2, 2021
    2
    People say this is one of the best rpg of all time and I just don’t see it! This game feels more like work than fun. It’s combat system is it’s greatest flaw. It’s the pause, select action, wait for it , repeat - system. It almost forces you to play as a tank character, Which I hate! I love a stealthy build but it’s too frustrating for this game. First off, you are so fragile (which isPeople say this is one of the best rpg of all time and I just don’t see it! This game feels more like work than fun. It’s combat system is it’s greatest flaw. It’s the pause, select action, wait for it , repeat - system. It almost forces you to play as a tank character, Which I hate! I love a stealthy build but it’s too frustrating for this game. First off, you are so fragile (which is fine I like a challenge) but not in this game where it takes forever to do anything. Need to take a potion? Hope you can wait 10 seconds while being beat by a mob for your character to slowly pour himself a healing Cocktail. Then the heals work over time so you’re dead before you can get it’s effect. Want to sneak up on an enemy? Well expect your party members to barge in and ruin the element of surprise! Want to select your ability and fire a range shot on an unsuspecting mob? Nope, by the time the animation happens they may notice you and cancel your action! I dumped 8 hours into this before I rage quit this broken , dated game ! cocktail… Expand
  29. BadLuckTulip
    Mar 8, 2021
    0
    Good story and great characters. It ends there.
    Combat has some complexity which can be very enjoyable if you give yourself time to work through understanding it.
    HOWEVER the game is unbearably buggy. Constant crashes when transitioning screens. Minor bugs that break the immersion (e.g. such voice lines jarring or clipping in the environment/characters with each other) to major bugs that    Good story and great characters. It ends there.
    Combat has some complexity which can be very enjoyable if you give yourself time to work through understanding it.
    HOWEVER the game is unbearably buggy. Constant crashes when transitioning screens. Minor bugs that break the immersion (e.g. such voice lines jarring or clipping in the environment/characters with each other) to major bugs that make it unplayable (e.g. combat unable to end due to frozen characters or ongoing effects that freeze and crash the game).
    Would recommend avoiding the PS4 edition.    … Expand
  30. RatchetClank111
    May 18, 2022
    7
    the game isn't terrible but it has a few flaws that prevent it from being a great game.the game isn't terrible but it has a few flaws that prevent it from being a great game. I'm going to post this for both consoles, as the next gen consoles like ps5 and xbox series x resolve the loading times issues that a lot mention as a negative, that doesn't factor for me as a negative. My complaintsthe game isn't terrible but it has a few flaws that prevent it from being a great game.the game isn't terrible but it has a few flaws that prevent it from being a great game. I'm going to post this for both consoles, as the next gen consoles like ps5 and xbox series x resolve the loading times issues that a lot mention as a negative, that doesn't factor for me as a negative. My complaints with the game are in regards to the story and design

    First, the game makes a lot of references to the lore that almost makes you feel like you should already know all of this stuff. It may be in best interest to watch a story recap that avoids possible spoilers to explain the lore/background. Also, the game doesn't do a very good job of doing dynamic storytelling, instead it's just conversations of text with no voice acting for the most part or reading the books/scrolls that you find. There's very few cutscenes that present the story. Also, the story is very vague for the most part where there's no sense of urgency to go through the story, and some of the side quests/tasks are easily skippable/boring. I think the biggest issue is that you don't really connect with the characters or factions in Act 2, and when you finish Act 2, the pacing of this game is just bizarre as Act3/4 are just like a few hours and then you finish the game. Basically, it's just hard to even care about the story/lore. It's even more impacted when the main villain and major plot twist doesn't even really shock me as again there's no set up for this until last the last hour of gameplay    … Expand
  31. t_bone
    Dec 20, 2021
    2
    This game isn't really one I'd recommend. It's a slog at best, a bore at worst. Here's why:

    1) The story: This game confuses "intricate" with "interesting". There's a large amount of lore, sure, but it just.... isn't interesting? The writing/plot is so mediocre and unimaginative that there's no emotional investment you can really have in regards to the broader story, characters, or    This game isn't really one I'd recommend. It's a slog at best, a bore at worst. Here's why:

    1) The story: This game confuses "intricate" with "interesting". There's a large amount of lore, sure, but it just.... isn't interesting? The writing/plot is so mediocre and unimaginative that there's no emotional investment you can really have in regards to the broader story, characters, or world at large. They're all exceptionally dull. The entire game just devoid of any human element: the story is walls of facts about things. None of it is meaningful: just complex. After a while, it starts to feel like the complexity is designed to make up for the lack of quality in the writing. This doesn't work. And it feels like the devs know this-- they try to put in "shocking" plot twists and philosophy, but it's all one-dimensional and cliched. Nothing feels surprising, nothing feels intellectually stimulating. Compounding this issue is the fact that the game's text is almost a parody of bad fantasy writing-- a constant stream of proper nouns washes over you at all times. It's designed to make you feel like you're learning about the new world, but it's the only trick in the writer's tool box. This means it gets old. Quickly.

    In short: it feels bad to buy a largely text-based game with bad text. If you want a good game with a lot of text, don't buy this.

    2) The combat: Without a good story to draw you in, you would hope the game is fun to play. Well, I had the same hope; I was sorely disappointed. The RTS combat is less enjoyable/interesting than you would think and far less enjoyable than you want. It is best when it is monotonous, and at it's worst when it's involved. This is because the combat controls are clunky. That said, if you're an RTS nut the game hits all the right notes (or at least, as well as it can given the interface issues).

    3) The dialogue: In addition to having nothing which -feels- human or even interesting about any of the characters, a lot of the dialogue is just... simple. You can click on the bad answer, the good answer, the mean answer, or the nice answer. Data on which ones you click is compiled and that score then gives you a reputation. It's not hard to game that system to get the one you'd like, as it's always pretty obvious which result gets what. At times it can be interesting-- legitimately so, which is why I am giving this 2 stars instead of 1-- but 99% of the time it reads like a child trying to write a videogame. Divinity 2 and Disco Elysium have it beat here if you're looking for an isometric RPG.

    4) The Controls: the inventory management system is clunky, the combat is clunky, the game itself is clunky. Eh.

    5) The world: Again, intricate is not the same as interesting. There's a surplus of information, but little of it is relevant/interesting/communicated well. It's markedly less memorable than other full-sized RPGs (Fallout, Divinity, Yakuza, Skyrim, Disco Elysium, the Outer Worlds, the Witcher, Borderlands, etc).

    6) The load times: this game (intentionally) has 1996-tier graphics. Why, in 2021, does it move like a snail in molasses every time you switch maps?

    I generally enjoy isometric RPGS; I wouldn't recommend this one. Divinity 2 or Disco Elysium are better Isometric RPGs. You'll find a more interesting story in the Yakuza games, Disco Elysium, Divinity 2, or Skyrim.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

20
#20 Best PS4 Game of 2017
91
#91 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
42
#42 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. The Digital Fix
    Oct 23, 2017
    90
    Not for everyone but if you can see past its issues, herein lies a phenomenal old school RPG.
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  2. RPG Fan
    Oct 16, 2017
    85
    Although the porting issues affect the experience enough to bog it down a bit, they're not so extreme as to ruin it. PoE is that rare game where each of its components, from the story and writing to the audiovisual aesthetics, are individually exceptional yet manage to combine into something greater still. It presents a level of immersion that leaves a lasting impression, and you owe it to yourself to experience it firsthand.
    Read full review
  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Oct 15, 2017
    80
    A love letter to old-fashioned RPGs, but like all passionate romances you'll need to take the rough with the smooth. [Nov 2017, p.92]
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