Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the first Pillars of Eternity was released in 2017, and along with the Divinity: Original Sin, it helped usher in what feels like a new “golden age” of CRPGs. For many fans of the genre, it was the successor to the Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment that fans had been waiting years for.
Obsidian was made up of former members of Black Isle Studios that already developed the Icewind Dale series and Planescape: Torment. Therefore, the studio is the perfect choice to create a game of this kind with such high expectations.
Originally released in 2018 on the PC, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has finally made to consoles in 2020. Let’s take a look and see if it was worth the wait with five of the best things about Pillars of Eternity II, and five of the worst.
10 Worst: Long Loading Times
One of the game’s biggest drawbacks in its conversion from a PC title to the console is not everything is going to work as well. While Versus Evil has done a stellar job in their handling of the port with the access to menus and exploration in Pillars of Eternity II, it’s the technical issues that tend to concern.
Unfortunately, the loading times are frequent and long, which can break the immersion. Entering and leaving buildings or new districts will trigger another lengthy loading screen. Getting killed in combat will also mean the player will be subjected to another long loading screen. In truth, the loading screens could be bothersome on the PC but they’re unbearable on the PS4, hopefully a patch will fix it.
9 Good: Incredible Writing And Branching Story
It goes without saying that there aren’t many games that come close to Pillars of Eternity II in terms of writing and world-building. The only games that come close are The Witcher III and Divinity: Original Sin II. Just like those games, Pillars 2 has a rich branching story that develops builds around the player’s decisions.
The characters players encounter in Deadfire’s world are very rarely completely evil or good. That sense of ambiguity is the foundation that the world of Deadfire Archipelago is built around. The choices made in several encounters greatly affect the branching story, making each playthrough feel dynamic and unique.
8 Worst: Crashes Occasionally
Continuing with the game’s technical setbacks is that at the time of writing, Pillars of Eternity II suffers from crashes, which of course is incredibly frustrating, immersion-breaking, and unacceptable considering the game was delayed from its original 2019 timeframe.
Players will possibly find themselves getting stuck in a menu, meaning they will be forced to restart their console. In addition to freezing, players may also find themselves greeted by a blue error screen, forcing a restart. Of course, all these crashes mean that the player is once again forced to sit through long loading times again.
7 Good: Beautiful Art Work
Pillars of Eternity opts for the old-school isometric CRPG viewpoint, but that doesn’t mean that the world of Deadfire Archipelago isn’t beautiful to look at. The visual style is distinct, creating a world of its own with very impressive graphics. The maps, in particular, are well designed, resembling a painting that’s come to life.
The water effects when on the ship look particularly beautiful, and the lighting effects look even better than the first game. The spells also look incredible, showing off some very impressive particle effects when casting lightning or fire-based attacks.
6 Worst: Lacks The Humor Of A Baldur’s Gate
When the first Pillars of Eternity was in development it was touted as a natural successor to the Baldur’s Gate series. For the most part, it’s a very accurate description in terms of game mechanics and fantastic writing.
However, the game was accused of taking itself a little too seriously and there was a lack of comedic moments to lighten the mood. In fairness to Pillars of Eternity II, it has taken some strides in providing some humorous moments and banter between the characters, but for the most part, it’s still a very dry game in comparison to the series (Baldur’s Gate) that inspired it.
5 Good: Excellent Musical Score And Voice Acting
2voice acting in Pillars of Eternity II is some of the best this generation and is easily on par with some of the best the genre has to offer. The narrator’s voice work is descriptive, clear, and very easy to listen to, it’s almost like listening to an audiobook.
In addition to the tremendous voice work, Pillars 2 has an absolutely epic orchestral soundtrack that wouldn’t sound out of place in a big-budget fantasy movie or TV series like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. There are over 90 minutes of the score to help drive the experience matching each and every moment onscreen, from epic fights with dragons to moments of melancholy.
4 Worst: Requires Knowledge Of The First Game
When players start a new game in Pillars of Eternity II they are creating a new character and carving out a new journey in a new part of the world with a recap of the first game’s events. As a result, it is perfectly acceptable to start Pillars of Eternity II without ever playing the first game.
However, there are times where the game’s story and lore seem to expect the player to have a significant amount of knowledge regarding the event of the first game. There are returning party members from the first game complete with their own backstories, so there’s no escaping the feeling that one would get more out of Pillars 2 if they played the first game.
3 Good: The Ship
In place of its predecessor’s Suikoden-like castle development, Pillars 2 adds in a ship. The ships allow the player to sail around a 17th century-inspired Deadfire Archipelago where they can recreate their dreams of swashbuckling through the Golden Age of Piracy.
Ship management is of the utmost importance, especially when it required to recruit more sailors. However, as the captain of the ship, one must make sure that the crew’s morale is good and that they are well-paid and fed, or a mutiny will erupt.
2 Worst: Unwelcoming To Newcomers Of The Genre
In addition to the game’s the lore being somewhat unwelcoming to newcomers that have no prior knowledge of the first game’s story and characters, Pillars 2 is undeniably difficult.
The developers Obsidian have to be commended on sticking to their guns in making an unashamedly old school CRPG, but even for those experienced in the genre, the easy setting will cause them problems. Naval and land battles are very unforgiving and there isn’t much in the way of tutorials to guide new players.
1 Good: A Choice In Combat Style
The combat in the first Pillars of Eternity was already excellent by implementing the classical real-time pause battle system to great effect. In Pillars of Eternity II, the original real-time and pause system remains, but now players can choose to use a turn-based system too.
Furthermore, the developers have added the ability to customize the party’s artificial intelligence to the liking during battles. This is a huge step up from its predecessor where the characters were completely devoid of any intelligence and constantly getting in the way.