Pillars of Eternity: Hero Edition

I didn't grow up in the era of Baldur's Gate and Fallout 2; I grew up with RPGs like Fallout 3 and Mass Effect (I've actually tried playing Fallout 2, and hated it. Sorry). So naturally I was a bit skeptical that I would enjoy a game like Pillars of Eternity. Well I've played it for a fews hours now, and I must say I'm pleasantly surprised. It's an extremely well thought out game with a deep, engrossing mythology, and it's really fun to play. So if there's anyone like me (that is, someone who grew up post-1999 with Oblivion, Fallout 3 etc.) who is curious about this game, I'd say you might very well enjoy it. Especially if you love reading fantasy novels (and I stress, READING). Cheers!

The game universe--its cultures and history and divine realm--is highly original and fascinating and very well fleshed-out. The story is also a really interesting, original storyline. Most fantasy-themed games feel really *generic* in the sort of universe they depict, and they use one of about 5 generic heroic storylines that all games use. PoE is not like that; it really feels like the world and story of a well-written, highly original fantasy novel. The companion characters are also amazing, well fleshed-out, well voice-acted, and you really care about them. They each have a personal quest, most of which are excellent. I literally started crying at the completion of one of the companion characters' personal quests, because I'd gotten so invested in her quest and what it meant to her. Oh, and the game is also beautiful. Movingly beautiful. There are also some significant flaws, however: 1) Combat is often tedious. They tried to improve on the flaws of a Baldur's-Gate-style combat system, but I found the result less fun than combat in BG2. 2) The game starts off frustrating and slow. In the beginning, combat is scaled way too hard, and you have very few companions, and those companions don't start spontaneously talking until you get to a major city (I have no idea why) so you have no interaction with them. It gets better later. 3) The game is clearly trying to appeal to folks who don't mind reading, who want the cerebral, Planescape Torment-type game experience and not just hack-and-slash and pretty pictures. But someone needs to tell their writers that more words isn't always better. Characters tend to speak in overly long, overly literary monologues, rather than talking like real people, and it's both boring and off-putting. The game also, bizarrely, puts most of the party member interactions in one big dialogue tree you have to slog through, rather than having it come out in small pieces through spontaneous conversations like in BG.

I had been curious about Pillars of Eternity since it's Kickstarter, since I very much love an involved and interesting story with character I want to engage with on a quest to save the world. I'm a sucker for the classics. What I played was... fine. The two big hang ups I have about the game are the story and the combat. The story felt like it was trying to get its claws into me. A power awakened in you that allows you to see past and present at the same time? Not only that but actually interact with said past objects and people? Awesome! Sadly, nothing cool or interesting actually comes form having these powers. Not even some focus on the theme of madness or insanity because of your character experiencing chunks of past lives, other people's experiences, or past and present happening at the same time. It simply gives you flavor text for a large number of NPCs and that's kind of it. While I didn't grow up with CRPGs, I did play a good chunk of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale to familiarize myself more with how Pillars would play. And I understood the combat easily enough. But playing on Normal, through the first chapter and a half, was just AWFUL. I had to slog my way through the majority of combat in order to complete quests which give you the bulk of your XP to level up. (For those curious, my party was Druid (me), Barbarian, Fighter, Mage, Cypher and Priest.) So I had to Quicksave and Load constantly and attempt battles multiple times. And the companion AI didn't help, leading me to turn it off completely and direct everyone. Not helped by the fact I got Paralyzed by Specters three separate times trying to complete a story-relevant dungeon. Even after toning the difficulty down to Easy, I still felt like I was walking through knee-deep sludge just to make it through fights to progress the uninteresting story. After 25 hours of effort dealing frustrating AI companions, a dull story, very pretty environments and visuals, I can only say that you have to be a big fan of CRPGs to see this through to the end, or have a LOT of patience.

This game was excellent when it came out, with the addition of White March it's even better. One of the best RPGs ever.

Pretty to look at, easy UI and with a very polished exterior (given its origins). However, there isn't much going on under the hood to make this worth playing more than a day. Story is drivel, characters are shallow, combat is enfuriatingly clumsy, lore is superfluous nonsense and character development is weak. The AI, if there is one, is probably the worst thing about this - enemy tactics are an utter mess. Very disapointed in this, and uninstalled after 12 hours. Note to self: don't fall for the hype next time.