Pillars of Eternity: Hero Edition

The art direction, writing, and gameplay mechanics are superb. The characters are interesting and sympathetic and realistic. The gameplay is a really fun take on D&D style combat with as little frustration as possible. This is an amazing game. It's just not ready for release. I have multiple CTDs (Crash to Desktop) per hour. The game freezes. It slows to a crawl. It crashes on saves. It crashes on loads. It crashes on area transitions. It will fill up 16GB of RAM (this is due to a bug; it doesn't actually need this much RAM). My advice is to wait until Obsidian actually fixes the game and stops 'balancing' the combat mechanics.

I don't write reviews, but as an ardent, fanatical Black Isle/Infinity Engine lover, I felt compelled to do this. Nothing but raves from me in terms of look, feel, story: on the artistic design of this game, it is easily a 5/5 for me, this was the atmosphere and environment I have missed since IW2, deeply immersive and engaging. The story elements read like a good novel, not expecting you to know the colloquialisms and details of the universe that's unfolding around you, as you make your way into an expertly-crafted, newly-created mythos and setting. It's undeniably reminiscent of AD&D, and especially of the variety set forth by the CRPG revolution that emerged in the late '90's. What a great game this could have been! But alas, as we know, the gaming aspect of this kind of experience comes primarily from how combat is handled, and, for this reviewer, it's a swing and a miss. I freely admit an unnatural adherence to the system established by our legendary godfather, Mr. Gygax. For all it's warts, the D&D system was the quintessential ruler of the pen and paper RPG, and in spite of many challengers, including this game, it's still reigns supreme. Pillars seems to fall into the trap that Arcanum did, but worse. (BTW, Arcanum is an excellent game, very enjoyable). You will learn which specific tactics, spells, and character classes work, and which ones are largely useless and ineffective. The trademark of a great game is that you shouldn't have to completely know how the game is going to process all of the mechanics behind a situation to play that game effectively and with a fair amount of expertise. It's not fun for me to offer such critical analysis to what was obviously a heartfelt endeavor, the potential here was huge. The story and atmosphere still make this game worth playing, definitely, but when I'm done here, I will be digging out the dusty, old Black Isle games and breathe a deep sigh of satisfaction that such brilliant games were crafted.

I grew up playing RPGs and this looked like a taste of some of the older RPGs I loved, my fav of all time being Planescape: Torment. I thought the beginning was fantastic, the setting very interesting, the characters striking enough. I enjoyed the reputation mechanic. Combat can be a bit repetitive. The end was very disappointing. Some spoilers ahead. This was the first game I think I have ever played where I was appreciating the somewhat nuanced and fleshed out approach to things like faith, religion, science and progress, the occasional tension between the two, understanding and making sense of faith in the world with hardships. But the plot throws it all away by taking the road of, I think, every single other RPG out there that even bothers to approach these subjects at all. The end throws all of these nuances away with yet another atheism is true. I've encountered it so much that it's not innovative or evocative or groundbreaking. It's tiresome. Frankly, I encounter it so much I do wonder if there isn't some wish fulfillment in this being a plot point of so many games. In PoE it definitely comes across as such. I was also struck by how much this took the wind out of my sails to go through the final fight. At this point I just don't care. Which is frustrating after all the hours and money I have sunk into this. It may have killed cRPGs for me at this point.

I don't usually write reviews, and I'm only level 4, so not very far into the game. But I decided to write this early review anyway because I just had to express my admiration for this game, and my gratitude to Obsidian for FINALLY creating the game I think most fans of classic isometric RPGs have been waiting for. Art direction, the new setting, the story, the "pick your own path"-style adventure hooks, and the challenging but fair combat - all fantastic. You can tell a lot of extremely talented people poured a lot of RPG love and D&D desire into this game, and it shows in every aspect. Obsidian, I love you guys. My wife hates you. ; ) And big thanks to GOG for providing this great game DRM free. I love you guys too. My wife hates you as well.

title says it all.