Pillars of Eternity: Hero Edition

Well as a fan of the infinity engine games I was excited for this one. What I got was not very good but not too bad either. The combat system was okay but often more frustrating than challenging The story was not very motivating or interesting The world wasn´t particulary big or interesting either Dialoge options seldom included what I wanted to say The fortress feature was just dull, especially the bounty quests And I gotta say I hated almost all of the companions Character creation was cool though, but the portration variety was pretty weak Maybe I had to high hopes for this game but what they delivered didn´t even come close to the quality of a baldurs gate or planescape torment. Obisdian I´m very disappointed in you guys!

If you LOVE combat and not much else, this game is for you. If you're looking to explore a new world, engage in a strong story or actually have an enjoyable time playing, perhaps you might give this one a miss. I want to love this game, but every single square inch of the game is not just one enemy, but a mob of them. Not one Drake, but five. Not one haunt, but ten. Just cleared a huge mob? Want to get to that cave you know is just around the bend? Guess what, you have to fight yet another mob. There is literally not one inch of the game that isn't covered in high-level mobs. Add to that the very indifferent loot that all of this combat nets you, and it starts to feel pointless after a while. After a few days, I'm spending a lot more time reloading and swearing than I am playing and having a good time.

I bought this when it was new, and just came back to it (in 2024) since 2016. It's stood the test of time very well. The quests have depth, there's a lot of varied content, the game is as hard as you want to make it. (I've soloed on Hard. I soloed the first act of Path of the Damned and decided it required too much micromanagement to be fun. Your tastes may differ.) The climax is great, the base building is rewarding, and there are lots of different endings. It's very difficult to get the best ending for everyone. When I started to write this review, I noticed there were a lot of recent 1 and 2 star reviews from people who don't own the game. Maybe there's some Twitter drama I'm not aware of. I'm a longtime rpg'er, and I'd put this game right under Dragons Age: Origins. It's really good.

I just didn't really like anything about this game. I figured maybe it was just because I was still at the beginning of the game, so I tried to push through, but I just can't do it anymore. I love to read books, and other games with a lot of reading don't bother me, but having to read in this game made the whole thing a chore. I'm not sure what it was about the writing that made me hate it so much, but there was a lot of it, which made it a big problem On the plus side, the writing was very descriptive and painted a good picture of what was happening. It just didn't hold my interest. Also, I felt like I spent all my time wandering around tiny environments , holding down the tab key, clicking on random stuff, reading some (usually boring, in my opinion), story about something or other, and then moving on to do more of the same. The beginning (which I never got past) was, I guess, supposed to be some sort of engrossing mystery, but honestly, I felt like a spectator to a story I was uninterested in rather than the player of a game.

A masterpiece that has it's rightful place among the legends of the genre (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Planescape Torment) Do a favor to yourself and play this game. And for God's sake buy it, don't pirate it. Those guys at Obsidian deserve every one cent we throw at them. They are the reason along with Larian Studios for the renaissance of the CRPGs.