For someone like me, Pillars of Eternity was a nigh perfect game. Obsidian's work has long been a definite favorite of mine. However, this is largely because I was able to get used to their particular eccentricities. This is very much a game that the developers wanted to make, rather than a game concerned with appealing to the widest possible demographic. Between the gorgeous hand-designed backgrounds and vivid text descriptions, the atmosphere is one of subtle but unrelenting gloom. It has a way of getting under my skin, but anyone looking for a light-hearted romp should look elsewhere. Likewise, there is a tremendous amount of reading in this game, with really only the main companion characters and important NPCs getting any regular voice-acting. And you'll spend just as much time talking with NPCs as you will fighting monsters, which will definitely be a but-off for less patient players. The main story is also a bit of a rambling affair. There is no urgent quest to save the world. There are traces of that around the edges, but the vast majority of the narrative deals with saving yourself from a vague threat of insanity, by chasing someone from a past life who may or may not even have the ability to help you. If you're inured to games that give you a by-the-numbers plot in which you save the world from an all-encompassing evil while being assured by everyone you meet that yes, you are the most important person in the universe, this is just about the complete opposite of that. I personally found it very absorbing, but I am a sucker for narrative tropes being subverted in unexpected ways, and of that this game has plenty. This game also seems particularly made to cater to people who like to roleplay a character, with both a faction system as well as personal reputations (Stoic, Honest, Clever, ect), but these will likely seem shallow to people who care only for mechanics. In short, this game is straightforwardly good, but not something that will cater to everyone.
