Developed by: Obsidian Entertainment
Published by: Paradox Interactive
Available on: PC (reviewed)
Release Date: March 26, 2015
There are few RPGs that call to mind as evocative memories as the likes of Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale. A product of computer gaming’s heyday, these classic games told their stories primarily through text and static art, lacking the budgets and technology for hundreds of hours of voice-acting and ambitious cutscenes. In a way, they were undeniably primitive, but to many RPG fans, there was an appeal in these titles that modern games fail to match; the paragraphs of prose describing the environments, the elaborate, D&D-inspired combat systems, the many paths that could be taken to the game’s ending. Obsidian Entertainment, a company made up of many of the original minds behind those classics, created a Kickstarter in 2012, making a promise to resurrect the kind of CRPG so many of their fans know and love. While replicating past success may have been easy, they’ve done one better: they’ve re-created the magic of their former games while simultaneously bringing them into a modern era.
This combination of design sensibilities is made apparent right at the start of Pillars of Eternity. After a short opening scene, players are tasked with creating their character. The choices are extensive, from the standard array of fantasy classes – with a few creative twists, like the psychic Cipher and the necromancer/bard hybrid Chanter – to the character’s homeland and former profession, both of which offer minor stat increases. Obsidian took great care in avoiding obvious dump stats, and though there is plenty of optimization to be done for chronic min-maxers [like myself, admittedly], it’s difficult to break any class badly enough to not be able to clear the game at least on Normal difficulty. Each of the races is similarly balanced and interesting, with the usual assortment of humans and elves complemented by the world of Eora’s original species, such as the large, colorful Aumaua and the impish, furry Orlan. Almost every choice that you can make will come up at least a few times during the game’s fifty hour plus campaign, and it’s rewarding to see such seemingly minor choices matter, if only slightly.
On higher difficulties, these mind-controlling spores can be some of the most challenging enemies in the game.
Once my character was made – I picked a human monk, intrigued by the ‘wound’ ability, which generates ability resources based on taking damage – I jumped right in, and I was immediately smitten. The game’s fairly brief tutorial is fantastically well-done, introducing the basics of combat, companions, and conversations while laying the groundwork of the story. In Eora, souls are recycled after death, gradually eroding as they inhabit more and more new bodies. After being exposed to a strange ritual, the protagonist becomes a Watcher, someone capable of seeing into souls, reading the history of both their current and past lives. At the tutorial’s end, the neophyte Watcher sets off to learn more of their condition.
Once out in the world, I was tasked with recruiting new companions, exploring the region of Dyrwood, and picking up quests through interaction with the game’s many NPCs. After only a few conversations, I quickly grew impressed by the game’s personality system. Many dialogue options have a trait designated to them, such as aggressive, diplomatic cruel, etc, which can be revealed or hidden in the options. Consistently using these options builds the main character’s reputation, opening up dialogue from NPCs that wouldn’t otherwise be available. My monk eventually became well-known as benevolent and clever, which led to other characters referencing his generous nature and wit. It’s a minor thing, but a great example of how focusing primarily on text dialogue can open up options that wouldn’t be practical in a fully voice acted game. This isn’t to say that Pillars of Eternity is mute, though; there’s much more voiced dialogue than I expected, primarily from the many story companions you can pick up and characters relevant to the main plot.
The main plot is penned well, following the protagonist as they seek to both discover what it means to be a Watcher and attempt to cure a devastating curse causing children to be born without souls, but the real stars of Pillars of Eternity are the characters and side quests. More often than not, I was surprised as a seemingly simple errand became an unpredictable adventure; few people in the Dyrwood are entirely what they seem, and separating truth from lies is critical to getting to the bottom of many problems presented to the player. The companions are similarly complex and well-written, so much so that while the option exists to create a custom party of adventurers, it feels like an incredible waste to do so. Each character serves as a clever subversion of a fantasy archetype – like Eder, the farmhand-turned-fighter questioning his beliefs because of his lost brother’s actions – while others completely defy explanation. I’m not sure I could describe one character, the Grieving Mother, in any way that would do her justice, but I will say that I don’t think I’ll ever hear chimes in the same way again.
Little did the enemy skeletons expect…MY OWN SKELETONS!
Eora is a beautifully designed – if somewhat typical ‘medieval European’ – setting, but all the worldbuilding would mean nothing if the gameplay wasn’t up to scratch. Luckily, almost every system Obsidian’s created for their new setting is as good as or superior to the tabletop games that inspire it. Those familiar with Dungeons and Dragons will immediately be able to suss out the intricacies of the game’s mechanics, but there’s plenty new to grasp even if you’re a veteran of pen-and-paper RPGs. In addition to the conversation system I detailed earlier, there are myriad factions to gain or lose face with based on your interactions with them, and there are few limits if you decide to kill or steal your way across the land. Personally, I prefer this greatly to a conventional morality system; I never felt like the game was judging me or pushing me one way or another, but I also enjoyed seeing some kind of consequences to my actions, though sometimes, it felt a little -too- isolated. About halfway through the game, I took issue with a noble house repeatedly sending assassins after me, so I paid their mansion a visit and slaughtered everybody inside. My reputation with their faction plummeted, but the city as a whole seemed fairly indifferent considering I’d just wiped out an entire influential family.
When all else fails, though, the weapons come out, and Pillars‘ combat is one of its strongest features by far. Using a system inspired by, but not identical, to that of Icewind Dale and Baldur’s Gate, battles play out in real time, with a pause option that allows tactical assessment and queuing of commands. Many battles can be punishing, especially on higher difficulties, with intelligent foes making every attempt they can to subvert your most reliable strategies. Fortunately, as long as you don’t mind heavy micromanagement, your party’s more than up to the task. Though players control up to six characters, there’s minimal AI scripting; anyone left to their own devices will sometimes fail even to auto-attack. While this might sound frustrating, it’s more often a boon, as I would have been in trouble many times if I went to select my priest for an emergency heal, only to find him on cooldown between attacks. Each class has a wide variety of useful abilities, some limited by resource, some by encounter, and some by resting, with flexibility in how to make best use of their crowd-control, damage, and emergency skills. Equally impressive is the complete lack of dedicated gear. Anyone can equip any weapon or armor, creating possibilities such as greatsword-wielding wizards in full plate and monks with rifles. I had fun experimenting with different combinations, though the lack of a re-specialization option is something I’ll never understand in any game, let alone an RPG with so much depth.
On top of the combat, there’s a degree of resource and base management, each aspect of which has some ups and downs. Party members in Pillars of Eternity have both endurance and health. The former is ability to take punishment in combat, and once it’s empty, the character loses consciousness, taking them out of the fight but recovering fully afterwards. Health, however, is only recovered by resting at inns or campfires, and if it empties, the character is maimed with a crippling status effect or permanently killed. This twist on a stamina mechanic is compelling, and makes balancing the desire to head just a little further in a dungeon versus using a limited campfire a difficult choice.
House Doemenel learns a valuable lesson about sending assassins after my crew.
The Stronghold, unlocked fairly early in the game, is basic but quite a bit of fun. Restoring a formerly abandoned Keep to its former glory, defending it alongside hirelings against attacks, and collecting taxes to fund your adventures is a simple, but welcome distraction from the pace of the rest of the game. For those interested in more adventure, underneath the keep lies a sprawling underground dungeon full of challenging enemies, prized loot, and some interesting quests. The only thing I found a little underwhelming were the hirelings themselves; on higher difficulties, they felt nearly useless, melting quickly against even common enemies.
I wish I could say that Pillars of Eternity was perfect; in many ways, it comes extremely close. The greatest issue plaguing the game, however, is one that seems intent on many ambitious games like this: bugs. Since starting the game, I’ve been plagued by issues, some minor, others potentially gamebreaking. From glitched audio dialogue to equipping items that completely remove skill boosts, Pillars had an array of problems at launch. Luckily, so far, Obsidian has been vigilant in stamping them out as soon as possible, releasing patches twice a week to both fix bugs and re-balance overpowered or underpowered skills.
With a long, rewarding campaign, clever implementation of familiar mechanics, and writing that does the games that inspired it proud, Pillars of Eternity is easy to recommend to any RPG fan. It’s one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played, and a top contender for the best game of 2015.
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