GB Feature: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Review

We’ve been spending a good deal of time with Obsidian Entertainment’s follow-up to 2015’s Pillars of Eternity, and are now offering up our full three-page critique for consumption. Here’s a little something that Steven had to say about the mechanics and lead-in to adventure:

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, like its predecessor, emulates the Infinity Engine games of old. So you play the game using an isometric view, and you left-click where you want your party to go. You can also right-click to force your party to face a particular direction, which is useful when you’re approaching enemies. Deadfire includes a “smart” camera that follows your party around, so you don’t need to control it at all. But if you want to check out a distant part of the map, then you can use the WASD keys to move the camera around. Other useful hotkeys include tab to illuminate hotspots, the spacebar to pause the game, F5 to quicksave, and F9 to quickload. You can also reconfigure the hotkeys, plus rearrange the layout of the interface, so you should be able to make everything work just the way you want.

The Deadfire campaign revolves around the god Eothas, who takes control of a giant statue and starts wandering around absorbing souls — including yours. Since Eothas tried to start a war in the past, his actions now worry the other gods, and they return part of your soul to you so you can follow him around and figure out what he’s up to. This leads you to the Deadfire Archipelago, where the entirety of the game takes place.