Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Preview

We will likely hear more about Obsidian Entertainment’s Pillars of Eternity sequel after this weekend’s PAX South event, but to satiate us in the meantime, there’s this new hands-on preview of Deadfire over at PC Gamer. A sampling, as you might have expected:

I walk through the quiet, idyllic village, which is decorated with immense wooden carvings of seabirds and angler fish. Lights dangle from the huts, casting a soft blue glow over the party and making our shadows dance as they bob in the wind. A rainstorm drifts in, drenching the village. I feel like I’m a million miles away from the Dyrwood, the leafy, forested setting from the first game. Eventually I find the chieftain’s lodge: an impressive structure, the largest in the village, elevated on a wooden frame and adorned with elegant, intricate decorations reminiscent of ancient Polynesian art.

Ruãnu, the chieftain, welcomes me with open arms. To him, foreign visitors are the key to Tikawara’s growth and survival. He tells me that Poko Kohara is ravaged by strange storms and urges me to investigate. As long as the storms rage, he says, visitors will no longer come to the island and trade with them. On the way back to my ship I stop in at the temple and speak to the priestess, Nairi—but there’s no warm welcome here. She tells me that foreign visitors will lead to the enslavement and exploitation of the Huana, and that she wants someone to destroy the tempting adra on Poko Kohara. With that gone, she thinks, explorers like the Vailians will have no reason to visit the island.

And so I’m presented with something of a moral quandary. This is an Obsidian RPG after all, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Do I deal with the storms and clear the way for explorers looking to harvest the adra, and in turn risk the exploitation of the Huana? Or do I destroy it and protect the tribe from outside influence? Firebeard is a wise man, but this will take some pondering. I leave Tikawara behind and set sail for the island. I can decide what to do when I get there, but the idealist in me says destroy the adra, keep the tribe safe, even if I do understand the chief’s desire for his people to prosper.