Pirates and fireballs. Runaway gods and tropical islands. Old friends and new companions. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, the sequel to Obsidian Entertainment’s Infinity Engine-reminiscent CRPG Pillars of Eternity is finally here, ready to take us to the sunny shores of the exotic Deadfire archipelago in pursuit of an angry god and some unfinished business. And if you want a spot on the boat, you can purchase Obsidian’s latest roleplaying offering for $49.99 or your regional equivalent from Steam or GOG right after you check out this flashy launch trailer:
And read the official description:
Pursue a rogue god over land and sea in the sequel to the multi-award-winning RPG Pillars of Eternity. Captain your ship on a dangerous voyage of discovery across the vast unexplored archipelago region of the Deadfire. Bend the world to your will, as you explore the depths of infinite possibilities, including detailed character customization, total freedom of exploration, and more meaningful choices at every turn.
Immerse yourself in a deeper single player RPG game experience – enriched with cutting edge technology and features, Deadfire builds on the foundation of classic D&D gameplay with vastly improved graphics, deeper game mechanics and a whole new hand-crafted adventure where choices truly matter.
Discover the new region of the Deadfire – plot your own course by ship and explore the rich and exotic islands of the archipelago region, discovering new places interacting with their inhabitants and engaging in a variety of quests at every port.
Build your party and customize your companions – choose from 7 different companions to join you on your quest and assign multiple classes and deeper abilities for each. Witness their personal relationships and interactions unfold with the addition of the new companion system.
Captain your ship across the seas – as your stronghold on the seas, your ship is much more than simply a vessel for exploring. Upgrade your ship and crew and choose what skills you improve in order to survive dangerous encounters along the way.
And if you’re interested in the critical reception, so far it seems highly positive. Here’s a sampling:
Pillars of Eternity II is another fine RPG from Obsidian, brilliantly showcasing the studio’s knack for strong world-building, intelligent, expressive writing, and varied quest design. It’s a big, deep, wordy CRPG in the classic mould, but with enough new ideas to feel like more than just a throwback. The sailing is the only thing I didn’t really engage with, feeling somewhat half-baked compared to the rest of the game. But if it’s a fantasy RPG filled with pages of brilliant, descriptive dialogue you’re after, and a huge, open world to explore, the Deadfire Archipelago delivers all that and then some. We’re more spoiled for choice when it comes to RPGs like this than we were in 2015, which makes Deadfire feel a little less special than the first Pillars. But that’s a minor gripe in light of the fact that this is another great game from one of the best studios in the business, offering many hours of quality roleplaying.
It’s an extraordinary game. One that you’ll feel faintly lost in at first, while its many systems permeate your grey matter. But all the while its story unfolds and reveals new wrinkles, the sense of place growing deeper. The mechanics underpinning everything in Pillars II have shifted marginally towards accessibility, but that still leaves a huge amount of room for brutal challenge levels to its combat – and, crucially, it’s scalable enough that you can whack down the challenge, ignore your party composition, leave the pause key unpressed, and enjoy the adventure. That’s what this is, in a very real sense: an adventure.
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire improves upon the Pillars of Eternity formula in nearly every way, creating an RPG loaded with both strong combat and important, character-defining choices that frequently have an impact on your numerous and deep side-story adventures. A refreshingly different island setting makes it feel dramatically distinct, though travel can be laborious because of unavoidable and repetitive nautical encounters. From a long list of quality-of-life upgrades to a new and impressive attention on companions and their relationships and an astonishing commitment to immersive storytelling and roleplaying, this sequel takes a strong step forward past its predecessor and presents exciting possibilities for the genre going forward.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is an exceptional roleplaying experience that truly lets you forge your own path in a rich, multilayered, grog-soaked world. Occasionally the game is just a touch too retro for its own good, but, for the most part, Pillars of Eternity II proves Obsidian has set the right course. It’s clear sailing ahead for the classic computer RPG.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a worthy successor to the original. It demands time from the player to fully understand the in-depth character growth and creation system, though doing so results in a rewarding gaming experience. Dialogue trees aren’t anything new, but this one features some of the more entertaining dialogue among recent games and the voice acting with the script makes the inhabitants of Eora feel alive. The influence of tabletop role playing and classic RPGs come together nicely in a vast adventure where player choices matter. And for a game that will take thirty to forty hours for non-completionists with three scheduled DLC expansions, keeping the game interesting is extremely important, which thankfully Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has no problem doing.
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is a strange game; it wants to be everything you loved about old-school RPGs while being something new, and I think it succeeds at that. One day, I played for about 15 hours straight because I was having so much fun. The next day, I played for 12 more. Deadfire relies on tradition when it’s suitable and tries to do something new everywhere else. The end result is one of the best RPGs I’ve played in recent years.
Ultimately, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a near-perfect sequel. It builds upon the foundation of the previous game with more compelling exploration and a deeper combat system, fixes many of the problems that held the first one back, and is from top to bottom a more polished experience. No matter if you’re new to the world of Eora or an experienced traveler, Deadfire is an RPG you have to play.
Deadfire isn’t the spiritual successor of anything, and it’s not trying to recapture the magic of the Infinity Engine games. That’s been done already, giving this second act room to be bolder. Free from those expectations, it’s forward-facing and blessed with a lively, vital setting that blows the comparatively dry, erm, Dyrwood out of the water. It’s a confident sequel, then, and does enough work to fill in the gaps through discreet bits of exposition that it could probably be enjoyed as a standalone adventure, too.
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Val Hull
Resident role-playing RPG game expert. Knows where trolls and paladins come from. You must fight for your right to gather your party before venturing forth.
