Pillars of Eternity is a computer role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive. The game was a hit long before its release, since it was one of the first big projects to make it big time on Kickstarter. Record-breaking campaign and the developer's pedigree made PoE a sure success. But does it hold up to the hype?
In its core, PoE is a very old-school party RPG with isometric view and an extensive roleplaying system reminiscent of games like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. There are beautifully drawn environments, different and interesting party members, various side quests and main missions, many chances for exploration, gigantic dungeons and a rather original storyline dealing with the lore of the world you find yourself in. Of course, there's combat, cleverly updated since the days of old in that it feels more dynamic and has more balance thanks to the well-developed character creation and development.
Obsidian's strong point has always been the world and the story. With the re-introduction of classic dialogue system with extensive reply trees and detailed literary descriptions, aided by text adventure elements, the level of detail and characterization here is amazingly rich. This time they didn't disappoint and made their own setting as interesting and enchanting as Forgotten Realms. Unfortunately, some may feel that the story has less impact than the classic hits, and the characters, with few exceptions, are not as developed as they could have been.
Nevertheless, Pillars of Eternity is as close to old-school RPGs as it gets.
