Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
" Expansive RPG with deep combat, rich story, and ship travel but long loading times "
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Review
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is widely praised as a rich and expansive CRPG that builds impressively on its predecessor. Players enjoy its deep narrative, diverse characters, and vibrant world set in the tropical Deadfire Archipelago. The game offers flexible pacing, meaningful choices with impactful consequences, and a robust class and combat system supporting both real-time with pause and turn-based modes. Its ship mechanics and faction politics add unique layers to exploration and storytelling.
Graphically, Deadfire is an upgrade with beautiful hand-painted environments and strong voice acting. The writing is sharp, blending wit with philosophical depth. While some players find the lore-heavy storytelling overwhelming and criticize occasional performance issues, the majority appreciate the game's complexity and depth. Overall, Deadfire is considered a standout modern RPG that caters to fans of classic isometric RPGs and offers an immersive, living world to explore.
Highlights
Players particularly praise the game’s intricate gameplay mechanics, including the dual combat modes and deep character customization. The expansive, colorful world and dynamic faction system bring a fresh setting to the genre. The story, enriched by complex companions and morally nuanced choices, is highlighted for its depth and emotional engagement. Graphically, the hand-painted art style and strong voice acting enhance immersion. Many appreciate the addition of ship travel and naval combat as innovative features.
Overall, the game’s blend of tactical combat, rich narrative, and vibrant world-building stands out as its strongest appeal.
Criticisms
Common criticisms focus on the game’s performance and pacing issues. Several players report long loading times and optimization problems, even on high-end systems. The lore and story exposition can be overwhelming, with some feeling bogged down by excessive detail, leading to frustration or disengagement. The ship combat is seen as underwhelming or skippable by some. Additionally, a few feel the story and companion development are less compelling compared to the first game. Some also find the world’s island-hopping exploration less engaging than a more contiguous map.
These issues, while notable, do not overshadow the overall positive reception but suggest areas for improvement.
Pros
- • Deep and complex gameplay mechanics with flexible combat modes.
- • Expansive, vibrant world full of diverse cultures and factions.
- • Meaningful player choices that impact story and world.
- • Strong companion characters with rich backstories.
- • Beautiful hand-painted art style and detailed environments.
- • Robust class system with extensive customization options.
- • Engaging faction politics and side quests.
Cons
- • Long loading times and poor optimization on some systems.
- • Overwhelming lore dumps that can frustrate players.
- • Ship combat is considered weak or skippable by some.
- • Story and companion arcs less compelling than predecessor.
- • Island-hopping exploration can feel repetitive or dull.
- • Some players find pacing slow due to excessive side content.
- • Turn-based mode feels less integrated than real-time combat.
Rating Criteria
Patch 5.0 - Turn-based mode and The Ultimate challenge out now! 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.
