Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Review (PC)

excellent
key review info
  • Game: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
  • Reviewed on:
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire header

I think we can all agree that building a good RPG is certainly not an easy feat, but making a great one is even harder. Few studios managed to find the perfect formula for such a complex genre and one of them is Obsidian. Since RPGs are so hard to judge because each player gets a different gameplay experience, it makes it a rather difficult to master genre design-wise.

But that doesn't apply to the fine folks at Obsidian, who improved on their original Pillars of Eternity game and turn the franchise into a cult series. Besides the many changes to the gameplay mechanics, Obsidian introduced the seafaring aspect, along with all the traits required (yep, pirates too).

I tried playing Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire in rather short 3-4 hours gameplay sessions, but that's one thing I can confirm the game won't allow you to do. Some of the newest RPG titles make the mistake of bombarding players with walls of text right from the start, potentially ruining the gameplay experience for many fans of the genre.

However, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is another type of beast. It serves you only the necessary information and the tools to learn more as you play, but only if you want to. Most of the dialog is voiced, but more importantly it's voiced by the crew at Critical Role, a match made in heaven.

I thought about how to approach this review because Deadfire is a monster of a RPG that brings so many new gameplay mechanics over the original game that's hard to write a decently-sized text that would cover them all.

Not so Defiant now, matey?!
Not so Defiant now, matey?!

Throw that dice Ranger!

I've decided that it's better not to spoil the fun and let each and everyone of you discover all the new stuff Obsidian has put in the game, and rather talk about why Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is hands down one of the best RPGs of all time.

Make no mistake, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is not without its flaws, but most of them are related to optimization. Although Obsidian clearly specified they have further optimized the game to reduce the loading time, the worst thing about Deadfire is … loading time. Thank God, this is the only major downside I have found during my playthrough, but there are other small issues that are easy to fix in future patches.

Moving on to the juicy stuff, Deadfire's writing is absolutely stellar. The first few hours I was under the impression that I'm actually playing D&D with Matt Mercer dungeon mastering. None of the RPG titles I've played until now gave me a similar feeling; ok, maybe Planescape Torment, but that was a very long time ago.

What I really liked about Deadfire is that it allows players to explore freely without being killed. It's true that there are some areas way above your level when you start the game, but they are now clearly marked with skulls so that you know the mobs in that area are one, two, three or more levels above your characters.

Don't be afraid to explore in PoE II
Don't be afraid to explore in PoE II

Seafaring is well implemented in the game story-wise, but needs a bit more work to become more meaningful. Personally, I found that sea battles are a great way to gain experience with your characters and make money (gear too). The next best thing for making money is stealing, so I suggest getting some points in Stealth from the beginning of the game.

To kill a God

The story in Deadfire continues the events that happened in the first game, but only at a macro level. Basically, this means that you won't have to play Pillars I in order to understand what's happening in Deadfire. Aside from some of the characters that appear in both games, the main thing that the Pillars games have in common is the Gods.

In Pillars of Eternity II, players will have to track down a God who is believed to have gone rogue. But that's just a pretext for Obsidian to push you into exploring more of the Deadfire Archipelago. You'll meet all kinds of people in your adventures, but four factions remain representative for Deadfire: The Huana, The Vailian Trading Company, The Royal Deadfire Company, and The Principi sen Patrena.

Each of these faction has its own economic and politic agenda in the region, and sometimes their interests will coincide with yours, but other times they will not. It's important to maintain a certain balance between these factions and not allow one of them to become more powerful than the others.

You can imagine that it will take some time to track down Eothas, a God who now inhabits a massive adra statue, a true colossus. And so, all the quests that each of these factions have for you and your party are going to help boost your characters' levels, but that's also another way to learn more about the life in the Deadfire Archipelago.

There's no "moral choice" in Deadfire
There's no "moral choice" in Deadfire

Even if you manage to maintain the status quo until late game, before you head to the last location, you'll have to make some choices that will affect these factions. Basically, you'll have to either choose one to help you in your final battle, or go in alone.

The best thing about Deadfire is the grand finale where you get to choose the faith of humanity. The catch is that there's no bad or good choice, and there's no option where you can save everyone. Even though I have delayed the decision until the last moment, I'm still not convinced that I chose correctly.


The Good

  • Stellar story
  • Great voiceovers
  • Solid characters
  • Nicely implemented seafaring
  • Improved combat system and party AI

The Bad

  • Optimization issues during naval battles
  • Loading times are still a problem

Conclusion

Obsidian is clearly one of the few studios that can turn a good RPG franchise into a great one, and Deadfire pretty much proves it. The second Pillars of Eternity game offers a more immersive RPG experience, meaningful choices that matter over the span of your adventures in the world of Eora, solid characters, and a great storyline.

The seafaring aspect is a nice addition to the fantasy world, and, surprisingly, one that's been masterfully implemented into the game. I always wanted to play a swashbuckler at my D&D sessions and now Obsidian has given me the chance to try out my dueling skills, even if only virtually.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is hands down one of the best RPGs launched in the last couple of years, but I'm more anxious to learn when we'll get PoE III since the ending of Deadfire is awesome in a painful way.

story 10
gameplay 8
concept 9
graphics 9
audio 9
multiplayer 0
final rating 9
Editor's review
excellent
 

Pillars of Eternity: Deadfire (58 Images)

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire headerPillars of Eternity II: Deadfire screenshotPillars of Eternity II: Deadfire screenshotPillars of Eternity II: Deadfire screenshotNot so Defiant now, matey?!
+53more