RPG developer of note Obsidian has always had to make its games under the watchful eye of publishers – but thanks to the magic of Kickstarter, they’re now able to make the sort of games they really want to – and those games look a heck of a lot like Baldur’s Gate. Pillars of Eternity from Obsidian is an old school cRPG, an isometric one like the sort you used to play decades ago. And it’s really, really, good.
Here’s what critics have to say, even though many aren’t ready to pin a score on the game.
PC Gamer – 92/100
A deep, rich, and wonderfully written RPG that lives up to the towering legacy of the games that inspired it.
Gamewatcher – 9.0/10.0
All you really need to know though, is this; Pillars of Eternity is a triumph. If you’re a backer and a fan of those classic Infinity Engine games, you’re in for a real treat, a smart and complex adventure that will keep you entertained and absorbed for possibly the rest of your life, and certainly until the already announced expansion pack comes out. Even those who never got on with those classic games should give it a go, because there’s a tonne of smart design choices in here that smooth out the rough edges that might have kept you away before. A superb introduction to a fascinating new fantasy world. Can’t wait to see where in the world of Eora we get to go next.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun – No Score
It’s a triumph. A wonderful, enormous and spellbinding RPG, gloriously created in the image of BioWare’s Infinity classics, but distinctly its own. A classic in every sense.
PCWorld – No Score
What I’m saying in way-too-many words is this: Obsidian has a reputation for crafting fantastic RPGs, and deservedly so. Pillars of Eternity is, as far as I’m concerned, Obsidian at its best ever.
Videogamer – No Score
The game Obsidian always wanted to make, and the result is its finest work.
Eurogamer – No Score
Pillars of Eternity is the Baldur’s Gate 3 we never got, returning to the Infinity Engine style of role-playing with flair.
Our review will take some time too; our reviewer’s just started playing it, and needs quite a bit of time to formulate the sort of opinion that an be put down in to a words enough to call a review. It;s out on Steam today, and if you loved games like Baldur’s Gate or Planescape Torment, you most definitely want it.
Here’s Matt Lees telling you why it’s good.
Last Updated: March 26, 2015
Timmy_The_Good_Troll
March 26, 2015 at 16:16
I’m not such a fan of old school graphics, but this actually looks like its going to be amazing. The story and gameplay are obviously top notch. These guys are the ones that did New Vegas I think. I actually cant wait to play this. 2015 gets better and better.
Brady miaau
March 26, 2015 at 16:32
and Kotor 2, which was buggy and unfinished AND still a classic and awesome game
Admiral Chief
March 27, 2015 at 07:57
Amen
Karl Schmidt
March 30, 2015 at 13:46
Amen to that, buddy. The mood, dark, mystery, and all the while distinctively Star-Wars´y is unparalled. I still think this concept of a traumatised powerful Jedi becoming something like a hole in the force was awesome to explore.
Viking Of Science
March 27, 2015 at 07:36
“Not such a fan f Old school graphics?” Oh you Kids today with your fancy shadows and lens flares.
We had 256 colours and Liked it!
Timmy_The_Good_Troll
March 27, 2015 at 08:46
To my defence I did say this game looks amazing, and dont get me wrong I played all these old games, starting with commodore 64, nintendo, floppy discs on a 386. Itsjust I normally like to play the best available at the current time. But I am definitely going to play Pillars of Eternity, looks so much awesome.
Mossel
March 27, 2015 at 11:20
And beard physics!
O rly
March 27, 2015 at 23:33
funny how the game has aa, shadows, lighting, particle effects, and if i ask how one might disable some of them, i am mocked for not having a decent machine.
right now its a huge resource hog that does not run well.
“all you need is resolution anyway!”
yup until i change it and find that anything other than native res makes it impossible to mouse scroll.
would have been better if it was straight up sprite based.
Metal Rabbit
March 26, 2015 at 16:17
The one game I’ve ever backed. Happy days!!!
Ocelotty1
March 27, 2015 at 05:03
I also backed it, but haven’t received any word on Steam Keys etc as yet. Have you got yous?
Ocelotty1
March 27, 2015 at 05:19
Never mind – Got it for GOG 🙂 – Steam can suck it for region locking me out when I travel
Metal Rabbit
March 27, 2015 at 11:58
Yip, don’t know why you wouldn’t get yours :/
Champion Edition with day one patch but really small. No issues but I know some people couldn’t get DLC to work, checking integrity of ALL their steam files seemed to fix it…maybe that helps?
Izzy
March 26, 2015 at 16:21
First Bloodborne and now PoE!? Seems too good to be true! Oh man, I can’t wait! Getting Bloodborne tomorrow and definitely getting this on PC as soon as possible. And with the mighty Witcher 3 closer to release… It’s a great year for roleplaying games!
Johann
March 26, 2015 at 16:26
Just waiting for the Damn power to come back on so I can download. Really looking forward to this and Torment later this year.
Gareth L (That eXCheez Guy)
March 26, 2015 at 16:26
I TOLD YOU SO!!
Capt. Bob of the Blood Ravens
March 26, 2015 at 17:04
Anyone still looking to pick this up can get it from http://www.greenmangaming.com in their VIP section for 25% off each tier.
Draco Lusus
March 27, 2015 at 09:00
I got it here: http://www.nuuvem.com.br/ for R270 odd…just need to use Hula or whatever VPN to buy 😀
Blood Emperor Trevor
March 26, 2015 at 18:46
Obsidian… you done NOT fucked it up!
http://gph.is/16zjbTr
Admiral Chief
March 27, 2015 at 07:57
AWESOME!
Sir Faulty
March 27, 2015 at 10:00
Fantastic game. I spent over one and a half hours in character creation alone. That’s when you know you got a role playing game worth playing on your hands. There are just so many possible builds its staggering. I keep wanting to go back and create another character and then another one to see how they all play but for now I have settled on my Moon Godlike Priestess.
I was so tempted to call in sick this morning from work just so I could spend some more time with it (bloody Power went off where I was last night from 8pm-10pm).
But its Easter weekend next week and I have booked the Thursday before Good Friday and the Tuesday after Easter Monday off so that should give me some good time to get totally absorbed in this one.
It looks to be a rather huge world to explore so I am guessing those days off are going to come in real handy!
Timmy_The_Good_Troll
March 27, 2015 at 10:04
Nice, 1.5 hrs in character creation, that is hardcore. I cant wait to get this game. Upvote ?
Karl Schmidt
March 30, 2015 at 13:42
How starved we Rp´s are that we jubilate so much with a game like PoE? I will never understand why Neverwinter Nights, with a superb story and mood, never received the acclaim it deserved. PeO is good, but NwN was better. As BG1, PeO has this free-roaming feeling to it, but hasn´t got romances, so I´d still rate BG2 tops, followed by NwN, then PeO, then BG1, then Icewind Dales. Anyways, that´s how I would rank them.