Visually, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire looks great on console, with environments that feel alive. It becomes more of a text-based back and forth, making various decisions to take down a rival ship a tactical battle of will. You might occasionally bump into fellow pirates that will try to attack you, making sea battles one of the best parts of the game. Feed them nicer foods and plying them with alcohol guarantees a better voyage. Hiring a crew and keeping them happy will be the key to a well-oiled machine. The Defiant is your ship, and it becomes integral to your journey. There’re plenty of islands to explore, and small pockets of civilisation that will offer you new side quests. Whilst at sea, the game’s isometric approach becomes more of a top down view, watching as you sail from one new location to another. It makes the journey laborious at times, and can really affect the flow of the game. If you enter a new area – be it a city or building – there’s a load screen, and it takes a while for it to load up. If you struggle at first, you can make it much easier by fiddling with the difficulty settings, allowing any more difficult enemies to be levelled down to you, giving you a fairer fight.Īs fun as it is travelling across the huge world of Deadfire, the loading screens are excruciating.
You can play like traditional CRPGs, or choose the turn-based approach. Your defence is measured against an opponents attack, immunities to spells or abilities need to be taken into account, and managing your parties formation is also an important aspect. Like traditional table-top games, there’re a lot of factors to take into account when playing. Battles can be overwhelming at first, especially if you’ve never played a CRPG before.
There are other companions, each with abilities and skills to help you throughout the game, and choosing how you utilise them is key. Edér returns from the first game, and is loyal to the end, Serafen is a cipher you acquire as you’re about to depart on your new ship for the first time, and Xoti is a monk and priest who has ties to the God you are looking for. The choice of companions throughout Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire are a varied mix. We talked it out, and I believe I helped him to understand that he did what he did because he believed it was for the best, and it helped us to build our friendship. Whilst in Nekataka, I chatted with Aloth who was struggling with some of the decisions he had made in the past. The right trigger lets you use your different actions, such as special abilities or items, and whilst travelling you can chat specifically to party members about any concerns they may have. There’s a lot to take in, but thanks to a hefty tutorial that can be referred to at any time, you’ll pick it up fairly quickly. Each menu is dense, giving plenty of information for you to get stuck into, and you’ll find yourself immersing yourself in every single detail to get your head around the game. The left trigger pulls up a wheel, and from there you can select your journal, character information, the combat log, and inventory among other things. There’re tons of menus that would be much more accessible with a mouse and keyboard, but Obsidian has managed to adapt the UI to be used with a controller to a reasonable standard. Whilst it plays relatively well on console, it’s clear these types of games are better suited to PC. It’s become its own game within the genre in its own right. CRPGs like Planescape: Torment and Baldur’s Gate are hugely influential to the Pillars series, but with Deadfire, Obsidian have taken the ball and ran with it.
Granted, it takes a while to get going, but once the story opens up and you gather some party members to take with you on your travels, it becomes hugely satisfying.
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I’d been waiting to delve into Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire since it released on PC in 2018, and after only a few hours playing I was hooked. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition brings the PC version to console, but does it hold up? Unlike the original Pillars of Eternity, Deadfire takes you to the high seas, far from the forest of Dyrwood and familiar territory. Behind the politics and power struggles you begin to learn a lot about, there’s a wonderful cast of characters, many beautiful settings, and plenty of opportunities for you to become a key player in the story that unfolds. Travelling across the vast Deadfire Archipelago drags you deeper and deeper into a world that feels very much alive.