Pillars Of Eternity
Standing tall forever
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Platform: PC Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Pillars Of Eternity is developer Obsidian’s love letter to classic RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, but while it could easily have been little more than a cynical nostalgia trip, it stands tall on its own. It’s the most captivating, rewarding RPG on the PC in years.
Pillars really makes you feel like you’re on an adventure. Plunging the depths of ancient ruins, battling the monstrous creatures who lurk there, grabbing the loot, then limping back to the warm glow of an inn’s hearth to rest and steel yourself for the next quest. It’s a testament to the quality of the art, atmosphere, and writing that, despite the old school 2D visuals and isometric perspective, it completely transports you to its world.
And it’s big. Like, really big. It took us 11 hours to reach Defiance Bay, the first of the game’s two capital cities, and another 30 hours before the second city, Twin Elms, with dozens of towns, temples, ruins, and wilderness sections to explore on the way. This is a big, fat, deep adventure that lets you carve your own unique path through a fantasy world that’s been brilliantly brought to life with rich, evocative writing. It’s a game steeped in a bygone era of computer RPG design, but somehow it doesn’t feel archaic. Obsidian has always been bound to other peoples’ worlds – Fallout, Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, South Park – but in creating its own from scratch, the company has made not only their best game to date, but one of the best RPGs on PC. Andy Kelly