I used to look down my nose at CRPG's. Then I played Pillars 1 and it changed everything. I've now played as many as I can get my hands on and it's become one of my favorite genres.
Same! Played the first game for hours then i noticed that there is a sequel! I restarted soo many times until i finished,oh boy the ending was worth it!
PoE 2 is the very first CRPG I committed to playing. This is one of my favorite games of all time! I’m currently playing through PoE 1 and am surprised and how great it is without multi classing. I truly love the world of Eora.
Man this is exceptional work. You've got an amazing voice and tone, excellent for the detail of writing you used. I quite enjoyed your Like, Neutral, and Dislike approach. I've been on the fence about this one and have watched several videos on this game. Yours though still managed to pull out more details I've yet to see, like the details of the new game settings! For someone wanting easier experiences, this is right up my alley. Well done sir, I'm subscribed and looking forward to more.
I hope Obsidian implements the same level of exploration in Avowed that they did here. Deadfire is one of my favorite games ever, the exploration being second to only Skyrim.
Absolutely loved POE1 and POE2. Interacting with the deities in this game will always be one of my favorite gaming moments. The conversations with them really changed how I approached everything. Wonderful review Boss.
Dang it Slander you giving me a pillars itch. I have a hard time finishing games, but I've beaten Pillars 1 and 2 twice. For me, that speaks volumes about these two games. Pillars 1 is dark and gritty, fits because people are literally losing their souls. Pillars 2 is humans caught up in capitolism and human shenanigans as you put together your pirate crew and hunt a god. More bright and wider palette feels fitting, according to my mental gymnastics anyway. All time favorite cRPG series contender
I like PoEII, Wrath of the Righteous and WH40K Rogue Trader, but it would have been cool if some of the systems in Owlcat's games got borrowed by Obsidian in PoE2. Like being able to switch between turn-based and real-time-with-pause modes on the fly would have been cool in PoEII. That way, you could switch on turn-based mode for the main encounters and then switch it off to speed through the trash mobs. Also, the ship combat in Rogue Trader is a fun side-system and I prefer it to the PoEII ship combat. And, really, it would make more sense in the context of wooden ships on the ocean than in space anyway since it all takes place on a single plane.
I loved the first game and have not played the 2nd one yet. I purchased it awhile ago but really should sink my teeth into it. The first one felt very old school but modernized. Seeing this video pop up on my feed makes me want to start playing the 2nd one.
Deadfire is one of my favorite games ever. Obsidian at it's best, great story, many iterations, amazing systems, all beautifully integrated in a great scenario they own (so they can do what they want with it). Edit: phone fat thumbs.
Just finished my 1st playthrough, and I think your analysis is spot on. Clearing up the content (like 2 out of 3 amazing DLCs) before the main story wrapped up was much more satisfying. Whilts the ending left the feeling of "It's done, deal with it" and felt rushed
Multiclassing also lowers your power level (which lowers the effectiveness of the abilities you do have access to) and gives you moderately fewer ability picks overall.
Hello, Slandered Gaming. Sorry for TH-cam’s channel nickname, I don’t know your name or comfortable for you alias. How impactful are import choices from PoE1 in Deadfire? I’m played first game to the death when it was realised, frankly it was my first cRPG I ever played, but sadly I lost my saves - especially bummed with PotD runs. Never played PoE2 which is unfortunate I suppose, maybe folks like me who enjoyed first game and didn’t give sequel a chance is why it was less successful :( And now seeing that you will cover PoE2 I think I’ll give that game a go, but I don’t know if another replay of PoE1 is worth it. Sorry for grammar, and good day to you!
You can call me Slandered or Samori. All good either way. Do you remember PoE 1 well? If so I would just jump straight into the sequel and pick the worldstate that is closest to how you would've played. If you don't remember it well then it might be good to play it again both so you can have a perfect world save and so that the story/characters are fresh in your mind when you see call backs to them in Deadfire.
@@SlanderedGaming thank you, I’ll replay first one then - aside from Matt Mercer’s characters and final reveal I can’t remember much. Plus by the time I start Deadfire you’ll drop a couple of videos already :)
Romances were the biggest let down for me. The fact that you can't romance Serafen is absolute crime. It doesn't make any sense. I guess my Orlan Rogue is destined to be alone :(
I have to disagree on the inventory - at release it was okay at best. But a ton of QL options added for sorting and tabs to separate armor/weapons/misc/consumables etc is amongst the best of any game.
I'm not even sure how the inventory could be an issue. You pick up stuff, it goes in the inventory... how is that complicated? Or is it that items go to the specific inventory of the character you use to pick it up that is confusing? Or that you have a shared stash that can literally be accessed at any time, with sorting options for weapons, armor, consumables, etc.? Not trying to be snide, I genuinely don't see the problem.🤔
I'm in Act 3 of my POE 1 playthrough and was going to do another attempt at DOS2 (I've started it before but then life happened). Now I may need to pivot to POE2 instead 😂😂
21:40 Ah, Queen Onekaza. 💘 I set out on my journey determined to help her and her people, but in the end I assassinated her for one of the other factions. The best part? I was roleplaying a chivalrous PALADIN! 🛡
I love this game, and the Caribbean feel you get throughout the game really hits home being a West Indian myself. The next game their makeing however has no romances at all tho, and with this game as an example leaving them out is a baffling to choice me.
PoE 2 one of the best crpg, mb even the best (before BG 3) its absolute shame that it dont blow up (and i heard that sales was bad). Thx for put it unto spotlight
Good review. I preferred the grittier and dark nature of POE and the story is just better than POE2's with the exception of Beast of Winter, which I think is phenomenal. Regarding the end, I am fairly sure that there was the intention of making a POE3, which is probably why it ended on a cliffhanger but POE2 originally did not sell well so...that was that. I personally think Avowed will fall short but I guess we will see.
@@SlanderedGaming There is this running meme/joke with Josh Sawyer...he says: Phil Spencer, give me 100,000,000 dollars and I'll make POE3. It is strange though as Microsoft just needs to give him maybe 20 million and he would have way more to make the game than he originally did and then he would need to advertise it right. I fear we will never see it but yeah, a lot hinges on Avowed's success so we all hope for that, myself included.
Great point about the characters. If it was just Fantasy Pirate Game, they'd be outstanding. The bar is set so much higher by the original and I agree, Pillars 2 didn't clear it.
Great review! I have been on the fence with this game. I finally bought it but now I`m stuck trying to decide what game to play first. Hmm... Play POE: Deadfire, fallout 4 or jump straight into BG3
Bizarre I just couldn’t get into Deadfire - I’ve tried 3 times and gave up each time. It’s a bit… dull. Maybe it’s the environment or the grind I don’t know - I can’t put my finger on it.
Exactly my experience as well, the game looked great and enjoyed all the voice acting which was first class..but just couldn't get into the story and the pirate theme..
@@sarcatstix I loved the first game as well, really got me back into crpg's again. But yeah I've tried to start up a playthrough with Deadfire several times but never get too far.. Maybe I should try changing the play type, real time with pause vs turn based.
@@warrend2880 it’s better but didn’t work for me. Give it a try tho. I don’t know - it was the coastal Villages interactions and the types of enemy and the poor damage slog. Failed to capture and sustain.
Hmm, I've enchanced mod NakedAndStrong on my own for POE2 a couple of months ago, but I had no time to play with it, I guess it's time. Why this mod you ask, because I can.
Pillars 2 is a remarkably good game given how weak the main story is. Eothas is just not a compelling antagonist and the ending is certainly not satisfying. His motivations are implausible for a benevolent God - I will break the mechanics of the propagation of life and hope for the best because I have gripes about how humanity has been deceived about the origins of the gods - is neither logical nor conscionable for a benevolent being. Firstly, it doesn't actually uncover the deception of the Engwithen gods. Secondly, in a giant avatar of unassailable power, he could easily just proclaim the truth to kith without destroying the mechanics of the propagation of life and thirdly, what he brings about is clearly potentially catastrophic, far beyond any problems with the current status quo. You also have no actual agency regarding how the story plays out. You chase him from one location to another, are completely ineffectual in your efforts to stop him and the end result is always substantially the same regardless of what you do. Its also just rather short, is bereft of meaningful choices and doesn't even have any standout fights associated with it. Outside of that though, the exploration of the world, locations like Neketaka and Fort Deadlight and the non critical path content including the faction content is all great. The class mechanics, progression and itemisation are all excellent, though somewhat let down by the fact that even on Path of the Damned, the game simply becomes too easy fairly early on, making it seldom worth bothering with engaging fully with the mechanics on offer. The superbosses and some DLC fights definitely change this on higher difficulties, however. If there were two things that I would like other CRPG developers to take from POE2, its itemisation and building plausible and interesting environments, which honestly are the same strengths BG2. With regards to itemisation, a lot of effort was put into interesting items with unique effects, backstories and upgrade options. There is no RNG nonsense as you will see in a game like DOS2 (where the item rng and lack of handcrafted gear is frankly inexcusably bad and turns loot into a perpetual, tedious treadmill of reloading to game RNG). Items and mechanically and lorewise interesting and you can build characters around them as the loot is deterministic. In terms of environments, you get content rich areas like the aforementioned Neketaka and Fort Deadlight that give you plenty of things to do, without feeling at all contrived, like the hub areas in wrath the righteous such as post liberation drezen, which utterly fails to capture the feeling of a real place and is quite obviously a hub in a video game. Neketaka is immersive, feels like a real place and still gives you plenty of interesting things to do. Infiltrating Fort Deadlight for the first time feels fantastic, and again, it feels like a real place, not purpose built as an excuse for gameplay. The only rival to Neketaka in CRPGs is Athkatla in BG2. Baldur's gate BG1 is immersive, but the quality of the content is substantially lower. You might point to Baldur's Gate in BG3, which is certainly good on the content front, but has two significant short comings: the obvious compromises made to decide to not properly implement the upper city (which I am fairly certain cannot have been the original plan) are quite jarring. Also, its only the final third of the game, and the environments prior to that feel significantly more contrived. The fact that Larian also isolates you in a handful of large areas without allowing travel to different destinations also diminishes the sense of you being in a real place that is part of a world and instead gives you the feeling of being in a level of a video game.
Strongly agree across the board except I think I liked the main story a little more than you because of the interaction with the deities. I really enjoyed those sequences and their fear at what Eothas was trying to accomplish.
I feel like they messed Wael up a little in deadfire. In pillars 1 Wael seemed like an unknowable, hard-neutral enigma and knowledge-broker, with a suitably intimidating aura. In deadfire, I feel they went a little too hard down the amoral, creepy, giggling trickster route. In my head-cannon I try to imagine that this is still the enigmatic knowledge-broker that I liked so much in pillars 1, just having a bit of a trolly-misdirection arc... . But I suspect in Avowed they will stick with the skeevy angle :(
I dont think high production values are a bad thing in of themself obviously, but it does make the bar for commercial success significantly higher, a bar POE2 did not reach unfortunately. I think this is very much undeserved, but I would sooner have skipped on full voice acting in particular and have POE3 than have full voice acting and no sequel. Avowed is certainly going to be a different game to POE and whilst I like a lot of things obsidian has done, recent form is not encouraging tbh.
I felt like Outer Worlds was mediocre and it doesn't inspire confidence that Avowed looks similar. As I recall POE2 performed significantly worse than POE1 so it's not that production values set the bar too high. It just all around didn't meet Obsidian's expectations. Hopefully Avowed does well and it restores some faith in more Pillars games.
I enjoy Pillars of Eternity 2 much better than PoE 1. The caribbean vibe aka pirate theme of this game works wonders for me. Especially, I love the inlcusion of Gunpowder weapons both in PoE 1 and 2. It's my favourite fantasy style. And I give big points for a game, that allows me to fulfil my fantasy role as a Rifle Marksman :D
Would personally change the main story in a dislike. I thought it was badly paced, short and unfinished. And I liked the text bits. Besides those two differences I agree. It's a well crafted CRPG, even though PoE1 gets my personal favorite vote.
I funnily enough have played 36 CRPGs in my life, I forced myself to beat 4 and I'm almost done with Baldurs Gate 3 (which I adore and it's the first CRPG I can actually say I enjoyed) and it's making me want to give POE2 a 3rd chance but the last time I gave POE2 a 2nd chance the story and all the references were confusing as hell since I didn't play the first game.
I disagree when it comes to the text. While it'd be better if they added 3D ship combat, I enjoyed the charm of the text based adventure and skill checks. Plus I find it better to read text rather than wait for the voice actor to finish their dialogue.
Deadfire is my favourite of the modern crpgs, along with Underrail, and by a solid margin. Obsidian's best work, on all fronts, be it writing, gameplay, or art direction. Lovely.
21:50 You wanting to romance that queen, I feel you there. Felt the same with Goro Takamura from Cyberpunk 2077, he has these quest chains getting to know him very well yet can't get with him at all. Even his voice actor wanted them to be romance option. A later update added a cell text that he's into you but has a wife back in his homeland. Well, I dont wanna be a home wrecker, not again 💀
I don't get all this hype for Awoved from BG3 players: Obsidian clearly stated it's gonna be the Outer Worlds fantasy edition and nothing similar to a crpg
So I find it interesting that you really enjoy romance in your RPGs. I do not. It's why I love pillars one so much. I just get to hang with the guys, and gals, and become friends with all of them. I agree that the romance is shoehorned within pillars 2. I think it should have never been added if not done organically. But seeing as I can completely ignore it, for me it isn't a big deal.
Since Microsoft aquired all these studios they've seem to be destroying games so far. Still have hopes for avowed though and that it comes to Playstation so I can play it 😂
@@SlanderedGaming Destroyed is a little bit of a exaggeration but their exclusives like starfield are flopping. Also, speculation on my part because they acquired a lot of games I was looking forward to and if they turn out like their current trend it will be disappointing. Though they do seem to be interfering with studios cutting budgets and staff. I want games like avowed to succeed even if I can't play them though. It's not looking well since they are beginning to port their exclusives.
I played PoE1 then PoE2 back to back for the first time in 2023. Loves both games, but would describe both of them as flawed gems. It is interesting that Obsidians last 4 RPGs (PoE1+2, Tyranny, Outer Worlds) are all around 85% in Steam. All good solid games, but not quite enough to push into 90+% like Larian has done. No doubt I’ll still play their future work and enjoy it, but I’m also hoping they find that extra something to go from good to great.
I think the way they handled the deities in Pillars 2 is what broke so much of the lore, and ruined it for me. That and the absolutely awful pacing of the main story. And then they're awful ship combat. And I don't like pirate themes! So even though I was a massive fan of pillars of Eternity one, I didn't even finish pillars of Eternity 2 despite trying about a half dozen times
@@SlanderedGaming If you are coming directly from PoE, you didn't really hear of speaking with the deities. But then all of a sudden in PoE2, ALL of them speak, speak together and theyre cooperating? That greatly dimishes some of the past events, such as killing Eothas. PoE1 felt relatively grounded, with respect to its setting. Players soul is removed? Nbd, speak to the Pallid Knight, and get the best plot arkor kmaginable. Play the game without a soul, but youre still not a husk, as the games previous lore would have you, for having a soul snatched from you. The gods also had a modern feel, and it was very jarring. Every single god spoke to the player in that game.. i also didnt care for their art work.. It looke like something that might be painted on the side of a building, downtown. The game was also simplified compared tot he first, and I hated it.. No more piercing/slashing/blunt damage.. The spell list was shared, and spread across the different classes. Priest, Druid, Sorcerer spells were mixed together.. And most importantly, they removed per use/rest mechanics.. So every single fight, you could spam your best abilities, making combat feel repetitive. You didnt have to think. Pirate theme felt like a jarring and drastic shift as well.. While PoE felt completely medieval fantasy, PoE2 took a hard turn into Carribean style Piracy. In a matter of a year? 2 years? (I dont know if they actually showed the timeline)
You described the main story aspect well but I see this much, much more negatively. The main story is completely irrelevant in this game. The player character barely has any connection to it except that it originated at the place he built up in the last game. No, the gods telling you to do it is not agency. That's being puppeteered. The only choice you have is at the very end and it amounts to different ending slides. Where have I seen that before? *cough* Mass Effect 3 *cough* All the content about the various factions? Irrelevant in the end, just busywork. And the focus on sidequests? Skyrim. Deadfire has taken all the bad things from popular RPGs and put them into one. I just cannot stand this game.
Your decisions regarding the ending, factions and some of the side quests should be a big deal but unfortunately you don't really see it in this game and would probably have to wait for a sequel to feel it.
PoE2 has the worst music of any cRPG I have ever played. Sea shanties, really? One of the few games where I had to turn the music off, it was so horrible.
The game failed big time because of the strange rules and mechanics and the even stranger races. At the same time the PF game was released which did much better even it was a buggy mess. So my advice to Obsidian: Make NWN3 with DnD. Nobody wants to play as bird and fish men.
Great game! Would be so cool if Microsoft gave Obsidian a huge budget for a CRPG after seeing the success of BG3.
That's definitely what I am hoping for!
totally agree with you, obsidian can (and will) create something supergreat with right money
Josh Sawyer said he would make Pillars of Eternity 3 in "BG3 style" if Microsoft gave them a 110 million dollar budget.
@@V3x0r that was meant as a joke
@@ZainAhmad-jl4vt I think if they said yes he would do it.
I used to look down my nose at CRPG's. Then I played Pillars 1 and it changed everything. I've now played as many as I can get my hands on and it's become one of my favorite genres.
Nice! This is a great one to start with!
Same! Played the first game for hours then i noticed that there is a sequel! I restarted soo many times until i finished,oh boy the ending was worth it!
Ever play divinity original sin 2?
Kinda same but started cuz of BG3. Yeah yeah ik. But still at least I got here lol
Personal opinion pathfinder wotr is the best crpg in recent years
Pillars 2 is probably in my top ten favorite games of all time.
Man, your videos have gotten so tight. I can't fathom the time it took to make something like this. Fantastic content.
Thank you! I appreciate it Wiz!
Over 1000h on Steam for me. One of my favourites RPGs on PC mainly because modding corrected a lot of its flaws and made combat awesome.
Oh that's interesting I never checked out the mods for Deadfire.
I'm replaying this soon. What mods do you recommend?
PoE 2 is the very first CRPG I committed to playing. This is one of my favorite games of all time! I’m currently playing through PoE 1 and am surprised and how great it is without multi classing. I truly love the world of Eora.
Yup hopefully Avowed is up to the same level of quality.
Thanks!
Man this is exceptional work. You've got an amazing voice and tone, excellent for the detail of writing you used. I quite enjoyed your Like, Neutral, and Dislike approach. I've been on the fence about this one and have watched several videos on this game. Yours though still managed to pull out more details I've yet to see, like the details of the new game settings! For someone wanting easier experiences, this is right up my alley. Well done sir, I'm subscribed and looking forward to more.
Glad you enjoyed it! Welcome to the channel!
I hope Obsidian implements the same level of exploration in Avowed that they did here. Deadfire is one of my favorite games ever, the exploration being second to only Skyrim.
Yeah me too exploration could make or break Avowed.
@@SlanderedGamingIt isn’t looking good so far.
Absolutely loved POE1 and POE2. Interacting with the deities in this game will always be one of my favorite gaming moments. The conversations with them really changed how I approached everything. Wonderful review Boss.
Dang it Slander you giving me a pillars itch.
I have a hard time finishing games, but I've beaten Pillars 1 and 2 twice. For me, that speaks volumes about these two games.
Pillars 1 is dark and gritty, fits because people are literally losing their souls. Pillars 2 is humans caught up in capitolism and human shenanigans as you put together your pirate crew and hunt a god. More bright and wider palette feels fitting, according to my mental gymnastics anyway.
All time favorite cRPG series contender
I agree this series is fantastic.
This game was, in my opinion, overlooked in its time (its a absolute gem).
Love the vid :) keep up the great work 😀
Thanks, will do!
I like PoEII, Wrath of the Righteous and WH40K Rogue Trader, but it would have been cool if some of the systems in Owlcat's games got borrowed by Obsidian in PoE2.
Like being able to switch between turn-based and real-time-with-pause modes on the fly would have been cool in PoEII. That way, you could switch on turn-based mode for the main encounters and then switch it off to speed through the trash mobs.
Also, the ship combat in Rogue Trader is a fun side-system and I prefer it to the PoEII ship combat. And, really, it would make more sense in the context of wooden ships on the ocean than in space anyway since it all takes place on a single plane.
Yup I agree.
Oh yeah, I remember fearing that Rogue Trader would do the same stuff with ship battles but luckily they made it a lot more fun.
Yup Owlcat did a great job with it.
I loved the first game and have not played the 2nd one yet. I purchased it awhile ago but really should sink my teeth into it. The first one felt very old school but modernized. Seeing this video pop up on my feed makes me want to start playing the 2nd one.
I definitely recommend the second one. Big jump in a lot of cool ways.
Another great review, always so detailed and well explained, makes me want to try Deadfire again..
Thank you!!
Deadfire is one of my favorite games ever. Obsidian at it's best, great story, many iterations, amazing systems, all beautifully integrated in a great scenario they own (so they can do what they want with it).
Edit: phone fat thumbs.
Yup they did a fantastic job with the game.
My first game was a monk/pally combo, he punched for health.
Nice! That probably worked very well.
Excellent review!!!!!!!!!!! 👏👏👏👏
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Just finished my 1st playthrough, and I think your analysis is spot on. Clearing up the content (like 2 out of 3 amazing DLCs) before the main story wrapped up was much more satisfying. Whilts the ending left the feeling of "It's done, deal with it" and felt rushed
I think you really need to have a dedicated review playlist. Maybe you already have one, but I couldn't fine it.
I do have one but I forgot to add this review into it. Thanks! th-cam.com/play/PLaiNHl4EuUrHdhUDGiRO2EMkFrOYCVKhM.html
Can't wait to start this eventually. This game looks awesome!
Hope you enjoy it!
What I found to be the best part of this game, was the AI programing you could do on your party members.
Yup you could just about make combat automatic.
Any chance you are planning to do class/build videos for Deadfire?
Playing this now on ps5. Awesome game! The first was also!
Awesome glad you are enjoying it!
Thanks my bro!
My pleasure!
If there is any justice in this world we will see the release of Pillars of Eternity Three!
I certainly hope so!
Multiclassing also lowers your power level (which lowers the effectiveness of the abilities you do have access to) and gives you moderately fewer ability picks overall.
Yup I am definitely going to cover that in the new player guide.
Hello, Slandered Gaming.
Sorry for TH-cam’s channel nickname, I don’t know your name or comfortable for you alias.
How impactful are import choices from PoE1 in Deadfire? I’m played first game to the death when it was realised, frankly it was my first cRPG I ever played, but sadly I lost my saves - especially bummed with PotD runs.
Never played PoE2 which is unfortunate I suppose, maybe folks like me who enjoyed first game and didn’t give sequel a chance is why it was less successful :(
And now seeing that you will cover PoE2 I think I’ll give that game a go, but I don’t know if another replay of PoE1 is worth it.
Sorry for grammar, and good day to you!
You can call me Slandered or Samori. All good either way. Do you remember PoE 1 well? If so I would just jump straight into the sequel and pick the worldstate that is closest to how you would've played. If you don't remember it well then it might be good to play it again both so you can have a perfect world save and so that the story/characters are fresh in your mind when you see call backs to them in Deadfire.
@@SlanderedGaming thank you, I’ll replay first one then - aside from Matt Mercer’s characters and final reveal I can’t remember much. Plus by the time I start Deadfire you’ll drop a couple of videos already :)
Romances were the biggest let down for me. The fact that you can't romance Serafen is absolute crime. It doesn't make any sense. I guess my Orlan Rogue is destined to be alone :(
Wonderful review! Thank you.
I have to disagree on the inventory - at release it was okay at best. But a ton of QL options added for sorting and tabs to separate armor/weapons/misc/consumables etc is amongst the best of any game.
I'm not even sure how the inventory could be an issue. You pick up stuff, it goes in the inventory... how is that complicated? Or is it that items go to the specific inventory of the character you use to pick it up that is confusing? Or that you have a shared stash that can literally be accessed at any time, with sorting options for weapons, armor, consumables, etc.? Not trying to be snide, I genuinely don't see the problem.🤔
I'm in Act 3 of my POE 1 playthrough and was going to do another attempt at DOS2 (I've started it before but then life happened).
Now I may need to pivot to POE2 instead 😂😂
21:40 Ah, Queen Onekaza. 💘 I set out on my journey determined to help her and her people, but in the end I assassinated her for one of the other factions.
The best part? I was roleplaying a chivalrous PALADIN! 🛡
I love this game, and the Caribbean feel you get throughout the game really hits home being a West Indian myself. The next game their makeing however has no romances at all tho, and with this game as an example leaving them out is a baffling to choice me.
Yup I don't get that thinking either.
PoE 2 one of the best crpg, mb even the best (before BG 3) its absolute shame that it dont blow up (and i heard that sales was bad). Thx for put it unto spotlight
The music!!! This game is my great memories from the pandemic times 😅
Yup the music was fantastic.
I melt when the gullet plays
Very solid game. For UI alone I would rate this game very highly. Those icons are amazing.
This game is an absolute gem and the pinnacle of good game design. Probably my favorite CRPG of all time. It didn't get the attention it deserved.
Thanks for the video
My pleasure!
Good review. I preferred the grittier and dark nature of POE and the story is just better than POE2's with the exception of Beast of Winter, which I think is phenomenal. Regarding the end, I am fairly sure that there was the intention of making a POE3, which is probably why it ended on a cliffhanger but POE2 originally did not sell well so...that was that. I personally think Avowed will fall short but I guess we will see.
Thanks. Really hoping Avowed does well so we get a POE3.
@@SlanderedGaming There is this running meme/joke with Josh Sawyer...he says: Phil Spencer, give me 100,000,000 dollars and I'll make POE3. It is strange though as Microsoft just needs to give him maybe 20 million and he would have way more to make the game than he originally did and then he would need to advertise it right. I fear we will never see it but yeah, a lot hinges on Avowed's success so we all hope for that, myself included.
Both Pillars games are two of my favorites, but I'm in two minds over Avowed mainly due to the way games seem to be going of late.
Yeah I am not certain at all that it will be good.
Great point about the characters. If it was just Fantasy Pirate Game, they'd be outstanding. The bar is set so much higher by the original and I agree, Pillars 2 didn't clear it.
Daaaamn you gonna make me play in PoE 2 again)))
Thank u😊
My pleasure!
Great review! I have been on the fence with this game. I finally bought it but now I`m stuck trying to decide what game to play first. Hmm... Play POE: Deadfire, fallout 4 or jump straight into BG3
I would play Deadfire first. BG3 is massive jump production wise and it might be hard to circle back to Deadfire after playing BG3.
@@SlanderedGaming subbed!!! I appreciate the reply and many thanks from Ireland!
I love this game and its soundtrack especially the shanties. The world is great and the accents are everything.
Bizarre I just couldn’t get into Deadfire - I’ve tried 3 times and gave up each time. It’s a bit… dull. Maybe it’s the environment or the grind I don’t know - I can’t put my finger on it.
Exactly my experience as well, the game looked great and enjoyed all the voice acting which was first class..but just couldn't get into the story and the pirate theme..
@@warrend2880 curious because I really enjoyed the previous game and I like pirates 🏴☠️ but same with Tyranny- neither kept my interest.
@@sarcatstix I loved the first game as well, really got me back into crpg's again. But yeah I've tried to start up a playthrough with Deadfire several times but never get too far..
Maybe I should try changing the play type, real time with pause vs turn based.
@@warrend2880 it’s better but didn’t work for me. Give it a try tho.
I don’t know - it was the coastal Villages interactions and the types of enemy and the poor damage slog. Failed to capture and sustain.
What's a cRPG that you did find appealing?
Hmm, I've enchanced mod NakedAndStrong on my own for POE2 a couple of months ago, but I had no time to play with it, I guess it's time. Why this mod you ask, because I can.
😂
I don't know about the deities part... Playing a cleric could certainly feel weird since non of them are aware of your beliefs.😅😅
Ahhh yeah I am not aware of reactivity with Paladin's or Clerics. I played as a Cipher and as a Rogue.
Pillars 2 is a remarkably good game given how weak the main story is.
Eothas is just not a compelling antagonist and the ending is certainly not satisfying. His motivations are implausible for a benevolent God - I will break the mechanics of the propagation of life and hope for the best because I have gripes about how humanity has been deceived about the origins of the gods - is neither logical nor conscionable for a benevolent being.
Firstly, it doesn't actually uncover the deception of the Engwithen gods. Secondly, in a giant avatar of unassailable power, he could easily just proclaim the truth to kith without destroying the mechanics of the propagation of life and thirdly, what he brings about is clearly potentially catastrophic, far beyond any problems with the current status quo.
You also have no actual agency regarding how the story plays out. You chase him from one location to another, are completely ineffectual in your efforts to stop him and the end result is always substantially the same regardless of what you do.
Its also just rather short, is bereft of meaningful choices and doesn't even have any standout fights associated with it.
Outside of that though, the exploration of the world, locations like Neketaka and Fort Deadlight and the non critical path content including the faction content is all great. The class mechanics, progression and itemisation are all excellent, though somewhat let down by the fact that even on Path of the Damned, the game simply becomes too easy fairly early on, making it seldom worth bothering with engaging fully with the mechanics on offer. The superbosses and some DLC fights definitely change this on higher difficulties, however.
If there were two things that I would like other CRPG developers to take from POE2, its itemisation and building plausible and interesting environments, which honestly are the same strengths BG2.
With regards to itemisation, a lot of effort was put into interesting items with unique effects, backstories and upgrade options. There is no RNG nonsense as you will see in a game like DOS2 (where the item rng and lack of handcrafted gear is frankly inexcusably bad and turns loot into a perpetual, tedious treadmill of reloading to game RNG). Items and mechanically and lorewise interesting and you can build characters around them as the loot is deterministic.
In terms of environments, you get content rich areas like the aforementioned Neketaka and Fort Deadlight that give you plenty of things to do, without feeling at all contrived, like the hub areas in wrath the righteous such as post liberation drezen, which utterly fails to capture the feeling of a real place and is quite obviously a hub in a video game. Neketaka is immersive, feels like a real place and still gives you plenty of interesting things to do. Infiltrating Fort Deadlight for the first time feels fantastic, and again, it feels like a real place, not purpose built as an excuse for gameplay. The only rival to Neketaka in CRPGs is Athkatla in BG2. Baldur's gate BG1 is immersive, but the quality of the content is substantially lower.
You might point to Baldur's Gate in BG3, which is certainly good on the content front, but has two significant short comings: the obvious compromises made to decide to not properly implement the upper city (which I am fairly certain cannot have been the original plan) are quite jarring. Also, its only the final third of the game, and the environments prior to that feel significantly more contrived. The fact that Larian also isolates you in a handful of large areas without allowing travel to different destinations also diminishes the sense of you being in a real place that is part of a world and instead gives you the feeling of being in a level of a video game.
Strongly agree across the board except I think I liked the main story a little more than you because of the interaction with the deities. I really enjoyed those sequences and their fear at what Eothas was trying to accomplish.
I feel like they messed Wael up a little in deadfire. In pillars 1 Wael seemed like an unknowable, hard-neutral enigma and knowledge-broker, with a suitably intimidating aura. In deadfire, I feel they went a little too hard down the amoral, creepy, giggling trickster route. In my head-cannon I try to imagine that this is still the enigmatic knowledge-broker that I liked so much in pillars 1, just having a bit of a trolly-misdirection arc... . But I suspect in Avowed they will stick with the skeevy angle :(
I dont think high production values are a bad thing in of themself obviously, but it does make the bar for commercial success significantly higher, a bar POE2 did not reach unfortunately. I think this is very much undeserved, but I would sooner have skipped on full voice acting in particular and have POE3 than have full voice acting and no sequel. Avowed is certainly going to be a different game to POE and whilst I like a lot of things obsidian has done, recent form is not encouraging tbh.
I felt like Outer Worlds was mediocre and it doesn't inspire confidence that Avowed looks similar. As I recall POE2 performed significantly worse than POE1 so it's not that production values set the bar too high. It just all around didn't meet Obsidian's expectations. Hopefully Avowed does well and it restores some faith in more Pillars games.
I enjoy Pillars of Eternity 2 much better than PoE 1. The caribbean vibe aka pirate theme of this game works wonders for me. Especially, I love the inlcusion of Gunpowder weapons both in PoE 1 and 2. It's my favourite fantasy style. And I give big points for a game, that allows me to fulfil my fantasy role as a Rifle Marksman :D
Yup I am a big fan of fantasy and guns mixed together as well.
Would personally change the main story in a dislike. I thought it was badly paced, short and unfinished. And I liked the text bits. Besides those two differences I agree. It's a well crafted CRPG, even though PoE1 gets my personal favorite vote.
It only just barely stayed out of the dislike section to be honest. LOL
You should check out pathfinder wotr
It sucks big time lol. Kingmaker was better.
I funnily enough have played 36 CRPGs in my life, I forced myself to beat 4 and I'm almost done with Baldurs Gate 3 (which I adore and it's the first CRPG I can actually say I enjoyed) and it's making me want to give POE2 a 3rd chance but the last time I gave POE2 a 2nd chance the story and all the references were confusing as hell since I didn't play the first game.
Oh wow, looking forward to this. One of my favourite games of all time!
Nice me too! Hope you enjoy it!
SLANDERED PLEASE PLAY "flint treasure of oblivion"
😂
this game is SO UNDERRATED i love it
builds would be cool
Yup that's definitely in the cards.
PoE2 is peak. I just might go back and olay again 😊
Well worth playing again!
The first game is a wee bit better imo. But both are great!
I hate cliffhanger ending of deadfire. Never managed to force myself for more playthroughs just because of it
Yup it's not a good way to end the experience.
I disagree when it comes to the text. While it'd be better if they added 3D ship combat, I enjoyed the charm of the text based adventure and skill checks.
Plus I find it better to read text rather than wait for the voice actor to finish their dialogue.
The 'missing romance' section of the video is funny. Good and legit criticism, but still 'roll eyes' haha
😂
One of my favourite game of all time
Mine too!
Deadfire is my favourite of the modern crpgs, along with Underrail, and by a solid margin. Obsidian's best work, on all fronts, be it writing, gameplay, or art direction. Lovely.
The art in this game is AMAZING.
Pillars 2 is the best RPG created imo
21:50 You wanting to romance that queen, I feel you there. Felt the same with Goro Takamura from Cyberpunk 2077, he has these quest chains getting to know him very well yet can't get with him at all. Even his voice actor wanted them to be romance option. A later update added a cell text that he's into you but has a wife back in his homeland. Well, I dont wanna be a home wrecker, not again 💀
Oh wow that's cool I didn't know they added that. Yeah it's weird when games give you these amazing NPC's but bar you from romancing them.
I don't get all this hype for Awoved from BG3 players: Obsidian clearly stated it's gonna be the Outer Worlds fantasy edition and nothing similar to a crpg
Awoved is hot woke trash, Obsidian is no longer the company it was, just a name that now means nothing.
So I find it interesting that you really enjoy romance in your RPGs. I do not. It's why I love pillars one so much. I just get to hang with the guys, and gals, and become friends with all of them. I agree that the romance is shoehorned within pillars 2. I think it should have never been added if not done organically. But seeing as I can completely ignore it, for me it isn't a big deal.
You kind of don't have to play romance if you don't want to.
You sound like your name is Sherman and was never picked to ball.
I have no idea what this means. 😂😂
Since Microsoft aquired all these studios they've seem to be destroying games so far. Still have hopes for avowed though and that it comes to Playstation so I can play it 😂
What games has MS destroyed?
@@SlanderedGaming Destroyed is a little bit of a exaggeration but their exclusives like starfield are flopping. Also, speculation on my part because they acquired a lot of games I was looking forward to and if they turn out like their current trend it will be disappointing. Though they do seem to be interfering with studios cutting budgets and staff. I want games like avowed to succeed even if I can't play them though. It's not looking well since they are beginning to port their exclusives.
I played PoE1 then PoE2 back to back for the first time in 2023. Loves both games, but would describe both of them as flawed gems.
It is interesting that Obsidians last 4 RPGs (PoE1+2, Tyranny, Outer Worlds) are all around 85% in Steam. All good solid games, but not quite enough to push into 90+% like Larian has done.
No doubt I’ll still play their future work and enjoy it, but I’m also hoping they find that extra something to go from good to great.
Yup I am hoping the partnership with Microsoft will lead to great things.
Love it. Definitely top 3 CRPG. DOS2, BG2 & POE2. Hmm...
It's definitely up there!
I think the way they handled the deities in Pillars 2 is what broke so much of the lore, and ruined it for me. That and the absolutely awful pacing of the main story. And then they're awful ship combat. And I don't like pirate themes! So even though I was a massive fan of pillars of Eternity one, I didn't even finish pillars of Eternity 2 despite trying about a half dozen times
Interesting what do you feel the deities broke?
@@SlanderedGaming If you are coming directly from PoE, you didn't really hear of speaking with the deities. But then all of a sudden in PoE2, ALL of them speak, speak together and theyre cooperating? That greatly dimishes some of the past events, such as killing Eothas. PoE1 felt relatively grounded, with respect to its setting.
Players soul is removed? Nbd, speak to the Pallid Knight, and get the best plot arkor kmaginable. Play the game without a soul, but youre still not a husk, as the games previous lore would have you, for having a soul snatched from you.
The gods also had a modern feel, and it was very jarring. Every single god spoke to the player in that game..
i also didnt care for their art work.. It looke like something that might be painted on the side of a building, downtown.
The game was also simplified compared tot he first, and I hated it.. No more piercing/slashing/blunt damage.. The spell list was shared, and spread across the different classes. Priest, Druid, Sorcerer spells were mixed together.. And most importantly, they removed per use/rest mechanics.. So every single fight, you could spam your best abilities, making combat feel repetitive. You didnt have to think.
Pirate theme felt like a jarring and drastic shift as well.. While PoE felt completely medieval fantasy, PoE2 took a hard turn into Carribean style Piracy. In a matter of a year? 2 years? (I dont know if they actually showed the timeline)
We dont find real time with pause intimidating, we find it to be a shit experience.
Some people find it more fun but also more intimidating. Many people were disappointed BG3 is turn based only.
You described the main story aspect well but I see this much, much more negatively. The main story is completely irrelevant in this game. The player character barely has any connection to it except that it originated at the place he built up in the last game. No, the gods telling you to do it is not agency. That's being puppeteered. The only choice you have is at the very end and it amounts to different ending slides. Where have I seen that before? *cough* Mass Effect 3 *cough* All the content about the various factions? Irrelevant in the end, just busywork. And the focus on sidequests? Skyrim. Deadfire has taken all the bad things from popular RPGs and put them into one. I just cannot stand this game.
Your decisions regarding the ending, factions and some of the side quests should be a big deal but unfortunately you don't really see it in this game and would probably have to wait for a sequel to feel it.
PoE2 has the worst music of any cRPG I have ever played. Sea shanties, really? One of the few games where I had to turn the music off, it was so horrible.
Oh wow I enjoyed it! LOL What's a game whose music you really like?
@@SlanderedGaming Pathfinder games have the best music of all cRPGs, but almost anything has better music than PoE2.
Loved this game. I thought the first one was very good and the sequel was better in every way.
Yup it's a fantastic game all the way around.
The game failed big time because of the strange rules and mechanics and the even stranger races. At the same time the PF game was released which did much better even it was a buggy mess. So my advice to Obsidian: Make NWN3 with DnD. Nobody wants to play as bird and fish men.
This system is great if you want dnd go play something else; dnd rules are too simple.
This system is great all the way except the end
Speak for yourself lol
LOL I disagree but I also know the Pillars world isn't everybody's cup of tea.