Ple-Sen
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Yeah, I also played through it in a fairly straightforward manner, albeit without any particularly exciting side quests – my main character was a Cipher, and it simply wasn't required. Essentially, the tactic for almost all battles, except perhaps the final boss in the dungeon, was the same. Separately, I didn't like that the combat requires a lot of micromanagement – after dealing with a selected enemy, the fighters just stood there like statues, waiting for further orders. Although, as far as I know, this was later fixed.
I agree about the dialogues and the dullness of the plot. The companions aren't particularly impressive, but there are a couple of decent ones – like Kana. Only Durian and the Mourning One stand out – they embody all the negative aspects of the game's dialogue, delivering one utterly depressing monologue after another. Moreover, their personal quests operate under a special system, which means you have to drag them around in your party for most of the game. But why? They are hardly the most interesting companions I've ever encountered. Even in terms of the plot, they are just two disappointments, presented under the guise of forced "grayness," which the game's writers seem to love. The main antagonist is no better than this pair – we are hyped about him throughout the game, but in reality, we just get motivation and logical connections on the level of the Reapers from Mass Effect. And yet, the plot had potential, but it was never properly realized. In some cases, the writers even simply wasted potentially interesting NPCs, like Lady Web. When I first read about her in one of the lore books, I was interested and expected a lot. But when we finally meet her, she gives us a couple of quests, after which she fades away to make way for the main antagonist's development, without really doing anything significant.
I disagree about the visuals – the backgrounds in the game are very beautiful, although I can't say the same about the character models. I also can't fault the acting or the sound design. And in the game itself, there are a couple of decent gameplay moments – I really liked the reputation system, as it came up quite often in the dialogues. Otherwise, Pillars of Eternity feels like an attempt to make another Baldur's Gate. I would even say that Obsidian succeeded – omitting the lack of a couple of features that even BG had, the gameplay and companions are roughly at the same level. However, the RPG genre has not stood still, and in 2015, a game created according to the standards of the early 2000s did not impress me very much. I played it almost immediately after its release, without any add-ons or later patches. I played for a long time, and closer to the last act, I almost burned out – I finished it out of sheer stubbornness, not wanting to leave it unfinished.
I agree about the dialogues and the dullness of the plot. The companions aren't particularly impressive, but there are a couple of decent ones – like Kana. Only Durian and the Mourning One stand out – they embody all the negative aspects of the game's dialogue, delivering one utterly depressing monologue after another. Moreover, their personal quests operate under a special system, which means you have to drag them around in your party for most of the game. But why? They are hardly the most interesting companions I've ever encountered. Even in terms of the plot, they are just two disappointments, presented under the guise of forced "grayness," which the game's writers seem to love. The main antagonist is no better than this pair – we are hyped about him throughout the game, but in reality, we just get motivation and logical connections on the level of the Reapers from Mass Effect. And yet, the plot had potential, but it was never properly realized. In some cases, the writers even simply wasted potentially interesting NPCs, like Lady Web. When I first read about her in one of the lore books, I was interested and expected a lot. But when we finally meet her, she gives us a couple of quests, after which she fades away to make way for the main antagonist's development, without really doing anything significant.
I disagree about the visuals – the backgrounds in the game are very beautiful, although I can't say the same about the character models. I also can't fault the acting or the sound design. And in the game itself, there are a couple of decent gameplay moments – I really liked the reputation system, as it came up quite often in the dialogues. Otherwise, Pillars of Eternity feels like an attempt to make another Baldur's Gate. I would even say that Obsidian succeeded – omitting the lack of a couple of features that even BG had, the gameplay and companions are roughly at the same level. However, the RPG genre has not stood still, and in 2015, a game created according to the standards of the early 2000s did not impress me very much. I played it almost immediately after its release, without any add-ons or later patches. I played for a long time, and closer to the last act, I almost burned out – I finished it out of sheer stubbornness, not wanting to leave it unfinished.