Lucas Gardner
ljgardner@lc.edu
Pillars of Eternity is what’s called an isometric RPG. What is an isometric game? Well, your view of the world is above everything. Imagine looking into a cardboard box with biomes. That’s the best way to describe it.
I discovered this game by watching Critical Roll on Geek and Sundry, an online twitch stream, where voice actors play Dungeons and Dragons with DM or Dungeon Master, Matt Mercer, who much like the other players of the table is a voice actor.
It’s turn-based combat and clicks to move mechanics are much different than a first person or third person view of a game.
The game has a beautiful story all starting with you, the player or in this game, “The Watcher.” In this game, you will navigate a clever story, face tough decisions and learn about what has happened and why there is hollow born.
“Oh, a hollow born what’s that?” Well buy Pillars of Eternity and find out! This game involves a lot of reading and you must pay close attention to everything you read. The game runs based on character stats so it is important to have a well-balanced party. You can have up to six characters in your party. This includes you as a player.
What does a “well-balanced party” mean? Well, allow me to explain. Essentially what this means is or at least my view is two healers, three damage dealers, and one tank which is a character that can take a lot of damage. Other than that, to further the balanced party concept perhaps other characters might have better perception than you? This allows them to see something you as a player can’t see. There are gods in this game may be one of the characters you meet in the game knows something about a god that you don’t and is able to help you know something. This is what I mean by party balance.
Throughout the game, you will make decisions based on what you feel as a player. While traveling on your adventure through this beautiful world and story, you will meet nonplayer characters or NPCs that are all unique and you can actually develop relationships with them. Each and every one of them has their own personality and things they like and dislike.
Remember the decisions I stated before? It is quite plausible that if you make the wrong decision while this player is in your party they might not like you anymore. They might die if you fail to treat them during combat with healing. It’s possible that they will leave your service who knows. I personally haven’t experienced some of these outcomes but it’s quite possible.
This game is available on steam and only on PC. It has a great story. I’d say fifty plus hours of gameplay. Lots of ways you can build each class in the game. There are eleven different classes and six playable races. This game is based on the hit game Dungeons and Dragons created by Wizards of the Coast, a tabletop RPG that has been played since the 70’s. Here is a fun fact for you readers. Since the hit series Stranger Things was released DnD or Dungeons and Dragons has seen a huge increase in the player base!
So, for all you fantastic nerds out there that play or have heard of DnD and have a computer, I would highly suggest this game.
