Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Last updated

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Pillars-deadfire cover.jpg
Developer(s) Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher(s) Versus Evil [1]
Director(s) Josh Sawyer
Producer(s) Adam Brennecke
Designer(s) Bobby Null
Programmer(s) Adam Brennecke
Artist(s) Kaz Aruga
Writer(s)
  • Carrie Patel
  • Josh Sawyer
Composer(s) Justin E. Bell
Engine Unity
Platform(s)
Release
  • Windows, Linux, macOS
  • May 8, 2018
  • PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • January 28, 2020
Genre(s) Role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a 2018 role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Versus Evil. It is the sequel to 2015's Pillars of Eternity , and was released for Windows, Linux, macOS in May 2018, and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2020. A version for the Nintendo Switch was originally announced in 2018, but has been ultimately cancelled in February 2022 after multiple delays. The game was announced in January 2017 with a crowdfunding campaign on Fig, where it reached its funding goal within a day.

Contents

Gameplay

Sailing scene Pillars of Eternity 2 screenshot.png
Sailing scene

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a role-playing video game that is played from an isometric perspective. [2] Both returning and new companions are available, depending upon the choices made by the player, which play an optional story role within the game. Deadfire focuses on seafaring and island exploration via a ship. Crews can also be hired to look over them and assist in ship combat. Class based gameplay returns, with each class having at least four optional sub-classes with unique skills. A new feature in Deadfire compared to the original are sub-classes.

Plot

Deadfire is a direct sequel to Pillars of Eternity , taking place in the world of Eora. [2] As with the first game, the player assumes the role of a "Watcher", a character with the ability to look into other people's souls and read their memories, as well as the ones of their past lives.

The story begins five years after the events of the first game. Eothas, the god of light and rebirth who was believed dead, awakens under the player's stronghold Caed Nua from the first game. [3] Eothas' awakening is extremely violent, and he destroys Caed Nua, while he drains the souls of the people in the surrounding area. The Watcher similarly has a piece of their soul torn out during the attack, but manages to barely cling to life. [3] In this near-dead state, they are contacted by Berath, the god of death, who offers to restore their soul in exchange for agreeing to become Berath's herald and take on the task of pursuing Eothas to discover what he is planning. The hunt for Eothas takes the Watcher (and their crew) via ship to the Deadfire Archipelago, where they must try to seek out answers—answers which could throw mortals and the gods themselves into chaos. [2] [3] The player's actions and decisions in the first game influence certain storyline elements of Deadfire. [4]

Throughout the story, the Watcher meets four different factions all vying for control over the Deadfire area: the imperialistic Royal Deadfire Company, acting on behalf of the expansionist Rauatai empire; the more profit-oriented and mercantile Vailian Trading Company, acting on behalf of the Vailian Republics; the traditionalist Huana, a tribal alliance of natives seeking to uphold their people's independence; and the Príncipi sen Patrena, a federation of pirates seeking to establish a republic of their own. The Watcher can help or hinder these factions along the way. Through their pursuit of Eothas, the Watcher eventually discovers the god's true intentions: he aims to break the Wheel, the cycle of reincarnation that governs the souls of Eora and by extension feeds the gods with the energy they need to sustain themselves, hoping that in doing so he can break the other gods' control over all mortal beings, allowing them to be free to pursue their own destinies. To that end, he seeks the mythical lost city of Ukaizo, where the mechanism controlling the Wheel is housed. Though the other gods intervene several times in an attempt to stop Eothas, he is undeterred and continues towards his goal.

By either swearing fealty to one of the factions and gaining their help or acting independently, the Watcher and their ship braves the stormy sea of Ondra's Mortar, which protects the city of Ukaizo, just as Eothas makes his final approach to the Wheel, and confronts him there. Eothas, though sympathetic to the Watcher, refuses to back down from his endeavor, explaining to the Watcher that destroying the Wheel would most likely kill him and the rest of the gods for good, but that his death will also give him the power to enact a great change upon all of Eora. Before destroying the Wheel, he returns the piece of the Watcher's soul he took from them, thereby freeing them from their debt to Berath, and asks for their advice on what that change should be. An epilogue then follows, detailing the effects the Watcher's choices had on their companions, the different factions, the Deadfire, and the world at large. In the end, the Watcher resolves to head home to the Dyrwood, uncertain of what the future now holds for both gods and mortals.

Development

The game was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, creators of the original Pillars of Eternity, and was published by Versus Evil with partial funding by Fig. [2] [5] [6] In May 2016, Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart announced that the game had entered production. [7] Like its predecessor, Obsidian chose to launch a crowdfunding campaign on Fig to raise money for the development. [2] The campaign launched on January 26, 2017, with a funding goal of US$1.1 million with US$2.25 million open for equity. [2] The funding goal was achieved in under 23 hours, [8] and surpassed $4.4 million by the end of the campaign. [9]

The game was released for Windows, Linux, and macOS on May 8, 2018, and was initially set to be released at a later date for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. [2] [10] A downloadable content pack, Critical Role Pack was released for free alongside the game's launch, adding additional character voices and portraits from the first campaign of Critical Role . [11] In January 2019, an update for the game was released that added a turn-based combat style. [12] The sequel eventually launched for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2020, [13] but the Nintendo Switch version was ultimately confirmed as cancelled by Versus Evil via their official Discord server in February 2022. [14] This follows news from a year earlier when Versus Evil ceased releasing patches for the Switch version of Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition , despite unresolved issues. Versus Evil cited the Switch's system limitations. [14]

Pillars of Eternity design director Josh Sawyer explained that if the team were to create a sequel, they would set it in a different location within the game's fictional world to ensure the setting felt new and interesting. [15] Sawyer stated that one focus of Deadfire was to address criticisms raised over the abundance of filler combat encounters in the original game. [16] The game's size is significantly larger than the original. [16] [17]

In 2023, Sawyer felt that both Pillars of Eternity games were his most compromised works due to crowdfunding backers' demands for conservative game design instead of implementing his new ideas. [18] He has also said that if he ever makes Pillars of Eternity 3, he would prefer to make the combat turn-based instead of using the real-time with pause system. [19]

Reception

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. [20] [21] [22]

Josh Sawyer said that the game's sales were "relatively low" compared to their expectations. [27]

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire was nominated for "Best Storytelling" and "PC Game of the Year" at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards, [28] [29] for "Best Role-Playing Game" at The Game Awards 2018, [30] for "Fan Favorite Role Playing Game" at the Gamers' Choice Awards, [31] for "Role-Playing Game of the Year" at the 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, [32] for "Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing" at the Writers Guild of America Awards 2018, [33] for "Outstanding Video Game" at the 30th GLAAD Media Awards, [34] and for "Adventure Game" and "Best Writing" at the 2019 Webby Awards. [35]

Related Research Articles

<i>Planescape: Torment</i> 1999 video game

Planescape: Torment is a 1999 role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment for Windows. The game takes place in locations from the multiverse of Planescape, a Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy campaign setting. The game's engine is a modified version of the Infinity Engine, which was used for BioWare's Baldur's Gate, a previous D&D game set in the Forgotten Realms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Avellone</span> American video game designer

Chris Avellone is an American video game designer and comic book writer. He worked for Interplay and Obsidian Entertainment before becoming a freelance designer and writer. He is best known for his work on role-playing video games such as Planescape: Torment, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and the Fallout series.

Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Irvine, California and part of Xbox Game Studios. It was founded in June 2003, shortly before the closure of Black Isle Studios, by ex-Black Isle employees Feargus Urquhart, Chris Avellone, Chris Parker, Darren Monahan, and Chris Jones.

inXile Entertainment American video game developer

inXile Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and a studio of Xbox Game Studios based in Tustin, California. Specializing in role-playing video games, inXile was founded in 2002 by Interplay co-founder Brian Fargo. The studio produced the fantasy games The Bard's Tale and Hunted: The Demon's Forge, along with various games for Flash and iOS such as Fantastic Contraption in its first decade of development. In 2014, inXile released the post-apocalyptic game Wasteland 2, following a successful Kickstarter campaign. Following the game's critical success, the studio went on to raise a then-record US$4 million on Kickstarter to develop Torment: Tides of Numenera, a spiritual successor to Interplay's Planescape: Torment. The studio was purchased by Microsoft and became part of Xbox Game Studios in 2018, just as they were developing Wasteland 3, which they released in 2020. The studio is currently developing Clockwork Revolution for Windows and Xbox Series X/S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Sawyer</span> American video game designer

Joshua Eric Sawyer, more commonly known and credited as Josh Sawyer, J.E. Sawyer, or JSawyer, is an American video game designer, known for his work on role-playing video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Boyarsky</span> American computer games designer and visual artist

Leonard Boyarsky is an American computer game designer and visual artist. He is one of the key designers of the video games Fallout and Diablo III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gaider</span> Canadian writer and game designer

David Gaider is a Canadian narrative designer and writer. He was the lead writer and creator of the setting for the role-playing video game series Dragon Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoic (company)</span> American video game studio

Stoic LLC is a video game developer based in Austin, Texas. Founded by three ex-BioWare staff in early 2012, Stoic is most known for developing the tactical role-playing game The Banner Saga (2014) and its sequels, The Banner Saga 2 (2016) and The Banner Saga 3 (2018).

<i>Divinity: Original Sin</i> 2014 video game

Divinity: Original Sin is a role-playing video game developed and published by Larian Studios. The fourth main entry in the Divinity game series, it is a prequel to the original game Divine Divinity, and to the other main games in the series. It was first released on Microsoft Windows on 30 June 2014.

<i>Pillars of Eternity</i> 2015 video game

Pillars of Eternity is a 2015 role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive for Windows, OS X, and Linux. The game is a spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series, along with Planescape: Torment. Obsidian started a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for it in September 2012, raising over US$4 million. The game uses the Unity engine.

Numerous video games were released in 2018. Best-selling games included Madden NFL 19, NBA 2K19, NBA Live 19, WWE 2K19, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Marvel's Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Far Cry 5, God of War, Monster Hunter: World, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Games highly regarded by video game critics released in 2018 included Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Marvel's Spider-Man, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter: World, Dead Cells, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Celeste. The year's highest-grossing games included Fortnite, Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor, Dungeon Fighter Online, League of Legends, and Pokémon Go.

<i>Skyforge</i> 2015 video game

Skyforge is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Allods Team in collaboration with Obsidian Entertainment, and published by My.com. Set on the planet Aelion, Skyforge fuses elements of Science fiction and fantasy in its visuals and storytelling, and sees players exploring the world as an immortal who must strive to become a god and defend the planet from alien invasion from other worlds. The project started development in 2010 and received an open release for Microsoft Windows in July 2015, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases following in 2017. The latest major content update, "Ignition", was released on all platforms in September 2019. A Nintendo Switch version was released in February 2021.

The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a 2018 dungeon crawler video game developed by inXile Entertainment as a continuation to The Bard's Tale trilogy from the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fig (company)</span> Crowdfunding platform for video games

Fig was a crowdfunding platform for video games. It launched in August 2015. Unlike traditional crowdfunding approaches like Kickstarter, where individuals can back a project to receive rewards, Fig used a mixed model that includes individual backing and the opportunity for uncredited investors to invest as to obtain a share of future revenues for successful projects. At the end of 2017, four projects had begun generating returns, returning 245% to Fig investors.

<i>Pillars of Eternity: The White March</i> 2015 video game

Pillars of Eternity: The White March is a two-part expansion pack for the 2015 role-playing video game Pillars of Eternity, developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive. The first part was released on August 25, 2015, while the second was released on February 16, 2016.

<i>Tyranny</i> (video game) 2016 video game

Tyranny is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux on November 10, 2016.

<i>Grounded</i> (video game) 2022 video game

Grounded is a survival action-adventure video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. It was released for Windows and Xbox One in early access in July 2020. It was fully released on September 27, 2022. The Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions were released on April 16, 2024.

<i>Avowed</i> Upcoming 2025 video game

Avowed is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. Avowed takes place in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity, in the world of Eora. The game is scheduled to be released on February 18, 2025, for Windows and Xbox Series X/S.

<i>Pentiment</i> (video game) 2022 video game

Pentiment is a 2022 adventure role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game was released for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on November 15, 2022. The Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 versions were released on February 22, 2024. It received positive reviews from critics and won a Peabody Award in 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Currently self-published on GOG.com and Steam by Obsidian Entertainment and published by tinyBuild on PlayStation Network
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Yin-Poole, Wesley (January 26, 2017). "Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire announced". Eurogamer . Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Nunneley, Stephany (January 26, 2017). "Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire in development, crowdfunding campaign kicks off on Fig". VG247 . Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  4. ↑ Fig, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - by Obsidian Entertainment, retrieved on March 8, 2017. "Enhanced Reactivity - Continue the story you began as the Watcher of Caed Nua in Pillars of Eternity, and see how your decisions and actions in the Dyrwood persist in Deadfire."
  5. ↑ Purchese, Robert (September 21, 2017). "Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire signs publisher Versus Evil". Eurogamer . Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ "2019 Fig Publishing's SEC Filing for Co-publishing Pillars of Eternity II". SEC . September 30, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  7. ↑ Smith, Graham (May 17, 2017). "Obsidian Working On Pillars Of Eternity 2 & New IP". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  8. ↑ Yin-Pereira, Chris (January 27, 2017). "Pillars Of Eternity 2 Funded In Less Than A Day". GameSpot . Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  9. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (February 25, 2017). "Pillars Of Eternity 2 Fig Funding Ends With $4.4 Million [UPDATE]". GameSpot . Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  10. ↑ Purchese, Robert (December 17, 2018). "Pillars of Eternity 2 will still come to consoles, including Switch, in 2019". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire: Build Vox Machina In-Game!". April 18, 2018.
  12. ↑ Pillars of Eternity 2 is going turn-based, eight months after launch in PCgamesn
  13. ↑ Purchese, Robert (December 9, 2019). "Finally, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire gets a PS4 and Xbox One release date". Eurogamer . Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  14. 1 2 Doolan, Liam (March 6, 2022). "Obsidian's RPG Pillars Of Eternity II: Deadfire Appears To Have Been Cancelled For Switch". Nintendo Life . Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  15. ↑ Webber, Jordan Erica (September 8, 2015). "Pillars of Eternity 2 would be set in a whole new (part of the) world". PC Gamer . Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  16. 1 2 Chalk, Andy (January 26, 2017). "Obsidian announces Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire". PC Gamer . Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  17. ↑ Chalk, Andy (March 13, 2018). "Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is delayed". PC Gamer . Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  18. ↑ Fenlon, Wes (April 22, 2023). "RPG roundtable podcast: Josh Sawyer, Mike Laidlaw, Strix Beltran, Paweł Sasko, and Lis Moberly go deep on writing and playing RPGs". PC Gamer (Podcast). Future plc. Event occurs at 33:42 - 36:10. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  19. ↑ Madnani, Mikhail (October 18, 2023). "'Pentiment' Anniversary Interview: Josh Sawyer on His Influences, Going From Playing D&D to Designing, a Potential 'Pillars of Eternity 3', RPG Mechanics, and More". TouchArcade . Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  20. 1 2 "Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  21. 1 2 "Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  22. 1 2 "Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - Ultimate Edition for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  23. ↑ Purchese, Robert (May 21, 2019). "Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire review - a golden doubloon of an RPG". eurogamer.net. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  24. ↑ Starkey, Daniel (May 10, 2018). "Roiling with the waves". gamespot.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  25. ↑ DM, Schmeyer (May 8, 2018). "Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Review". ign.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  26. ↑ Kelly, Andy (May 8, 2018). "PILLARS OF ETERNITY 2: DEADFIRE REVIEW". pcgamer.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  27. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (November 10, 2019). "Pillars Of Eternity Dev Says Deadfire Sales Were Low, Sequel Might Not Happen". GameSpot . Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  28. ↑ Hoggins, Tom (September 24, 2018). "Golden Joysticks 2018 nominees announced, voting open now". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  29. ↑ Sheridan, Connor (November 16, 2018). "Golden Joystick Awards 2018 winners: God of War wins big but Fortnite gets Victory Royale". GamesRadar+ . Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  30. ↑ Grant, Christopher (December 6, 2018). "The Game Awards 2018: Here are all the winners". Polygon . Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  31. ↑ Glyer, Mike (November 19, 2018). "2018 Gamers' Choice Awards Nominees". File 770. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  32. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (January 10, 2019). "God Of War, Spider-Man Lead DICE Awards; Here's All The Nominees". GameSpot . Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  33. ↑ "2019 Writers Guild Awards Screenplay and Videogame Writing Nominations Announced". Writers Guild of America West . January 7, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  34. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (January 25, 2019). "GLAAD Media Awards: 'Adventure Time,' 'She-Ra,' 'Steven Universe' Nominated". Animation Magazine . Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  35. ↑ "2019 Winners". The Webby Awards . April 22, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.