Bad gameplay destroys everything
Pillars of Eternity 1 is a video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment. After an unfortunate incident, the protagonist is caught up in an animancy ritual (the art of manipulating people's souls) and transforms into a medium capable of seeing and hearing souls. Afterwards, they set off on an adventure to confront the architect of this event, Thaos, uncover his motives, and stop the plague of children born without souls.
The game opens with a dark and gloomy narrative where people blame animancy and the negligence of the kingdoms for causing the ruin of the population and their crops. The universe is based on polytheistic faiths featuring genuinely existing gods (even if known by other names), worshipped by all the people.
The world's dynamics are distinctly Western. Unlike Japanese role-playing games, which heavily rely on friendship and teamwork, these types of titles are set in much more individualistic contexts, where no one is trustworthy and everyone is plotting against each other in the shadows.
Another standout feature is the compelling storytelling, combined with an exceptionally cohesive world. Every environment and background is hand-drawn, a level of care for detail that becomes immediately clear once you start playing.
Unfortunately, the game is brought down by gameplay that is truly full of flaws. The first issue is the skill organization, which is entirely confusing and counterintuitive. It is confusing because, when leveling up, you can choose skills from various classes without understanding their actual categorization or utility; it is counterintuitive because you cannot genuinely perceive if the character is actually progressing.
Another negative aspect is the problematic management of the passage of time. The stronghold turns rely on a mechanic that makes the concept of time chaotic: a single turn can equal 100 in-game days, just as 10 turns can be exhausted in a single day.
A minor flaw is the excessive verbosity and rambling nature of the dialogues. However, I admit this might stem from my own laziness in reading long lines of text, as I am more accustomed to JRPGs, where conversations are brief but impactful.
Let me give you some advice: play Pillars of Eternity 2, because the gameplay has been polished to remove almost all of these imperfections, and the experience focuses much more on the adventure itself.