PILLARS OF ETERNITY

Finally getting good at the Obsidian classic after 250 hours.

- By Ted Litchfield

They've started calling me the Stoic Gamer on account of how often I respond to tense situations, even crucial moments of my life with the dialogue option '[Stoic] Stay Silent'. Maybe not the best move in every circumstance, but Pillars of Eternity's personal reputation system has made it one of very few RPGs where I ever roleplay something other than A Nice Guy Who's Funny Sometimes - me in real life, but also a magical orc.

I was a Kickstarter backer on Pillars all the way back in 2012 when it was Obsidian's Hail Mary to stay afloat as a company, then titled Project Eternity. You can take that as my social media era admission of a conflict of interest, but truth is, I found my investment resulted in a game that was hard to love on its 2015 release. Pillars of Eternity is brainy, dry, esoteric, and in possession of some of the most complex, high skill-ceiling mechanics I've seen in an RPG. I was immediately won over by its gorgeous visuals and unique atmosphere at launch, but it's taken multiple playthroughs, 250+ hours, and me putting the finishing touches to my adult brain after the age of 25 to fully appreciate everything going on thematically and mechanically in Pillars of Eternity.

CIPHER SUPREMACY