You and your party of heroes are up against it in some dark, dank dungeon in the bowels of the world. Two of your travelling companions are down and out, and the remaining three of you are at death's door. The giant arachnid you're facing seems unstoppable, but just as it's about to move in on your wizard, both your melee warrior steps between them and form a solid battle-line, the wizard backs away and casts a devastating freeze spell that stuns the spider while the warriors deliver a coup de gras with their zweihanders. These tactically challenging scenarios are what Pillars of Eternity - a gorgeous isometric throwback to 90s RPGs - is all about. It's a game in which avoids the frequent RPG pitfall of making you feel overpowered - with your ability to survive encounters coming down to your tactical nous rather than just how levelled-up you are. The game looks like a more polished version of the Baldur's Gate series - all beautifully drawn pre-rendered backgrounds that make the world a joy to explore. The land of Dyrwood is brimming with quests and lore, and you can spend a hundred hours branching away from the main storyline to explore all it has to offer. As you wander the world, your choices will have a meaningful impact on how future characters you meet interact with you - with dialogue options and quests appearing and disappearing depending on your actions. This is a must-play for old-school Baldur's Gate fans, and worth a look for anyone intrigued to see why this specific sub-genre of RPG is currently going through a revival. Buy Pillars of Eternity: Hero Edition at GOG
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
