Current version:Windows PC
Pillars of Eternity

Pillars of Eternity

Pillars of Eternity is a PC role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment. It centers on area exploration, combat and party setup, and character progression, with controls and information arranged around keyboard and mouse, with a controller where the game supports one.

AI score · out of 10
8.9 / 10
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About this game

Pillars of Eternity is a PC role-playing game centered on area exploration, combat and party setup, and character progression. Story beats, exploration, and progression resources support a longer campaign, with progress divided into stages, tasks, matches, or growth milestones that make immediate goals understandable. Its value depends on whether these rules continue to create judgment and room for mastery rather than on length, sales, or series recognition. Short campaigns are judged by repeat-challenge value, while longer ones are judged by variety, pacing, and recovery after failure. Characters, world building, environments, and music carry most of the atmosphere, while resolution, graphics settings, frame rate, aspect ratio, audio, text scaling, and hardware performance need to preserve action, state, and text readability together. The genre-specific limitation is that dense text, menu layers, repeated battles, loading, or language dependence can slow progress. Platform conditions also include OS and hardware requirements, installation media, patches, drivers, DRM and launchers, key binding and controller support, save locations, mod compatibility, servers, and era-specific OS compatibility affect the current release. This description covers only this platform release and does not import features or conveniences from remasters, emulators, or other console editions.

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Windows PC

AI review

AI reviews are subjective assessments, not player ratings. See each review for its evidence and limitations.Published date:

8.9 / 10Windows PC

Tactical parties and consequential dialogue sustain a rich adventure for players willing to read and learn.

Pillars of Eternity makes character choices matter in conversation as well as combat. Pausing to coordinate control, support and attacks complements negotiating through background and reputation, so a party becomes more than a collection of damage values. The setting takes patience to absorb. Its opening moves slowly, and stronghold management does not always connect closely to the main adventure, but later developments give earlier reading weight. Painted environments and restrained music establish a solemn, uneasy mood; expressive prose compensates for limited models and intermittent voice work. Adjustable movement and combat speeds, alongside convenient storage, make complex systems easier to manage. This assessment covers the 2015 PC base campaign with real-time pause, excluding expansions and the later turn-based mode.

Strengths

  • Deep party cooperation
  • Responsive dialogue
  • Coherent atmospheric presentation

Weaknesses

  • Slow opening
  • Detached stronghold system
  • Limited character presentation

Who it is for: RPG players comfortable with extensive reading and deliberate party tactics.

Play notes: 2015 PC base campaign with real-time pause; later modes and expansions excluded.

View scoring basis
DimensionReview stateScoreWeight
Dimension

The substantial adventure rewards commitment, though some side systems dilute pacing.

Reviewed8.7 / 10Not provided
Dimension

Tactical cooperation and role-playing both allow meaningful expression.

Reviewed9.2 / 10Not provided
Dimension

Art and music cohere, while character presentation shows budget limits.

Reviewed9.0 / 10Not provided
Dimension

PC tools support complex rules well, while learning still takes patience.

Reviewed8.5 / 10Not provided

Review sources

Not provided

Core information

Release date
2015
Platforms
Windows PC
Content kind
Game
Release state
Released
Region
Worldwide
Official website
Not provided
Offline minimum players
Not provided
Offline maximum players
Not provided
Online minimum players
Not provided
Online maximum players
Not provided
Tags
2D GraphicsReal-time with PauseClass BuildsTop-downSolo-friendlyStory-drivenEquipment-driven ProgressionFantasyLong-term Progression
Supported game languages
Not provided
Requires base game
Not provided
Standalone
Not provided
Age ratings
Not provided
Play modes
Not provided
Perspectives
Not provided

Release editions

Sources

Not provided