\n<\/p>\n
Play it on:<\/strong> PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox If I\u2019m honest, most of my gaming time this weekend will probably go, once again, toward the incredible UFO 50<\/em><\/a><\/span>. (I now have my first two cherry carts<\/a><\/span>!) However, it\u2019s probably time I start mentioning other games on occasion here in the Weekend Guide, so instead I\u2019ll talk about something else I\u2019ve been playing lately, Pillars of Eternity<\/em>, the 2015 fantasy CRPG from Obsidian Entertainment which follows in the footsteps of genre-defining classics like Baldur\u2019s Gate <\/em>and Icewind Dale<\/em>. It\u2019s absolutely epic in scope, immediately thrusting you into a world with its own rich, captivating history and lore\u2014a world we\u2019ll soon get to revisit in Avowed<\/em><\/a><\/span>\u2014but it\u2019s also intimate and personal, with exceptionally well-written characters navigating life in a world filled with conflict and strife.<\/p>\n Early on, your character is awakened to their skills as a Watcher, someone who can see and interact with the souls of others. This not only allows for some great fantasy RPG plot hooks, but also brings the history of the game\u2019s world to life in a way it otherwise wouldn\u2019t be. You might, for instance, encounter someone who, in a past life, was part of the marauding hordes driving others out of their homes, and see how their soul was marred by the trauma of participating in something so monstrous, or you might be pulled into the experience of someone who was persecuted by those hordes. William Faulkner famously wrote, \u201cThe past is never dead. It\u2019s not even past.\u201d It\u2019s true of our world, I think, and in Pillars of Eternity<\/em>\u2019s Eora, you really feel the way that the past lingers, shaping and haunting the present.<\/p>\n Of course, all the great pleasures of CRPGs are here\u2014gorgeous lands to explore, engaging tactical combat, epic quests\u2014and all of that is crucial to what makes Pillars of Eternity <\/em>so exceptional. But for now, I\u2019m particularly smitten by the writing, so smart and so rich, and characterized by a tremendous respect for the player, trusting us to come to grips with the world and its history upon being thrown in head-first, and trusting us to appreciate its profound thematic depth without needing to spell things out for us or lampshade what it\u2019s doing. It\u2019s so great to encounter genuinely mature writing in a game, especially when it\u2019s married to gameplay as rich and captivating as what\u2019s on offer here. \u2014 Carolyn Petit<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Current goal: <\/strong>Make my stronghold a little nicer<\/p>\n