If there's one thing that Obsidian Entertainment does well, it's creating instant cult classic games. RPGs like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout New Vegas, and The Outer Worlds are only a few other games under Obsidian's belt that players have loved for years and years.
After playing Avowed, I think Obsidian has created another instant cult classic. Especially having played Pillars of Eternity I and II, Avowed feels like the RPG I've been waiting 10 years for. The snippets of gameplay and trailers don't do it justice. If you're looking a game that's like Baldur's Gate 3 but in third-person, Avowed is it.
As someone who played the original Pillars of Eternity games when they released, I'm constantly getting excited over every little reference I find in Avowed. There is SO much more to the Living Lands for players to discover.
Here are (spoiler free) overviews to the original Pillars of Eternity games and why you should take the time to play them!
Pillars of Eternity - 2015
Avowed is a game over 10 years in the making, starting with the crowdfunded game Pillars of Eternity released in 2015. The two predecessors to Avowed - Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - are both top-down party system RPGs. If you love the lore of Avowed and want to learn more about the gods and Wheel, I highly recommend playing the Pillars of Eternity games
Pillars of Eternity is also the perfect game to play if you love Baldur's Game 3 and D&D.
As opposed to starting the game as a Godlike, you get to choose your race in the original Pillars of Eternity and play as a Human, Aumana, Dwarf, Elf, Godlike, or Orlan.
On top of playing as one of six races, you can also choose your class and your background to create a truly unique character. As opposed to the 5 backgrounds/classes offered in Avowed, there are eleven classes to choose from in Pillars of Eternity: Barbarian, Chanter, Cipher, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Priest, Ranger, Rogue, and Wizard.
Some of the classes in Pillars of Eternity are incredibly unique compared to most RPGs, like the Cipher, which is a complicated class that manipulates a person's soul and psyche to overpower them, or the Monk class that has been sorely missed since it disappeared from Diablo.
I'm a little disappointed that Avowed forces the player to be a Godlike. Granted, this is the class that I played in Pillars of Eternity I and II, so I wasn't disappointed for that reason. But players should be able to experience all the different races in the Living Lands, like the Orlans that can wield incredible Druid abilities like shapeshifting.
If you find yourself playing Avowed and wonder what it's like to live through the game as an Orlan or Aumana or a human paladin, Pillars of Eternity is perfect for you!
Almost every single NPC you meet with have an in-depth backstory and multiple quests for you. There are nearly 20 different NPCs you'll meet that can join your party, each with their own unique questline once you build a relationship with them. You can also fine-tune your team or fill in the gaps by creating your own mercenaries to join you!
Pillars of Eterntiy was the first RPG I played where every conversation mattered. As opposed to games like Fallout where you can exhaust every conversation option to learn the lore, you only get once chance to repond in Pillars of Eternity. Each response leaves an impression and will impact your standing with your party members and other factions throughout the Living Lands.
The White March is also one of my favorite DLCs of all time in any game. If you're torn about paying an extra $15 each for the White March Part I and II, it's definitely worth it!
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - 2018
Pillars of Eternity returned for the sequel Deadfire in 2018 in another top-down RPG. In the sequel, you commandeer a ship to chase a rogue god all over the wild and unexplored Deadfire archipelago. Pillars of Eternity II lets you play the same character in the sequel and builds on all the relationship and class mechanics introduced in the first game.
This special game combines magic, dragons, and mythical deities with swashbuckling pirates and ship combat, and won multiple RPG of the year awards in 2018.
In Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, you choose 7 other party members to build your dream crew and sail through the foggy archipelago, discovering new islands as you go. There's new quests and NPCs to meet at every port. In this realistic RPG, you'll have to make sure you stock up on supplies at every port to keep your ship crew fed and happy.
Deadfire is also one of the few RPGs out there with ship combat out in the open ocean. You can eventually upgrade to the baddest pirate ship in Deadfire and enemy ships will automatically steer clear.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire also has 3 content DLCs called Seeker, Slayer, Survivor, The Beast of Winter, and The Forgotten Sanctum that are included in the Obsidian Edition.
Right when you start your first playthrough of Avowed, you'll already hear references to the original games, such as the Wheel, Adra, and meeting an Orlan for your first team member and an Aumana for your second.
Playing both the Pillar of Eternity games will set you up with all the lore you need to understand the many references in Avowed!
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