Pillars of Eternity 2

Josh Sawyer tweeted this out today. Looks like rough drawings of the portraits you'll be able to select.

>All of these black-looking faces
Vailian Republics setting confirmed, get ready for the WE WAS KINGZ N SHIET shitposting.

Can't wait for all those fake reviews on steam praising it as the best crpg ever

>we wuz fantasy settingz n sheit

Are you triggered user?

Those might be NPC portraits. That guy on the lower right looks like Durance to me.

such diversity
shame their characters will have no diversity of beliefs or behaviors, and will have no compelling storylines.

>Vailian Republics setting confirmed
Good, of the lore they showed, that was the place I wanted to see explored the most. Nautical settings are sweet and fucking around with crazy scientists and noble politicians sounds like a good time.

But that didn't happen with Pillars of Eternity 1, why would it happen with 2?

name a single compelling storyline from PoE

I don't see how that's relevant to the claim I was responding to, but:
-A previous life's PTSD guiding you towards dismantling a cult that works to halt and create animosity on science and spread a religion they themselves created
-A pantheon created by an ancient civilization that fights itself and shifts power and alliances
-Eothas, St. Waidwen and the Saint's War
-Durance's past and relationship with Magran
-Zahua's questline

>30 minutes of compelling storylines in a game with over 20 hours of shit to slog through
into the trash it goes

I still don't see how this is relevant to the claim I was responding to

>A previous life's PTSD guiding you towards dismantling a cult that works to halt and create animosity on science and spread a religion they themselves created

Yes, the main plotline would have been enjoyable but
>A previous life's PTSD
turned out to be absolutely nothing.

>hey in your past life you betrayed and killed someone close to you, and now the memory of this haunts you
>lol just kidding that's not what you give a shit about

Obsidian dropped the ball so hard with that plot thread when they tried to make it into an epic tweest.

That's part of what you give a shit about. You give a shit about the fact that you lived a whole life of lies and couldn't face the truth about the gods. The truth you face centuries later and finally put to rest.

Oh please, you'd be whining IF there was a twist too.

>That's part of what you give a shit about

And it's presented as some sort of plot point that's supposed to turn the previous events of the game on its head, but up until that point all your memories have been of Iovara. You're led to believe that your betrayal is the act that haunts you. And to be fair, the reason for your Awakening makes more sense in context, but by the end of the game it's a bit late for the player to form any attachment to that idea.

The game had clear and recognizable influence from The Black Hound in the themes it presented - regret, guilt, and redemption. Tons of side quests and character arcs are built around these themes. And at the end of the game, when you meet Iovara, who represents an ancient wrong that you cannot fix or undo, what is it you told?

>yeah your past life doesn't care about that
>it turns out that Thaos blew you the fuck out and centuries later you're still salty

It's actually that petty, and I couldn't believe that's what they went with.

Coming from the people who made Mask of the Betrayer, which is one of the most emotionally resonant games I've ever played, it was a surprise how absolutely out of touch Pillars was.

Again, though, the betrayal is part of what haunts you. It's just that the betrayal exists precisely because your past life was you living a lie. When you have the dialogue with Iovara and she asks you why you betrayed her and if you regret it, you can tell her as much. I thought it was very well done.

>the betrayal is part of what haunts you

And Iovara tells you that she can see you've already come to terms with that.

At which point I though to myself "What else could they possibly introduce as an emotional dilemma this late in the game?" And it turned out to be nothing significant.

>Hey Thaos are the gods real?
>In every way that matters, yes
>That answer isn't good enough, I'm gonna go haunt my soul descendants for a thousand years

It's hard for the average person to feel emotionally invested in a plot point like "The gods aren't real." There's no easy connection to get you involved and feel like this is a story you want to explore. And the fact that it came so late in the game certainly didn't help.

I hate to repeat myself, but MotB did this really fucking well.
>entire game revolves around Akachi's crusade, his betrayal of Myrkul, and his quest to tear down the wall
>everything he did, was for no greater ideal than his love for a woman

And again, the idea of love is one that is interwoven thoughout the entire game. Side quests, companions and supporting characters are built around that theme. Obsidian is excellent at that, it's a key facet of many of their games. Which is why it's was such a blow to the quality of Pillars when they eschewed that in favor of trying to pull of some sort of "gotcha" moment. Absolutely nothing in the game implied the gods weren't real, and suddenly that's supposed to be the major revelation that puts your motivations in proper context? I'm sorry, but that feels forced as hell.

>And it turned out to be nothing significant.
What do you mean? It's HUGELY significant.

>It's hard for the average person to feel emotionally invested in a plot point like "The gods aren't real." There's no easy connection to get you involved and feel like this is a story you want to explore. And the fact that it came so late in the game certainly didn't help.
I guess I'm not normal, then.

why does only one have sick mist-eyes

I think my favorite part of the game is that cult underneath dyrwood.

FYI though everyone pillars is a lot more fun if you break up your gameplay. I'll usually play a week and than take a month off .

>I guess I'm not normal

Sounds like that may be the case. Theological disagreements aren't exactly the most gripping subject material for most people.

please dont advertise your sjw garbage here