JustWatch
Advertisement
Those with an appreciation for the tabletop games and classic PC games this pays homage to will likely have an enjoyable experience. The learning curve is a bit steep, the seas may get choppy, and the deck can get rather slippery, but with some patience and perseverance, even the greenest sailor can go from lowly deckhand to decorated captain.
With DLC called 'The Deck of Many Things' and rules system that very closely mirrors the fundamentals of D&D right down to individual spells, it's sort of a crying shame that the powers that control licensing on both sides were unable to consummate this obvious marriage. Pillars of Eternity, for me, is the best D&D series there never was.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is not for everyone. The web of intertwining features and mechanics are as deep as they are complicated, but for those looking for more from their RPGs – more character, more wonder, more life – Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a fantastic homage to the true roots of the RPG genre.
10
Guisa
Every choice echoes louder when the world is already listening. Pillars of Eternity II Deadfire takes everything the first game built and opens it up in a way that feels both ambitious and refreshing. Instead of being confined to a more traditional structure, this time the adventure unfolds across a vast archipelago, giving you the freedom to explore, discover and shape your journey at your own pace. The shift to a more open structure works incredibly well. Sailing from island to island creates a strong sense of adventure, and each location feels distinct, with its own stories, cultures and conflicts. The world feels alive in a way that constantly rewards curiosity, whether you are chasing the main objective or simply getting lost in side quests and unexpected encounters. Narratively, Deadfire continues to lean into complex themes, but presents them with more confidence and clarity. The story feels more dynamic, reacting to your decisions in ways that make your role in the world feel significant. Factions play a big part here, and choosing who to support is rarely simple. There is a constant sense that every decision carries weight, even when there is no perfect outcome. Companions once again stand out as one of the game’s strongest elements. They are well written, expressive and often challenge your perspective, making conversations feel meaningful rather than just functional. Their personal stories unfold naturally as you travel together, adding emotional depth to the broader narrative. Combat builds on the foundation of the first game, offering both the classic real-time with pause system and a turn-based option. This flexibility makes the experience more accessible without sacrificing depth. Encounters are tactical and rewarding, encouraging you to experiment with different party setups and strategies. Visually, the game takes a noticeable step forward. The environments are vibrant and detailed, capturing the beauty and danger of the Deadfire region. Combined with a strong soundtrack and excellent voice work, the presentation helps bring the world to life in a way that feels immersive from start to finish. What really defines Deadfire is its sense of freedom. You are not just following a path, you are carving your own. Whether you focus on exploration, politics, combat or storytelling, the game supports your choices and adapts around them. Pillars of Eternity II Deadfire is a confident, expansive RPG that respects the player’s intelligence and curiosity. It refines what came before while embracing a broader sense of adventure, resulting in a journey that feels personal, engaging and consistently rewarding.
10
User-01
A masterpiece of storytelling, deep choices, stunning visuals, and complex mechanics that elevate the RPG genre to new heights.
9
chumpwithnoname
Woke slop. Good boss women are in power. Stupid men are baaaad. POC everywhere, you can't escape them being the majority. Nobody gives a damn about you being a LORD of Cad Nua, some random commoners will give you obligatory stupid quests like save my baby or something - who cares, I'm the lord chosen by gods on a mission to save the Eora. To hell with your baby! Cringe millenial jokes, cringe millenial characters. POE 1 was 6/10, this is straight 0/10. From the first minutes of this garbage you can see there is no Chris Avellone in Obsidian anymore.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Released On: 
May 8, 2018
Metascore
Generally Favorable
88
User score
Generally Favorable
7.9
My Score
Drag or tap to give a rating
Hover and click to give a rating

Where to Buy

Advertisement
Metascore
Generally Favorable
88
96% Positive
68 Reviews
4% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
May 9, 2018
100
GameWatcher
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is as close to the perfect RPG as one can get. The fantastic setting, grand story, exceptional writing and voice acting, engaging combat all coalesce into an exemplar of its kind. This is the game that sets the bar. This is the game that needs to be aspired to.
May 17, 2018
93
COGconnected
Visually, the most remarkable accomplishment Pillars of Eternity II pulls off is making its world feel dynamic and alive.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.9
74% Positive
638 Ratings
15% Mixed
130 Ratings
12% Negative
100 Ratings
  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
Apr 24, 2026
10
Guisa
Every choice echoes louder when the world is already listening. Pillars of Eternity II Deadfire takes everything the first game built and opens it up in a way that feels both ambitious and refreshing. Instead of being confined to a more traditional structure, this time the adventure unfolds across a vast archipelago, giving you the freedom to explore, discover and shape your journey at your own pace. The shift to a more open structure works incredibly well. Sailing from island to island creates a strong sense of adventure, and each location feels distinct, with its own stories, cultures and conflicts. The world feels alive in a way that constantly rewards curiosity, whether you are chasing the main objective or simply getting lost in side quests and unexpected encounters. Narratively, Deadfire continues to lean into complex themes, but presents them with more confidence and clarity. The story feels more dynamic, reacting to your decisions in ways that make your role in the world feel significant. Factions play a big part here, and choosing who to support is rarely simple. There is a constant sense that every decision carries weight, even when there is no perfect outcome. Companions once again stand out as one of the game’s strongest elements. They are well written, expressive and often challenge your perspective, making conversations feel meaningful rather than just functional. Their personal stories unfold naturally as you travel together, adding emotional depth to the broader narrative. Combat builds on the foundation of the first game, offering both the classic real-time with pause system and a turn-based option. This flexibility makes the experience more accessible without sacrificing depth. Encounters are tactical and rewarding, encouraging you to experiment with different party setups and strategies. Visually, the game takes a noticeable step forward. The environments are vibrant and detailed, capturing the beauty and danger of the Deadfire region. Combined with a strong soundtrack and excellent voice work, the presentation helps bring the world to life in a way that feels immersive from start to finish. What really defines Deadfire is its sense of freedom. You are not just following a path, you are carving your own. Whether you focus on exploration, politics, combat or storytelling, the game supports your choices and adapts around them. Pillars of Eternity II Deadfire is a confident, expansive RPG that respects the player’s intelligence and curiosity. It refines what came before while embracing a broader sense of adventure, resulting in a journey that feels personal, engaging and consistently rewarding.
Mar 22, 2026
10
User-01
A masterpiece of storytelling, deep choices, stunning visuals, and complex mechanics that elevate the RPG genre to new heights.
May 23, 2018
90
Softpedia
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is hands down one of the best RPGs launched in the last couple of years, but I'm more anxious to learn when we'll get PoE III since the ending of Deadfire is awesome in a painful way.
May 8, 2018
90
Wccftech
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is an exceptional roleplaying experience that truly lets you forge your own path in a rich, multilayered, grog-soaked world. Occasionally the game is just a touch too retro for its own good, but, for the most part, Pillars of Eternity II proves Obsidian has set the right course. It’s clear sailing ahead for the classic computer RPG.
May 24, 2018
87
The Games Machine
The tribute to the great Western RPGs of the first chapter was not easy to overcome: Obsidian has deservedly tried to change the cards on the table, bringing new contents not always perfect with a great overall result.
Jun 1, 2018
80
GameOver.gr
Finally, a good pirate theme RPG, full of intrigue and joy in exploration while having a wonderful DnD inspired battle system. The lackluster and without focus main story disappoints and the bugged quests do shoot some cannonballs through the captain’s cabin, but the quality remains high and Pillars of Eternity Deadfire still is one of the best Western RPGs in years.
Jun 6, 2018
70
ZTGD
If one was to ignore the technical issues and consider it in isolation, Pillars of Eternity 2 could be deemed a solid game. Whilst on the surface it appears to offer depth and choice, effectively the content is relatively simple and linear. Nevertheless, there are some great side quests and locations to engage with, and a large number of stories and peoples to encounter. However, given the optimisation woes and the illusory depth offered by the main story, I lost interest in what I was doing fairly early on.
See All 71 Critic Reviews
Sep 4, 2025
10
Sovereign98999
I'll start by saying if I knew at the time of purchase how much I'd love this game I seriously would have been willing to pay 250$ for it. I'm a hardcore RPG and RTS fan and have been hooked on games like Baldur's Gate 2 (and now 3), Neverwinter Nights, and Rome Total War since I was 7 years old (yes, I absolutely loved and understood BG2 and RTW at 7 - I was an unusual kid (some may argue I still am, haha). Now, 20+ years later I find most games released just don't compare. Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2 are my absolute favorite gamer. The class system in Pillars 2 is so overwhelmingly satisfying, open, and diverse that I seriously wish they just continually released new content for this game. The expansions were phenomenal and I want more. It seriously broke my heart that this game did poorly financially for Obsidian. This game deserved the same level of success as Baldur's Gate 3. I personally feel if the average attention span was longer than 15 seconds, it would have. Yet Fortnight makes bank selling skins - it's amazing how unbelievably stupid people are. I am desperate to see other games come out that follow a similar class and character creation system and similar mechanics. The only reason this style of game is not extremely popular is the average person can not stay engaged the few hours it takes to really get good. BG3 did a phenomenal job of keeping people engaged until the game actually gets really fun. This game is as good or better if you simply endure the fairly slow start common to this genre. The game continually gets even better until you're out of content and angry for more. I've put at least 200 hours into this game as the game is long initially and extremely inviting to replays due to the extensive multi-classing system and large number of abilities and unique equipment. Endure the first couple hours and you'll cherish the next couple hundred. Aside from my desperation for more content I have nothing bad to say of this game, and I say a lot.
Aug 14, 2024
7
ErayTellezi
Canım Baldur's Gate 3 çekmişti. Onun yerine o tarz ama oynamadığım bir oyun deneyeyim diye PoE2 denedim. Sıra tabanlı iki modu var ama oyun buna göre dizayn edilmediği için anlamsız savaşlar uzun sürdüğü için yoruyor. BG3 bu konuda kusursuzdu. Oyunun haritası çok geniş, bu da yan görevlerin yerini bulmayı biraz zorlaştırıyor. Dövüş mekaniği ve skiller de ise ilk oyuna göre çok yenilik yok. Gemi korsanlık teması sevenlerinse bayılacağı bir iş. Neticede 20 saatin sonunda eğlenmediğim için bıraktım. Eskiden olsa severdim.
May 1, 2023
7
S3XU4LH34L1NG
In its core a great game is hidden but I'll deduct a full 2 points for the shabby state this game is in 4 years after release. There a game breaking bugs with gear / spells / potions. Bugs that can ruin full playthroughs. There's memory leaking (I thinks this was an issue in P1 too). After 1-2 hrs this gets unbearable. Also you can clearly see some areas are extremly fleshed out and others lacking heavily. The characters and the combat system is satisfying and I have no complaints there. The story is well thought out and deeply philosophical just like in the first game. Atm this is on gamepass. I recommend grabbing it there.
Jul 13, 2024
4
Eatt
I played throug the first one and enjoyed it so it was a no brainier for me to go to the second. It is very similar to the first one and gamewise maybe better, however I could not take it to play through the whole thing since the story was so boring and slow I just gave up after 40 ish hours
Oct 30, 2020
4
GVB
Rpg are my favourite genre. But this game its simply... meh. A lot of content, yes, and the writing is good, but the plot is uninteresting, the quest are a bit repetitive, and the companions are underdeveloped in every aspect and not have much weight in the story of your hero. So, if you want to play a great isometric rpg... play Disco Elysium. Or Baldur's Gate 2. Or Neverwinter Night... or Baldur's Gate 2 again, and again, and again... :-D
See All 868 User Reviews
Advertisement
SummaryPursue a rogue god over land and sea in the sequel to the multi-award-winning RPG Pillars of eternity. Captain your ship on a dangerous voyage of discovery across the vast unexplored archipelago region of the dead Fire. Bend the world to your will, as you explore the depths of Infinite possibilities, including detailed character customiz... Read More
Rated Mfor Mature
  • PC
  • PlayStation 4
  • Xbox One
  • Nintendo Switch
May 8, 2018
Advertisement
Advertisement
Related Content: ijumpman | fishie fishie | lucha libre aaa heroes del ring | disgaea 4 a promise unforgotten medic | disgaea 4 a promise unforgotten pirohiko ichimonji | four in a row 2010 | zombie square | super sniper hd | the will of dr frankenstein | chuck e cheeseand39s party games alley roller