Pillars of Eternity 2
Good
Visuals - The combat was a much more enjoyable experience. Effects were flashier, talents were laid out, character sheets were well developed, and outfits were much easier to see on the screen. In fact, you could say I spent hours just switching out people's uniforms and color themes. Scripted Encounters have been reworked for the better by showing what skills are required for a certain action. Companions can now add a "party assist" by contributing their skill to the overall skill check. Dynamic lighting makes things interesting when you are walking down a dark alleyway with a torch in hand. Dynamic weather also makes the world come alive around you.
Reactivity - Although a person could potentially play Pillars of Eternity 2 without knowing anything about the first game, I do not recommend it. The first game does a splendid job at teasing the world around you with stories around the campfire while the second one shows you what happens behind-the-scenes. Without easing into the descriptive nature of the first game, one might be overwhelmed with "gods" and how mankind acts towards them. The introduction alone has a ton of information that does its best to condense a full-fledged game into 5 minutes. You are offered a "soft reset" where you can change your character entirely or redefine your previous actions in life whether or not they hold true to your first playthrough. Sadly, not importing a saved file will have you miss out on the nostalgia when the effects of all those hard decisions come to fruition (as in the case in the Mass Effect series).
Classes - It may seem like the classes aren't much different from the previous game on the surface but don't let that fool you. There is a wide-range of abilities to choose from. Despite the fact you get more talent points from the raised level cap to 20 and the separation of active & passive skills, you will still have to choose your abilities wisely. By adding another layer of complexity, Pillars of Eternity 2 included subclasses and multiclasses. Like how a hunter's tactics can change depending on their pet, other classes now feel unique to one another. However, I highly recommend keeping your main characters purebred as their class is permanent. My experimentation with custom-built characters proved to be awful (yet still fun) in comparison.
Neutral
Exploration - In the first game, you explore regions of Eora that a person would normally see when traveling between areas. There are forests, caves, roads, towns, cities, and castles. You visit many parts of the Eastern Reach, home of Dyrwood and Readceras. The second game visits the Deadfire Archipelago and limits traveling to a simple icon on the screen. You still visit these glamorous places where the story takes you but the traveling doesn't feel important enough to distinguish a response (like watching Indiana Jones cross the Atlanta via a red line).
Features - Much of the game has been changed for better or for worse. Most of these things boil down to personal preference. You no longer have to worry about going back to your "stronghold" as your ship becomes your base of operations. Mages no longer learn spells while grimoires offer two unchangeable abilities per tier (subject to subclass and level) without needing to spend any talent points. Nearly 3/4 of the dialogue of the game (to my recollection) is now accompanied with voice over. In return, the new streamlined writing removed much of the descriptive subtleties that were included in the first game. One stretch goal in particular was the inclusion of player AI scripting. I played around with that feature for about an hour or two before ultimately giving up on it. It is excruciatingly detailed and was too exhausting to keep up with. Luckily, the default options were satisfactory (even though my pet AI kept resetting, people ran away from the battle to help buff a character, and mages were habitually careless while aiming).
Bad
Music - Considering that the game has 45 tracks compared the original 24, the music was bound to get monotonous at some point. Perhaps my level of expectation proved greater with the second edition but the songs within the confines of Neketaka was rather awful. Two songs in particular - Queen's Berth and The Sacred Stair - forced me to mute the sound entirely before moving forward.
Characters - The original Pillars of Eternity had 8 (+3 DLC) characters struggling with their identity. Even though you were only allowed five companions I constantly worried about leaving one of my party members behind (all except for Grieving Mother). Pillars of Eternity 2 had 7 (+4 DLC) characters egotistical and haughty. Even with the new limit of only four companions, I hesitated in bringing any of them along. Their chatter reflected their relationships as some companions generally bickered among their ideologies and faction status. However, you feel contractually obligated in bringing them along as their knowledge about the world becomes invaluable (and influential with "Family Discord" equipped). Eventually you have the option to be romantically involved with one of them. It is painful to know that the returning characters Eder and Pallegina are not available. So instead this leaves the foulmouthed Serafen, the elusive Aloth, Maia the untrustworthy spy, the egotistical Tekehu, or the naive Xoti. The game does include another "character" in the form of an intelligent weapon. However no matter how brilliantly introduced this sword might be, Modwyr proves to be just as unnerving when she cries out in battle with her masochistic tendencies, sadist qualities, and disrespect.
Linear Progression - On my initial impression of the game, I was ready to explore The Deadfire Archipelago one island at a time (like Sunless Sea). My actions were misguided. Not only was I ill-prepared but also detrimental to the storyline. Locations had set levels and you are supposed to retrieve a quest first before barging into a new area. Yet time-and-time again I somehow found a unique item or secret area before obtaining the quest beforehand. I can't remember the number of times I encountered a character and had to revisit the character after receiving a designated quest. At least certain interactions include a "I already did that" option. I also despised spending 30 hours in the city of Neketaka before even considering the other islands. Why venture in a city without any cash? Why is it possible to stumble in an area with skill checks of 9-13 right next to the main city hub?
Timeline
Core Game: It is rather difficult to pinpoint the exact number hours I devoted to a single quest. Ironically, the main questline in searching for Eothas may have only taken me a maximum of 40 hours. The introductory island at Port Maje might have taken me 10 hours. Then Neketaka probably took me 30 hours to initially explore and another 10 to 20 hours after I had enough cash to actually buy things there. Core locations like Fort Deadlight (love that place), Crookspur, Hasongo, Splintered Reef (just to name a few) took anywhere from 1 to 4 hours each.
Beast of Winter: I most definitely remember being levels 12-14 at around the 60 hour marker when approaching Beast of Winter, only to fail miserably when facing The Messenger. It wasn't until after meeting with Eothas at Ashen Maw at the 80 hour marker did I attempt to go again. There is much more here than I initially thought. All the items carry a nice freezing/burden attribute and beautiful matching artwork. Your new companion, Vatnir, doesn't have the best personality but his unique (priest) Rymrgand abilities make him a wonderful substitute for Xoti while exploring the DLC with Ydwin. Make sure to have a little bit of fun with Rymrgand before checking out the winter realm and its 3 spirit realms. I made sure to skip Neriscyrlas and his "deadly" (but ultimately annoying) 60 second shield of no penetration. If there is one thing that you must experience in this DLC it would have to be reliving the final moments of the Godhammer.
Seeker, Slayer, Survivor: Not only is this DLC a mouthful to say, it is perhaps the least interesting story I have ever witnessed. At the recommended level of 16, the island isn't even discoverable until you finish Ashen Maw and talk with the steward regarding a mysterious box. Konstanten suddenly becomes your guide on the island as you proceed to fight in an arena against various challengers. The entire time I was trying to shut down the island and I succeeded with everyone hating me in SSS. That's alright because I hated how they sent me on a scavanger hunt with impossible riddles before offering me new challenges, how I had to pick only one of three final challenges for an award, and not being able to pass the incredibly high skill checks. At least the champion's helm is neat and the idea of them giving you a cape instead if it won't fit over your godlike head is intuitive on the developer's part.
Forgotten Sanctum: This DLC could be described as the true finale when tracking down the history of Wael. Minimum level required is 18 and the special event only happens when you are prepared to face Eothas. Aloth and Fassina will be your guides this time around. There is a ton of tiny little details in this area that makes up for the previous DLC. Risking to stick your hand in a mysterious device provides you with an egg that will eventually hatch into a pet with you exclaiming "I really hope it doesn't eat my Captain's Banquet. I was saving that." as any ordinary role-playing gamer would have saved (and never got around to using). The idea of having Concelhaut converse with other people and infuse into Wael's body in the end just for chaotic fun proves the developers had some interesting ideas.
Free DLC: Most definitely download all the free DLCs because what does it matter when your game comes out at 52GB (Pillars of Eternity was 15GB, Fallout 4 was 21GB). Most are simple additions of people's portraits, animations, voice overs, and beards (of all things). The game currently has 4 megabosses, all of which are incredibly difficult and takes approximately 20 minutes of precise movements to take down. That right there tells you I skipped them all. One thing I highly recommend, which now appalls me since I didn't know about it beforehand, is visiting Captain Thaenic's ship The Deck of Many Things (5th DLC) for a huge list of fun and interesting items which would have helped me tremendously in the scheme of things. But seeing it took me a total of 120 hours to beat the game, I would rather not go back and do it all over again. I had my fun and I'm ready to move on.
2-9-2019