14 DAY TRIAL // Obsidian’s latest game South Park: The Stick of Truth has been overwhelmingly well received by fans of the series and media alike. Although it did not win too many awards, it proved that Obsidian is still a great studio that can make amazing games out of not-so-easy-to-handle franchises.
Since South Park: The Stick of Truth was launched back in March 2014, the studio has been able to focus on their next project, which is most treasured by cRPG fans.
Pillars of Eternity has been successfully funded on Kickstarter back in 2013, but continued to raise funds through its backer portal in order to expand the game through stretch goals.
What we know
Previously known as Project Eternity, Obsidian’s upcoming classic RPG title is a return to the roots for fans of Icewind Dale and Baldur’s Gate franchises.
The game proposes a new universe with similar combat mechanics as Black Isle’s masterpieces. Pillars of Eternity is an isometric, party-based, real-time with pause, old-school cRPG, which aims to bring back the nostalgia of classic RPGs like Icewind Dale and Baldur’s Gate.
The game will feature ten playable classes (Barbarian, Chanter, Cipher, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Priest, Ranger, Rogue, and Wizard) and six races (Humans, Elves, and Dwarves, Aumaua, Orlans, and Godlike).
Along their adventures in the new Pillars of Eternity universe built by Obsidian, players will be able to pick up new NPCs and add them to their party, meet memorable characters, and fight a wide variety of creatures (including bugs).
Pillars of Eternity game is based on Obsidian’s own custom rule system inspired by Dungeon & Dragons and other pen & paper and tabletop games. There will be some similarities with some of these, like some attribute scores and the races and classes that players can choose.
However, instead of rounds, this custom system uses seconds (and fraction of seconds) and a virtual 100-sided die for the combat mechanics. Players can also opt to see how much of the information they want to see during combat.
Why it matters
RPG fans that grew up with classics like Planescape Torment, Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale really need Pillars of Eternity to be great. The expectations are really high considering the game’s target, but since the development is handled by Obsidian, there’s little chance that Pillars of Eternity won’t become a popular franchise among cRPG fans.
Another aspect that Pillars of Eternity may be a very important release this year would be the fact that the game will pave the way to other spiritual successors of classic game, such as Torment: Tides of Numenera.
Pillars of Eternity has been delayed a few times. Currently, the game is expected to arrive on PC (Windows, Mac and Linux) in “Early Spring” 2015.
