Pillars of Eternity is a role-playing video game released in 2015. It was created by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive for Windows, OS X, and Linux. The game is inspired by earlier games such as Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment. In September 2012, Obsidian started a fundraising effort on Kickstarter, collecting over US$4 million. The game uses the Unity engine to create its visuals and gameplay.

The story takes place in a fantasy world called Eora, primarily within the country of Dyrwood. In Dyrwood, newborn babies are sometimes born without souls, a condition called "hollowborn." At the start of the game, the main character gains special powers after a supernatural event occurs. The character learns they are a "Watcher," someone who can see past lives and communicate with souls. The main goal of the game is to discover the cause of the character's powers and find a way to solve the hollowborn problem.

Critics gave Pillars of Eternity mostly positive reviews, praising its detailed world, engaging story, and strategic combat. Many said it is a strong follow-up to the games that inspired it. The game won several awards, including Best RPG of 2015. By February 2016, it had sold over 700,000 copies. Two expansions, called The White March, were released in August 2015 and February 2016. A sequel, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, came out in May 2018. In 2020, a new game called Avowed, set in the same universe, was announced and released in 2025.

Gameplay

Pillars of Eternity is a game where players take the role of a "Watcher," a character who can see and interact with the souls of people, including viewing memories of the deceased or communicating with spirits. The game uses role-playing mechanics and includes real-time-with-pause tactical gameplay, where players control a group of characters. The game is viewed from a fixed isometric angle, using 3D models on 2D pre-rendered backgrounds, similar to older games like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment.

At the start of the game, players create a character. Choices about the character's race, background, stats, and class (but not their appearance) affect dialogue options with non-player characters (NPCs) or interactive objects. There are 11 character classes, such as fighter, rogue, ranger, and wizard, each with unique abilities. For example, the cipher class can use enemy souls to attack, and druids can transform into animals and cast spells. Players can also use five skills—Stealth, Athletics, Lore, Mechanics, and Survival—to gain advantages in situations like opening containers or resting outside. The game’s class and skill system is inspired by Dungeons & Dragons but is a unique system created for this game. Characters gain levels by earning experience points from completing quests, not from fighting enemies.

Exploration involves visiting locations that unlock as the story progresses. Some areas are only accessible after completing parts of the main story, allowing players to freely explore for enemies, items, and quest objectives. Most locations have a "fog of war" effect, where unexplored areas appear dark and explored areas have a lighter appearance. In addition to the main story, players can complete optional side quests with detailed characters and multiple outcomes, unlike typical "fetch quests." Players can form a party of up to six characters, including companions (characters with their own stories and quests) and player-created characters, who can be made at inns for a fee based on their level.

As the game progresses, players build a reputation with different factions based on their choices in conversations and quests. This affects how NPCs and traders treat them. Scouting mode allows characters to sneak past enemies or find hidden items and traps, which can be disarmed using the Mechanics skill. Later in the game, the protagonist takes control of a stronghold, which serves as a base to upgrade with new buildings.

Battles depend on a system where enemies have specific defensive stats, resistances to certain weapon or element types, and resistances to status effects. Players must choose weapons and spells that exploit enemy weaknesses. A bestiary records information about enemies, updating details as they are encountered. During combat, enemies damage both a character’s endurance (which regenerates after battles) and health (which, if lost completely, results in permanent death). Players can recover health, endurance, and abilities by resting at camps or inns.

Story

The story takes place in a world called Eora, in a region located in the southern hemisphere known as the Eastern Reach. This area is about the same size as Spain. The Eastern Reach includes several nations, such as the Free Palatinate of Dyrwood, a former colony of the powerful Aedyr Empire that gained independence after a war; the Vailian Republics, a group of independent city-states; and the Penitential Regency of Readceras, a partly religious state governed by priests who worship the god Eothas.

Most civilizations in Eora are at a stage of development similar to the early modern period. Firearms are a new invention and are difficult to use, so they are not widely used. However, they have proven effective against people who use magic.

A major source of conflict in Eora is a recent scientific discovery: souls are real and can be moved, stored, or changed. Souls are the foundation of magic, as they provide the power needed for some people to use it. When a person dies, their soul leaves the body and goes through a process before being reborn into a new baby. Every soul carries memories from past lives, and through certain methods, a person can become "Awakened," meaning they become aware of these memories. Some people have the ability to see souls, allowing them to access memories and other information; these individuals are called "Watchers." Although the study of souls, called animancy, is a new science, it has led to major changes in society, caused technological progress, and created disagreements among religious groups, making this time period very unstable.

The player character can be male or female and choose from six different races. The game usually refers to them as "The Watcher." During the story, the player can recruit up to eight companions. These include: Edér, a warrior who worships Eothas; Aloth, a wizard whose parents were nobles; Durance, a priest who no longer believes in the goddess Magran, a god of war and fire; Sagani, a ranger searching for an elder from her village; Grieving Mother, a mysterious figure who is partially invisible and connected to a problem involving soulless beings; Pallegina, a paladin who works for the Vailian Republics; Kana Rua, a singer sent to recover sacred texts; and Hiravias, a druid exiled from his tribe.

The player character is a foreigner who arrives in Dyrwood. Their caravan is destroyed by a strange storm that kills everyone except them. Taking shelter in a cave, the player witnesses a group of cultists performing a ritual on a machine that removes souls from bodies. Exposed to this energy, the player becomes a Watcher, gaining the ability to read souls. They also become Awakened, allowing them to remember past lives. This ability causes the Watcher to experience disturbing visions and lose the ability to sleep. Over time, the Watcher may lose their mind, so they must find the cultists and undo the curse.

Dyrwood is suffering from the Hollowborn Plague, where children are born without souls and remain unresponsive, like people in a permanent coma. Many people blame animancers, scientists who study souls. Investigating the plague, the Watcher discovers that the souls of the Hollowborn have been stolen by a cult called the Leaden Key, led by a priest named Thaos. Thaos is falsely accusing animancers for the plague, which leads to violence in the capital city, where animancers are attacked and their school is destroyed.

The Watcher and their companions travel to the city of Twin Elms, where they learn the truth about Thaos's actions. The gods of Eora are not real but were created by an ancient civilization called the Engwithans. The Engwithans were skilled animancers who discovered that Eora had no true gods, causing them to question their purpose. To stop religious wars and prevent people from acting without morals, the Engwithans created fake gods by combining their souls into magical constructs. These constructs were presented to people as the real gods of the universe, uniting them in worship and helping civilization grow. Thaos is an Engwithan animancer who has lived for centuries by transferring his soul into new bodies. His goal is to keep the secret of the fake gods hidden, fearing that people might reject them if the truth is discovered. To achieve this, he suppresses the study of animancy and steals souls to strengthen the goddess Woedica, who opposes animancy and wants to destroy it.

Although other gods want to protect their secret, they also fear Woedica gaining too much power, so they help the Watcher attack Thaos's stronghold. The Watcher defeats Thaos in his lair. The player must decide what to do with the souls Thaos stole: return them to their original bodies, let them be reborn into new ones, or give them to Woedica. Choices made earlier in the game will influence the ending.

Development

Pillars of Eternity was created by Obsidian Entertainment and released by Paradox Interactive. The game uses a game engine built using Unity software specifically for Pillars of Eternity. Josh Sawyer directed the game. Multiple story ideas were considered within the studio, and the one developed by Eric Fenstermaker and George Ziets was chosen. Fenstermaker, who previously worked on Fallout: New Vegas, became the game's lead narrative designer. Other key team members included Adam Brennecke, Chris Avellone, and Tim Cain. Justin Bell served as the audio director and also composed the game's music. Bell said he was inspired by the music from Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale.

On September 10, 2012, Obsidian's website hinted at a new game called "Project X," shown as a number 4 surrounded by an Ouroboros symbol. The next day, the symbol was revealed to be a countdown. On September 14, 2012, a Kickstarter campaign began, sharing more details about the project. The campaign reached its $1.1 million goal in under 24 hours, and the first stretch goals were announced. Five days later, the campaign surpassed $1.6 million. An OS X version of the game, without digital rights management, was planned for GOG.com. A Linux version was announced on September 21, 2012. The campaign passed the $2 million mark on September 26, 2012. On October 8, 2012, backers who pledged $165 or more received a copy of Wasteland 2. On the final day of the campaign, Pillars of Eternity became Kickstarter's most-funded video game at the time.

The project was part of a larger trend in the early 2010s where experienced game developers used crowdfunding to create games in genres that major publishers had ignored. Feargus Urquhart, Obsidian's CEO, said Kickstarter allowed the team to make a game that felt like classic titles, which would have been hard to fund through traditional publishers. Josh Sawyer said the crowdfunding model gave the team freedom to explore mature themes like slavery, prejudice, and drug use. Obsidian was inspired by InXile Entertainment's success with Wasteland 2. Chris Avellone said the campaign's success could lead to a Pillars of Eternity franchise. He said the game would not be released on consoles, as console limitations might affect gameplay and content. However, the game was later released on consoles. Avellone also promised to write a novella set in the game's world, and four novellas were later posted online.

On October 16, 2012, the Kickstarter campaign ended with $3,986,929 raised, making it the most-funded video game on Kickstarter at the time. Additional funds collected through PayPal brought the total budget to $4,163,208. In December 2013, Obsidian announced the official title as Pillars of Eternity, replacing the working title Project Eternity. The company asked backers if they supported further fundraising.

In March 2014, Paradox Interactive was named the publisher. Paradox would handle marketing and distribution, while Obsidian kept the game's intellectual property rights. On March 11, 2015, a preview of the documentary series Road to Eternity was released. It was later revealed that the Kickstarter funds helped save Obsidian from closing after financial difficulties from canceling a game for next-generation consoles in 2012.

On February 8, 2021, the publisher announced the Nintendo Switch port was canceled due to hardware limitations. In 2023, Josh Sawyer said both Pillars of Eternity games were his most compromised works because crowdfunding backers pushed for conservative design choices instead of his original ideas.

Release

On March 17, 2015, Obsidian announced that Pillars of Eternity had gone gold, meaning it was ready to be made and released. The game was released for Windows, OS X, and Linux on March 26, 2015. Multiple versions of the game were available, including the Champion Edition, which included a guide to the game's story, a map, the game's soundtrack, wallpapers, and ringtones. The Royal Edition included all items from the Champion Edition, plus a strategy guide, concept art, and a novella written by Chris Avellone. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game, titled Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition, were released on August 29, 2017. Developed by Paradox Arctic, this version included the updated game and both parts of the expansion pack. A version for the Nintendo Switch was released on August 8, 2019, after being announced earlier.

A two-part expansion, Pillars of Eternity: The White March, was announced by Obsidian at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2015. Part I was released on August 25, 2015, and Part II was released on February 16, 2016. The expansion added new content to the game, increased the maximum character level, and introduced new characters and abilities. Part I received a score of 76% on Metacritic, and Part II received a score of 79%, both indicating "generally favorable reviews."

Reception

Pillars of Eternity received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic.

The Escapist said the game appeals to fans who miss older games, but it is also a great role-playing game on its own. They called it the best isometric role-playing game in years. PC Gamer stated that Obsidian, the game's developer, made their best game yet, and that it is a worthy follow-up to earlier games it was inspired by. IGN praised the game, saying it shows the best parts of old-school role-playing games. Digital Spy said Pillars of Eternity is a "masterclass" in making role-playing games.

Game Revolution said the game's combat is "deep and engaging." Metro also said the combat is "highly complex." GameSpot said the combat is the game's strongest part and praised the battle music. Gameplanet said the game's combat is strategic and its character progression is well-designed. Game Informer noted that players can customize combat settings, such as difficulty and auto-pausing, but criticized the game's pathfinding.

The game's graphics and artwork were widely praised. Gameplanet called the art design "excellent." Game Informer said the maps are "thoughtfully crafted," and the details on characters and their equipment are "incredible." Metro said the game's resolution is higher than older isometric games like Baldur's Gate, which makes its artwork "gorgeous." The review also praised the lighting and particle effects. The Escapist said the spell effects are "visually impressive" and the character models are better than those in traditional isometric games, but said the backgrounds are not as detailed as in some older games. IGN said the art style feels "dated." Gameplanet said the voice acting is "excellent" and free of over-acting. Game Informer agreed and said the game's sound and music are "delicate and beautiful."

GameSpot said the game's writing is "lovely." The reviewer especially praised the character of the Grieving Mother, whose story was described as intriguing and "mysterious." PC Gamer said the writing is "rich" and "evocative." Destructoid praised the game's plot and how the world reacts to the player, saying the main story has many twists and surprises. An IGN reviewer said the characters are well-developed, but noted that only some characters have voice acting. Eurogamer said the game lacks humor compared to older games like Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment, and called the quests and characters "forgettable."

In October 2015, Obsidian and Paradox confirmed the game had sold over 500,000 units. By February 2016, it had sold over 700,000 units.

Sequel

In May 2016, Obsidian Entertainment announced a sequel to Pillars of Eternity. The company also considered using crowdfunding to help fund the game. On January 26, 2017, a campaign was started on Fig, where the game was officially named Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. The game was released on May 8, 2018, and was available for Windows, macOS, and Linux computers.