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 project on Kickstarter, where players contributed more than US$4 million to support the game’s development. The game uses the Unity engine to create its visuals and gameplay.
The story takes place in the fantasy world of Eora, focusing on the nation of Dyrwood. In Dyrwood, a recent problem causes newborn babies to be born without souls, a condition called "hollowborn." At the start of the game, the main character gains special powers after a supernatural disaster. This power reveals that the character is a "Watcher," someone who can see past lives and communicate with souls. The main goal of the game is to discover why the character gained these powers and how to fix the hollowborn issue.
Pillars of Eternity received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised its detailed world, engaging story, and thoughtful battle system. Many said the game is a strong follow-up to the older games it was inspired by. 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. A new game set in the same world, called Avowed, was announced in 2020 and released in 2025.
Gameplay
In Pillars of Eternity, players take on the role of a "Watcher," a character who can see and interact with the souls of people. Watchers can view memories of the deceased or communicate with spirits that remain in the world. The game uses role-playing mechanics, including real-time gameplay with the ability to pause for strategy. The game is viewed from a fixed isometric angle, using 3D models on 2D pre-rendered backgrounds, similar to earlier 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 (except for appearance) affect dialogue and interaction options with non-player characters (NPCs) or objects. There are 11 character classes, such as fighter, rogue, ranger, and wizard. Each class has unique abilities and benefits from specific stats. For example, the cipher 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 tasks like unlocking items or resting outside. The game’s class and skill system is inspired by Dungeons & Dragons but is a unique system designed for Pillars of Eternity. Characters gain levels by earning experience points from completing quests, not from fighting enemies.
Exploration involves visiting locations as they become accessible. Some areas are only unlocked after progressing in the main story, allowing players to freely explore for enemies, items, and quest objectives. Most locations use a "fog of war" effect, where unexplored areas appear dark and explored areas are lighter. Players can also complete optional side quests with detailed stories and multiple outcomes, unlike typical "fetch quests." A party of up to six characters can be formed, including companions found in specific locations and player-created characters made at inns for a fee.
As players progress, their choices affect their reputation with different factions. This determines how NPCs and traders interact with them. Decisions also influence the game’s ending. Players can use scouting mode, which lets characters sneak past enemies or find hidden items and traps. Traps can be disarmed using the Mechanics skill and later used against enemies. After completing part of the main story, players take control of a stronghold, which serves as a base for upgrades.
Battles depend on enemies having different defensive stats. Enemies resist certain weapon types, elements, and status effects, which affects how much damage they take. Players may need to switch weapons or spells to exploit weaknesses. A bestiary records information about enemies, updating details as they are encountered. When enemies attack, they harm both a character’s endurance and health. Losing all endurance knocks a character out, which regenerates after battles, while losing all health results in permanent death. Players can recover health, endurance, and abilities by resting at camps or inns.
Story
The story is set in the world of Eora, in a region of the southern hemisphere called the Eastern Reach, which 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 state partly ruled 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 are very 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 because people who use magic access their power. When a person dies, their soul leaves the body and goes through a process before being born again in a new body. Every soul carries memories from past lives, and some people can become "Awakened," meaning they remember these past lives. Some individuals can see souls, allowing them to access memories; these people are called "Watchers." Though the study of souls, called animancy, is a new science, it has caused major changes in society, led to technological progress, and created conflicts among religious groups, making this a time of great unrest.
The player character can be male or female and can choose from six different races. The game refers to them as "The Watcher." During the story, the player can recruit up to eight companions. These include Edér, a fighter who worships the god 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 cannot be fully seen and is connected to the Hollowborn problem; Pallegina, a paladin who works for the Vailian Republics; Kana Rua, a chanter sent to recover sacred texts; and Hiravias, a druid who was 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 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, remembering past lives. This ability causes the Watcher to experience visions and lose the ability to sleep. Over time, the Watcher may go mad and must find the cultists to stop the curse.
Dyrwood suffers from the Hollowborn Plague, where children are born without souls and remain unresponsive, like they are in a permanent sleep. Many people blame animancers, scientists who study souls. Investigating the plague, the Watcher discovers that the Hollowborn's souls were stolen by a cult called the Leaden Key, led by a priest named Thaos. Thaos is falsely accusing animancers for the plague, leading to a riot in the capital city where animancers are attacked and their college is destroyed.
The Watcher and their companions travel to the city of Twin Elms to uncover the truth. They learn that 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 real gods, causing an existential crisis. To end religious conflicts and prevent immoral behavior, the Engwithans created artificial gods by fusing their souls into magical constructs. These constructs appeared to people as the true gods, uniting societies and promoting civilization. Thaos, an Engwithan animancer, has survived for centuries by transferring his soul into new bodies. His goal is to hide the truth about the artificial gods and suppress animancy, fearing that others might discover the secret. Thaos stole the souls of the Hollowborn to empower the goddess Woedica, who opposes animancy and wants to destroy it.
Though other gods want to keep their secret, they also fear Woedica’s power and help the Watcher attack Thaos’ 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, or give them to Woedica. Choices made earlier in the game will influence the story’s ending.
Development
Pillars of Eternity was created by Obsidian Entertainment and released by Paradox Interactive. The game used a special game engine built in Unity for this project. Josh Sawyer directed the game. Before the game was made, several story ideas were considered at the studio. The one developed by Eric Fenstermaker and George Ziets was chosen. Fenstermaker, who had previously worked on Fallout: New Vegas, became the lead narrative designer. Other key people involved in making the game included Adam Brennecke, Chris Avellone, and Tim Cain. Justin Bell was 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 when creating the soundtrack.
On September 10, 2012, Obsidian’s website hinted at a new game called "Project X," shown as a number 4 surrounded by an Ouroboros. The next day, the image 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 less than 24 hours, and the first stretch goals were announced. Five days after the campaign started, Pillars of Eternity surpassed $1.6 million. A version of the game for OS X was promised, with no digital rights management (DRM) through 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 were promised a copy of Wasteland 2. On the final day of the campaign, Pillars of Eternity became the most-funded video game on Kickstarter at that time.
The project was part of a trend in the early 2010s where experienced game developers used crowdfunding to make games in genres that major publishers considered too old or niche. Feargus Urquhart, Obsidian’s CEO, said Kickstarter allowed them to create a game that felt like classic games, which would have been hard to fund through traditional publishers. Josh Sawyer said being free of publisher restrictions let them include more mature themes, such as slavery, prejudice, and drug use, in the story. Obsidian was inspired by InXile Entertainment’s success with using Kickstarter for Wasteland 2. Chris Avellone said if the campaign succeeded, Pillars of Eternity would become a franchise. He said the game would not be released on consoles because console limitations could harm the role-playing game experience. However, the game was later released on consoles. Avellone also promised to write a novella set in the game’s world. Four novellas were later posted on the company’s website.
On October 16, 2012, Pillars of Eternity’s Kickstarter campaign ended with $3,986,929 raised, making it the most-funded video game on Kickstarter at the time. Additional funds from PayPal brought the total budget to $4,163,208. In December 2013, Obsidian announced the official title would be Pillars of Eternity, replacing the working title Project Eternity. A poll was held to ask backers if they supported more fundraising.
In March 2014, Paradox Interactive was announced as the publisher. Paradox would handle marketing and distribution, while Obsidian kept the 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 struggles following the cancellation of a game for next-generation consoles in 2012.
On February 8, 2021, the Nintendo Switch version of the game was canceled by the publisher. A statement said hardware limitations would make it impossible to fix certain issues.
In 2023, Josh Sawyer said both Pillars of Eternity games were his most compromised works because crowdfunding backers pushed for more conservative design choices instead of his new ideas.
Release
On March 17, 2015, Obsidian said that Pillars of Eternity was ready for production and release. 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 campaign guide, a map, the game’s soundtrack, wallpapers, and ringtones. The Royal Edition included all Champion Edition items plus a strategy guide, concept art, and a novella written by Chris Avellone. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game, called Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition, were released on August 29, 2017. These versions were adapted by Paradox Arctic and included the updated game and both parts of the expansion pack. A Nintendo Switch version was released on August 8, 2019, after being announced earlier.
A two-part expansion called 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 story content, increased the maximum character level, and introduced new characters and abilities. Part I and Part II received scores of 76% and 79% on Metacritic, which means they were generally well-received by critics.
Reception
Pillars of Eternity received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to Metacritic, a website that collects and summarizes game reviews.
The Escapist said the game appeals to fans who enjoy older-style role-playing games but also praised it as an "excellent" game on its own. The review called it the best isometric role-playing game in years. PC Gamer stated that Obsidian, the game's developer, created their best game yet and called it a fitting follow-up to earlier games that inspired it. IGN said the game shows the best qualities of traditional role-playing games. Digital Spy praised the game, calling it a "masterclass" in role-playing game development.
Game Revolution said the game's combat is "deep and engaging." Metro also described the combat as "highly complex." GameSpot said the combat is the game's strongest feature and praised its battle music. Gameplanet commended the game's strategic combat and level-based progression. Game Informer noted that players can adjust combat settings, such as difficulty and auto-pausing, but the review criticized the game's pathfinding system.
Many reviewers praised the game's graphics and artwork. Gameplanet called the art design "excellent." Game Informer said the game's maps are "thoughtfully crafted" and the detail on characters and their equipment is "incredible." Metro noted that the game's resolution is higher than older isometric games like Baldur's Gate, which improves the "gorgeous" artwork. The review also praised the game's 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, though the backgrounds were not as impressive as in some older titles. IGN said the art style felt "dated." Gameplanet praised the game's voice acting as "excellent" and free of over-acting. Game Informer agreed and also 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 called the writing "rich" and "evocative." Destructoid praised the game's plot and the way the world reacts to the player, saying the main story has many twists and surprises with major consequences. 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 titles like Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment, called the quests "fairly stock," and said the characters are "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 and mentioned plans to raise money from many people to fund the game. On January 26, 2017, a campaign to support the project began on the website Fig, and the game was officially named Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. The game was released on May 8, 2018, for Windows, macOS, and Linux computers.