Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Review (velventia(inactive))
The soundtrack is pretty amazing, especially tracks like All Gods—very haunting after talking with Berath (my favorite deity in Eora). The slang like Aimica, Gellarde, and Bazzos is used very well in the right places, making the world of Eora feel immersive. Almost no modern phrases like "demmmn" are used, which sometimes ruins immersion, so nicely done.
QoL since Poe1 are significant, conversations no longer pause the game, with characters instead idling naturally while dialogue unfolds. Footnotes in dialogue add depth. While it might seem unconventional, mods from Nexus (like these and this further refine these features, making the experience even smoother.
Story
The main story feels rushed and lacks the philosophical depth of PoE1 Thaos arc, still, I liked the final conversation on the Raftel last island Ukaizo about existential debate. Faction quests, however, shine brighter, I recommend halting the main quest at Ashen Maw to complete all faction storylines first(you know when to stop)
The Beast of Winter DLC is truly the best in terms of story and choice impact. Forgotten Sanctum is just okay but has the hardest battles in all DLCs, yes, harder than Seeker, Slayer, Survivor (I played on veteran).
Now all dialogue is fully voiced (except Badema interaction, maybe bug or something), unlike PoE1 maybe 40% only. The voice acting is great—like King Wingauro o Waturi I when he denies blame, full of emotion, shaking and anguish in his voice. Also I can’t get enough of Pike Trickfoot (Vox Machina) or Ashley Johnson’s voice for narration, so good of her!
Something I did not like
Weapon balance is bad, really really bad: swords, sabres, greatswords dominate the unique loot pool, while others are cried in the corner, sad days for me when using War Bow as main weapon, now has to change to dual pistols, glad that I found Thundercrack pistol really on early game. Beware of Wand or Scepter, almost non exist in early and mid.
Performance issues and glitch: The game freezes every time when first opening it after booting, resulting in "not responding." Poor optimization causes FPS drops in a 2018 CRPG, even on my decent rig on 2024, yes 2024 not 2025 :sadge:. Sometimes saves won’t load (gear icon error), forcing me to move the 'folder save' repeatedly. NPC quest givers like Nungata vanish after finishing bounties Uamoro (RIP my completionist behaviour)
Conclusion
A strong 8/10. The immersive world, voice acting, and QoL improvements shine, but performance issues, loot imbalance, and a rushed main story hold it back. Still, a must-play for CRPG fans willing to overlook its flaws.
Edit : okay, rushed may not the correct words, more like too short, go there, seek there, find there, contront them and suddenly done for main quest.