Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition

The popular Kickstarter RPG inspired by the Infinity Engine games is now out on consoles, but how well does this decidedly mouse and keyboard PC game translate to a controller?

Arriving on Xbox One and PS4 is the complete edition, which comes with the White March expansions and some minor changes to the UI and controls. I was originally worried about playing Pillars with a controller, but I was quickly put at ease. For the most part, both moving around the maps and interacting with objects is a breeze. However, it’s not perfect. There will be times where you’ll want to interact with something and if you want to save yourself frustration, you’ll have to switch to cursor mode and slowly move the cursor around with a thumbstick. It’s a good solution, but I often found m...

Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition is without a doubt a brilliant game that nearly singlehandedly revived a genre that has been replaced in the hearts of many by World of Warcraft, The Witcher, or The Elder Scrolls series. And while those series (and their respective genres) are amazing in their own right, Obsidian's re-imagining of the poorly-aged genre is a must play for any fan of similar games and a great jumping off point for those interested in dabbling in something more complex.

The outstanding classic-style RPG Pillars of Eternity makes a surprisingly virtuosic transition to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with the Complete Edition, bringing both systems all of the content that's been released on the PC version so far. For an RPG of its complexity, it’s surprising how pleasingly intuitive its gamepad control scheme is, and its easily legible text makes it feel just as good to play from the couch as from a desk. It's a memorable experience that suffers from only a few technical hiccups, most significantly its long and frequent loading times.

When the issues of a game are rolled and stomped by its greatness, then it’s something to invest on if you have some spare.

How well does a PC game based upon the hardest of hardcore cRPGs translate to the console? Find out in our Pillars of Eternity PS4 review.

Despite the long load screens, I enjoyed my time with Pillars of Eternity, and look forward to continuing my journey through Eora. The setting and characters are wonderful, and anyone looking for a meaty, densely plotted RPG will find a lot to like. Simply put, games like this rarely get made, and seeing one on a console is like finding a unicorn egg in your cornflakes. If you have any interest in a playing a game like Baldur’s Gate or Planescape: Torment again, you’d be doing yourself a disservice not picking this one up.

Ultimately, Pillars of Eternity is a stellar entry into its genre, but one that won’t win over people who are not already fans. It is huge and richly detailed, with more history than some actual periods of real life, and a rare amount of care and attention. It’s probably a better experience on a PC, but it’s still definitely worth playing on console if it’s your only option.

Pillars of Eternity is an isometric real-time with pause classical role-playing game, developed as a spiritual successor to the legendary Baldur’s Gate. If that sentence didn’t send you screaming, and you’re a Switch owner who’s had little other than Skyrim to satiate your RPG thirst, you’re in luck. While Pillars of Eternity Complete Edition has some issues, mainly with controls, it’s otherwise a very well done port that bundles every piece of content ever released for the game.

For too long have console gamers sat in the dark while obscure and massively niche PC-only strategy titles have passed us by! Too long has this madness cast a shadow over the wonderful world of consoles! For too long! Okay, that might sound a bit tongue-in-cheek and massively sarcastic, but you know what? As someone who loves a good strategy game and doesn’t have a gaming PC, I actually mean it somewhat. Okay, sure, I might not yearn for them and lie awake at night willing them into my life...