I’m an unapologeticPillars of Eternitylover. It’s hard to look pastBaldur’s Gate 3for the title of best CRPG ever, but Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire does outperform Larian’s mega-hit in some aspects, especially for “purists” of the genre.
Every time Obsidian is preparing to make an announcement, which is pretty often considering it’s released six games in five years, I hope with all my heart that Pillars of Eternity 3 is in development under the directorship of Josh Sawyer. Time and time again, I am disappointed (although Pentiment was great!).
Dream World
Although Sawyer has implied he’d rather do a Pillars: Tactics game than Pillars of Eternity 3, that doesn’t stop the legendary game director from teasing us now and then. In an interview withGamepressure(well spotted,PC Gamer), Sawyer spoke about what a hypothetical Pillars 3 would look like.
The first order of business for Pillars 3 would be switching from the classic isometric camera, to the more in-vogue style of Baldur’s Gate 3: “I’ve said this before, and some people are really, really bummed about it,” Saywer said about the potential camera switch. “But I think if we did go into a 3D environment, we could patch up one of the things that’s really lacking.”
“Because [Pillars 2] is isometric, there’s no sense of height, and the environment can’t be that dynamic. When you compare it to something like [Baldur’s Gate 3], you realise it’s such a huge part of the appeal. I think, at some point, I would like to see a game that used all those Deadfire mechanics, plus more environmental mechanics, elevation hazards, and dynamic terrain stuff. That could be super cool,” he continued.
Sawyer is certainly onto something here — an RPG with the environments, motion capture, and performances of Baldur’s Gate 3, unshackled from the somewhat limiting confines of Dungeons & Dragons' fifth edition would be a sight to behold, especially as a follow-up to the wonderful Deadfire.
“I think that a third game should be an isometric 3D with an environment more like Baldur’s Gate 3. That would be cool,” he concludes.
Obsidian is currently preparing to release Grounded 2 in early access on July 29 and The Outer Worlds 2 on October 29.
