Pretty decent isometric party RPG with real time combat. It's not ideal and has enough flaws for them to be noticeable, but it's still quite good overall.

The graphics are OK. As usual with the majority of the genre, nothing groundbreaking but good enough and some of the effects are very nice.
I did not find the visual direction particularly interesting though. It was all drab, dull, grey, etc. Perhaps it was the intention but I did not enjoy it anyway.

The sound design is OK as well. Again, nothing outstanding but gets the job done. One issue is that some of the dialogues are voiced and some aren't. So, you can go from a voiced sentence to a non-voiced one in one dialogue. It's a bit jarring since it kinda breaks the flow. It would've been better if at least the main dialogues were voiced in their entirety but it's not the case.

The gameplay is enjoyable and quite interesting. I played on Hard and never felt as if things were too out of control or difficult, with the later stages of the game actually being the easiest. There is an option to make them artificially harder, though, which I intentionally did not take.
I played as a Wizard and the class fantasy was pretty much fulfilled. I could deal damage with huge fireballs or ice balls, though not as much DPS as a fighter character, I could control the battlefield with CC, I could debuff and charm the enemies (which on Hard was totally OP since it's like a 5-10 second CC with a chance to make an enemy your ally).

Roleplaying element was good. Not as good as, say, Disco Elysium, which had TONS of branching and flavour, but still good with various choices and consequences, both short term and long term. There were also some quite messed up and grim quests, which I suppose goes along with the whole aesthetic and tone of the game. Even though I did not enjoy grim visuals, I did enjoy those quests.
The journal of the MC also contained a hell lot of details and was an interesting and helpful read.

The overall story was passable. I felt it had a bit too much info and lore and was spread too thin as a result. I had a lot of info about different events in the past and present, but I did not feel very connected to them. I found a more personal story, such as GoW I recently played, more compelling and emotional. PoE's story did not impress me very much, it was simply not that terrible.

Now, there are some flaws which were not crucial but still noticeable:
1. The entire rest system: for instance, wizards have X spells per rest. However, you can almost always (or even always) go out of the dungeon and rest for free, which means there is practically no limit and you can use all your spells every encounter if you want. What it means is that the limitation is purely artificial and there isn't really any resource management, it's just the question of "do I want to see 3 loading screens to replenish my spells or should I go further".

2. No way to bulk sell items or filter them, which means tons of loot you get from low level mobs must be sold manually.

3. A bit too many meaningless easy fights. They do not pose any danger, they do not serve the narrative, they just exist and waste your time. In some of them I did not even press any skills and just mouse clicked the enemies to death.

4. The entire stronghold management is very basic and primitive. Narratively, it was nice to have it to signify main character's influence, but from gameplay standpoint it was pretty lacklustre and felt like an afterthought.

Overall, it's an OK game. I would say it's better than "mediocre" or "average", but it doesn't reach the heights of "great" for me. The story did not capture my interest and the lore was a bit too much. Nonetheless, there were enjoyable elements and at its worst the game was boring sometimes, but never truly bad, awful or anything like that. If you like CRPGs, chances are you might enjoy this one.

One of the best games you can buy on Steam, if you like classic RPG like BG 1/2 or IWD.

If you're however coming from the mainstream like BG3 or Dragon's Age, this is quite possibly not a game for you. Unlike BG3 or DA, this game is not main stream. The developers clearly focused on making a great game, not primarily on making great fortune.

An heir to the original Baldur's Gate games. If you're looking for an original, mature fantasy setting to dive into, you can't go wrong here.

What I loved:
- Compelling main plot that isn't afraid to take its time building up to its conclusion.
- The writers did a great job unpacking the central themes of the game (fate vs autonomy, how to find meaning in a chaotic world, the burdens of knowledge, the value of faith, and honestly so much more). One of the best things about the CRPG genre is that the good ones really make you think, and Pillars does that very well IMO.
- A suitably cunning but also morally grey antagonist. I never felt the writers were pushing me to come to one ethical conclusion.

What I liked:
- I enjoyed the visuals. Obviously they aren't cutting edge but the intentional throwback aesthetic does a lot to make everything still look decent in 2024.
- The gameplay is fun, I appreciate the existence of RTWP systems in a turn-based world.
- Character building is good, although I think it becomes a little saturated by the time you reach max level in certain classes. I appreciate that Obsidian brought in some original classes for their universe.

What I didn't like:
- Sound mixing was a little bit whacky at times. It's clear they used a totally different set up in recording the White March dialogue, and the mixing is jarring when new companions from that DLC speak right after an NPC from the base game.
- I really liked some companions (Eder and Aloth are my dudes!). But it is very clear who the 'core companions' are - better sidequests, their storylines are baked into the main plot, etc. The others feel like they only exist for the sake of representing their class in the party roster.
- Obsidian really drop you in at the deep end in this brand new universe/system. On the one hand, that's awesome - things aren't spoon-fed to you in massive lore dumps right from the get-go. But it can make things extremely confusing at times, while you find your footing in the world and try to figure out the skills/abilities/etc. systems. Would recommend reading a guide on builds, though it's easy to re-spec if you need to.

Overall, awesome game. Looking forward to jumping into the sequel when I press 'post review'.