Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part II Reviews
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We have rounded up three more reviews for the last part of the expansion to Pillars of Eternity, The White March Part II, which will be the last piece of content for Obsidian Entertainment's Infinity Engine-inspired title. Overall, the expansion seems to have been received positively, but its flaws seem to have negatively affected the experience more than it is acceptable for at least one reviewer.
GameSpot was disappointed by the high combat density, the lack of exploration, and a story that they felt was too railroaded and fast-paced, 5/10.
Still, the plot becomes a negative because the game places too much emphasis on it. The preamble side quests and bounty tasks can be wrapped in just a few hours. Then you charge right into the main quest and stay there for another seven or eight hours until the conclusion of the game. Everything is a little too relentless, with the story pushing you forward on a one-way track rather than opening up and drawing you in. There's too little time to take in the world and events on your own terms, be it by engaging in optional chit-chat with NPCs or by venturing off the beaten path in search of unexpected surprises.
Another significant drawback is the preponderance of combat. As with the first part of The White March, the second hammers you with battle after battle. Even worse, you face the same collection of foes over and over again in each section of the map. As the game plods on, though, repetition and monotony take over. When storming back into Durgan's Battery, you duke it out with nearly identical mobs of Skuldrak. When in the mines, you face a succession of nearly identical mobs of Radiant Sporelings and Vithrack. When in the abbey, you face off with nearly identical mobs of monks and warriors. And so on.
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By the time The White March Part 2 wraps up, you will probably be ready to say farewell to Pillars of Eternity. While this is undoubtedly a great RPG franchise, both parts of this expansion feel more like leftovers bulked up with unnecessary combat than anything really crucial to the overall experience provided in the core game. Too much emphasis on battles and too tight a focus on the main story--as interesting as it can be at times, especially if you're interested in the mythology of Eora--makes the game something of a forced march that removes the wonder of exploring an open world.
IGN, 8.0/10.
The White March: Part II expansion for Pillars of Eternity boasts better pacing and lore than its humdrum predecessor, but at the cost of a running time that feels somewhat inadequate. A welcome new Story Time mode helps dull the force of the brutal combat though, and memorable settings and enemies make this an expansion to savor.
Game-Debate, 8/10.
Ultimately, it comes down to your own relationship with Pillars. I know, I know. Lazy journalism. But if you've taken a lot of time off and don't feel like you can re-engage with the world in a short time, you'll maybe miss some of the fun. When you roll back into Stalwart and the locals are coming up to you and talking about things you can only vaguely remember, something is lost. If I remove my own personal feelings on the matter, though, it's exactly what you'd hope for: a roughly ten-hour excursion back into a fantasy world you know and love.
