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As I watched Obsidian play Pillars of Eternity, it was hard not to shake the concern that stayed with me throughout the demo: that this was not a game standing on the shoulders of giants, but one relying on slavish devotion. It didn't help that I had just played the excellent Divinity: Original Sin earlier that day, an RPG that uses its inspirations as a springboard rather than as a mold, and in the process establishes an identity that makes it an important step in RPG evolution. Divinity uses old mechanics to say something new. Does Pillars of Eternity use old mechanics to say something old? And if so, is that necessarily a bad thing? [...] The game's title appeared on screen, leaving me to wonder if Pillars of Eternity will refresh role-playing traditions or simply replicate them--and whether pure replication is anything to scoff at, given the legacy of Baldur's Gate and its ilk. Nevertheless, I have faith not just in the strength of the Infinity Engine template, but in Obsidian's ability to use that template to craft a journey worth taking.​

"We decided very early on we won't use the critical path for this," project lead Josh Sawyer told Digital Spy. "It's not going to have any of the story companions, because that's a big part of the story for people, is meeting those companions and experimenting with them.

"It's mostly for people to get a feel of just how the game plays overall, goofing around with the classes, the mechanics, combat, journals - it's up to them to try and play and mess around with it and see what doesn't really work, or if we aren't communicating things clearly."​