While mechanically serviceable enough, the world of PoE introduces a very introspective lore, meaning constant cross-references to gods and nations are being made from the get-go. The story, obviously being linked to the world itself, assumes that you are interested in the world, but for me, it just misses the mark. The problem with the world-building is that it's neither incredibly unique - nor instantly familiar; it's somewhere in-between where it never really pulls you in as a new intellectual property. Another issue with the constant cross-referencing is that the characters in the world rarely feel interesting individually or believable (other than the old watcher who has lost their mind), the characters rather, end up serving as walls of information. It feels like every character you meet will just be morally aligned with their deity, if only to highlight what defines the deity itself. What I mean is, no personality is interesting enough within PoE that makes you want to look more into their traditions and customs out of curiousity. In PoE, this natural discovery works in reverse; in your face. Now think DA: Origins when you first met Sven the qunari caged in a village. The character itself made me want to know more about the qunari. In PoE there is this ranger-companion with a wolf you meet along your travels. She is from some far-away land searching for her elder. The only problem is that the character herself is so damn boring. PoE2: Deadfire only uplifts this issue further for me. The structure of the plot is also so very.. formulaic. Of course, there has to be a huge city somewhere in there - serving mechanically as a "hub" - with all the rest of the locations feeling like checkpoints. All and all the game ends up feeling too much like a CRPG nostalgia-trip, as opposed to something unique and grand in it's genre.
I ended up pretty much speed-running about 50% of the game, and could not finish Deadfire.