POLL: Obsidian's Best RPG

[rusty_shackleford]

Looks like a lot of people here needs to go back and play Pillars 2 now that all the patches are out.

It is outstanding and deserves a lot more votes tbh.

patches did nothing to fix the terrible pacing, many of the classes being bland, and poorly written companions

 

[jackofshadows]

Damned storyfags.

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

Hard to not vote NV, for me it's literally the best rpg of all time.
I do have to give it to pillars 1 though, because NV is built on the shoulders of giants, whereas PoE is for all intents and purposes a great underdog.

 

[Rieser]

Alpha Protocol for me. I love the setting and even the jank and campiness was endearing rather than off-putting. Seems the majority voted New Vegas and I'm sure it's not bad, but I just can't stand Gamebryo and that inevitable Bethesda feel it comes stamped with.

 

[Lady Error]

Looks like a lot of people here needs to go back and play Pillars 2 now that all the patches are out.

It is outstanding and deserves a lot more votes tbh.

patches did nothing to fix the terrible pacing, many of the classes being bland, and poorly written companions

Pacing - maybe, but the only issue really is the "you have to stop this statue now vs there is this huge world I want to explore first"

Classes - the class system is actually very well done and not bland at all. Each class has unique abilities that can be combined in creative ways with other abilities, spells, etc.

Companions - certainly not the best, but also not the worst

Overall, Pillars 2 is a very enjoyable game in my opinion with some parts that could have been better. Still miss the paper-rock-scissor mechanics of the awesome BG mage battles.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Pacing - maybe, but the only issue really is the "you have to stop this statue now vs there is this huge world I want to explore first"

This is like saying the only issue with your dinner is that the steak is burned.

 

[Ulysa]

I feel like I should say KOTOR 2 or New Vegas but the truth is that I enjoyed Pillars 2 the most. Like others said is the exploration and battles, in fact that's the most fun I had since BG2 in those regards. I didn't hate the "general" story but yeah the dialogues and most companions are annoying and/or straight up terrible.

 

[Old Hans]

Pacing - maybe, but the only issue really is the "you have to stop this statue now vs there is this huge world I want to explore first"

witcher 3 had the same problem. they give you this quest that screams "TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE" but then they fill the game full of distractions like "hey don't you wanna help the local police solve a murder mystery???"

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Pacing - maybe, but the only issue really is the "you have to stop this statue now vs there is this huge world I want to explore first"

witcher 3 had the same problem. they give you this quest that screams "TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE" but then they fill the game full of distractions like "hey don't you wanna help the local police solve a murder mystery???"

Through almost the entirety of Witcher 3 you're constantly waylaid, you don't even know where you're supposed to be looking for the first half of the game so it makes sense to just do witcher stuff.
Pillows 2 plot never really deviates from "Follow that giant statue!!" except for a short detour on how to get to the whatever island.

If instead of a giant statue he was instead a reincarnation you had to track through the various islands, dead ends, people purposely misleading you for their own reasons, etc., it would have been a more interesting plot and gave you a bigger reason to do sidequests.

 

[Old Hans]

Pacing - maybe, but the only issue really is the "you have to stop this statue now vs there is this huge world I want to explore first"

witcher 3 had the same problem. they give you this quest that screams "TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE" but then they fill the game full of distractions like "hey don't you wanna help the local police solve a murder mystery???"

Through almost the entirety of Witcher 3 you're constantly waylaid, you don't even know where you're supposed to be looking for the first half of the game so it makes sense to just do witcher stuff.
Pillows 2 plot never really deviates from "Follow that giant statue!!" except for a short detour on how to get to the whatever island.

If instead of a giant statue he was instead a reincarnation you had to track through the various islands, dead ends, people purposely misleading you for their own reasons, etc., it would have been a more interesting plot and gave you a bigger reason to do sidequests.

I just started pillars 2 and I was in the first little port town and it was classic crpg (I only have myself to blame) I barged into someone's house, looted their stuff, wandered into their bedroom, saw the guy laying on his bed, and I was all "hey what the hell happened to you?" and then I helped him get his stolen coin pouch back from a lady who lived 2 hours away. then I thought "what the hell am I doing?"

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Pacing - maybe, but the only issue really is the "you have to stop this statue now vs there is this huge world I want to explore first"

witcher 3 had the same problem. they give you this quest that screams "TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE" but then they fill the game full of distractions like "hey don't you wanna help the local police solve a murder mystery???"

Through almost the entirety of Witcher 3 you're constantly waylaid, you don't even know where you're supposed to be looking for the first half of the game so it makes sense to just do witcher stuff.
Pillows 2 plot never really deviates from "Follow that giant statue!!" except for a short detour on how to get to the whatever island.

If instead of a giant statue he was instead a reincarnation you had to track through the various islands, dead ends, people purposely misleading you for their own reasons, etc., it would have been a more interesting plot and gave you a bigger reason to do sidequests.

I just started pillars 2 and I was in the first little port town and it was classic crpg (I only have myself to blame) I barged into someone's house, looted their stuff, wandered into their bedroom, saw the guy laying on his bed, and I was all "hey what the hell happened to you?" and then I helped him get his stolen coin pouch back from a lady who lived 2 hours away. then I thought "what the hell am I doing?"

And if you didn't know what to do or where to go because the game was much more ambiguous about your destination and was left up to the player to find it, you'd have more reason(or, well, less reason not to) wander around and do random odd jobs.
When a game gives a clear goal, it's very difficult for it to also give a reason to do other things unless that goal is gated(e.g., BG2 where you had to raise funds)

 

[Peachcurl]

Which is (one reason) why amnesia is such a common health issue for aspiring heros.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Which is (one reason) why amnesia is such a common health issue for aspiring heros.

It's definitely overused, but still better than a story that would be worse without it. Developers seem to avoid using it now because it's overused, but if the story is worse without it, what did they gain?
Of course, it doesn't have be amnesia by name -- TNO has amnesia in all but name and is a central point of the entire story. Avellone leaned fully into it.

 

[Humbaba]

Is the amnesiac protagonist trope really that overused in cRPGs? PST is the only one I can think of on the top of my head, and DE but only because it ripped off PST.

 

[Peachcurl]

Is the amnesiac protagonist trope really that overused in cRPGs? PST is the only one I can think of on the top of my head, and DE but only because it ripped off PST.

Just some prominent examples:

The Witcher.
KotOR.
Baldurs Gate 2. (ok, this is a bit cheesy. If I remember correctly the player can _choose_ to have amnesia and not recognize anyone in the beginning, and it doesn't really make a lot of difference?)

 

[CrunchyHemorrhoids]

^^ Torment: Tides of Numenera for reasons similar to DE. A few more have you exploring past lives/souls: MOTB, POE, Divinity Original Sin, Morrowind (maybe)...

IMO it's not so much about the player character having amnesia as it is about getting the player to question his character's past/nature, more frequent in hit japanese games (FF7, FF8, MGSV, Nier Automata, BOTW..).

 

[Jedi Exile]

New Vegas is better overall, but I will vote for KOTOR 2.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Pacing - maybe, but the only issue really is the "you have to stop this statue now vs there is this huge world I want to explore first"

witcher 3 had the same problem. they give you this quest that screams "TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE" but then they fill the game full of distractions like "hey don't you wanna help the local police solve a murder mystery???"

Through almost the entirety of Witcher 3 you're constantly waylaid, you don't even know where you're supposed to be looking for the first half of the game so it makes sense to just do witcher stuff.
Pillows 2 plot never really deviates from "Follow that giant statue!!" except for a short detour on how to get to the whatever island.

If instead of a giant statue he was instead a reincarnation you had to track through the various islands, dead ends, people purposely misleading you for their own reasons, etc., it would have been a more interesting plot and gave you a bigger reason to do sidequests.

I just started pillars 2 and I was in the first little port town and it was classic crpg (I only have myself to blame) I barged into someone's house, looted their stuff, wandered into their bedroom, saw the guy laying on his bed, and I was all "hey what the hell happened to you?" and then I helped him get his stolen coin pouch back from a lady who lived 2 hours away. then I thought "what the hell am I doing?"

A true gentleman who during a burglary encounters someone in need will always help them. You did well.

 

[Humbaba]

Just some prominent examples:

The Witcher.
KotOR.
Baldurs Gate 2. (ok, this is a bit cheesy. If I remember correctly the player can _choose_ to have amnesia and not recognize anyone in the beginning, and it doesn't really make a lot of difference?)

That's a grand total of 2.

^^ Torment: Tides of Numenera for reasons similar to DE. A few more have you exploring past lives/souls: MOTB, POE, Divinity Original Sin, Morrowind (maybe)...

IMO it's not so much about the player character having amnesia as it is about getting the player to question his character's past/nature, more frequent in hit japanese games (FF7, FF8, MGSV, Nier Automata, BOTW..).

In Numanuma you don't really have amnesia though. It fits in more with the exploring your past thing you mentioned, which is a lot more common granted, mostly again due to the PST influence. Thankfully, most (good) modern RPGs have dropped that angle, because it was getting real stale.

 

[agris]

Man, people love them some reheated Gamebryo gruel here eh?

 

[FriendlyMerchant]

Skyrim

 

[CrunchyHemorrhoids]

Man, people love them some reheated Gamebryo gruel here eh?

Peak Obsidian was either reheated gamebryo or reheated aurora. Take someone else's hit/popular formula that customers hadn't gotten enough of and feed them a cheap second course with improved writing. Trying to do their own thing they never came up with a hit formula or IP.

 

[agris]

Man, people love them some reheated Gamebryo gruel here eh?

Peak Obsidian was either reheated gamebryo or reheated aurora. Take someone else's hit formula that customers couldn't get enough of and feed them a cheap second course with improved writing. Trying to do their own thing they never came up with a hit formula or IP.

What a damming statement on a company's legacy. To my mind, AP was their best game. At least they made something new with that one.

 

[luj1]

is this a joke?

KotOR 2 by a country mile

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Man, people love them some reheated Gamebryo gruel here eh?

Peak Obsidian was either reheated gamebryo or reheated aurora. Take someone else's hit formula that customers couldn't get enough of and feed them a cheap second course with improved writing. Trying to do their own thing they never came up with a hit formula or IP.

What a damming statement on a company's legacy. To my mind, AP was their best game. At least they made something new with that one.

This is all just a framing. One my say that a chef made their dish using only leftovers, other may say that he made a pizza. And pizza is an apt comparison, just as a sane person would never say no to a pizza, a sane person would never say no to Obsidian game made at the studio peak. Be sad it didn't last longer, but nothing last forever.