Pillars of Eternity is a single-player roleplaying game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive. The game was released in 2015 and is playable on Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Tyranny is also a single-player roleplaying game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive. The game was released in 2016 and is playable on Linux, MacOS, and Windows. These games are similar since they were developed and published by the same company. However, Tyranny is not a sequel to Pillars of Eternity, but players say it would’ve made a perfect one.
Tyranny is a better game than Pillars of Eternity because it offers better visuals and lore. Many players consider this game the best RPG of all time, and undoubtedly, it is.
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Everything You Need To Know About Tyranny
Here is everything you must know about Tyranny to help you decide which game is better.
The Game Premise
Tyranny is an Obsidian CRPG game with a twist. Instead of saving the world from a villain, the villain has already won. Tyranny’s world is set in the old iron age, so most weapons and armor are like that. Only the Overlord’s empire has figured out how to craft weapons with Iron, and the rebelling forces are stuck with Bronze.
The final battle in the world has already been conquered. Overlords send two rival armies to do the job. They do win, but it is messy to the point where rebellion breaks out. Tunon, the Archon of Justice, sends you to try to solve things.
Your job is to crush mediate cases according to the Overlord’s law. Things can turn out differently since you can turn evil or listen to the Overlord. It’s worth noting that Tyranny has a very similar gameplay to Pillars of Eternity.
The Visuals
Since the game is set in ancient days, the visuals could be more pleasing. There are some fantastic locations to explore; occasionally, you get striking imagery. There is less amazing stuff since you still have the old castles and ruins, but the art direction and attention to detail are impressive.
Everything revolving around the combat looks fabulous. The animation is fluid, and the magic effects look great. Often, the animation glitches, but it is manageable and doesn’t affect your attacks. Many players like 2D art because it’s colorful and stylish.
The Character Creation
The character creation comes with a twist, unlike Pillars of Eternity. Appearance options for character creations are minimal. There are some excellent portraits to use, and you can buy 20 more for $3.99.
You can pick out banners with any color you like. Many players think skills are the most important, but your background history matters the most.
When your stats are done, you begin a conquest mode centered around the actions you took and the choices you made. The choices you make can significantly alter the state of the world. If a town remains free or gets controlled by allied forces, different areas can be opened or closed off, and quests range from minor skirmishes to major plot threads.
If you were being a prick in the evasion, the locals wouldn’t talk to you, but the Overlords’ forces respect you.
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The Gameplay
Tyranny provides solid gameplay, and its party-based combat is a definite improvement over Pillars of Eternity. The combat feels much more fluid. The UI improves the experience, as all your skills and spells are one click away.
Quests and quest dialogues are well written, the music theme matches the scenario, and the voice artists did a great job. Though only some of the stories about the world are voiced, so do expect a bit of reading. It’s also great to see that there are many game difficulties. You can take the easy route or do everything in Ironman mode.
Everything You Need To Know About Pillars of Eternity
Here is everything you need to know about Pillars of Eternity:
The Writing of The Game
The writing in this game is phenomenal whether you consider the main quest, side quest, party member dialogue, or reading a book. It’s all great stuff that keeps you glued to the screen. On top of everything, Pillars of Eternity is very mature, unlike other games rated PG-13 with few curse words. Pillars of Eternity is about adults feeling despair in a relatable way.
Most of this game is set in a nation called Deerwood that is overrun with a hollow-born crisis. It means that the children are born hollow without a soul, which forces them to die, or their parents put them down. A fantastic job has been done to make everyone feel desperate because of this hollow-born curse.
Some citizens are lashing out at others, blaming them for this curse. Others are dedicating their lives to undoing it no matter what. Some have given in to their hopelessness and are convinced these are the end times and that survival is a dream.
You are thrown into this chaos because you are a watcher, capable of seeing other souls and interacting with them, and sometimes you can even enter someone’s memories who has already passed.
The game’s premise is impressive and shows you are the only one capable of solving this crisis.
The Difficulty Level
When starting the game, you can select various difficulties, and Obsidian Entertainment did a great job here. Many games have different difficulty settings, but they feel identical to others.
The game has four difficulties: easy, normal, hard, and path of the damned. The easy setting is for beginners who have never played these games and can’t survive in normal difficulty. Normal difficulty is for experienced players who know what they are doing.
Hard is for players who want challenging combat. Path of Damned is for a player who wants an unfair experience. These difficulties can be combined with expert mode or trial of Iron. Expert mode removes most of the helper icons in your interface.
Trial of Iron limits you to only one save file. All of these difficulties feel distinctive and provide a different gameplay.
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The Character Creation
After deciding which difficulty to play, you start on Character customization. There are six different races, each with at least two sub-races you can choose from. These character options contain a description of how they fit into the game. Once you have selected a race, you can choose from 11 classes. You get different options throughout the game depending on which class you choose.
After customizing your character, you choose your attributes, a familiar screen for a player who has played these games, except the Strength is changed into Might. The Might attribute counts for Marshall, Healing, and Magic damage which is an exciting change.
Now that you have chosen your attributes, it’s time for culture and background. Depending on which one you choose, these unlock multiple dialogue options. At last, you select your voice and appearance. There are eight options for females and males, and mods to add additional options.
What Is The Price of Tyranny & Pillars of Eternity
Tyranny is $10.49, and Pillars of Eternity is $10.49. There is a bundle of Tyranny and Pillars of Eternity for $20.98.
Sometimes Steam offers an insane 78% discount, making the bundle available for $4.72. Other times the discount is 75% for both games, which brings the cost down to $2.62.
Final Thoughts
Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny are great games with outstanding character creation and game premises. Both games are similar, so any game you choose will only impact a little, but Tyranny is better in many ways.
The game’s visuals are more pleasing, and it offers much replayability. There are many DLCs players can purchase when looking for more content.
