Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part II Reviews
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We've rounded up a number of additional reviews for The White March Part II, the last expansion to be released for Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity. Overall, the reviews seem to be positive and my main takeaway is that the story of The White March Part II seems to have been appreciated more than that of its immediate predecessor.
The Escapist didn't love the combat and felt the expansion was a tad too short, but the review is positive overall, 4/5.
White March Part 2 offers some of the most striking visuals in the series so far, presenting layered, mountain vistas and a menacing new dungeon built around the bones of a god in the detail-oriented, lovingly hand-painted style we've enjoyed since we first awakened outside Cilant Lis. It was this, in part, that left me wishing there had been more to explore. I couldn't call the amount of new content skimpy by any means, but it lacks what made Part 1 feel expansive: There is no new hub town, no freeform side areas to explore, no sprawling dungeon on the same scale as Durgan's Battery, and not many new side quests. Some of the coolest additions, including an awesome quest line featuring a full-on battle for Caed Nua, are part of the free 3.0 patch, rather than the expansion. This ultimately left me wondering whether it was a good idea to split White March into two releases, but looked at as a whole, it is greater than the sum of its parts.
Bottom Line: Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part 2 offers a focused, fast-paced endcap to the Watcher's tale, answering all of the lingering questions from Part 1, and then some. The encounter design brings some ongoing problems with Pillars combat to the forefront in several areas, but the overall experience is balanced out by high quality storycraft, interesting new locales, and momentous, world-shaping decisions available to the player.
GameWatcher, 9.0/10.
The original Pillars of Eternity earned much deserved high praise when it was released. The White March Part II keeps those elements that made the game such a success, but also tweaks some of the areas needing improvement. Seeing the results of your questing updated into the game makes you feel personally involved in protecting what you fought to achieve. While Maneha's story is not as racy as others, she is still a well developed character and worth keeping on your team. Finally, all of the choices available allow you to truly get into character, and NPCs will even make specific comments about how you develop your in-game personality. Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part II is a strong expansion that will satisfy even the most die hard RPG fans.
NZGamer, 9.5/10.
The story of The White March may not have much bearing on the events that unfold during the final hours, but the conclusions to all that new content has no doubt left paths for events to unfold in future Pillars of Eternity expansions, and sequels - provided we get them.
Was everything perfect? No - I still don't have my love options, there were a few glitches here and there, and sometimes the difficulty spikes drastically (even for a max level party), but The White March: Part Two certainly added some massive, lore-shaking events that left me thirsty for more.
Obsidian Entertainment have managed to have the ante upped, and I feel the entire story told throughout Parts One and Two place The White March on a higher pedestal than most expansions, especially these days. This DLC is more than worth the asking price.
Softpedia, 8.5/10.
Pillars of Eternity: The White March in its entirety represents a worthy expansion for the classic role-playing experience that Obsidian has created and shows how the studio can tackle other regions of Eora in the future.
Both Part 1 and 2 are a little more focused on combat than the main game, and some story elements seem a little rushed, but there's plenty of new lore to absorb, and the development team continues to explore some interesting themes linked to religion, memories, souls and how society reacts in times of crisis.
The core mechanics of Pillars of Eternity were solid from the start, and the 3.0 version introduces even more polishing and options, with the Story Mode a great way for newcomers to take in the new universe and its unique elements.
Invision Community, 8/10.
All in all, I could sum up Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part 2 in ten words if I wanted to; It's more of the same, but that's a GOOD thing! It's not really an improvement on either the base game or the previous expansion, but it increases the level cap and gives you even more of Eora to explore if you so wish. If you didn't like the original game or expansion, you shouldn't bother, but if you want more Pillars of Eternity then you should just buy it. Now.
