I just finished the game tonight. I had a few thoughts -

1. The final fight wasn't as tough as some others, namely that stinkin' Adra Dragon and Concelhaut. But that's okay. I wouldn't have enjoyed reloading again and again before the last Big Dialog anyways.

2. The pacing of the main quest line felt ... off. I was only given enough information to make me really care about the main quest very late in the game. That said, I was eventually invested in it to a degree, and I thought the overall choice of what to do with the souls was a kind of interesting one.

Speaking of, what did you decide? What were your reasons?

I ended up going with Galawain's option, because it seemed like one that would help people rebuild and wouldn't be too cruel to the souls. I didn't do Berath's quest so I don't know what Berath wanted, though. I could see an argument for any of them, besides for maybe Skaen / Woedica ... maybe if you're RPing someone with a lust for power.

There's a thread below about this.

You can find an older discussion about the ending over here.

Anyway, I loved the ending, quite a bit actually. I've had some minor issues with it, but all in all, I was a real fan of how the main storyline was handled. It built up very nicely from small and rooted one into what became an epic storyline in the end - altho I can see why a person looking for an epic storyline in the first place could find an issue with that approach. Still, I found the entire idea of gods actually being magical machines fueled by souls quite fascinating.

If I recall correctly, the path I have chosen was to destroy the solul of Thaos entirely and to pick the Wael's approach of scattering souls all over Eora, so that they can't be abused by anyone any longer, but won't be removed from the cycle. I also told Aloth to focus on dismantling the Leaden Key if that counts.

I enjoyed the pacing and storyline all the way up to the end.

I didn't like how it turned into some metaphor for a theism/atheism discussion. at least that's the impression that I got. maybe I read too much into it...

I actually had a really tough time with the boss and it took me a few tries! that's the one cool thing about pillars is the balancing. even if a fight is hard you can keep trying different strategies until something clicks. and you have a good variety of options in the strategy department so maybe there are a few ways to win a situation. I liked how it made me *feel* creative in how I would overcome tough spots.

anyhow overall I was still glad I played through it and will play it again someday for sure. I'm gonna wait on the expansions until both parts are out. I'm looking forward to trying them.

I believe the question it really wanted to present was "Does it really matter whether gods are real as long as they serve their purpose?" or something along those lines. I think it was an interesting question to ask and I do not believe the game was necessarily a criticism of theism. I feel like if the game was criticising theism, most of the third act would not be spent appeasing the gods and player would just act on his own to show that he doesn't need gods.

Thanks for the link / response.

Yeah, the ending kind of makes me want to restart from the beginning and see how much I catch this time. I don't think I absorbed everything from the lore-dumps that happened earlier on.

When I was given the option of what to do with Thaos' soul, I think I misunderstood the choices. It seemed almost as though wiping his memories would also help my character, so I went with that. In hindsight ... well, I don't know what else I might have picked, but that was probably too nice-guy. I definitely agree with the comment about balancing! It's possible that I only really figured it out by the end of the game. Of course! But I actually did enjoy the really tough fights, they were real head-scratchers where I had to make more elaborate plans.

I also played on "Normal," though, so I probably had an easier time of it than most ...

I thought it did all that to set you up for a kind of betrayal of faith. like I said just my impressions. and I think your question is in the right direction. *in my opinion* it FELT like "since the gods aren't real....does it really matter as long as the ideas serve their purpose?"

I think I went with Berath and just let the souls get into the rebirth cycle again. Was a pretty interesting ending/plotline, but I wasn't as invested as in Torment, for example. Still a great game. Got to finish The White March, too (though I'm waiting for the new patch).

When you need to compare to the best of the best to even make a comparison, I'd say it's pretty high praise. So, first of all, you don't need to point it out - of course things you write are your own opinion, as long as you're not specifically saying they're not ;-) Anyway, first of all, I'd like to point out that vast majority of fantasy RPGs are very theist - having an atheist one would feel like a nice change anyway.

That being said, the storyline goes a lot deeper than just a one question, and if you take a careful look at it, every character presents his own dilemma - Eder is seeking answers to his brothers actions to never find them, Grieving Mother is trying to find whether ends justify the means in an extremely touchy matter subject, I could go on. The one most relevant to the main storyline, however, is Durance, who partly deals with the subject matter before you even get to the 'epic' part of the questline.

Eh... I sort of forgot where I was going with that. Anyway, point I was somehow trying to make was that the gods in the game's universe work differently than the way we imagine gods to 'work'. I don't believe it's strictly theist or atheist - I never felt like it pushed an ideology on me. I actually felt like it always gave me a choice when it came to my motivations, my beliefs and my goals - I really loved the fact that during the game, it asked me several times what is it that I hope to achieve and what are my reasons for pursuing Talos, or just why I did a thing I just did at that moment. That was really nice, and got me thinking in several places.

I'm also glad the ending sparks discussions like these. That alone suggests to me it was a good ending - it does get you thinking, at least a little bit.

well I like to remind people online that they are opinions as to not step on anyone's toes. we all know how the internet can get. ;-)

and + for good post! I enjoyed reading your ideas especially the last bit above. I guess from that perspective it was a good one that I did feel I wanted to discuss it. that alone really is worth something special.

I really liked that about it, and it made me want to replay if only to get to know the characters I neglected - mainly the druid (Hiravias or something?), Sagani, and apparently there was a paladin that I completely missed on recruiting. The fact that Thaos had a bit of a discussion with each of them about their motives and past was really neat.

It's also neat that you can, in theory, agree with Thaos' motives (people need to believe in the Gods to be their best) but still want to stop him (that whole Hollowborn thing). I also really liked that you could, in the flashbacks, decide how you acted in the past, and what your relationship was with Iorveth. I may be butchering a name here or there.

LOL! You are talking about Iovara. Iorveth is the male elf from Witcher 2. :D

Oh yeah! Ha, thanks.