DehOtherGuy

So...I've done a bit of thinking and this is a possible theory I have on what the whole "point" of Deadfire was. This might be an very obvious theory. And I could be totally wrong on this theory, hence why it's just a theory. In essence I'm probably grasping at straws. Let's assume that, throughout the game, you make decisions in the faction quest lines based off of what you think things ought to be like. Once you get to Eothas at the end, he will ALWAYS end up destroying the Wheel. But the big point of the story isn't whether or not the Wheel gets destroyed. The big point is what the world does in the wake of such an event. All that uncertainty, of whether Eothas should trust that kith will figure things out on their own, of whether kith will devolve into chaos, comes to a head with the epilogue that describes the outcomes of your various choices. And there is less doubt of what kith will do once the Wheel is destroyed, because the ending slides show exactly what happen. Whether Eothas was right or not, this is the world that you and kith have led to creating when given autonomy. So the ending slides are relevant not just because consequence for consequence sake, but to be a genuine reflection of your character and their world as compared against the future of kith as envisioned by Eothas and the other gods. And whether or not the player realized it, by the end, they've answered the questions and ideas put forth by Eothas and other characters.

So I'm enjoying the game overall, but reading/hearing some criticisms on the game contributed to a potential realization. Now, disclaimer, I've not finished the game yet. I've done a good chunk of the side content, and finished the main story quest where you escape the volcano. And while I could most definitely be wrong about this, it's something that concerned me enough that I was posting it in a Q and A stream as often as I could (There was a 120 second timer between posts to prevent spam, so it's not like I was just destroying the chat with posts. But I apologize to the devs for continually asking this). I'm getting the impression that much of the content of Deadfire has almost no relevance to the main plot. What I mean is, even though you might have to take a side at some point, that seems to be all the connection the factions have to Eothas and his goals. Not to mention that, thematically, the factions are more about colonialism, while Eothas' story is more about the nature of gods and their relationship with people. Now, one might argue that the factions are relevant to Eothas in the sense that they represent the conflicts that arise as a result of the intervention, or lack thereof, of gods, thus providing an example of the sort of stuff Eothas and the gods promote or oppose. But I feel that theory is a bit too much like grasping at straws. Another argument might be that, the whole point of PoE2 wasn't just about the Eothas plot, but about exploring the Deadfire and getting into unrelated adventures along the way. And while I don't think this is a totally invalid argument, as plenty of games do just fine with this mindset, I personally feel like a game like PoE, which has a heavy focus on story, should put more focus into a tight narrative. And by a tight narrative, I mean one where the characters, the setting, the side content, have something to say that is relevant to the central plot and its themes. I don't know...I might be right, I might be wrong, I might just be rambling. Maybe I'm missing something. There are a lot of things I like about this game, but I just can't shake the feeling that it ought to have been more narratively...cohesive than it was. Bit of a disjointed post, I know, especially since I haven't even finished the game, but feel free to give your thoughts. I'd be down to discuss.