17 hours ago, Vasvary5050 said:

So, I’d love to hear from others: what are you playing now or recently? What games do you consider spiritually or mechanically similar to PoE 1 and Deadfire?

I'm playing Deadfire, now I'm going to decide wether to start another run with a modded class, play the ultimate on PoE1 and 2 or move to other games.
BG1 and BG2 are the spiritual ancestors of PoE, you know: isometric, party, fantasy, real time with pause, but above all the companion deep characterization is the similar feature that "lives" in Poe1 as it was "born" in BG.

It's not really similar to PoE/Deadfire (pixel graphics, turn-based), but it's a party CRPG:

Skald: Against the Black Priory

I did enjoy it a lot. It doesn't have the replay value like PoE/Deadfire have, but it was a great experience for me nonetheless.

These days I have way less free time than before, but I'm currently still running Deadfire.

I also play BG3... been meaning to start a completely evil Durge honor mode run after my current Deadfire run. I also am planning on a second Avowed run when that's wrapped up (and some new content patches have come out in the meantime).

Beyond that though, it's honestly a little bit of a blur. I tried picking up D2 again, but I have so much less free time than in my 20s that I feel like I should be a lot more consequential with how I spend it (instead of mindlessly grinding for mid/high runes in D2r hell difficulty), so I'm also curious how other Eora fans are spending their time. BG3 scratches a particularly party-based CRPG itch pretty well, but it's a little sad that RTWP is functionally dead again.

I've taken to running a family D&D session to keep scratching the party-based RPG itch from a different angle.

On 5/20/2025 at 8:07 AM, Boeroer said:

Skald: Against the Black Priory

the retro style looks fun, reminds me of Ultima, I might have to give it a shot.

Replying to Boeroer: Skald does look interesting. I do enjoy fantasy that blends with Lovecraftian horror, though one has to be in the mood for it. Can be a bit depressing to get attached to characters that you know will probably end up going totally insane and/or being doomed.

Replying to thelee: I do find Pillars 1 and Deadfire to be very re-playable in a way that somehow BG3 hasn't (for me) replicated. I think I prefer the RTWP style combat in Pillars/Deadfire to BG3, and I also prefer the dual-classing in Deadfire to the multi-classing in BG3 (mathematically more options in BG3, but I find the strongest builds in BG3 tend to be most levels in one class with a shallow dip into one or two other classes, whereas I enjoy the more balanced dual-classing in Deadfire). With BG3 I tend to end up running 4 quite similar builds to the previous runs (albeit I might have changed which companion is the fighter or the bard or whatever this time compared to last time). If I'm going to play BG3 again I really will need to start using modded classes I think. But the actual characters in BG3 are very engaging (watching the interactions in BG3 is a bit like watching a movie).

I have bought Avowed, but my progress is slow. Its nice to see Eora from a first person perspective, and to see some new post-Deadfire lore, and I enjoy the combat a lot (dual-wielding pistols with magic feels good), but its not the same as Pillars 1 and Deadfire. I'm sure I'll complete it but I don't think it will be one that I return to repeatedly. That said, even if Pillars 3 is a pipe dream, I would enjoy seeing the world of Eora expanded in other formats.

Family D&D sounds great. I'm a bit envious. I miss the old days of playing D&D but I don't know anyone near me that still plays any tabletop RPGs anymore.

On 5/21/2025 at 5:08 PM, thelee said:

These days I have way less free time than before, but I'm currently still running Deadfire.

I also play BG3... been meaning to start a completely evil Durge honor mode run after my current Deadfire run. I also am planning on a second Avowed run when that's wrapped up (and some new content patches have come out in the meantime).

Beyond that though, it's honestly a little bit of a blur. I tried picking up D2 again, but I have so much less free time than in my 20s that I feel like I should be a lot more consequential with how I spend it (instead of mindlessly grinding for mid/high runes in D2r hell difficulty), so I'm also curious how other Eora fans are spending their time. BG3 scratches a particularly party-based CRPG itch pretty well, but it's a little sad that RTWP is functionally dead again.

I've taken to running a family D&D session to keep scratching the party-based RPG itch from a different angle.

the retro style looks fun, reminds me of Ultima, I might have to give it a shot.

Know exactly what you mean, 36 now with a kid. Basically only play games to entertain him these days. 

Shall we do one more for good measure. Where is everyone?

Servus!

I'm still around.

In fact, this forum is the only game developer forum I still frequent.

Still Here! Also the pillars Reddit is pretty active too with Boeroer and others responding there often.

I played a full turn based run through last and it’s so refreshing returning for RTWP this time. I just picked up Vatnir (my favorite character!) and am tackling the beast of winter with a wonderfully fun party.

1) sc troubadour bc I want to see the dragon summon

2) rekke monk fighter - sturdy and reliable

3) Maia doing the pin down poet job proning everyone with arbalest

4) vatnir zealot blasting away with scepters

5) Tekehu theurge spamming heals and foe only aoes. EKERA!

long live Deadfire!! I’ll keep replaying it every year it’s just the best. If you’re looking for other games I do recommend darkest dungeon 1 and 2! Great turn based fun and the only games I’ve spent as much time on as pillars.