Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is picking up awards everywhere for being a fantastic RPG in its own right, but with three other DLC packs to go along with it, we see if they’re also good value for money.

What’s inside the Season Pass?

How do you access them?

Each DLC can be played within Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire as long as the content is installed. However, they all have different requirements.

It’s recommended you should be at least Level 14 before playing Beast of Winter. While traveling around, you will receive a quest to travel to Harbinger’s Watch where the content begins.

Seeker, Slayer, Survivor requires you to be at least Level 16 and to have fulfilled set conditions within the story. You will need to speak to the Steward on your ship to begin the first quest.

The Forgotten Sanctum requires you to be at least Level 18 and to have fulfilled set conditions within the story. While sailing, two random encounters will happen before you can begin the quest proper.

What do they add to the game?

Beast of Winter – In addition to a full narrative campaign in a new environment – Harbingers’ Watch – there’s an extra companion, the Godlike Vatnir. There also various new weapons, pieces of armor, additional items, and achievements.
Seeker, Slayer, Survivor – In addition to a full narrative campaign in new environments, you’ll also claim ancient artifacts, new weapons, pieces of armor, additional items and achievements.
The Forgotten Sanctum – In addition to a full narrative campaign in an epic dungeon, there’s unique weapons, pieces of armor, new pets, additional items and achievements.

How much does it all cost?

The RRP of the Season Pass is £18.74
Beast of Winter costs £7.49
Seeker, Slayer, Survivor costs £7.49
The Forgotten Sanctum costs £7.49

What we thought?

Beast of Winter

Beast of Winter is an absolutely fine piece of DLC. It made me chuckle a few times, I really enjoyed the major battles and the game looks as stunning as ever. Most importantly, I was gripped from beginning to end.

I was just very surprised by how sudden and abruptly it all ended and how little my characters got to benefit from the new items. While the stakes are higher than normal, Beast of Winter just felt like a slightly longer quest that had been added to my journal rather than a new expansion. It was very nice to revisit Deadfire for an afternoon, it’s just a shame that there wasn’t much to digest at the end of it.

7/10

Seeker, Slayer, Survivor

I really enjoyed Seeker, Slayer, Survivor, much more than I expected to. Obsidian have offered a fresh perspective on PoE 2 combat, which has proved divisive within its community. They’ve opened up the wider Deadfire map, adding new content to familiar areas for optional reward, all while giving us – overall – a good piece of content that adds to the game in interesting ways.

If Beast of Winter was good and this is better, I’m very excited to see what The Forgotten Sanctum offers later this year.

8/10

The Forgotten Sanctum

The Forgotten Sanctum is a DLC that meets both of its predecessors in the middle, and often feels like a bit of a hodge-podge, conflicted and unsettled about the approach it takes to reach the end-game.

Fortunately, that same end-game leaves multiple, interesting questions open for the future of Pillars of Eternity, and speaks to Obsidian’s future ambitions for the series. It’s just a shame the road to get there is quite often disrupted and unsure of itself.

7.5/10

Conclusion

With all three pieces of content coming out at £22.47 individually and the Season Pass retailing for £18.74, it represents good value for money to buy the content in block.

Each DLC continues the high quality writing you’ve come to know and love from Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire and all DLCs are very unique and special in their own ways.

What’s more, the DLC directly impacts events within the game, provides new characters for you to interact with and items to gather, and even sets the tone for the future of the franchise.

It’s not always perfect and can sometimes be frustrating, but this is a strong Season Pass full of exciting lore tidbits, added bonuses, and the continuation of an exciting, enjoyable saga. Unmissable for Pillars 2 fans!

Pros

+ Very effective storytelling
+ Some interesting new characters, both playable and non playable
+ Environments offer some unique challenges and entertaining excursions

Cons

– Some technical issues on individual pieces of content
– Conflicts in gameplay sometimes make the action unfavourable and frustrating
– Gear doesn’t always represent a good upgrade