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Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition Reviews: Is It Worth Playing?

Critics generally favored Deadfire’s Ultimate Edition for its writing and RPG depth, but the five-review Metacritic sample is small and some console reviews reported long loads and technical issues.
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Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising its writing and role-playing depth while some console reviewers criticized long loading times and technical or interface issues. Metacritic lists a 76 Metascore from just five Ultimate Edition critic reviews, so it is a positive but limited sample—not a verdict on every platform or the game’s current technical state.

What did reviewers think of the Ultimate Edition?

Metacritic gives the Ultimate Edition a 76 Metascore, labeled “Generally Favorable,” based on five critic reviews. Its displayed breakdown is three positive reviews (60%), two mixed (40%), and none negative. With only five reviews in the sample, each one has substantial influence on the overall result.

The review excerpts describe a tradeoff between the game’s narrative and mechanical strengths and friction in the console experience. Screen Rant highlighted the writing and deliberately slower pace; Digital Chumps emphasized the value of a package with updated content. On the other side, God Is a Geek and Digitally Downloaded complained about long loading times, while DualShockers said issues marred its experience. These are launch-window reviews, not tests of the game’s present performance, and individual complaints should not be read as universal results. Metacritic’s critic-review excerpts provide the outlet-level context.

What comes with the Ultimate Edition?

Xbox Wire’s January 27, 2020 announcement describes the Xbox One Ultimate Edition as including the base game and three expansions: Beast of Winter, The Forgotten Sanctum, and Seeker, Slayer, Survivor. It also says the edition supports both combat styles: Turn-Based Mode and Classic Real-Time with Pause. The listing identifies it as a single-player RPG. Xbox Wire’s announcement advertised more than 100 hours of gameplay per playthrough; that is the publisher’s estimate, not an independently measured playtime.

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#1 Best Overall
Sale
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (PS4)
  • Immerse yourself in a deeper single player RPG game experience - enriched with cutting edge technology and features, Deadfire builds on the foundation of classic D&D gameplay with vastly improved graphics, deeper game mechanics and a whole new hand-crafted adventure where choices truly matter
  • Discover the new region of the Deadfire - plot your own course by ship and explore the rich and exotic islands of the archipelago region, discovering new places interacting with their inhabitants and engaging in a variety of quests at every port
  • Build your party and customize your companions - choose from 7 different companions to join you on your quest and assign multiple classes and deeper abilities for each. Witness their personal relationships and interactions unfold with the addition of the new companion system
  • Captain your ship across the seas - as your stronghold on the seas, your ship is much more than simply a vessel for exploring. Upgrade your ship and crew and choose what skills you improve in order to survive dangerous encounters along the way

Is Deadfire good on PS4?

The PS4 edition is listed in the US PlayStation Store. Its page showed an average user rating of 3.85 out of 5 from 1,685 ratings when accessed on October 8, 2026. Metacritic separately displayed a 5.2 out of 10 user score from 24 ratings on the same date. Those figures come from different services, rating scales, and user groups, so they should not be combined or treated as directly comparable.

For a PS4 player, the practical question is whether the writing, RPG scale, and included expansions outweigh the possibility of loading and interface friction reported by some launch-period console reviewers. The available reviews do not establish how the PS4 version performs today, and there is no controlled comparison here showing that one platform runs better than another.

Rank #2
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
  • Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire ist der Nachfolger eines der bestbewerteten Rollenspiele dieser Dekade
  • Umfangreiches und spannendes Classic-Rollenspiel mit technisch aktuellster Präsentation
  • Neue Gebiete, neue Gefährten, neue spannende Quests bieten Pillars-Fans und Neu-Einsteigern großartige Rollenspiel-Unterhaltung
  • Inkl. das Spiel "Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire" sowie Beast of Winter DLC, The Forgotten Sanctum DLC und Seeker, Slayer, Survivor DLC

Does Deadfire have turn-based combat?

Yes. Xbox Wire’s Ultimate Edition description confirms two combat options: turn-based combat and the original real-time-with-pause style. That gives players a choice between taking turns and issuing actions in a pausable real-time battle. The source verifies these modes for the Xbox One Ultimate Edition; check the relevant store listing for edition-specific details on another platform.

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Which platforms are confirmed?

The official PlayStation Store listing verifies a PS4 edition, and Xbox Wire documented the Xbox One Ultimate Edition. Switch availability is less certain: Metacritic lists Nintendo Switch among the platforms, but the surfaced Obsidian announcement said the Switch release date was still to be announced. The sources cited here do not confirm a later Switch release or an active Switch storefront listing, so do not assume the game is currently available there.

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Quick Recap

SaleBestseller No. 1
Bestseller No. 2
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Umfangreiches und spannendes Classic-Rollenspiel mit technisch aktuellster Präsentation
$15.99
Bestseller No. 3
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - PlayStation 4
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - PlayStation 4
Immerse yourself in a deeper single player RPG game experience
$53.99
Rank #3
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - PlayStation 4
  • Immerse yourself in a deeper single player RPG game experience
  • Discover the new region of the Dead Fire - plot your own course by ship and explore the rich and exotic islands of the archipelago region
  • Build your party and customize your companions - choose from 7 different companions to join you on your quest and assign multiple classes and deeper abilities for each
  • Captain your ship across the seas - as your stronghold on the seas, your ship is much more than simply a vessel for exploring

Who is the Ultimate Edition for?

  • Consider it if you want a substantial single-player RPG, value writing and character-building depth, and want the three named expansions in one edition.
  • Consider your combat preference: the edition offers both turn-based and real-time-with-pause combat, so the choice of pacing matters less than it would in a game locked to one style.
  • Be cautious if long loads or interface and technical problems would spoil your experience. Some launch-window console reviews raised these concerns, but they do not establish current performance.
  • Compare platforms by your own priorities: the cited material does not provide a controlled performance test across PC and consoles or between console versions.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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