Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth - Book One Reviews
Through excellent dialogue choices, interesting item usage, and an immersive story, The Pillars of the Earth keeps the player interested from beginning to end. Becoming invested in the game's multiple protagonists is rewarded with a complex narrative that twists and turns to play with expectations.
Book 1 has introduced enough compelling characters and conflict that I am actually very eager to play Book 2 when it is available later this year.
As much as it kills me, I’m hooked on The Pillars of the Earth’s story. There are two more episodes and if they build a story as well and fill it full of great characters I’ll definitely play it, as much as it tests my patience.
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth is a respectful game, a different way to live and expand the experience of the best seller and also a curious experience due to its easy puzzles and episodic style. Also, a relaxed and slow experience, a little different to other graphic adventures.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Pillars of the Earth is an adaptation of the best-selling homonymous novel by Ken Follet, set in a historical period of civil war in the 12th century England. With over a thousand pages of story to tell, the game is divided into three books, this being the first. It is practically an interactive novel, allowing the player to have a proactive involvement in the story by controlling three of their characters and making decisions about how they respond and act, thus shaping their personality. This will likely modify the story, but that is yet to be proven on the next books. Despite being packed with a lot of political and religious intrigues, the game has a very slow pace in the dialogues and actions of the characters, which hopefully may be improved in the future.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Pillars of the Earth is a great game for anyone who likes the slow process of constructing a cathedral—for anyone else, you might get bored.
The Pillars of the Earth tells a gripping story of personal and political drama, but its slow pace may not make it a good fit for everyone.
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth sets a fantastic tone, and does an admirable job of capturing the era, setting and the characters of this iconic piece of fiction. It's a shame that at various points the game puts you off, whether through multiple loading screens, obtuse exploration, or a few other technical distractions. That being said, I can't wait to see how Book Two unfolds, and can only hope Daedalic find a way for the gameplay to match the presentation.
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth Book 1 is successful at bringing the epic 12th Century story to a new audience, albeit with a few missteps. The title finds pacing issues in its story and gameplay early and the cadence of its dialogue regularly drags down the overall rhythm, but it brings more than expected in both interactivity and style. Bringing a story the scale of a thousand-page novel to the video game format could not have been an easy endeavor, but Deadalic Entertainment has brought the first act to us with plenty of appetite for more.
I hope there will be an improvement with the interactive features of the game for the next instalment as I am really looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds. However, if not, then I may lose interest in completing the entire game and just read the original book instead.
Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth chapters one through seven prove to be a high quality point-and-click drama that is steeped greatly in historical accuracy. This is a very classy kind of game, with mature themes that treats the audience like an adult, and is probably going to be worth it for anyone who is a fan of the original novels or interested in medieval England. It must be reiterated that this is a very gritty and grounded story that never enters the realm of fantasy the way Game of Thrones does. There isn't even really any on-screen action or violence; much of the drama comes from the characters and the choices the user must make, and the subsequent consequences they entail. Hopefully, Daedalic Entertainment will keep the thrills coming with the follow-up chapters, and maybe the load times and slowdown will be addressed by then, as well.
If you are the type that engages in video games for the quick thrill, then Pillars will probably drive you crazy and you should stir away. However, if you are fine with the other extreme, do not mind lack of arcade style challenges and are willing to take your time, then Pillars offers the depth and the learning experience that mere mortal books cannot deliver. Speaking for myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience Pillars had provided me with for that very reason.
While the story can be slow-going due to the sluggish gameplay and technical limitations causes graphical headaches, this is a great way to introduce new people to the wonderful story.
The first episode of Pillars of the Earth is a decent prologue of a promising adventure game series. We'll see what the other two episodes will have to offer.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
It could be named as an interactive book. If you have read the novel, then it might be of your interest. Otherwise it could bore you. It has a slow gameplay and little action, but it has a compelling story that makes you care about the characters and their future.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
In terms of where this opening salvo of game leaves me, I'm interested to see how some of the characters progress and wary of others.