Instead of arguing about whether PoE2 is a better game than PoE1, I'm more interested in talking about the different focus in tone for the narrative in each of the PoE projects. It's kinda fascinating how it feels so different in intent, even in the same game world.
PoE1 was meant to be a classic BG style traditional fantasy campaign. It got a lot of flake for being a bit too dry and grounded, only teasing at bigger things. I liked it well enough (although clearly not loving it enough to finish it when it first came out, stopping just before the end because I thought Twin Elms was dragging on but it was actually the end of the game but I thought there would be more and kinda got distracted). I appreciate the history and world building in PoE a ton, but yeah, maybe it could have been more interesting.
And that's where White March comes in. At first it seems like another throwaway "magic Dwarvern forge" side content expansion which isn't consequential to anything. But it builds and builds, goes completely off the rails, and embraces the far off lore in the game more than anything in the original campaign. Totally nuts.
So then I wonder if when I finally beat PoE in the next week or two, and move on to PoE2, whether this is more of what I can expect, because it feels like it might be a change in direction they decided on while planning the sequel. But nope, I'm told that PoE2 is more like New Vegas with pirates. A fun swashbuckling adventure with factions and Obsidian's patented reputation driven narrative design. Sounds to me like Defiance Bay expanded into the entire main campaign. Which.... is not a bad thing but also not what I expected seeing what they did in White March. And then I'm wondering... what are the PoE2 expansions like? Because it sounds like not many people played them at all. Looking at the Steam descriptions, one of them sounds like a throwaway arena combat DLC? Wut?
So what is that makes all the PoE campaigns so different from each other? And what's next for the setting? Is Obsidian's new position as a MS studio even a good thing for the future of the franchise?