The Pillars of the Earth (Nintendo Switch)

The Pillars of the Earth is, above all, one of the best historical fiction novels in literature. It is one of these stories that everyone has read one way or another. As I see it, it is one of those novels that is already part of the collective imagination, like The Da Vinci Code, or the Harry Potter stories. A TV adaptation was made in 2010 and, the videogame we are talking about today released more recently. As for the game, it was released in 2017 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. A year later it was re-released for iPhone, and a couple of weeks ago it was remastered slightly for Nintendo Switch. Upon its release, the game didn't make much noise but today we can give it a second chance.

The story that stones sing

First, it's important to highlight one thing: The Pillars of the Earth is a very slow game. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, rather it has the slowness that is necessary to simmer a stew. This takes us to a thin universe between the graphic adventure and the interactive novel. A feature that will sometimes be difficult to digest for the most impatient players, but a real pleasure for those more used to this type of genre.

As in the novel, the stories of the characters are built slowly, like the stones of a pillar, towards the keystone of the vault. The story connects the passions and dreams of a number of people who masterfully converge in something beautiful and common, a goal capable of the worst and the best. And this is what The Pillars of the Earth is about, not the story of this or that character, nor of saving this or that country, it is about the life of the Kingsbridge Cathedral, which is the true protagonist of this tale. Each of the characters we handle are intimately linked to the construction of the majestic building, some captivated by its beauty, and others by its destiny.

In the game (and the novel before, of course), the construction of the cathedral is just the perfect excuse to tell the real story. It is a phenomenal reflection of English society of the 12th century. Turbulent times after the turn of the millennium, still very susceptible to apocalyptic fears. The devil behind the evil deeds of men, passions and fears. In the game, we experience the life of a monastery, the turmoil of feudal wars and especially the building of cathedrals. These are the confusing times in which Romanesque architecture began to make way for Gothic in the construction of churches. All these factors will have to be taken into account, since in The Pillars of the Earth we will also have to make some important decisions.

A game system from the time of the cathedrals

The decisions we make are incorporated in the game and at the end of every chapter we'll be reminded of the actions we have taken. It is strange that we already know the end of the novel (or at least we know that there is one), so it may seem strange that there could be a different option to the canonical ending. However, in The Pillars of the Earth there are no changes, or at least not very big ones. In one way or another, despite minor variations, we will end up in situations very similar to those in the book.

Mechanically, besides the decision system, the game can become boring and tedious. Ultimately, it is a format that we have seen for years in other games and it doesn't bring anything new. A point and click system that is not innovative at all and even feels outdated. It's a shame, as, for those players who can't immerse themselves in the story, they're unlikely to be captivated by the gameplay. The biggest difficulty lies in a button-mashing system that is remarkably simple when the story needs you to overcome it.

In fact, the most interesting situations are found at very specific moments when characters move over large distances on the map. At these moments, the game changes slightly, adopting a vignette format in which the situation is described and a decision must be made quickly before a timer runs out. These decisions will have immediate consequences on the fate of our characters.

As we have already said, the most important pillars of this game are its narrative and dialogues. Certainly the story is the backbone of the game, which is why Daedalic's choice of dialogue format is so strange. The texts, both in conversations and descriptions, appear over heads and objects, without any kind of frame or interface to identify dialogue with the characters. A confusing and tedious system, especially if we think about the amount of lines of text we are going to see throughout the adventure. As in many games of this type, in the end the observation within the actions becomes useless and repetitive, so we will end up using only the interaction button, except in very specific cases.

Lights and shadows

Visually and artistically, The Pillars of the Earth nails it. The game explores different settings, from lonely forests to busy cities, and always feels real and immersive. Exceptional work is made in the use of clever shots and lighting to create memorable scenes in the epic storyline. The use of colour is elegant and subtle, making us feel always inside this era.

Also the soundtrack, ambient noise and voices are at an incredible level. The languages of the voices we can choose are English and German, and we can select the language of subtitles. Accessibility is a big drawback here though, as there is none. There is no possibility of modifying the appearance of subtitles or text for greater readability.

In terms of performance, Nintendo Switch is more than ready to handle a game of this magnitude, and except for some little bugs, we haven't experienced any problems.

Ultimately, The Pillars of the Earth misses an opportunity to become a sublime game. The new features that were present at the time of its first release still feel fresh and modern, but the game's core remains archaic. The artwork is beautiful, but can't hide worn and simple animations. And finally, the story is magnificent, but it is told through a terrible aspect ratio. The ending of the game is a cathedral that keeps standing, but won't go down in history.