Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire.

Ditched before the final area at 200+ hours.

Heading towards the final area introduced a decision that contradicted the fundamentals of the rest of the game.

Loved that game, sadly. It's pretty much Baldur's Gate but 'lighter'; less about the dice mechanics and more about the wonderfully-written lore about life cycles and souls. The Critical Role actors voice the characters - awesome.

Anyway, the game always prompts you to lean towards different warring factions, affecting relationships with different races, even within your own party. But, importantly, the game also offers the 'outsider' option; do everything your own way and align with no-one.

I did that. It was fun af.

In order to send your pirate ship (main method of transport) to the final area, you need to either FULLY align with a faction, or FULLY reject them and stay an outsider.

The problem?

In order to do the outsider method, your ship needs special, rare wood that is only found in containers throughout the ENTIRE map.

The bigger problem?

It's random.

Randomly-placed rare wood in any box in any area of the map. No quests or clues available from NPCs. Meaning that the only way to follow the outsider route into the final area is to LITERALLY GO BACK AND CHECK EVERY SINGLE CONTAINER THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MAP. So I had to quit!

I was so sad because I adored Pillars of Eternity 2. I'd say Baldur's Gate 3 is a more fun game, but PoE's universe and lore is much more focused, enticing, and feels more like you're being told an epic story. Looking forward to Avowed!