Josh Sawyer has some good talks about Pillars and Deadfire where I think he cops to a lot of the shortcomings in the story. The biggest thing I remember were the points he made about how the factions in Deadfire are very interesting, but aren't really tied to the main story, meaning that interest in the world can run counter to the narrative's impetus. ...
I'd just like to add that I personally find the Pillars games vexing because I don't understand why I don't like them more, on paper they offer everything I look for in an RPG. Even if they aren't a masterclass, I don't understand why I have trouble taking the story more seriously, or feel going through it is a chore.
