Yeah I couldn't quite get into Pillars in the same way as BG or the other old infinity engine games.
I feel like the writing, quests and general world building was really quite good - but the overall gameplay was a bit of a let down.
They abandoned the traditional d20 system in favour of a custom model which really didn't feel right. For instance, barbarians needing high intelligence because that was the stat that extended area attacks. Or mages being fine with heavy armour and high strength, whilst your fighters were seriously hindered by armour...
Just felt like a really weird system that they never quite worked out. They were trying to be different just for the sake of it IMO.
However, I seem to be the only Baldur’s Gate fan that didn’t like Pillars :)