Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition

The scale might be legendary but also are the encountered bugs and currently it seems to me the devs use customers as playtesters. The release of so called hotfixes might look like they care for the game but instead each patch they release might fix a handful of problems but adds others, too. Quality assurance is most likely not the strength of this studio and because of this i would advise against buying the game until they got their stuff together and the game is fixed from start to the end - especially the mid- to endgame experience is rather a pain right now: broken quests, broken npcs, etc. etc. Buy now if you don't care to end up having to start over again, playing at a low pace or taking a break when encountering a bug that prevents you from moving on. I will probably throw the game in a corner and wait for them to release a real patch that fixes the broken bullshit we have right now (1.0.9). It would end in me hating this game if I keep playing it in the current broken state - something I really don't want to happen because I like the setting, the rules behind the game and the story is writen well.

The final stage has a bunch of enemies with extremely high armor, and a buff that removes all of your spells (the only way to kill them).

I like to look at a few criteria when forming an opinion of any game. I look at the atmosphere, the fun factor, and polish. Atmosphere - The game is well written and true to the source material. The voice work is great and so is the music and SFX. I really felt like I was playing the adventure path without the pains of dealing with an actual TTRPG group. Really great in that regard. Fun factor - Mechanics are where this game goes from being a fun trip to Paizo's RPG setting to a nightmare. Several users have posted about the balance the game offers and I mostly agree with them. The game's system for identifying monsters is sorely lacking and serves as a hinderance for new players to recognize challenges that are beyond them. This results in bad fights where parties are unable to cope with the challenge ahead. Players learn what fights are manageable through save-scumming. It's a lazy approach that could have been tweaked into a useful gameplay element instead. This criticism also assumes that the myriad stutters and crashes haven't completely derailed your experience as it did mine in the second act. Polish - It looks and sounds nice but the game is fundamentally broken. I played for five days, devoting roughly 5 hours of game time each day but was cut short by the rocky start-up. I experienced crashes on main menu, in the middle of gameplay, and on start up. Consistent crashes meant several instances of lost progress. Crashes at the menu meant reloading after frequent crashes became a chore. The last straw broke with repeated crashes on start-up. The game is so utterly broken at times that my experience is completely soured by extensive troubleshooting. This game is broken and that is a real shame considering how much effort obviously when into the story and sound. The devs should be as disappointed as I am. Points for capturing the TTRPG experience though. Anticipate a great story only to find out game night is cancelled.

This is a much better time sink than Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2. I suppose this game's initial release had much more bugs than those others, but I also considerably call the graphics in this game better. The class selection could use a little bit of improved tweaking, but it still remains superior to the Pillars of Eternity series. This probably relates to how this digital Pathfinder relates to its Pen and Paper version. If I chose one thing to focus on for the purpose of complaining, I would choose the rest system in "dungeons". While the food system seems unique, it really needs a lot more flavor of variety. If I had a part in its design, I would have treated it by adjusting buffs. Now, I know it already does this, since different characters prefer certain "recipes" and that they accordingly become stronger from them. At a minimum, I would have added different tiers of spices that affect healing. I know it may sound weird, but games are that way anyhow, especially anime. Beyond that, I would like to see how the DLCs alter the gaming environment's aria. If you carry any sort of fondness for Baldur's Gate 1 and / or 2, then this software should nicely fit right into that story-telling spectrum, like how another good piece of a jigsaw puzzle contributes to the complete picture. I hope you enjoy your choice!

To be clear, I expected a difficult, old school isometric DnD game, its what I signed up for. But this... it is so close to being good it just hurts. The first chapter is excellent, choices, consequences, multiple paths got me excited! But this is like an hour of play at best. After that it falls completely off the rails. The quest tracking messes up, the quests are 50/50 impossible or well balanced. You get no real information with which to make descions... Try the geographically closest quest? Triple your level with permanent damage you have no way to cure (even if you have the right class to cure it, which is not guaranteed, you need a higher level to access cure). Try to follow the vague, unquested story directions? End up suddenly fighting a monster TEN TIMES your level. If there is an escape mechanic, I couldn't find it. It felt like playing with a terrible GM who wants to kill you and claims it's "Fair" because they wrote everything down in advance and there WAS a way to survive, you just didn't guess it, despite there being no real clues. Uninstalling in disgust. I gave it two stars because it at least runs, and is a game.