Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Imperial Edition Bundle

BG 1 have too much more fuctions and less bugs. The game 1998 wins functions and history PF game 2020. PF have too much bugs only. BG have : Multiplayer, divise pary, import char, use arrows, better history, balance, attributes use example charisma reducion price, more npcs, city, more opitions, ... Ridiculus game have name Kingmaker no have one city compare Baldur's Gate city.

Loved playing with the Pathfinder ruleset. Character building/leveling has a myriad of creative options with the different classes and the ability to multiclass between them. Alignment and skill checks were well implemented and frequent throughout the game, allowing for significant replayability with different character types. The implementation of the Kingmaker adventure path is quite well done and provides a fun kingdom building mechanic. The time based quests and overland map mesh well, providing some important decision making, role-playing, and exploration options. The companions all have developed backstories and interesting questlines that made for memorable additions to the story. There was only one that I didn't get too invested in, largely because he was a chaotic evil character. More variety in the dialogue would have been appreciated, as you get stuck with the basic intro conversation options most of the game. The game lacks a bit in voice-over work, with the parts that are voiced being great, but few and far between. This leaves some important plot/character development surprisingly portrayed solely through text. Additionally, the game has a number of in-game cutscenes that I couldn't skip and were just boring text boxes over characters. Having skippable dialogue (for when I'm reloading the same fight multiple times) or the beautiful storybook scenes instead would be better. A minor gripe is the balancing of the game mechanics that aren't very well explained, particularly with some of the romance/plot advancement. My first run ended with me failing to save an important character because I failed an arcana check midway through the game. As of writing this review (2020) I only ran into a couple of minor bugs that were fixed by restarting the game. Otherwise a great game with significant playtime, story, and roleplaying. Played it from start to finish. I look forward to the next Pathfinder installment by Owlcat Games.

I'm a big fan of BG 1/2 and Pillars of Eternity Pathfinder is OK. Combat mechanics and tabletop rules conversion are good. But the writing is cringey and voiceover simply hurts. I know it's high fantasy and dialogues are supposed to be silly and characters are supposed to be exaggerated But in P:K it is somehow done in a way that simply doesn't work. Amateurish. Lame. 3/5 for overall effort

THE GOOD: + very long playtime + very true to the source material + kindom management optional (auto system available) + a lot of difficulty settings/customization + patch adds turn-based combat (only way to play!) + best D&D'esque ruleset + custom character portraits can be imported THE BAD: - still tons of bugs - even 3 years after its release - graphical style too cartoony, ugly character portraits - annoying character (Linzi) - realtime with pause (Command & Conquer-style) combat system! It was terrible in Baldu'rs Gate, it's terrible now! - random encounters with enemies way above party level are certain death (can occur in beginning areas!) - time limit on certain quests, failure is instant game over - no full voice acting - some voice acting just atrocious (Linzi!!!) - you can't kill Linzi - very slow character progression (leveling) - very steep learning curve, requires thorough knowledge of Pathfinder ruleset - permadeath option useless due to randomized encounters BOTTOM LINE: a decent RPG that is far from great or a masterpiece. It has technical and graphical deficiencies and a terrible combat system (real time with pause) with the option to go turn-based (servicable, but the game was not designed around that and it shows). Time limits on quests with game over are a no-go and PATHFINDER: KINGMAKER has this. Random encounters can be an instant game over as well, depending on the random creatures spawned. I still like PATHFINDER KINGMAKER and hope they make serious improvements for the sequel which I will be buying, too. There is a lot of content here and I appreciate how true the game is to its source material.

Although the game had a log of bugs during the initial release, there's been a number of patches that helped resolve a lot of the initial issues. Some of the initial encounters can challenging (even downright unfair), but that's the beauty of the game. Overall great game with an insane amount of customization options for classes, feats, etc.