Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Imperial Edition Bundle

First review on GOG after some 14 years. This game is that compelling and I nearly missed it. This game sold me on Pathfinder as the successor to D&D 3.5 but one of the potential drawbacks of that RPG system is the emphasis on optimised play. If you are not prepared to put the time into planning out viable builds, you will not enjoy this game as much as the developers intended. That said, for my first play through I went in completely blind and it was a comedy of blunders. I am pretty sure the only reason that I made it through was to play as an evil tyrant - using atrocities and pitiless opportunism to break through the web of genuinely difficult story and strategy choices. This was not only supported by the game, but it was well written and even rewarding to the point I say Kingmaker has the best 'evil plot' in a Baldur's Gate inheritor. This is very very clearly not the only way to play and there is a mind boggling spread of content for people who play something other than a poorly optimised, socially inept gnomish abjurer. It's also the first BG Inheritor that supports a summoned army without mods - I could and indeed *had* to create some 40 skeletons to take on the challenges the game threw at me, and the 'evil path' enhanced this approach through quest rewards. It also looks pretty and the sound engineering is top tier, especially for magic sound effects. Some of the music and voice choices have some bland notes, but it is forgivable. Those are the good parts. The bad is that the game is woefully optimised and playably buggy. Development has improved the bugs since release but my play through with the latest Linux build had at least 6 CtD. Loading times are woeful despite user side optimisation, slowdowns are noticeable with the aforementioned 40 skeletons, autosave takes progressively longer without mods as the game goes on, and basic activities require multiple transitions. And yet it is worth it. I want to play this game again then get the sequel.

Alright chaps, I tried, I *really* tried. the story's ok, the visuals are pretty, the NPCs are entertaining and actually not that annoying, but the game mechanics are utterly broken. Or is it the writing ? The whole kingdom management thing could have been interesting, and even a great thing, really. But it isn't. And the game is a pain in the backside. Timed quests with *no* indication of timing whatsoever, crucial NPCs (absolutely needed for your kingdom to survive) that can be recruited but in *one* location at *only one given time* in but one chapter in the WHOLE game, kingdom events with a ridiculous difficulty (like 38 on a d20 roll), and quests that are totally unrelated but doing one is necessary to make the other quest progress had the best of me. And I won't even mention the actual good ending that I only learned of while searching online for help (hint : DON'T start any romance with any of your party members whatsoever !!!). Even with mods and cheats and whatever help I could find online, that's hours of my sad life wasted, and, in frustration... I quit. I might get back to this game some day, if these issues are fixed. Maybe. Because at times it was almost as nice as parts of BG I/II. Not always, but the effort was there. But not anytime soon.

I wanted to spent my time on the weekends, and haven't created character for 1.5 weeks. XD The role system is complicated but intresting. But when tou dive into the game you can see that there is a lot of content. I like the quests, there are always some small mystories there for you to discover and some options to finish them. The story is decent. Gameplay is good, it has some depth. Sometimes game is a bit clunky, but in genetral it feels that every element of gameplay and story feels at least ok. For me it seems that game was made exactly for me (i am RPG sucker). It is not EA/Blizzard s kind of "AAAproduct", it is game with soul made by ppl who loves RPGs. PS and this game is huge, spent 40 hours in it, and havent finished 2nd act =D

Unlike most of the people I didn't experience many bugs but my overall experience was really bad. I finished the game after putting over 100 hours in challenging difficulty settings with a slight change to the enemies settings which was set to normal. In other words the core rules. The game is a wasted potential. It could be so good but it didn't deliver for the following reasons: -Now the first part of the game was somewhat okish??? Still the difficulty spikes due to the devs' brainfarting designs and most likely lack of playtesting made it hell from time to time. The second part was awful. Actually it was so bad that I didn't even read the ending. I beat the boss and skipped the dialogues. -The story overall starts nicely. You want to win a prize after doing an adventure quest. Good that far. After winning the barony though and counter the first threats of your kingdom, the retarded epicness which is the bane inherited by bioware and baldur's gate 2 strikes. Since I don't want to spoil things, you get items and you fight enemies you shouldn't. -The writting fluctuates between band and diarrhea. -The kingdom management is even worse and pointless. Actually if combined with the fact that quest are time dependan makes things even worse. -Too many encounters on the road. -Awful UI by todays standards -DLCs content was abysmal for their asking price -Not even one companion has a interesting and in depth story Overall the game is a wasted potential. How can pathfinder 2 be an improvement??? Here's a couple of ideas. 1)Hire someone who can actually write, like Avelone or the guy from Disco Elysium. They will deliver and will keep the epicness at minimal levels. 2)Play test the game ffs. Seriously the game has difficulty spikes on core rules settings. 3)Remove the kingdom management but keep the timelimit for the quests. It was really nice. 4)The road encounters should be fewer.

If you like oldschool isometric cRPG - you should try it. The main plot is really interesting, character creation is well known from D&D games, and the greatest advantages - rellations between characters. The idea of running your stronghold and dealing with everyday strugle is great.