Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Imperial Edition Bundle

I will be brief. Beautiful visuals, music and story. Pathfinder RP system is a solid base for an incredible gaming experience. There are some difficulty spikes and timing issues with some quests, but if you kept your saves intact (increase the default 3 to like 10), it's salvageable. As much as first 5 chapters are good, the rest of the game is broken. Not just by bugs, but overall lazy and rushed design. It's like they ran out of time or something. Basically, companion bugs you encounter during first 5 chapters make you lose your companions during later game. And some encounters require specific spells to beat. So, if you lost your companion with that particular spell, game cannot be progressed even on story mode. Eventually they might fix it all, so buy then, not now.

To keep this short, I was pretty disappointed with every Isometric CRPG since the original Pillars of Eternity to the point where I didn't even bother to Kickstart this gem. Pillars of Eternity was kind of a throwback to the original Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale games that didn't really do much to improve on the formula. Then the sequels and pretenders came and it was pretty obvious that these games weren't out to evolve, just to milk the cash cow. Then Pathfinder: Kingmaker came along. This is the best and most in-depth PC translation of a tabletop roleplaying system since Temple of Elemental evil (the game needs a bit of rebalancing though, some enemy levels and stats are way too high for their challenge rating.) If anyone rembers the keep management in Baldur's Gate II, this game blows it out of the water. There's a fair bit of Baldur's Gate style jank in this. Depending on your choices in the prologue you may end up with a pretty terrible party at the beginning of chapter 1. My Archaeologist bard ended up starting the game with a Warrior, undead elf, and a barbarian. No healing skills so all our income went towards health potions. Finally found a Cleric to recruit, who died a few days later. The game was nice enough to give me a raise dead scroll as a quest reward, but it was 2 levels before my character managed to increase his "use magic device" skill to use it... This is where gaming memories come from, folks. The game's a new release, and it took me a good 3 hours before I could start playing the game as the resolution settings kept bugging out until I found a stable setting. I've run across a few game bugs but nothing gamebreaking. The game will definitely be worth a playthrough after a few updates.

So, I love Pathfinder Kingmaker. It's amazing. It's deep. It's a wonderful RPG... ..BUT...there are two things right now affecting this so beware. The first is the bugs. There are a lot. Most aren't game breaking, but it's enough that you'll probably encounter them frequently enough you'll find yourself looking at various forums to find resolutions. That said, the developers have already released two hotfixes and are tackling them at a rapid rate. Second, I consider myself an RPG veteran from ASCII Kroz to present day, but my experience with pen and paper RPG is slim, and I'd never heard of Pathfinder before this, and this game seems to be absoloutely made for people familiar with the pen and paper version. Frequently I'm coming across things that I don't understand why the game isn't allowing me to damage enemies, or even kill, and no easy way in game to find out why. Again, diving onto forums to find solutions. So bare that in mind. With those in mind though, this is the most enjoyable RPGing I've had since Dragon Age Origins. Even the opening music has DAO vibes. Just go in with the knowledge there is a lot of work and love still being done and put into it, but it absoloutely deserves your time and rewards you for giving it it.

From a thousand foot view, this game feels like the true spiritual successor of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, with a virtualized table-top experience. The graphics are gorgeous and the audio experience, both soundtrack and sound effects, are top-notch. Combat is excellent, with many options to tweak, including the ability to activate turn-based actions, bringing a much more engaging experience based on player preference.. I particularly enjoy the story-book events, along with how the adventure is recorded (I would provide more information about this aspect, but it could contain spoilers). Not to mention, Chris Avellone is a writer for the game, and his mark definitely shows as you progress through the story. Overall, there are many positives to this game, which overshadow the temporary issues currently in-game, in my humble opinion. As of this writing (09/29/2018), the game is very early in its infancy as a released product, and there are definitely issues with the game such as bugs and balancing flaws. However, since the day of release, the developers have been releasing daily patches, showing their passion for this game, along with the high level of engagement they maintain with the gaming community. In time, I have no doubt this game will be exceedingly polished and will provide a solid gaming experience for those who enjoy games such as Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights.