Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition

Let's start with the bad: This games is incredibly bug ridden (with game breaking bugs) and the kingdom management aspects are really poorly explained. They do release multiple patches a week, so they're trying, but every patch seems to introduce as many new bugs as they fix. The loading screens take a while on a good PC and the save game files are 30+mb each. The good: This is the first time I've actually felt like I've played a game that's similar to Baldur's Gate. I've tried PoE, Tyranny, Divinity: Original Sin, etc. They all had strong starts that ended in disappointment. I haven't even finished Pathfinder yet and I'm not disappointed. It has flaws, but this is one of my favorite games since it's Baldur's Gate, but brought into 2018. Character creation is incredibly diverse. If you enjoy min/maxing or if you just enjoy trying various party strategies, this game delivers. Character development is superb. Other games may give you 1-2 special companion quests. Pathfinder does it right by giving them entire questlines and meaningful personalities. My favorite is the dwarf who is pretty much Eeyore. Every time you rest there are dialogues between your companions as well. I still haven't noticed a duplicate. Quests are interesting. There's a lot of text reading, but you'll notice that decisions you make early in the game affect the options you get later in the game. It creates a strong feeling that your choices matter. The RNG is pretty punishing, but that's the nature of the D20 system. The game surprises you with ambushes that put your archers/spellcasters in danger, critical hits that eat up half your tank's health, and nasty permanent effects that can be expensive to remove. But all of these can be mitigated/prevented with the right strategy. It just may take a couple party wipes to figure out the right one. Unlike some games, if you're going to wipe, you'll wipe quick at least so you can move on and try again.

I convinced myself not to buy this game multiple times after reading the reviews here and elsewhere. Hadnt heard about the game until a few days ago, ended up giving in to my instincts and picked it up. 25 hours in and I am compelled to add my perspective. I have not encountered any of the bugs I was warned about, the complaints about difficulty seem a little bit over the top, and the game itself is a true gem. There is my attempt at balance, I cant be certain that everyone will enjoy this game but I feel a lot of the claims in the reviews I read have been addressed.

This is the most fun game I've played since the original Baldur's Gate games. The combat system, the plot, the characters; all are brilliantly engaging. I understand the game released with much worse combat issues; they'd been patched before I played very much of it. That's not to say it's perfect. It does have some serious pacing issues towards the end of the game, and unfortunately the kingdom interface is significantly less integrated with the rest of the game than it could be, including ceasing to matter at all for the last two chapters (the ones with the pacing issues). Nevertheless, this game is absolutely worth buying, and I hope Owlcat Games makes more computer games based on Pathfinder Adventure Paths.

I have been a fan of Baldur's Gate and it's kind but none have captured me as this has with the way it integrates kingdom management. In my opinion, this is definitely worth a try and I hope the developers continue to expand it and introduce new lands. Rarely do you see innovation in games these days - this is, however, such a game.

The beginning is tough. Tougher than anything else I've played in recent years. The good news is: every seemingly impossible fight can be turned around in your favour with just some minor spells, potions or abilities. For example in the first part of the game you will have to fight trolls. Lots of trolls. I didn't really have an issue with the fights prior to the Troll chapter, alltough a lot of resting was necessary to venture forth. The trolls are heavy hitters - so you do not want to let them hit you! Use spells to slow them down or immobilize them completly (web works wonders!) shoot them down from afar or have your highly buffed frontline tank hold them off just a few more seconds. I found that there are ways to deal with enemys like that again and again. There always seems to be some trick - you only have to fight yourself through the countless spells and abilities in order to figure out the right ones. But this is something that reminded me of good ol' Baldurs Gate (the game is based on the free D&D License so you have LOTS of similarities, only the lore is completely different as far as I can tell) As time goes by and you progress further into the game, your party will become stronger. Much stronger. But even in the endgame I find myself in a challenging fight every now and then. The story is unique in that you have to build your own kingdom. It's also interwoven with a very neat storyline, making you expand more and more into the world that surrounds you. The companions could be a bit more interessting, but I was fine with them. From a technical point of view I didn't have any issues except for long loading times and occasional sound issus which could be resolved by restarting the game. I can really recommend this game for anyone who is willing to put in a bit of work - or at least doesn't feel ashamed to turn down the difficulty (which you shouldn't be, it's supossed to be fun after all). The settings are VERY customizable in that regard.