You have to give Owlcat Games a lot of credit. While CRPGs taking on tabletop roleplay games, such as Dungeons & Dragons, have done their best to adapt them (and done a fine job), there was always the element of distillation; taking the essential parts and leaving out what you can to make the adaptation in-depth and somewhat accessible but not drown under so much knowledge and crunch that their source provides.

Owlcat Games clearly said "to hell with this!" and decided to make Pathfinder: Kingmaker, a game based on the popular Pathfinder franchise with as much depth as the books offer. This is a game with great ambition and scope that has very little shortcuts for better or worse, as the initial release was messy and unbalanced but over the years the game has been patched and balanced. So after all these years, is it worth playing? Yes...But...

Lets start with the good; Pathfinder: Kingmaker offers fans of the tabletop and CRPGs in general so much to play with in creating a class. It can be overwhelming if you're new to this and even for those who are comfortable with the likes of Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 might feel some sweat seeing so many options. Still, for those who love theory crafting in gaming, this is heaven.

Getting into the actual game, you are presented with a universe that has excellent world building, a great story that is gripping and intriguing (and that goes for the side stuff such as companions quest, not just the main game), well realised visuals (with some great lighting and fantastic visual effects such as the rain and thunder and the trippy haze of the First World), backed up with a lovely soundtrack. The combat itself is also very solid and most of the time satisfactory with only a few long dungeons so that the experience doesn't become tedious and there is a lot of replay value. While its an ask for someone to replay a game that is, at best a minimum of 75 hours and at most can take you 250 hours, maybe a big ask, it's there for the hardcore CRPG player.

So sounds great! Well this is all undermined by one mechanic. Kingdom Management. To say this is a hated mechanic is underselling just how badly implemented it is. In paper, ruling over your territories and subjects should sound fine, even fun downtime. But what Owlcat Games gave us REALLY drags the whole experience, slowing the games pace, making it way to easy to screw yourself if you don't know what you're doing (which is easy) which can lead to you psuedo-softlock yourself (basically getting a game over) and it just adds unneeded stress. Even knowing what to expect does not make this mechanic any easier to deal with or better. It's so bad, you're actually encouraged to cheat, let alone use a guide.

And yes, Pathfinder: Kingmaker has other faults, but these are relative to CRPGs in general (can be overwhelming, many parts will have a "Guide Dang It!", save scumming is encouraged, builds can and will make or break a playthrough, some combat or situations can feel unfair/unbalanced) but it's the Kingdom Management mechanic which can make the game feel its not as good as it actually is.

Which is unfair as Pathfinder: Kingmaker is worth going through the hassle. Again You have to credit Owlcat games for just having so much ambition and developing a game with so much scope that its amazing. And despite the one big flaw and the other minor flaws, this is a very good CRPG that is recommended experiencing. When you have the time ;)

[h1][b] A Very Good CRPG Undermined By One Mechanic [/b][/h1] You have to give Owlcat Games a lot of credit. While CRPGs taking on tabletop roleplay games, such as Dungeons & Dragons, have done their best to adapt them (and done a fine job), there was always the element of distillation; taking the essential parts and leaving out what you can to make the adaptation in-depth and somewhat accessible but not drown under so much knowledge and crunch that their source provides. Owlcat Games clearly said "to hell with this!" and decided to make Pathfinder: Kingmaker, a game based on the popular Pathfinder franchise with as much depth as the books offer. This is a game with great ambition and scope that has very little shortcuts for better or worse, as the initial release was messy and unbalanced but over the years the game has been patched and balanced. So after all these years, is it worth playing? Yes...But... Lets start with the good; Pathfinder: Kingmaker offers fans of the tabletop and CRPGs in general so much to play with in creating a class. It can be overwhelming if you're new to this and even for those who are comfortable with the likes of Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 might feel some sweat seeing so many options. Still, for those who love theory crafting in gaming, this is heaven. Getting into the actual game, you are presented with a universe that has excellent world building, a great story that is gripping and intriguing (and that goes for the side stuff such as companions quest, not just the main game), well realised visuals (with some great lighting and fantastic visual effects such as the rain and thunder and the trippy haze of the First World), backed up with a lovely soundtrack. The combat itself is also very solid and most of the time satisfactory with only a few long dungeons so that the experience doesn't become tedious and there is a lot of replay value. While its an ask for someone to replay a game that is, at best a minimum of 75 hours and at most can take you 250 hours, maybe a big ask, it's there for the hardcore CRPG player. So sounds great! Well this is all undermined by one mechanic. Kingdom Management. To say this is a hated mechanic is underselling just how badly implemented it is. In paper, ruling over your territories and subjects should sound fine, even fun downtime. But what Owlcat Games gave us REALLY drags the whole experience, slowing the games pace, making it way to easy to screw yourself if you don't know what you're doing (which is easy) which can lead to you psuedo-softlock yourself (basically getting a game over) and it just adds unneeded stress. Even knowing what to expect does not make this mechanic any easier to deal with or better. It's so bad, you're actually encouraged to cheat, let alone use a guide. And yes, Pathfinder: Kingmaker has other faults, but these are relative to CRPGs in general (can be overwhelming, many parts will have a "Guide Dang It!", save scumming is encouraged, builds can and will make or break a playthrough, some combat or situations can feel unfair/unbalanced) but it's the Kingdom Management mechanic which can make the game feel its not as good as it actually is. Which is unfair as Pathfinder: Kingmaker is worth going through the hassle. Again You have to credit Owlcat games for just having so much ambition and developing a game with so much scope that its amazing. And despite the one big flaw and the other minor flaws, this is a very good CRPG that is recommended experiencing. When you have the time ;) [h1] Rating: 7/10 [/h1]