Game News Pathfinder: Kingmaker Released

[ortucis]

So the combat is similar to Infinity Engine's DnD combat? I was expecting more like Divinity: OS combat (I haven't seen any gameplay videos to avoid spoilers).

 

[Lyre Mors]

So the combat is similar to Infinity Engine's DnD combat? I was expecting more like Divinity: OS combat (I haven't seen any gameplay videos to avoid spoilers).

Yes, more similar to IE DnD combat, but better in several ways.

EDIT: I should have said "but better in some ways"

 

[Rivmusique]

Goddamn, playing BT4 atm but stalling to play Seeker, Slayer, Survivor quickly. Then back to BT4, then this I suppose. I like September, but I'm sure I've just forgotten what I've read about how the evil leftists have actually ruined these games and all games of the future or whatever.

 

[ScrotumBroth]

So the combat is similar to Infinity Engine's DnD combat? I was expecting more like Divinity: OS combat (I haven't seen any gameplay videos to avoid spoilers).

Yes, more similar to IE DnD combat, but better in several ways.

That's a big claim, not that I doubt you. When you have a moment, would you like to expand on that?

 

[Lyre Mors]

That's a big claim, not that I doubt you. When you have a moment, would you like to expand on that?

Absolutely. Stemming from my initial observations, there is more UI feedback to keep track of things like "turns" and keep the battle as a whole less chaotic, sneak attacks play an important role in the tide of the battle, characters can be flanked with deadly results, the "flow" of the battle is just more trackable and enjoyable in general, and there is true verticality of environments that will fuck you up if you show up with a party not prepared to deal with it. I'm not willing to commit to saying that it is definitely better than IE combat (as I enjoy IE combat a fair amount too), but it is clear they studied very closely what worked, what didn't work, and what needed improvement with the IE iteration of RTwP. Put a 3.5-esque ruleset underneath it all, and things are heading in the right direction.

With all this in mind, I continue playing and comparing the two. Depending how mid to high level combat shakes out, this one might end up coming out on top.

 

[The Avatar]

I have only played to the trading post so far and I am mostly enjoying it. But damn- this is very similar to Pillars of Eternity. Visually, and in terms having those illustrated text mini-stories. They also copied their "hover over a noun to get a description of it" in the dialogues.

Mechanically, it's a better version of 3rd ed D&D- So, like NWN. I have played the P&P game, so I'm already familiar with the rules- but there are some thing they could have simplified for a computer game. Like having to select a single weapon from a giant list instead of just having a few weapon groups to choose from. Always hated that rule. Feats can at least be filtered out.

So far, it's been very linear. Difficulty seems good- I've gotten knocked out a few times in "Challenge" difficulty. I failed a skill check in a scripted interaction and my party became fatigued right before the early major battle, which made it a bit more difficult. The enemy AI does seem to be using CC spells, because during that battle, half of my team was wondering around feared. Yup, reminds me IE games indeed.

Art portraits are very good but there could be more of them. NPC's seem ... one-dimensional so far. The barbarian lady is at least interesting.

 

[Awakened_Yeti]

im getting the impression its excessively generic... looks that way, sounds that way, supposedly plays that way, etc.

we'll see

 

[Darth Roxor]

Can we expect a Darth Roxor review of this? Would love to read it.

Nope, I'm not really planning to play it.

 

[Tigranes]

Codexers SHOCKED as darth roxor announces he will IGNORE pathfinder after positive-neutral review of DUMPSTERFIRE!!!!

Local angry man believes he has seen trucks of DORITOS penetrate the roxor mansion with alarming frequency past week

 

[Septaryeth]

So the combat, skill checks and difficulty are good, but the story is (likely to be) shit?
I mean... I suffered through NWN2 OC, may be this time I should just buy the royal edition and play Avellone's module straight away.

(After they patch the shit out of the current bug ridden mess of course )

 

[Ismaul]

Nope, I'm not really planning to play it.

I urge you to reconsider. Imagine all the participation awards you'd harvest.

 

[Invictus]

Codexers SHOCKED as darth roxor announces he will IGNORE pathfinder after positive-neutral review of DUMPSTERFIRE!!!!

Local angry man believes he has seen trucks of DORITOS penetrate the roxor mansion with alarming frequency past week

Yes, his trademark badassery and edgy overtones seem to have mellowed out after beign blackmailed by Fergus into writing a somewhat positive review of Deadfire

 

[Jrpgfan]

Can we expect a Darth Roxor review of this? Would love to read it.

Nope, I'm not really planning to play it.

why

 

[Darth Roxor]

why would i want to

 

[Bumvelcrow]

I just tried it out for a few minutes and I have pretty much the same opinion as a number of others. The character creation is great and takes me right back to IE times. It was a genuine pleasure to have DnDish attributes and skills to tinker with again. I've only had a couple of fights so far so no comments on that other than agreeing with Jinn that it's very IEish. It does all feel very light and feathery, without the sense of actually hitting that something like IWD had. I expect that's down to sound effects and animations.

Loading times are ridiculous - I thought the game had crashed when I first started it up, went away and came back later to find it had loaded. This is playing from a SSD. I also don't particularly like the UI, where things like the spellbook overlay the entire screen rather than a proportion of it. It feels like I'm looking at a spreadsheet. Also, they've swiped the icon-for-area-transition from PoE, which I really hate because you can't just click on a door, you have to click on an icon some way from the door.

Graphics are okay, portraits are generally very good, sound is mediocre, voice acting is as terrible as you'd expect, plot doesn't seem particularly imaginative but could be fun. So far it seems like it could be a good game, and certainly a good framework for further Pathfinder games, which is very promising.

 

[Lyre Mors]

why would i want to

Because it's a good RPG.

 

[Darth Roxor]

good RPG.

premise ridiculous

 

[Lyre Mors]

premise ridiculous

Touche, dark one

 

[V_K]

The "team of Russian unknowns" was in fact a band of seasoned Nival veterans

You say it like being a seasoned shovelware producer is good thing.

Hey, they made the last good Heroes of Might and Magic game, if you think that is shovelware, just look to all that crap that came after it and that shit would fit the definition of shovelware with high honors.

And Silent Storm.

And Evil Islands.

And Rage of Mages 2.

I rest my case.

 

[Darth Roxor]

you'd better respect rage of mages 2 asshole

 

[jerfdr]

Can we expect a Darth Roxor review of this? Would love to read it.

Nope, I'm not really planning to play it.

That's very unfortunate. The game seems to be a quite faithful and unforgiving recreation of Pathfinder, and I'd really like to read your take on that.

 

[V_K]

you'd better respect rage of mages 2 asshole

 

[Lyre Mors]

Listen man, better respect that shit. Not gonna try a good RPG by several of the same developers, but you better respect.

 

[Darth Roxor]

you'd better respect rage of mages 2 asshole

You have been visited by the fabulous Kingcomrad of massive pimping.

Exquisite clothes will appear in your wardrobe if you greet him with the words "Igles, noooooooo!"

 

[Farewell into the night]

I can make a review if someone wants it.

Edit: I made it. I don't know how to post it in the Content section. Let me know if it's any good <3

At the outset, I would like to point out that English is not my native language, so please forgive me for any language mistakes.

Review of Pathfinder Kingmaker begins! What can you say about a computer game that was created on the basis of the well-known Pathfinder system? Let's get into this topic.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is the debut work of the Owlcat Games studio founded in 2016. The team's series is powered by experienced developers who participated in creating such productions as Silent Storm, Heroes of Might and Magic V, Skyforge or even Rage of Mages 2. This production, representing the RPG genre, was created in cooperation with Chris Avellone - well a well-known veteran who signed up on the pages of video game history as one of the main people responsible for the final shape, including Planescape Torment, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout 2, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords. The game was based on the RPG-system Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, published in 2009 by the Paizo Publishing company; it is a kind of extended and modified version of the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 system. The authors of the original worked closely with the creators of digital adaptation.

So how did it work out? Pretty good.

We are dealing here with a well-crafted, but well presented, cRPG in the spirit of the golden era of computer-based role-playing games. Honestly, I was expecting an average game, but Stolen Lands drew me better than the popular Pillars of Eternity's Eora world. I will write more, I am horrified by this game and it is definitely a good model for future game developers.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker has an eye-catching graphic design, reminiscent of the Divinity: Original Sin. It is worth paying attention to character portraits and cool designed UI. In addition to picturesque, well-designed locations, you can enjoy, for example, light effects accompanying the casting of more powerful spells that are awesome and have a good feeling.

So much for the introduction. How does it "play" the hell?

Quite good, but not perfect. I think that fans of Icewind Dale can feel at home, but the game itself has a modern feeling that allows you to calmly blend in with the world of Stolen Lands. For sure the fight is better than in Pillars of Eternity, it seems to be more intuitive.

We have interesting tasks to perform and, as befits the game, various crafty creatures.

What about the subject of our hero? Well, for those who like to spend a lot of time allocating points, analyzing statistics, choosing skills will certainly be satisfied, because the choice is plentiful.

A big plus is the ability to create a team that you want and you can break the classic patterns known from other games. So in this game there is a lot of replayability potential.

Our helpers are reasonably well written, but this is not a master level. Well, I think it is difficult in these times (infinite information) about memorable companions.

In this game the main function is the development of our kingdom. The process is not easy, because many of our decisions affect its formation - we can both rule fairly and act as a tyrant. It really worked very well for them.

In dialogs, you can use options based on the hero's skills. This is definitely a positive thing, but not insistent. The dialogues themselves are interesting and allow you to acclimatize to the realities of Pathfinder.


The plot is cool and even logical, does not bother the game, and we will meet on our way numerous climate NPCs.

That's all I can write about this game. Interestingly, I liked it more from Pillars of Eternity, and if you do not look it is a distant cousin, but more like a source.

In summary, it worked quite well. In my opinion, this game gives light and hope for better cRPG's in the future. You can see here the soul of DnD and Pathfinder. There are also some innovations, and I liked the possibility of creating a kingdom. Fans will certainly be inspired by this title, because it's a good illustration of the system. It's not perfect, but for a computer game it's great. It is definitely worth taking the best pieces out of it and you can play it many times from scratch. Will it turn out to be a classic in a few years? Perhaps this will happen, or perhaps people will only remember Divinity: Original Sin or Pillars of Eternity, although in my opinion these titles are weaker.

Nice game, I think it's worth taking the time to become familiar with it. And was I right? See for yourself.