Pathfinder: Kingmaker

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 598 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 402 out of 598
  2. Mixed: 82 out of 598
  3. Negative: 114 out of 598

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  1. Hafner3
    Dec 29, 2018
    10
    I haven't had this much fun with a RTWP RPG since Baldur's Gate 2, I really love it. I know it's supposed to be a buggy mess, but as of patch 1.2 I haven't noticed hardly any bugs. There is plenty of challenge to be had here, especially if you're new to Pathfinder. I would suggest looking into tips from veterans of the game and TTRPG. As a bonus, import the Terry Crews portrait for yourI haven't had this much fun with a RTWP RPG since Baldur's Gate 2, I really love it. I know it's supposed to be a buggy mess, but as of patch 1.2 I haven't noticed hardly any bugs. There is plenty of challenge to be had here, especially if you're new to Pathfinder. I would suggest looking into tips from veterans of the game and TTRPG. As a bonus, import the Terry Crews portrait for your main character.… Expand
  2. Pellegrim
    Jan 20, 2019
    10
    How do I say this ... I have been an avid fan of Baldur's Gate I and II, and found the games thereafter less and less interesting, mainly due to the lack of story lines. And the years after the genre kind of disappeared. Game makers told themselves that the classic isometric was an outdated concept and viewpoints changed to "flexible from first person to iso-on-all-angles. Like the kidsHow do I say this ... I have been an avid fan of Baldur's Gate I and II, and found the games thereafter less and less interesting, mainly due to the lack of story lines. And the years after the genre kind of disappeared. Game makers told themselves that the classic isometric was an outdated concept and viewpoints changed to "flexible from first person to iso-on-all-angles. Like the kids that wanted all candies from the shop. Worked terrible and was disastrous for immersive game-play. I think I bought and tried 10 to 15 of the big titles in recent years, and they all disappointed greatly. The games generally had no story line consequence, were full on plot-holes and/or were very inconsistent. It's like people did not care about a well-structured story anymore, an any story at all. So in my eyes the amazing and potent, classic turn-based, ISO-view, D&D based genre was gone and wouldn't return. I and blamed the current game design philosophy (or lack thereof), that tries to jam as many effect and novelties in a game and think that that is what makes a good game. I closed the chapter and let my newly acquired PC gather dust (or play Spotify, rather). Of course I kept an eye out on forums, and followed rumors, cause you never know right. Then Beamdog touched-up Baldur’s Gate and reintroduced them. And made a few modules, that were so hollow and bad that I wish they wouldn’t. And then rumors of a worthy follow-up appeared, Pillars of Eternity. Tried it. In short, it’s a good game, but it lacks an immersive story that it tied to the game, and thus it does not offer the same rewarding character-development-tied-to-a-good-story. And then I got stuck in a cavern that felt too much like a dungeon crawlers, and I was unable to beat a room, time-after-time, and It was unclear if I wasn’t supposed to be in that place at that level, also mainly cause the story-line wasn’t there to confirm or deny this. So I stopped play, Pillars did not tick the box. It didn’t contain a creafully designed story in combination with game development. The came Divine Divinity: Original Sin. It was actually good on the starting story, nice surprise. But. Then I get to a dungeon (where you are supposed to be), and I can in now way beat an enemy (or set off enemies) there. So I googled around, I basically found that you need to set your characters up in a terribly specific way so they synergies, and do exponentially increased damage. That a game flaw right there, lost interest, quit playing. To bad. Then I sat in the car with two buddies going to an event, and I told the story above bout me looking for that new fun game to play, and one said “seems like you are talking about Pathfinder: Kingmaker”. And my other buddy confirmed. I could not believed them, cause I still checked the interwebs regularly. But I figured, why not, let’s download it. Started out, and immediately thought “hey, this feels good”. Then I found that the mechanics are basically old skool D&D (I thought Pathfinder had a very different system), which was like coming home. With a lot of new builds and rules, which keeps it fresh. Played the introduction chapter, and literally all my synapses were fire up red hot. Om my, was this the actual game I was looking for for roughly 20 years? It very well could be .. dang…. The camera view felt great, the combat system felt great, the story line was very-very solid, the effort-reward ratio was solid (can’t express how important this is for a game). I just started the 2nd chapter of 8 in total and I have to ration myself to the PC for two reasons: if I don’t I lose my family/job and the amazing experience will be over way to soon! This game has the depth, the loving care of a great story writer, a team that understands risk-reward that makes a game a great game. It obviously had a very solid playtesting phase, and provide on screen hints before difficult combat, to prevent game-breaking situations. What can I say, one of the things that makes it right is that it is so well balanced. Then I found our Chris Avellone wrote for it! One of the creators of Baldurs Gate; and it all adds up. And it’s not from a huge huge studio, so it didn’t have editors ramming it into a boring mainstream format. It’s a Russian-German made game, from what I understand. All I can say finally is: thanks people who made this game, you revived PC gaming for me and I am looking forward to many many more hours of Kingmaker! This game rocks, it offers so many great options and experience, the story is amazing, the map system is great, and it is made with so much care. It is the new Baldurs Gate, and even overtakes it!… Expand
  3. EmperorProtects
    Apr 25, 2020
    8
    Mostly fun game with some minor issues. Long with good pacing throughout. Kingdom management can definitely be annoying. Added points for D&D, subtracted a bit for NPC dialog being too cutesy-wootsy for the setting.
  4. bicyclecat
    Aug 10, 2021
    9
    The GOOD: The game has a good story, much better than PoE or DOS2, for examples. Rich character development. NPCs and side-quests were engaging. I enjoyed the turned-based combat and some of the encounters required some thought in order to survive. There was a decent amount of puzzles unlike most most modern RPGs.

    The BAD: Slow loading times, repetitive encounters, occasional bugs,    The GOOD: The game has a good story, much better than PoE or DOS2, for examples. Rich character development. NPCs and side-quests were engaging. I enjoyed the turned-based combat and some of the encounters required some thought in order to survive. There was a decent amount of puzzles unlike most most modern RPGs.

    The BAD: Slow loading times, repetitive encounters, occasional bugs, especially when turn-based option was added shortly after I started the game. By time I finished the game, most of the bugs were fixed. Balance and pacing was off. I didn't enjoy the kingdom management; at one point my kingdom collapsed and I had to load an old save, make different choices, and redo some quests.

    OVERALL the game brought me a lot of joy, almost as much as BG2 when it came out.    … Expand
  5. lordgothic
    Aug 11, 2021
    10
    One of the top games I've ever played

    Pros: - Finally feels like an adventures by traveling the map in semi-real time - Challenging fights - Memorable characters, there are only handful games you feel interested to learn the whole companion story - Long gameplay that doesn't make you bored Cons: - Quite high difficulty - Can be a bit overwhelming - "what I should do now"? -    One of the top games I've ever played

    Pros:
    - Finally feels like an adventures by traveling the map in semi-real time
    - Challenging fights
    - Memorable characters, there are only handful games you feel interested to learn the whole companion story
    - Long gameplay that doesn't make you bored

    Cons:
    - Quite high difficulty
    - Can be a bit overwhelming - "what I should do now"?
    - Soft timer over your head    … Expand
  6. Ghostvein
    Aug 25, 2021
    10
    I absolutely love pathfinder king maker. Reminds me of old school DND. After 50 hours of game play it is a absolutely beautiful game.
  7. evanov
    Nov 30, 2021
    10
    Familiar with the game for a long time, watched and reviews, and walkthrough, which increased the desire to play, so thanks to the developers, I as a fan very satisfied.
  8. Dvacha
    Sep 15, 2021
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 1. Тут действительно влияют твои характеристики на ту или иную ситуацию. Как пример можно привести ситуацию в деревне ящеров где при злом характере персонажа можно без боя завершить квест. 2. Очень порадовали квесты связанные со спутниками, в особенности с Канерой, Джейтал и Харримом. 3. Приятная графическая составляющая Как бонус можно учесть что если вам нужна игра чтобы занять время, то Pathfinder точно подойдёт. Этот пункт слишком долго расписывать, но поверьте мне, тут квестов предостаточно К минусам можно отнести, плохо реализованную систему бросков во время боя (поиграйте хотя бы один или два часа и поймёте), а также чересчур обильное количество сражений (серьёзно, они приедаются очень сильно и очень быстро )… Expand
  9. Tiradentes
    Sep 7, 2023
    10
    Not immune to bugs, Pathfinder: Kingmaker brings one of the best cRPG experiences I've ever participated in. With extremely interesting and charismatic companions, be ready to dive into this quite complex but captivating and surprising story.
  10. Keron_Heruman
    Aug 23, 2023
    8
    Very good adaptation of Pathfinder pen&paper rules to a computer game, the game is really long and good constructed, plenty of options and with solid mechanics, but the history behind it is not so good and tends to became boring late game. The kingdom management is a good idea but poorly implemented.
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Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018
100
#100 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. CD-Action
    Feb 13, 2019
    75
    Pathfinder: Kingmaker offers an interesting world to explore along with satisfying combat, and the first half of the adventure is top-notch old school fun. Unfortunately later the game loses its momentum and becomes boring. Anyhow, it’s a solid RPG that should keep Baldur’s Gate’s fans happy for many hours. [12/2018, p.86]
  2. Games.cz
    Jan 15, 2019
    80
    A great adaptation of the original Pathfinder gamebooks. The story is sidelined by tough tactical combat - its steep difficulty may be daunting to genre newbies, but D&D veterans will be delighted. There are technical problems, yes, but those are overshadowed by refreshing kingdom management and interesting companions.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Dec 31, 2018
    80
    RPG for the hardened. Get used to loadings and getting lost in the rules, get ready for an ok storyline - and in the return you will enjoy a deep level of challenge and great management of your own kingdom. Obsidian has a new competitor. [Issue#290]
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