Just three years after the release of its predecessor, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous arrives on PC with ambitions for release on PlayStation and Xbox within a year. It's not a sequel in the sense of a continuing story – in fact, the plot is completely different. Owlcat developers listened to fans and implemented their feedback to produce a supposedly better RPG in the same vein as Pathfinder: Kingmaker.
The stage for Wrath of the Righteous is the Pathfinder world of Golarion, and it does a good job of following pre-established lore. The game opens with the Fifth Crusade in full swing. Desperate soldiers wage war with demons pouring forth from the ravaged Worldwound. It falls to the player to command their armies in turn-based combat, but the option for real-time battles with pause is available. Critics and fans alike have had a majority positive opinion on Wrath of the Righteous, with most problems lying in pacing and mechanics.
It's possible to pick from pre-made templates, but the staggering amount of choices in character appearance, class and subclass are phenomenal. Blake Grundman of PC Invasion calls the initial experience “overwhelming,” being faced with so many interesting options. The diversity doesn't end there, either. Players can choose from ten Mythic Paths to decide how their adventure unfolds, but they should be aware that some options are better than others. According to YouTuber RPG Division, balance problems are “ever present” due to the “sheer number of classes, spells, abilities and items,” but there are no detriments or game-breaking combinations that could ruin the experience.
While it's nice to have options, the downside of having twenty-five classes and twelve races to choose from is that it's very time-consuming. Especially considering the fact that each class branches into at least five subclasses and these choices impact what dialogue options a player can get. Not only that, but the Commander can change their alignment and follow any number of custom story paths. This is a mixed bag, as critics seem to view the complex system as a time-waster. Fans, meanwhile, are apparently dazzled by the amount of customization available to them. For anyone who wants a custom-tailored story, this only adds to the experience. Someone who is eager to discover every path or achievement available may find the slow beginning a slog.
Wrath's default combat state is turn-based, but players can switch to real-time easily and quickly, even in the middle of battle. Largely, the turn-based combat is better because while there are still choppy animation bugs, it's less hectic than real-time fights with pauses. Francesco De Meo of WCCFTech makes the point that “things get chaotic quite easily, and it can become difficult to keep track of what is going on as spells fly around and demons fall to the ground.” Despite the chaos, real-time battles go by much quicker than turn-based, so the way a player chooses to fight may affect their pace as well.
Owlcat allowed an upside by offering quick contextual tutorials for every new aspect of the game. Additionally, with the option to change the difficulty at any time, players enjoy a “freeform” experience where the AI ranges anywhere from “letting you win to being downright unfair,” notes TJ Denzer of ShackNews. On this front, at least, critics and fans agree that no matter how rough the mechanics may be, they've certainly improved in the way a sequel should.
While there are certainly issues with Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, reviews continually site what the game did correctly. Thomas Medina of the Way Too Many Games blog calls the entire venture “epic,” and such a descriptor comes up frequently. Fans and critics alike have noted the epic soundtrack, epic graphics and of course epic story. Compared to Kingmaker, Wrath is an improvement. Despite the problems with the mechanics, Fextralife and GamingBolt are among the masses that agree the interface is far smoother than Kingmaker.
Generally, it helps to remember that with a game as new as Wrath of the Righteous, there will likely be bug fixes. Considering Owlcat's track record, there's a high chance that feedback regarding the combat system will be taken to heart. Otherwise, the complaints of critics fall under stylistic issues with the depth of choices a player can make. Most fans appreciate how detailed the game is, and with so many routes their party could go down, Wrath at least promises hours upon hours of engaging gameplay.
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