Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is one of the longest games I have played in recent times. It is also one of the most interesting. It is an isometric role-playing game developed by Cypriot studio Owlcat Games and published by META Publishing. It combines traditional RPG and strategy RPG and is based on the Pathfinder franchise by Paizo Publishing.

The game is a big improvement over Pathfinder: Kingmaker, a previous game by Owlcat Games. Developed on the Unity engine and released in September 2021, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is available on macOS and Microsoft Windows. The Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions are expected out later in 2022.

Plot With Twists And Turns

The game is set in the mythical world of Mendeve, where a war is raging between mortals and demons from another world called the Abyss. These demons enter the mortal world through an anomaly called the Worldwound. The endless wars, called crusades, have begun to lose ground because any demons that are killed in the mortal world come back to life in the Abyss.

You control a citizen of the city of Kenabres, who has survived an attack by a demon lord and discovers that he has strange mythical powers from an unknown source. Your character is soon promoted to the commander of an army and has to lead the army into battle against the demons while trying to figure out how to close the demonic portal. Thus begins Pathfinder’s twisting and turning plot: Wrath of the Righteous. The attention to detail in the game’s plot does not always translate to the pace, which can sometimes be frustrating.

Character Design 

There are 25 classes you can choose from, and some have subcategories of up to six archetypes. This is one of the most extensive sets of options I have ever seen in a CRPG. Some of the classes need to be unlocked by leveling up or other requirements. You also get to choose other character descriptions like race, background, religion, skills, feats, and an animal companion (if you are into that).

Your animal companion also gets class, skills, feats, etc. Talk about a well-detailed RPG. The downside to doing all of this without knowing how the game works is that you may end up with a character who is unable to face the rigors of the Pathfinder. This means you have to restart and reset your character after wasting hours.

New Turn-Based Gameplay

One of the best things about this game is the incorporation of turn-based combat. This feature alone already makes it better than its predecessor. You get to determine how involved you want to be in combat. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is probably the only RPG game that has mastered the art of integrating this turn-based gameplay with real-time. It is so smooth that you can switch between turn-based and real-time-with-pause mode even in the middle of a battle.

You now get tutorial pop-ups from time to time, giving you information or important details about the environment, a new weapon, etc. These pop-ups appear less as you progress into the game and handle armies. The game is single-player only, so you don’t have to call all your friends together to have a great and intriguing campaign. The dialogue side of the game is also interesting because you get multiple options to choose from and see what happens.

Although the game states that there are no wrong decisions, I sometimes was not satisfied with the outcome of that decision. I could blame that on the game or accept that that is just how life works. 

Despite the tutorial pop-ups that seem to guide you, no signs are giving you directions on the right way to go. There is a journal that documents the quests you should embark on, but you are left to wander around until you stumble onto the objectives. Another disturbing thing is the vague nature of the descriptions. You may get a task to “build your forces,” but you are left to figure out how to do that; thus, you don’t get the normal sense of progression.

Immersive Graphics Needs Work

The graphics of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous are really impressive. The landscapes and background can be quite stunning when you rotate the 3D camera. You can also zoom in to see finer details, but with a limited zoom-out feature. The combination of calligraphy and the visual style is fascinating to watch and evokes a feeling of mystery.

The game generally runs better than its predecessor, the Kingmaker. It saves faster and loads levels and screens faster also. However, the frame rate significantly drops when you go into big cities, and it doesn’t improve if you reduce the shadows and SSAO.

Interesting And Enjoyable Soundtrack

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous does not disappoint in delivering great audio work. The game combines voiced and unvoiced dialogue, and I truly enjoyed the voiced dialogue. The actors gave a believable and compelling performance with lines that made me chuckle genuinely. The soundtrack also solidly punctuates the gameplay and action without becoming a distraction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is an excellent game for you if you have experience playing previous Pathfinder games. If you don’t, you can still have a great experience if you know how isometric RPG games work. However, the number of hours it takes to complete the campaign can be daunting. It could take up to 150 hours to complete the campaign, and I know most people don’t have the fortitude. 

The hours may feel longer if you consider the sometimes dull writing, boring combat, and bugs you would encounter. Speaking of bugs, I am sure the developers will fix them through patches and updates.