Like Pathfinder: Kingmaker before it, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is taking to Kickstarter for a crowdfunding push leading up to its release. In the realm of tabletop RPGs inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, few are as revered as Pathfinder. Created in 2009 as an alternative to the legendary pen and paper game, Pathfinder is based on earlier versions of D&D and has since expanded to include its own lore and spinoff media, from novels and card games to, naturally, video games.
Upon its debut in 2018, Pathfinder: Kingmaker released to significant acclaim, with critics praising the narrative and intense focus on the RPG elements on which the franchise was founded. The game’s focus on realm building sets it apart, as does character customization. Now, a sequel, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, is on the way, which aims to continue the saga while expanding the scope of the journey.
For the first game, Russian developer Owlcat Games launched a Kickstarter, which managed to raise a stunning $909,000 over the duration of the campaign. For the sequel, they’re utilizing a similar strategy, and the Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Kickstarter has just opened for business, and it’s already surpassed its goal of $300,000, doing so in just one day. Meanwhile, we got to witness a hands-on demo of the game, played by Creative Director Alexander Mishulin and came away impressed by the visual style, the hardcore CRPG gameplay, and the possibilities presented by the layered story.
Our demo took place during The Drezen Siege, a mission set in the game’s second act, which saw the hero’s party fighting against all manner of delightfully creepy monsters with tried-and-true PC RPG combat. The success of pretty much every action is dictated by the roll of a virtual 20-sided die, with a mile-a-minute text box in the bottom corner of the screen acting as something of a dungeon master/narrator of events. It’s a classic approach, one that should feel like a warm blanket to old-school fans of genre greats like Baldur’s Gate or more modern titles like Pillars of Eternity. The mouse and keyboard are as complex as one would expect from a hardcore entry into this particular genre, which led to us quickly handing over control to Mishulin, who then proceeded to slay the monsters, save the city, and show how a true master of the genre plays the game.
Wrath of the Righteous is not a direct sequel to Kingmaker, but it’s still set in the same Pathfinder universe and aims to expand on what made Kingmaker so memorable, while working to refine and improve the aspects that were lacking in the first game. To that end, Mishulin promised that the acclaimed kingdom management elements from Kingmaker will return in Wrath of the Righteous, but those elements were not on display in the demo we witnessed. We did get to see dialogue options, though, and were told that conversations and morality will play into how characters interact with the player and one another, including whether or not they remain loyal companions for the whole game or not.
Between Pillars of Eternity, Divinity: Original Sin, and the original Pathfinder: Kingmaker, the CRPG genre has been having something of a resurgence among players who crave something more hardcore from their RPG experiences. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous looks to continue that trend while refining the formula established in Kingmaker. If all goes well with the Kickstarter campaign, then this will surely be one to watch once it finally releases on PC.
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Source: Owlcat Games
