Publisher: Owlcat Games
Genre: RPG/Simulation
Summary: You attempt to settle a mysterious land.
Gameplay: Gameplay is based on the Pathfinder system, which is similar to Dungeons and Dragons, with a variety of races and classes to choose from and abilities that increase each level. Combat can be real time (with pause) or set to turn-based, and there are varying levels of automatic.
The game will sometimes have written sections with several choices in responses (which may be limited by character ability or morality.) These can be surprisingly crucial, and I rather enjoyed them instead of having everything be combat-focused.
Then there's kingdom management, the system for running your land. You must choose advisors and have them deal with problems and opportunities that crop up, increase their abilities, and give them orders on how to deal with situations they bring you. You also gradually acquire land and build settlements (and buildings in them) and investigate treaties and similar matters, which will influence your kingdom's statistics. This all takes time, so balancing it with exploring and other various quests of the game can be challenging, to say nothing of the death spiral that can start when things go wrong.
There are multiple levels of difficulty than can be changed at any time, as well as different options than can be changed to fine-tune your game to suit your tastes, which is much appreciated.
Style: Although top-down, the game is still gorgeous. Bright colors abound over a wide variety of landscapes with seasonal weather and excellent lighting. Little touches like frolicking animals and characters with accurate arms and armor that dance or kneel to pray if not directed to move give a sense of life. The music is very enjoyable.
Story: The story "Pathfinder: Kingmaker" tells greatly depends on your character and the choices they make. It can be a tale of the power of forgiveness and friendship and of responsibility rewarded. Or it can be a tale of the horrors of untrammeled power and pride. I was impressed how the story adjusted to player choice.
The characters are fantastic, as are their quests, and several offer romantic opportunities. The main story is intriguing and nicely develops from initial mystery to gradual clarity over the game.
The game's greatest weakness is its pacing. It's all over the place, largely thanks to kingdom management, which takes literal years in-game and hours of actual play. Often there will be a rush of main story, then hours of kingdom building again. While I didn't dislike the simulation of building my kingdom, it didn't compare to the actual plot of the game, and the start-stop of waiting for more isn't much fun.
Conclusion: "Pathfinder: Kingmaker" tells a wonderful story with wonderful characters with lots of opportunities for player choice. I just wish it didn't take so long to do it. All those long stretches of kingdom building really hurt the momentum of the game, but despite that there is much to enjoy.