Owlcat Games’s first major release, Pathfinder: Kingmaker, will be coming to PS4 and Xbox One on August 18th. The Definitive Edition of the game, also releasing on PC, includes all six DLCs. PC players will also gain controller support for their versions.
Back in March, the kickstarter for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous ended, raising over $2 million for the indirect sequel. ‘Slacker backers’ have since raised at least another $50k for the last stretch goal. The estimate for release date remains around July 2021. The developers appear to have a lot more on their plate since the start of the year; the enhanced edition of Pathfinder: Kingmaker brought in a lot of traction,when major bugs had, prior to it, impacted reviews of the game.
Most notably, a new turn-based mode is coming to the game – not just for the Definitive Edition. Pathfinder: Kingmaker presently plays like CCRPGs, such as Baldur’s Gate or Knights of the Old Republic; with the new mode, which players can activate by pressing a single button, combat in the game can play similarly to how it did in Divinity: Original Sin.
With the already expansive difficulty settings, Pathfinder: Kingmaker will become easier to tailor to players’ needs. The ability to switch between the two modes at the press of a button can change the way boss fights progress. Players will have a continuous choice between faster, more dynamic combat, and slower, more tactical combat.
The turn-based mode appears to make better use of initiative scores and divides turns into sets of actions. Each character starts their turn with a movement action, standard action, a free action, and a swift action – prior to haste or slow effects. The new mode will also make attacks of opportunity more important and tactical, for both the player and enemies.