Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
Owlcat Games · RPG, Strategy, Indie, Action
Overview
Embark on a journey to a realm overrun by demons in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, a new epic RPG from the creators of the critically acclaimed Pathfinder: Kingmaker. Explore the nature of good and evil, learn the true cost of power, and rise as a Mythic Hero capable of deeds beyond mortal expectations.
THE GAMEQ VERDICT10,000 reviews analyzed
What players are actually saying
1. Summary
Reviewers describe Wrath of the Righteous as a huge, demanding adaptation of the Pathfinder tabletop rules that rewards people willing to learn it. Character building leads the praise (39% of longer reviews talk about builds, classes or character creation), followed by a story where choices change the campaign, a well-liked group of companions, and the mythic paths that turn the hero into an angel, a lich, a demon or stranger things and give the game its replay value. 11% of longer reviews add that it is a lot of game for the money, especially on sale.
Plenty of the complaints come from reviews that still recommend the game. About 14% of longer reviews discuss the crusade army layer that arrives after the first act, much of it critically. Players also describe stat-inflated enemies that force constant buffing, combat that turns into a slog of trash fights, and bugs that can break quests years after launch. Mods and outside guides each come up in 9% of longer reviews, usually as advice to other players: which mods automate buffs or fix stuck quests, and which guides to read before building a character.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
Story, world and choices that change the campaignHigh
The story and setting come up in 49% of longer reviews, more than any other subject. Players describe a campaign that grows from a small survivor's tale into a demon-war epic, with branching paths, several endings and decisions that visibly reshape quests and companions. Evil playthroughs get specific praise for letting players be truly villainous. Some players feel the plot loses steam in the later acts, and the writing has its critics (see the split section below).
Character building and class varietyHigh
39% of longer reviews talk about builds, classes, archetypes, feats or character creation. Players describe hours spent in the character creator, theorycrafting party compositions, and replaying just to try a different class. One reviewer put it as "I love how the character creation is just an entire game on its own." The same depth feeds the complexity complaints below, and a reviewer who does not recommend the game wrote "The best part of the game is character creation".
The companionsHigh
Companions are named or discussed in 26% of longer reviews, and the tone is mostly warm. Players single out party banter, personal quests, romances and characters such as Arueshalae, Daeran, Regill and Camellia. One reviewer wrote "i frequently forgot my companions weren't real people." The dissent is narrower: some find specific companions annoying (Nenio's quest draws several groans), and a minority calls the cast's tone too quippy or modern for a holy war.
Mythic paths and replay valueHigh
Mythic paths appear in 21% of longer reviews and replaying in 14%. Players like that the mythic choice changes powers, dialogue, companions and how the world treats the hero, so a second run feels like a different story. "The Mythic system (especially the Demon path) feels insanely powerful and shapes the story brilliantly," one reviewer wrote, and several enjoy ending the game as a near-godlike figure. Some paths and the secret ending are easy to miss without a guide, players warn.
A lot of game for the moneyMedium
11% of longer reviews talk about value, usually that the game was bought cheaply on sale and delivered well over a hundred hours. "I mean it's about 100 hours of solid story for like 3 euros, can't complain." A few reviewers advise waiting for a discount, and opinion on the DLC is cooler, with some recommending only the class-unlock or story packs.
Turn-based or real-time, and adjustable difficultyMedium
13% of longer reviews talk about turn-based or real-time play. Players like switching between real-time with pause and turn-based at any time, and several say turn-based mode is the best way to play; one wrote "Turn based modes honestly turns the game into a near perfect video game version of the pathfinder 1e system". The detailed difficulty settings get credit for letting story-focused players coast while veterans make it as punishing as they like. A smaller group says turn-based feels bolted onto a real-time design, citing turns lost when a queued move leaves an attack out of range.
MusicLow
7% of longer reviews mention the soundtrack, mostly to praise it. "The music is also amazing. My greatest compliments to the composer!" One quibble comes up more than once: a short random-encounter track that loops badly.
Where players are split
Complexity and the learning curveHigh
28% of longer reviews talk about complexity, the learning curve or needing guides. Fans want exactly this, a faithful, crunchy Pathfinder first edition ruleset that rewards study. Others hit a wall: character creation full of unfamiliar terms, systems the game barely explains, and the feeling that a wiki or build guide is required even on lower settings. Advice to newcomers is the same from both camps: play on Normal or lower first, pick something simple, and expect to be lost for a while. "Don't buy this game if your not willing to be confused for a few hours." The share is about the same among reviewers who stopped early and those who played for weeks.
Comparisons with Baldur's Gate 3 and KingmakerHigh
Baldur's Gate 3 comes up in 22% of longer reviews, in both directions. Some reviewers came to this game after BG3 and say it "Scratches that BG3 itch." with deeper builds and harder fights. Others warn that it lacks BG3's cinematics, voice work and approachability; one negative reviewer wrote "So far i played dos2, bg3 and rogue trader and i have to say this is the worst experience i had so far." Owlcat's earlier Kingmaker comes up in 15% of longer reviews, and most of those who compare the two directly call this one an improvement, "better than kingmaker in almost all respects", though a minority prefers Kingmaker's story and freer alignment choices.
LengthMedium
15% of longer reviews talk about the game's length or bloat. For some, the 100 to 200 hour campaign is part of the value. Others feel it outstays its welcome, with filler fights, extra systems and a slower back half. "It's a great game, but it is TOO LONG." Several players say they burned out before the end or never finished a run.
The writing and dialogueMedium
Praise for the writing (6% of longer reviews) outnumbers specific attacks on it (4%). Fans call it sharp and reactive: "this is what good crpg writing looks like." Detractors describe walls of text, characters who over-explain, and a jokey modern tone they find out of place; "Characters dont talk, they monologue.." That complaint is more common among reviewers with only a few hours in the game.
Partial voice actingLow
8% of longer reviews mention voice acting. Most of the dialogue is text only, and opinions split on whether that hurts. Some miss full voice work and recommend an AI voice mod, while others like what is there: "only 10% of this game is voice acted, which is a shame because what is voiced is done phenomenally." A few find specific performances overacted.
The later actsLow
Act 4 is named in 4% of longer reviews. Some players call it the coolest part of the game, while others describe a disorienting map, camera-dependent puzzles and harder fights that made them quit. A broader pacing complaint covers everything after the second act: "The pacing gets a lot worse after Act 2, and the story just didn't keep me as invested."
What frustrates players
The crusade army layerHigh
About 14% of longer reviews discuss the army and crusade management that opens up after the first act, and in a sample of them most are critical. Players describe it as a shallow Heroes of Might and Magic imitation bolted onto an RPG, with slow army battles, resource waiting and more loading screens. "Crusader mode sucks all the fun out of this game and it was the worst part of it," one recommender wrote, and another called its systems "the most unintuitive garbage I've ever seen." Several note it can be automated or simplified in settings, but that it stays tied to quests and story. A minority enjoys it, with one fan writing "I am also a fan of the army combat system".
Enemy stats, constant misses and difficulty spikesHigh
16% of longer reviews talk about balance, unfair fights, armour class, spell resistance or missed attacks. Players who recommend the game describe the same problems as those who don't: enemies with inflated defences, early fights that can wipe a fresh party, and casters who can't get through spell resistance. "Some random mobs that you need to beat a 44 to hit," one reviewer wrote. The frustration is sharpest on Core and harder settings, and some veterans say the top settings demand min-maxed builds. A smaller group welcomes the challenge and says "the highest levels are ACTUALLY difficult".
Bugs, broken quests and softlocksHigh
16% of longer reviews raise bugs, and players who spent many hours in the game raise them more often. Reports include softlocks that block the main quest, companion and mythic quests failing, abilities that don't work as described, and items vanishing. "Why does it bug out so bad that I cant even complete main quests now?" Players disagree on how much has been fixed: some long-time owners say patches cleaned most of it up, while reviewers keep reporting progression bugs years after launch. One suggested: "5 years after release is the perfect time to buy an Owlcat game. They've actually fixed most of the bugs and modders have added all the QoL you need."
Tedious combat and constant prebuffingHigh
15% of longer reviews call the combat tedious, repetitive or a chore, and 11% talk about buffs. The loop players describe is rest, cast a long list of buffs, fight a crowd of trash enemies, and repeat, with status effects such as stinking cloud, attribute drain and negative levels adding to it. "Too much prebuffing," one reviewer summed up, adding "This game makes me want to put every spellcaster in a sweatshop." Another wrote: "Owlcat is the worst DM I've ever had." Several players recommend buff-automation mods as the fix.
Leaning on mods for quality of lifeMedium
9% of longer reviews mention mods, often as advice rather than a complaint. Toybox, buff-automation mods and voice mods come up repeatedly, and several reviewers say the game is much better with them. "Make sure you install the toybox mod for much need Quality of Life features though." Critics count the need for mods to fix pacing, buffing and bugs as part of the problem.
Loading times and performanceMedium
7% of longer reviews raise performance or loading. Players complain about the number of loading screens between areas, plus load times and stutter that grow during long sessions until a restart is needed. "Even playing on an SSD, there are so many loading screens between areas that it really starts to drag." Another reviewer wrote that "after a while the load times get astronomical and unless you consistently restart the game you'll experience freezes, lag-spikes and memory leaks." Mac players report crashes in the later acts.
Puzzles and unclear quest directionsMedium
6% of longer reviews mention puzzles and 4% the journal, map or navigation. Players describe obscure puzzles they had to look up ("You and your puzzles are sadistic."), quests with no marker or clear next step, and missable content that fails quietly. One reviewer pointed to "how little help the quest journal offers". Timed quests and the corruption mechanic also catch players off guard.
An added launcherMedium
In June 2026 a handful of reviewers objected to a newly added launcher that runs before the game, asking for it to go: "we don't need launchers and accounts for singleplayer games, get rid of it." One said it kept running in the background even after being disabled. These reviews are short and say little about the game itself.
Controller and platform issuesLow
Fewer than 1% of longer reviews raise controller or Mac problems, such as a controller not being recognised, a stuck "press A" screen after an update, or Mac-specific crashes. Others say it runs well on Linux and the Steam Deck.
3. The player conversation
Affection and exasperation often sit in the same review. Some reviews on both sides read like mixed ones, a few players say they wished Steam had a neutral option, and several negative reviews still praise the story and builds. "I hate this game passionately when I'm playing it, but when I'm not playing it I'm very sad and miss it so much," as one recommender put it.
Reviewers with only a few hours mostly talk about character creation overload, unexplained rules, missed attacks and the dialogue's tone, and often compare it unfavourably to Baldur's Gate 3. The crusade complaints start once players reach the second act. Prebuffing, bugs, mods, Act 4 and loading times come mostly from players who stayed for the long haul and hit the later chapters. Complexity is raised at about the same rate by everyone.
The first launch weeks ran between 74% and 85% positive. Most weeks of reviews written in 2026 landed between 65% and 85% positive, with a few dips lower, and their complaints are about the same crusade, balance and bug issues that appeared at launch.
4. What the developers could do
- Make the crusade layer truly optional. It draws frequent complaints, and players who automate it say it still blocks quests and story beats they want.
- Add built-in buff automation. Players call the routine of casting a long list of buffs before fights a chore, and keep recommending mods that do it in one click.
- Fix the remaining progression bugs and softlocks. Reviewers still report main and companion quests breaking, abilities not working and items vanishing, and some abandoned long runs because of them.
- Rebalance enemy defences and trash encounters on the default settings. Players describe inflated armour class and spell resistance, early party wipes and repeated filler fights even on Normal, and some say they lowered the difficulty or quit.
- Cut loading screens and fix the slowdown in long sessions. Players report frequent area loads and load times and stutter that build up until a restart.
- Explain the systems in game and improve the journal. Newcomers say they needed outside guides for builds, rules and quests, and the journal often doesn't say where to go next.
- Keep extra launchers out of the single-player game. Reviewers in June 2026 asked for the newly added launcher to be removed, and one said it kept running after being disabled.
- Give Act 4's navigation and puzzles a clarity pass. Players who quit there point to a confusing map, camera puzzles and difficulty jumps.
