Pathfinder: Kingmaker

Pathfinder: Kingmaker focuses on players assuming the role of a hero character they create, who will create their own kingdom and have to manage it, while contending with a variety of different main quests, alongside a multitude of side quests and locations to explore. The gameplay is modeled on the Pathfinder role-playing tabletop game, and is based on similar systems from classic computer RPGs such as Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. The game is played from an isometric perspective, allows players to conduct combat either in pausable real-time or turn-based, and features a range of different party companions they can recruit; these include established Pathfinder characters, along with new characters created for the game.

Pathfinder's unique aspect is an emphasis on realm-building - which begins after the player is given a kingdom of their own to rule over. Players begin with a single territory, but can acquire new lands with the option to add a new settlement in newly acquired territory. Settlements allow the player to construct different buildings, which confer bonuses to the kingdom's stats and specialized abilities (such as a fast-travel system between settlements), unlocking new buildings and building slots when they earn the right to upgrade a settlement - from a village, to a town and then to a city. To run the kingdom efficiently, players must appoint Advisors - roles the player can assign to any companions and allies they recruited, initially to five of the kingdom's stats, unlocking the remaining roles upon improving each advisor in rank.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is based on the six modules that make up the Pathfinder Adventure Path campaign published in 2010. The game takes place in the world of Golarian, the setting for Pathfinder, which is inhabited with races and creatures in a similar context to that of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, with the exception that some (such as satyr, dryads, unicorns and manticores) live within another dimension known as "The First World" - with Golarian's inhabitants referring to them as the Fey.

The game's story, including that of the DLC content, takes place within a region known as the Stolen Lands - a harsh land often plagued by bandits and monsters, and considered a buffer zone for several kingdoms including Brevoy, Pitax and Mivon, featuring a mixture of mountainous terrain, plains, forests and swamplands.

Following the game's announcement, Owlcat announced they were considering different funding avenues. This culminated in the June 2017 launch of the Kickstarter campaign, which was billed as for expanding the game rather than funding it. The campaign ended by the end of the month after raising US$909,057 from more than 18,000 contributors. Chris Avellone, an acclaimed scriptwriter for other role-playing games, contributed to the game.

The game was published by Deep Silver and was released on 25 September 2018. On June 6, 2019, Enhanced Edition update was released for computer platforms. On August 18, 2020, ports for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were released subtitled Definitive Edition. The computer versions got an update at the same time that was titled Enhanced Plus Edition.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker received mixed reviews, holding an aggregate score of 73 out of 100 on Metacritic. The Game Debate review praised the game's engrossing story, depth and realm management feature, calling it "a beautiful looking, rich CRPG, that delivers a great place to adventure, an interesting land to rule and the tools to carve out a realm that you can call home". In a somewhat less enthusiastic review, GameSpot's Daniel Starkey believes the game to be "hampered by a litany of small issues, balancing, and the gargantuan knowledge base you'll need to play most effectively", while also lauding the narrative and the kingdom management aspect of the game, mentioning that "for those with the patience, the rewards are well worth the investment". The game has also been criticized for its inconsistent difficulty curve and the opaqueness of some of its mechanics.

On the technical side, the game's launch was plagued by numerous bugs, long loading screens and balance issues, which hurt the game's initial reception with both professional critics and customers. In the following months, many of these issues have been fixed by patches except the Playstation 4 edition that remains subject to regular crashes, save file deletion and assorted technical, frame rate and graphical issue.