Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous test: critical success in Mythic mode

For a few years, the father of tabletop role-playing games Dungeons & Dragons has it again Coast (do you have it?), in particular thanks to initiatives such as Critical role. A phenomenon that is also confirmed by a strong comeback of the license in the world of video games, with more or less success (coughing Dark alliance coughing). In 2018, the modest Russian and Cypriot studio Owlcat Games spoiled us with Kingmaker, a C-RPG based on Pathfinder, a modified version of the 3th edition of the rules of Dungeons & Dragons. Three years and a successful crowdfunding campaign later, the studio returns with Wrath of the Righteous. An ambitious title that depicts a desperate crusade against the Demons of the Abyss and an ascent to divinity. A successful initiative roll? Sit down at our role-playing table and let us tell you more about this Mythical adventure!

Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous test: critical success in Mythic mode Lire la conclusionPathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

Religiously respected Pathfinder universe and rules
A Mythic campaign with constantly renewed interest and difficulty
The care given to history and Cornelian moral choices
A high fantasy soundtrack

Difficult to access for those uninitiated in the rules of Pathfinder
Few changes graphically
A cumbersome interface lacking in ergonomics
Many demonic bugs remain

Test carried out on the PC version via a key provided by the publisher. The game will be available for download on PC (Steam, GOG and Epic Games Store) on September 2, 2021, then on March 1, 2022 on PS4 and Xbox One, as well as on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S via backward compatibility.

Wrath of the Righteous actually draws its universe and story from the eponymous paper-cayon campaign. The theater of our mythical adventures is at the Plaie du Monde, in Golarion. This land is ravaged by an incessant crusade between the Demons of the Abyss and the forces of Good following the opening of a rift between the two planes. It is then that our character, initially a simple adventurer destined for an extraordinary destiny, comes into play, and with him the fate of the world and, let's push the mythical to the end, of the entire Pathfinder multiverse. Are you going to be the savior or the destroyer? This tough choice, among many others in an exclusively single-player campaign that easily promises a hundred hours of play, is yours.

Dungeons & Dragons finds the way to the Crusade

Like any real or virtual game of Dungeons & Dragons, our adventure begins with the creation of our character. And right off the bat, we can see Owlcat Games' deep respect for the rules of Pathfinder. So much so that the uninitiated risk being disoriented, even discouraged, from the outset. You have to deal with more than a dozen different races and classes, each with their specificities. Choices of traits, skills, feats, and even deity are crucial to building an effective character. The game will not easily forgive a poorly optimized character, even in the so-called “normal” difficulty.

Once this extremely important step is completed, our fresh character wakes up during a festival in full swing in Kenabres, a city located in the Worldwound. Wounded following explorations of nearby ruins, we are welcomed and cared for by the city guards before joining the festivities. But the party is quickly cut short as a host of demons mysteriously break through the city's magical defenses and wreak havoc. The leader of this army even manages to kill a dragon in charge of protecting Kenabres with a single blow. Very helpless, our character manages to get out of it by falling into a fault cut by the formidable scythe of the victorious Demon Lord.

We find in the caves a few survivors who will become our companions in misfortune and meet bastards, mutants descended from the first crusaders. These are looking for an angelic sword buried in nearby ruins, holding powers that could save their people, and by extension the city above their heads. Lying inert, this sword was clearly waiting for a soul worthy of its blessing to find it. Like any self-respecting high fantasy adventure, chance chooses our character. Invested with divine powers, this discovery would set in motion a destiny worthy of legends for our modest adventurer, and with him that of the entire Worldwound.

With this prologue, Wrath of the Righteous already lays the solid foundations of a campaign that will be breathtaking. Developed with the same engine as Kingmaker on Unity, the new title from Owlcat Games, however, suffers from an aging technique. Thinner and equipped with more detailed light effects than its elder, it however pales in comparison to a certain Baldur's Gate 3, and even suffers from numerous texture bugs. Never mind, it compensates for this weakness with an excellent soundtrack at all times of the adventure.

wars and dice

After a prologue giving us a taste of our first dungeon, return to the surface in a tavern called the Heart of the Defender. It will be one of the many headquarters of the game. We can breathe there, manage our inventory, craft weapons, equipment or other consumables, and chat with a myriad of companions and secondary characters in order to collect many quests before returning at the forehead. Again, Owlcat Games spoils us with very well-written characters and companions with radically different personalities and aspirations. In the long term, you will have to deal with more than ten potential members of your group and manage them carefully in view of the trials that await you at the exit of your temporary haven of peace.

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Our little haven of peace in the middle of the chaos that threatens us.

The game then introduces us to a well-known mechanic from Kingmaker and other C-RPGs like Wasteland 3: the world map. We will be able to move to different points of interest in order to free the places of their demonic presence, help our companions or recover loot and precious resources. Each move will require time, which in certain circumstances will run out, and it is not uncommon to come across random encounters, both friendly and hostile. Still, Wrath of the Righteous knows how to tickle our curiosity and encourages us to explore the map from top to bottom in order to put the odds on our side for the good of the Crusade.

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A campaign map full of places for us to discover.

Each named place thus offers unique situations, and it is always with a certain excitement that we discover new story elements and magic items to equip our group. On site, our six heroes will therefore have to face many challenges in order to explore each area. As a reward for their efforts, the group will gain experience and level up. If the creation of a single character could be a headache in itself for laymen, managing this central element of the gameplay for ten characters will be even more so. It is of course possible to opt for an automatic increase in levels, but we strongly advise against it, especially in the highest levels of difficulty.

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Leveling up: a step as crucial as it is complex.

Since we are talking about challenges, it is a good idea to dwell on what will occupy a large part of the game: the fights. Unlike Kingmaker when it was released, Wrath of the Righteous offers two approaches to gameplay. First in real time with tactical pause, like the first Baldur's Gate, or turn-based like Divinity: Original Sin. More adept at this last method, we opted for turn-based. And again, those uninitiated in the rules of Pathfinder may have some difficulty. The game literally overwhelms us with information and terms like Armor Class, Initiative, Saving Throw and others. So many elements that will have to be mastered in order to triumph. Dungeons & Dragons obliges, most of the actions are governed by the chance of the dice, which can be as much fun as it is frustrating, depending on each person's sensitivity to randomness.

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Fights that will always require more tactical sense as you progress.

However, once the helping hand is taken, the fights, which however are sorely lacking in verticality, are particularly pleasant, and their difficulty will always go crescendo. Too bad some bugs taint the experience, such as a capricious camera or pathfinding of our strawberry characters (rather ironic for a Pathfinder game) in doorways. We even had to reload previous games or even restart the game in order to unlock our characters or remove penalties that persisted even in a past save. Another element that turns out to be quite damaging: a heavy interface that lacks ergonomics. By dint of accumulating skills and objects, navigation in the menus or on the combat interface can ultimately prove to be quite tedious.

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In the fights or in the menus, the interface drowns us in information and lacks ergonomics.

During their travels and adventures, our heroes may be affected by penalties inflicted by our enemies or simply by fatigue, which will severely weaken them. Similarly, spellcasters will need rest to recover used slots. It is therefore urgent to rest for a few hours, preferably at our headquarters, or failing that, on site. In any case, a well-composed group will also be crucial. It will be necessary to perform guard shifts, hide the camp, prepare a meal and perform a rite of protection. Proximity to the Worldwound introduces a Corruption of the Abyss mechanic which, if not purified, risks severely penalizing our group.

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Rest, a vital element in Dungeons & Dragons. Beware of resting in dungeons, which can corrupt the party.

Through each act, our adventure will lead us irretrievably towards a series of events which will be the pinnacle and will move the story forward in the most epic way. The opportunity each time to lead a desperate siege against a fortress invested by demons, with its share of trials and final bosses as devious as they are epic to face, and to rise in rank within the Crusade.

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Many epic and devious boss battles pave the way to your rise to godhood.

Again, some concerns somewhat mitigate the epic breath. In addition to our heroes and their adversaries, many troops managed by artificial intelligence will come to lend a hand. But this will ultimately be more disabling than anything else, causing unspeakable chaos that interferes with our movements and the use of our skills.

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Fights involving multiple players can quickly turn into endless chaos.

The end-of-act events are undoubtedly the most important and difficult part of the game. Count several hours to see the end of it, in incessant combat that will put your tactical sense and your nerves to the test. At the end of each act, you will also have to make hard choices, which will forever shape your character, your group and your story.

Mythical Choices

Taking up a well-oiled mechanism from Kingmaker, Wrath of the Righteous offers us dialogues with impeccable writing, although sometimes pulling a little too long. Here too, rolls linked to certain characteristics will make it possible to obtain specific dialogue choices, which will take into account the traits of the members of our group. If our character is for example not very eloquent, it will be necessary to find a companion who compensates for this weakness. Very often, the dialogues and other narrated elements present us with heartbreaking moral dilemmas. Should a few souls be sacrificed for the salvation of thousands? How far to go for victory? Is our soul a small price to pay to achieve our ends? So many questions whose answer belongs solely to the player, often at a terrible price that will have to be assumed.

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Many illustrated scenes like this will involve tough narrative choices.

Wrath of the Righteous thus allows itself an ambitious ascent compared to its elder by introducing the Mythical Way. As a reminder, these are rules specific to Pathfinder in which the characters rub shoulders with neither more nor less than divine and mythological beings. Imbued with the power of the angelic sword recovered at the beginning of the story, our character will be confronted several times with choices related to his Mythical Way. At the end of the first act, we unlock a new "class" independent of our base class, which brings us powers and skills almost divine. Irradiated with our new power, our companions will also be able to acquire new mythical gifts. Some Mythic Paths are unlocked out of the box, but others will require completing certain quests or unraveling secrets in order to uncover them. Without divulging too much, towards the end of the game we will have the possibility of becoming simply legendary beings in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, with all that that implies.

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The Mythical Way: a choice that will impact both the gameplay and the story in an epic way.

The choice of a Mythical Way will thus seriously influence the course of our adventures. We on our side, at the end of the second act, opted for that of the Demon, which stuck well to our starting class. This inevitably provoked strong reactions within our group (in particular our companions of Good alignment). It goes without saying that crusaders against a demonic invasion take a very dim view of the fact that their greatest hope wears the appearance of their sworn enemy. And this is only the visible side of a huge iceberg, after fifty hours of play, casually. Many other choices and epic intrigues await you throughout a story that never ceases to renew itself and put your moral sense to the test. After all, as commander of the Fifth Crusade, the lives of your party, thousands of souls, and possibly the entire multiverse hang in the balance.

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Our companions will not all react in the same way to our choices.

Total War: Pathfinder

Beyond our adventures with our group of faithful companions, Owlcat Games has accustomed us, with Kingmaker, to placing ourselves at the head of armies to lead and provinces to defend. An element that fans of games like Total War should particularly appreciate. Eventually we will have to send armies to defeat demon hosts so that our group can advance in its more personal quest. This therefore involves managing troops, recruiting units, and moving them on the campaign map via a dedicated sub-menu. For this, we will have to amass resources, conquer cities and maintain the morale of the troops so that they fight in the best conditions.

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The submenu dedicated to the Crusader armies that we will have to lead on the campaign map.

A mechanism that can put off at first in a C-RPG, which will require some time to adapt and a lot of patience. Our armies can indeed take several days to move on the map, and the recruitment of fresh troops requires a week to renew the workforce. These will also appear far from the front and will therefore have to take the time themselves to join the war effort. As our armies advance, we will be able to establish new camps, allowing our party to explore the surrounding area without the risk of camping under the corrupting stars too often if necessary.

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The Crusade involves both human and material costs, as well as a lot of time.

Our troops can take various forms, and new units may join our ranks depending on certain key choices during the adventure. To make them more effective, they should be assigned a senior officer. Like the members of our group, they have a dedicated character sheet, although much less complex. We will thus be able to compose several armies with well-defined strengths and weaknesses, and their officer will gain in levels over his victories. Each battle will also be an opportunity to collect different resources for the campaign, as well as magic equipment for our group of heroes.

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Our armies will need valiant officers to lead them to victory.

The battles themselves are inspired by titles like Heroes of Might & Magic. Each unit has its own characteristics and, where applicable, skills. They are represented in combat by a character that must be moved on a board in order to defeat the opposing forces. If their superior officer is not physically present in combat, he can reinforce the troops or help eliminate the opposing army thanks to the skills learned as he levels up. The mechanics of the battles are all in all quite simplistic, but they still know how to do their job well. It also offers a variety of gameplay compared to our classic adventures with our group of six all-powerful heroes.

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Fans of Heroes of Might & Magic should find this board quite familiar.

However, our troops are not the only ones moving in this crusade. It will happen that armies of demons attack our outposts and even the various cities in our charge. It will therefore be up to us to fight back and sometimes make terrible sacrifices, at the risk of jeopardizing our economy and the morale of our troops, and with them the fate of the Worldwound.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - l'avis de JVFR

As you will have understood, Wrath of the Righteous takes up a lot of elements introduced by Kingmaker before him. However, it would be criminal to reduce it to a simple extension, as the title is generous in content. With its mythical long-term story, the most faithful possible application of Pathfinder rules to the video game format and its well-oiled mechanics, the new title from Owlcat Games presents itself as an excellent C-RPG.

A game that will not appeal to everyone, however, especially those uninitiated in the universe and the rules of Dungeons & Dragons, or those allergic to games requiring a huge investment in terms of both tactical sense and time. Technically, Wrath of the Righteous also takes a few missteps. Graphically slightly dated, still affected by many sometimes very annoying bugs and a rather heavy interface, it lacks a bit of finish.

Notwithstanding these concerns, which should eventually be resolved for the most part, fans of Kingmaker or Dungeons & Dragons will find in Wrath of the Righteous a high-flying adventure, and mini-maxers will once again have hours of fun ahead of them. . A truly epic and generous adventure from Owlcat Games, which once again achieves a great critical success.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

A worthy successor to Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Wrath of the Righteous ticks all the boxes for an excellent sequel. More epic, more mature, the game immerses us in a simply Mythical adventure that makes us live a real game of Dungeons & Dragons videogame role-playing game. If it still lacks finishing, this title undoubtedly has what it takes to become a new reference for C-RPG.