Larian Studios has made quite a name for themselves with games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin 2. Many consider these games the best CRPGs, believing none can come close to them. However, one game series has proven to be as good as Larian Studio’s games: Pathfinder.
Key Takeaways
Pathfinder is a CRPG developed by Owlcat Games, a company well-known for creating similar CRPGs. Pathfinder has emerged as their best series, often drawing comparisons to the best games from Larian Studios, as if they were direct competitors or rivals.
Character Creation And Customization
Baldur’s Gate 3 and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous offer extensive and detailed character creators, providing numerous options for races, backgrounds, and appearances. A robust character creator has become a staple for CRPGs, and both games excel in this area.
Pathfinder has the unique feature of allowing you to use custom pictures as your character’s portrait. This can lead to some amusing moments when you use your or your friends’ pictures to create a character or design a character inspired by other fictional settings or personal imagination.
Baldur’s Gate 3 offers a good variety of class options, but it doesn’t match the extensive and intricate class system found in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.
When I first delved into Pathfinder’s class system, I was struck by its complexity. As a fan of playing rogues and assassins in RPGs, I naturally chose the rogue class in Pathfinder. However, when I clicked on the rogue class, a new menu of subclasses opened up, leaving me overwhelmed.
As I read through and tried to understand these subclasses, I was thoroughly impressed by the depth of the class system. Being able to fine-tune your rogue class into something unique is an experience I haven’t encountered in any other game. While some games offer class specializations that allow for better or different versions of a class with minor adjustments, Pathfinder takes it to a whole new level.
Baldur’s Gate 3 lacks this feature. Although it offers multiclassing, Pathfinder does as well, and it pushes class customization to an extreme level of detail that I believe no other game matches.
Gameplay
Almost every CRPG, including Baldur’s Gate 3, features turn-based combat. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous also includes a turn-based mode but sets itself apart with a dynamic combat system that brings a refreshing twist to the gameplay. This combat system feels like a combination of an auto-battler and an action RPG, where each character takes time to recover actions, which they use to attack or cast spells.
For players who find simultaneously managing every character’s action challenging, Pathfinder offers the option to switch to turn-based mode. However, those who invest time mastering the default combat system are rewarded with a fast-paced and fluid gameplay experience.
Baldur’s Gate 3 offers multiple ways to complete quests, a feature that contributes to its Game of the Year status. While Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous might not provide as many options, it still offers a variety of choices.
Combined with its exceptional combat system and multiple quest outcomes, Pathfinder creates an unforgettable adventurous experience that might surpass that of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Content And Replayability
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous offers numerous DLCs and content updates that keep players engaged even after completing the main story. If you think you’ve seen everything by finishing the game once, you’d be very wrong.
With over 500 hours in the game and three playthroughs completed, each new playthrough with a different class feels like a completely different experience. Each class has distinct playstyles, and the companions you choose might have different synergies with your character, making the game’s replayability almost infinite.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s replayability is based on the player’s choices, while Pathfinder’s replayability depends on gameplay and your builds. Both are great games, but I stick to Pathfinder for longer sessions than Baldur’s Gate 3 or Divinity: Original Sin.
Underrated Masterpiece
The Pathfinder series is highly underrated and deserves more love and players, especially for fans of CRPGs. Titles like Wrath of the Righteous improve upon everything from their previous games. While Baldur’s Gate 3 and the Divinity series are fantastic, Pathfinder offers unique features that Larian Studios seems to overlook.
I highly recommend the Pathfinder games and hope they receive the attention they deserve in the future. Owlcat Games’ commitment to releasing excellent games like these brings much-needed diversity and innovation to the CRPG genre.
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Laiba is a passionate writer who’s been covering the gaming industry for more than 2 years now and has a deep understanding of how this industry is evolving and what gamers love to read.
