Fun and creative puzzle game that fall juuuuust short of greatness. A game that will make you ask "what is the question?" instead of "what is the answer?" - not an easy balancing act (and one that the game does stumble during), but when the tight rope is as thick and hard as the one in TRI: Of Friendship and Madness, you can't help but hop back on even after you've fallen.

-1 one star because the last puzzle had WAY too much bloom going on. I mean, really, it's like they took the bloom dial and cranked that motherfucker up to 11.

Oh while we're on the subject of incredibly minor nitpicks, it'd be cool if there were other options aside from unlimited FPS or 30 FPS. I had to choose betwen my PC sounding like a turbo jet as it renders TRI: Of Friendship and Madness at 470 fps or being a console player. "This game would be great for Switch". Fuck you, don't make me beta test the 30 fps mode. Assholes.

Cute little management game that's still in early access - title is a bit of a misnomer (doesn't have any madness mechanics, in fact I'd call this game fairly sane). It does what you want it to, and from what I understand, it does it better than all the other things like it (don't fact check that). The one thing that's missing is t̵̢̨̧̛̮̲͓͎͙̺̼͓̜̬̻̥͙͇̻̩̱̼̬̲͑͋̓̊͊̾̒͐̀͌̈̕ḧ̷̨̡̢̢͉̫͕͈̹͎̠̺̘̼̩͖̗̟́̃̎͗͊̑̆̆́̾͐̎̒̑̇̈́̍̽͋͌̚̕̚͘͝͠e̴̢̨͖̙̥͙̦͙͖͍̫̘͔͚͍͉͍̺̍̊̆̈̀̍̾̉̈́̒͊͊̏̾̐̊̀̋͐̓̋̇̉́̓͘̚͝͝ ̸̨̦̥̣̼̊̃̊͋̒̓͗͑͊̑͊̋̓̏̀̊́͘̚͜͜͝á̸̡̳̼̜̱͙͎͓̮̺̭̺̮̟̝͓̥̻̺̳̥͔͐̌̏́̂̇͋̉̎̈́̄͌͗͊̉̀͌̀̚͜͠͝b̴̨͇̪͓̟̖̭͚̗̞̰̮̗̙̺̲͉͚͊̾̑̈́i̷̡̧̹͎͎̩̗̫͚̖͓͇͚̻͕̊͊̐̒͘l̶̢̧̮͇͔̤̖̭̲̜̙̺̦̙̥̳̳̾͋̏̿̑̿̇̋̐̂̀̋̾͐͆̎̈́͛̿̈́͑̇̿̍͊̊̆̕i̶̡̨̡̲̹̹̩̺͙̗̩̗̳͕̮̔͗̀̊̐̐͊̀̍̀͜͜͠t̵̢̮͑́̈́̏̔̑͗̂͊́̕̚y̴̧̨̨͓̦̺͎̙̞̭͖̳͙̭̻̺̩̰̦̝͖͋͐̊̑͆̉́̈́ͅͅ ̵̡͎̭̞̰̰̗͈̭̜̘̹̪̫͙̠̞͓̠̠̺̟̘͎̙̞̭̮̦̓͒̋̎̍̊̃̔̄̀̀̚̚̚͜͝ṱ̷̨̣͍̱̞̺̟͉͙̞̜̯̬̟̩̝̥̙̯̘̿͗͒̊̆̉͒̆̃̇͑́̀̑̅͗̂̊͊̈̽̕͜͜͜͜͝ͅơ̷̡̡̧̨̞̠͔̥̰̯͇̩̖̮̬̘͕̱̩̮̯̂͌͛̐͊̈́̌́̇͂̔̽̌̚͠ͅͅ ̴͔͓̺͈̳͙̋́̌̍̇̀͌̿̎̑̍̇̿̽̑̈́̾͊̔̾̂̇͘̕͝͝͠ͅh̷̛̛̬̥̜̬͊̉̆̂͒͜a̴̠͔̞̯̱̱͂̐̄̉̀̌͊̌̔̀͐̓̓̂̓̀̏̈́̽͊̎͌́̌̈́͊͘͘̚͝r̸͇̻̙͇̭̙͇̰͇̞̘̦̮̦̖̭̍͂ͅͅv̸̧̡̪̥̼͔͚̹̤̤͍̟͔͓̊̾͛͆͋̔̏͂́̀́̌͂̈͗̕͝ë̶̢͉̳̝͕͓̣̮̦͓̮̖̮̪͔̮̮̤̱̟̲͖̫̣̮̭̩́̓̃̒̃͋͛̇͌̽̅̾͌̍̆̍̈́̏̀͆̎̍̀̈́͘͘̚͜͝ś̷̨̢̛̛̖̦̱͔͖͉̤̹̹̼͇̗̻̭̺̳͚̼̥̮̰͔̱̳̬̠͇̗̊̔̒̒̃̋͑͂̃̾̄͛̅̂̾͆̌̿͌̀͘̚̚͘͠͝t̴̢̡̡̛̛͕̭̱͔͎̼̮̘̣͖̭̲̖̪̞̩̠̅̈̀̔̈͒͗̆͛͒̑͒͋͗̚ ̶̛̜̫̑̏̄̽́̍́̏͝͝t̵̡̡͎͓̣͍̟̼̝̣͍̥͚̪̪̱̹͙̼̦̳͓̮̘̟̥̤͗̽̽̓̐̋̈́̍̍͂̃͂̃̉̿̾͊̈̆̋͜͠͠͝͝h̶̨̟̱̖̠͙̙͍͕̠͈̦̯͓̲̱͖̯̜̖̳̟̬̦̟̹͉̼̓̃̀̏̉͛̉͋͒͆̒͑́̀̆̊̕̚͜ͅé̵͇͍̰̌̆̊̋̈́̈̅̓̐̊̄͘͝ ̷̛̖̗̞̟͇̠̝̳̼̬̖́́͌̈̀̈́̆̋͊̅̌̓͂͗͐͗̑̑̿̽̕̚͝f̸̛̫̺̻̝̹͙͈͉͈̠̺͓̦̯̣̯̓̽͌̐̅́͆̅͊͌͗̾̊̓̎̊̚̚͜͝͠l̵͖̫̞͍̆̕ë̷̢̢̧̡̨͎̼̭̼̝̳̙͙̠͓͇̟̖̾̌̉̌̃̽̃̍̐͒̍̐͘̚͜͜ͅs̴̡̨̛̼͙̣̗͉̻͚̭̜͖̣̦̱̱̞̺̬̻̞̪̯͎̦̰̟̩̫̏̄͆͒̈́̈́̆̆̔͋̈́͗̽͊́̓̓̋̅̇̃͑̊̔͘ͅḩ̸̛͖̦̗̻̞͍͉̣̦̽͗̊̀̔͂̓̆̐̂̏́͋̆̅̋͘͝ͅ ̷̨̢̧̨͉̻̯͉͈̦̱̖̜̖̙̼̜̥̦̦͍̲͈̪̬͖̘͎́̄̀̏͆̏̎͠o̷̙̹͈̺̞̫̯̫̼͙̯͓̙̣̙͎̤̯̰̞̼̞͊̀͂́͆̈́̓̎͒̔̏̾͑́̏͘͜͜͝f̴̢̛̼̯̬̼̬̟̬̝̳̲͙͌̐̂͐̄̾̎̎͝ ̴͖͖̖͚͖͚͕̲͖̟̆̑̈̇͂ỷ̸͕̜͚̤̘̜͖̱̟͙̤̬̙̰͒̀͋̇̒̈́̅̊̆̈́́̌̌̄̃͆̒́͝͝͠͝õ̶̰̮͍̺̳̻͊̃̎̔͆̒͘̕͝u̷̡̱͓͖̠̙̱̘̯͚͔̲͎̱͔͊̿́́̇͂͂͌̍̅̂́̅̃̄̂̎͂͑̓̓̂̃̏̚ͅr̴̩͋̀͗ ̶̧̢̨͉̞̳̻̖̳̙̪͖̯̇̾͒͋̓͌̅̄̏̉͘ͅc̷̡͈̙̲̫̬̻̦̊̇̑̑̂͆̉̅͗͐͝ơ̶̡̢̡̯͕͍͓̞̲̭̹̞̺͉̬͈̟͉̩̯̥̙͈̬̭͛̓̓̽̈̾̔̇̔̀̋͜m̷̫̣̬̜͊̒ṕ̷̯̖͓̌̔̃͗͋̈́̀̓̒̇̄͑̈́̓͠e̷̢͖͙͈͕̪̱̬̠͎͎͉̞̯͎̠̹̞̝̟̘̟̥̺̹̺̫͒̑̄͑̆̄͊́̏͐͗̊̏̓͋̈̊̈́̎̀͘͘͘t̶̢̡̡̛̯̘̝͇̖̤̳̱͙̥̫̱̯̟̬̥̞̠̠̫̹̂̓͛͊̈́̓̑̊͒̋͑̽̏́͑̔͛͗͒̏̿͐͒í̷̗̻̫͚̟̠̘̦̖̫͍̞͍̪̫̱̣̩̬̜̱̰̳̾̇͑̃̄͆͒̔̑̀̋͋͑͆̏̋̑̀̽̈͛̎̀̀̋̕̕͘͘ͅt̷̢̧̼͚̭̼̰̞̫̥̜̻̩̞̗͔̯̰̹͕͖̱͔̹͖̳̭̩͖̑͂̑̂̉ͅō̷̢̺͈̖̭͖͖̓͐͜ͅr̷̛̲̝̞̀̑͗̓͊̿̈͂̃͑̐́͆͒͗̌̀̐̊͠͝s̷̢̨̧̤̜͚̳̜̲̫͕̥̦̐͂̆͗̆͒̄͑̍̈́͋͐̑͋͋́͝͝͝͝͠ ̶̡̛̛̲̜̟̝̤͔̑͋̐̊͒͑̾͛̑͊̂̊̓͐̇͛̓́͗̈́̄͐́̚͝͝ḇ̴̧̧̨̡̩͎̣̮͓̙̤͔̠̗͙͕̼̹̣̓̀̀̚͘͜͠ͅl̴̡̨̨̛̠͍͍̮͈̲̰̗̦̭̬̳̝̦̳̪̱͎̱͓̼̪̖̰̎̏͆̈̏̉̍̈́̎̂͆̂͒͑̽̋̅̀̎͑̍̕͜͝ö̵̢͍̙̬̗̼̮͈͍͇͍̩̮̫͕̻̥̞̖̟́̏̅̿̋̇̚ǫ̵͚̠̦͓̹̪̝̪͙̈́̆̃́̿̏̔̐̄́̒̏̏̔͊́̈́̏̀̋̊͑̽͐̈́͝͝d̵̢̛̼̠̉̈́̅̃̏̆͌̆̂͗͠͠ ̴̢̧̧̛̟͎̯̣̩͕͙̯̬̮̥͚̝̮̀͐̈́̇̈̎͆͐̉̍͐̚͝M̵̡̨̜̝̬͙͉̭͔͍͙̩͔̱͍̬̲̹̚Ǫ̵̢͚͔͇̭̟͖̰̺̬͚̺̱̳̼̦̺̩͈̹̩͔̣̒̀̊͛̿̉͌͗͜ͅR̴̡̛͚͖͈̤͓̯̙̭͎̆̂͘͠ͅȨ̸̨̝̖͖̗̠̞̗̮̲͇̲̺̳̠̮͎͎͇͓̝̺̾ͅͅ ̶̢̛͓̲̪̬̹̖͓̦̠͈̦̺̈́̋̉̈́̈́̂̅͐̿̔̊́̎͊͋͊͐͘͜B̸̨̦̻̦͍̤̜̳̗͉̳͖̺̝̤̖̺̿͊̾́͂̓̇̈̃L̵̢̳̭̝̜̺̘̺͈͙̭̺̠̗͎̦͍̺͓̊̃̅͜͜͜͠Ő̶͚͖̽̐͆̇̇͒͂̕̚͝Ǫ̷̨͍̰̝͇̰̮̬̮̮̩̝͎̹͍̩̮͂̒̈́͂́̆̏͘ͅD̶̨̢̳͙̝͔̪͓̦͚̺̭̭̗̺̻̭͈̥̼͙͌̈́́̋̓̂̌ ̸̛̘̦̼͍͔̠͙̜͍̯̪̦̠͖͎̘͉̟͕͋̑̐͐̏͒̋̅̈́̀̐́̐̅̓͋͜M̷̨̨̡̪̜̺̭̗̲͙̠̲̭̥̲̼͎̼̥͚̹̗̏̍̅͋̅́̔̒̍̃̍̽̽̒͐̀́̃̄̄͌̂͋͛̊͘͜͜Ǫ̷͈̱͎͚̗̥͑R̵̳̺͓̯̬͕̦̥̪̮̙̳͇̟͈̳͊̈́͛̒E̷̡̡̨̛̬̙̱̲̺̲̮͚̗̝͎̱̲̭͔͙̘̯̪͖͋̄̂̊̈͋̿̇̈̈̓͛͜͜͠͝ͅ ̴̨̗̖̪̯̮̩̙̼̼̳̳̙̹̰͙̜̪̲̟̘̣̳̞͙̈͋͗̈̇̽̈̂̈́͒̈̎͒͌̍͊͗̎̈́̂͘͘͠B̸̨̹͙̭̦͙̤̥͙̂̿̊̏̄́̈́̎́̍̐̕L̵̹̥͕̞̰̙̜̼̻̮͕̭͖̼̠̻̜̮̭͉̼̳̜̞̟͖̈́͑̿̈́Ơ̸̢̧̡̛̹̹̖̯̬̤̻͇͕̼͔͉̪͙̜̻̖̫̦͊̀̽̂̌̾͛̀̐̉͐̈̇̓̈́͗̇͛̍͘̕̕͜͜͜͝͝͝O̵̬̫̙͎̺̥͓͈͖͖̮̗̯̻̲̝͛͆͌̇͗͘ͅD̷̺̠̩̩̰̹͓͚͖̮̞͇͌̊̅ ̴̡̡̧̛̣̜̯͎̖͎̱̠̻̩̗͖̘̩̹̗̹̤̞͍̫̜͇̱̫͌́͌̋̐͐͂̐̄̽̋̎̽̂̆́͛̎̓͐̕̕͘F̵̢̧͓͓̯̟̜͚͕͕̱̞̮̘̜̼͌̈̓̀͗̂͋̓͗̀̏̀̃̅̈́ͅǑ̵͓̤͉̹̮̰̯͕̟̙̌̉͌͋͂́͆͆̇͂̊̓͂̏̈̅͋̃̄̚Ŗ̵̙̗̝̩̰̱̳̈́̌̄̈́͜ ̷͈͚͗̒͊́̇̒̉̔̌̍́͆͋̔̈͠͝T̴͕̦̻̩̫̺͎̗͖̹̲̠̩̟̥̙̦̲̘̪͚̾́͆̾̈́͘̕͜͠H̷̨̛̙͖͔͒̃́̈́̈́̃̊̾͌̚͜Ȩ̶͒͝ ̷̧̻̭̠̟͖̦̲̠̭̫͕̩͕̞͚̩͇̙̩͕̱̣̤͉̐́̉̂̅̄̌̐̇́͗̓̒̀̓̽̈́̓̓̈̈̊͐̈́̋͑̚͜͠͝B̸̨̡̻͙̝̱̮̞̭͚̭̥͕͎͍̫̃̎͆͐̀̐͐́̋͑̆̅̽̄̈̚͘͠L̸̛͈̠͔̖͍͐͂͊̓̇̆̒̊̽͌̇̕͘͝͝Ò̸̧͚͎̟͙̤̘̼̙̍̅͋͒̉ͅǪ̷̧̧̛̝̭͔̩̻̙̙̫͎͍͉̞̣̖̥̤̺́͆̃̋̇̆̿̆̏͘͘̚͜ͅḎ̶͎͆̍͌̓̉̈́̇̅͂̀̒͝ ̴̨̗̺͚̱͔͉̲͙͓͙͎̲̭̱̫̦̬̬͔͚̗̱̙̓̂̂́̈́̓̃͂̕͜G̴̨͉̳͈̣̩͇̱̜̺͈̥̪̺̻̹̻̘̾̾́͛̿̉̈́͒͐́̾͆̀͐͘̚͝͠Ò̷̢̨̧̦̠̲̰̹̝̫̯̻̮͈͖̠̜̰̣̮͎̲̩̹̞̭̗͍̩̆͑̑̋̇͋̈̓͐̆͛̾̽̉͂̊̎̃̍͌̔̏͝ͅD̴̨̹̮̰̫͎̪̭̤̗̃͒̅

woah

This game was a love letter to the original Pathfinder adventure path. That's what I believe. The game must have been made with a sort of reverence to the AP. There's just so much here, it would take me an hour to even describe all the systems in this game, all the dialogue choices, how deep everything really is. It's an incredibly faithful adaptation of Pathfinder's tabletop mechanics, and that isn't even the most impressive part of this game. The thing that really blew me away, that actually surprised me, the thing I've really not seen in another CRPG like this, is the depths to which you could roleplay your character, and how much your roleplay actually mattered. Who you are, what you say, what you do, the world reacts to it all. Dialogue changes, events change. I was consistently impressed by how the game acknowledged and respected who my character was. There was never a choice that I remember (long ass game btw), where I thought to myself, "I don't have a way of expressing my character here".

This game is nothing short of Impressive. And yet I have to wonder what Owlcat are going to do next. The Pathfinder system has PROBLEMS, especially when you get to high level play (this stuff is documented elsewhere, I don't want to write a freaking dissertation on a 12 year old TTRPG system). The last act of this game definitely suffered from the Pathfinder system. The other issue is with the encounters. I have to compare this game to Divinity Original Sin 2 (that's how good this game is!!). Encounters in DOS2 all feel handcrafted - the same cannot be said about this game. You will fight trash mob after trash mob, as the resource grind is necessary to make boss encounters difficult (or is it?). It's a limitation of the Pathfinder system. You grind the PCs down, then they fight the boss. It's how it Works. Except this isn't very engaging for a video game. In fact, at times, it's boring. It makes me wonder what Owlcat does from here. They clearly have the chops to produce these amazing ports of tabletop APs, but I can't help but feel like they're sort of trapped. Do they continue to port these games faithfully, or do they start designing fixes? I'm not sure, but I'm excited to see what they do next. I so want these games to be something I can recommend to people in the same way I can recommend DOS2. Like, this game deserves to have a million billion fans, it's amazing. BUT! There are so many issues inherent to it that I can't.

So, for now, I'll remember fondly the time I spent with Wrath of the Righteous. I'll meet it where it's at. I'll praise it for what it is, flaws and all. And, at the end, maybe one day, Owlcat will figure out a way to make the perfect game.