As someone who has played and run Pathfinder (the first version of the TTRPG) for a long time, I think it’s safe to say that I like it. The computer games set in this world have been hard for me, though. Isometric RPGs from Owlcat Games are both too similar to the Adventure Path for me to play them right now.
Either I didn’t have time or I would have learned too much about it. I had no other choice but to play Pathfinder Online, which is now dead and seems a little strange. I was thrilled to learn that Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors, a new Survivors game based on Pathfinder, would be out soon. It would happen in Gallowspire, a wonderful world. Will this trip be great, or will it fail at the gates?
Table of Contents
Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors
Not a very long story, but it’s mostly about the Gallowspire, a huge underground castle where the dead king Tar-Baphon used to live but is now locked up. People thought that this scary zombie lich was out of the world because it was locked up in this maze-like structure that was held together by magic rings.
They were slowly found and destroyed, though, except for one circle. You and another hero go into the depths of the spire with a special amulet that can make Tar-Baphon’s chains stronger, but you have to get past his defenses first. The Whispering Tyrant is about to be let go.
In Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors, you can choose to play as a Fighter, a Rogue, or a Wizard. You can pick between a male and a female character for each. You can choose which hero will be your main character and which other hero will be your friend in the caves below before each run.
Every adventurer changes some part of the game, which keeps it interesting and lets the player try out some cool new moves. In co-op, someone else can also control the friend, but we’ll come back to that in a moment. Every hero can move quickly and use their final attack to avoid getting hurt.
The Fighter’s ultimate attack briefly makes their armor better, the Rogue drops a bomb that hurts people in a certain area, and the Wizard stops time for a short time. It’s a Survivor game, so of course you have to avoid and fight a ridiculously high number of enemies while gathering materials and making your characters better. Worms and minibosses get stronger as the game goes on.
There are four different parts to the huge Gallowspire. These are the Lower Crypt, the Library, the Crypt, and the Library. There are three floors and a boss fight in each area. Just kill a certain number of bad guys on each floor to move on to the next one. You can go to the next area if you beat the boss! You can fight different enemies and move around on different maps in each area. Each area also has its own sound theme.
Potions
Killing an enemy will drop a potion that gives the player a short-term skill or edge until they catch the next one. With gold, players can make these drinks a little better. For example, fire breath can last half a second longer. It’s possible to do that if you spend a lot of gold coins.
I wish I was kidding. Just make something else better, right? Everything that changes the potion works this way. At max level, you can heal up to 1% more health. Nothing is interesting about gains that come in flat numbers. The number itself is rude and annoying. I’ve spent a lot of gold on upgrade drinks that don’t make me better, and I keep dying on the same floor.
Not only can upgrading drinks make a small difference, but so can updating core stats. You can get better at all three of these things, but it costs a lot of money. There are small changes and subtleties between the talents and the other upgrades, but the high cost makes the grind very real.
All of this makes fighting the same monsters and bosses seem like it will never end. In terms of how far the person goes, each run can last anywhere from 20 to more than 40 minutes. The guns and passive upgrades make the game more fun, right? Not nearly as much as someone might have hoped.
There won’t be any moves or hits that stand out from the others that are flashy. The bow, knives, spear, and other tools all feel and look the same. Some strikes go around and around you or bounce off of you, but these aren’t normal and don’t get your attention. Even worse, all future upgrades are small number increases that don’t let you be creative or feel like your build is special.
I couldn’t always get to Tar-Baphon, even when my character was level six and all of my passive skills and weapons were at least level 80. I couldn’t do enough damage or stay alive long enough to get as far as I needed to, so I had to keep dying after forty-minute runs just to get the small pill and stat boosts I talked about above. Do it once more.
What To Expect?
All of this makes fighting the same monsters and bosses seem like it will never end. In terms of how far the person goes, each run can last anywhere from 20 to more than 40 minutes. The guns and passive upgrades make the game more fun, right? Not nearly as much as someone might have hoped.
There won’t be any moves or hits that stand out from the others that are flashy. The bow, knives, spear, and other tools all feel and look the same. Some strikes go around and around you or bounce off of you, but these aren’t normal and don’t get your attention. Even worse, all future upgrades are small number increases that don’t let you be creative or feel like your build is special.
I couldn’t always get to Tar-Baphon, even when my character was level six and all of my passive skills and weapons were at least level 80. I couldn’t do enough damage or stay alive long enough to get as far as I needed to, so I had to keep dying after forty-minute runs just to get the small pill and stat boosts I talked about above. Do it once more.
Conclusion
Besides the scene being a bit aetherial, I also ran into a few really annoying bugs. Staying close for a while can bring your partner back to life if they die in battle, which can happen a lot with the low-HP Wizard. I stood there for a short time, trying to avoid the burning pain the whole time, but my friend wouldn’t move.
At that time, AoE from my special friend was a big part of my build. The rest of the level was… not fun. In the big picture, the partner might not be that important. Another time, a close friend of mine got stuck on a wall, which is the worst thing that could happen.
In conclusion, Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors is a great example of a Survivors game. You get stronger with each dive, and the runs are fun and quick. It can also be fun to play skill pairs. But I think the game would have done better without the Pathfinder name. They don’t seem to make the most of it. Do check it out if you want a fun short game to play for a while. It’s not that expensive. If not, move on.
Moreover, you can also check out our detailed guide on Cryptrio Review: Is the Game Different From Tetris? or RoboSync Review: Are There Any Limitations in the Gameplay of RoboSync? or Ereban Shadow Legacy Review: Is The Storyline Bad Or Bland?
