So I don't often write reviews but just wanted to address what appear to be the two main gripes in the negative reviews here, namely the kingdom management and linked to that a game over you can get if you're not paying attention.

So, first of all, the kingdom management I don't think is a problem at all and just adds a little level of management sim to the game. Of course not everyone is into that and may just want to play the actual RPG. You can quite literally set the kingdom management to be done on auto, so you never have to bother with it, so not enjoying it is not even a valid complaint as you simply don't have to do it.

Second, the possible game over that some are alleging comes out of nowhere. Your kingdom advisors and the in game text in your quest log make it very clear there is going to be severe consequences if you do not complete the required piece of research in time. It may not outright state it will be game over but it is enough that it's very obvious you should be doing it as a priority. You have 200 in game days to do it and the research takes 60 days. You have plenty of time, it's not like you just have to drop everything and do it instantly. This to me is another complaint that is completely not valid.

Now, if you like Baldurs Gate style games, you will like this game. It's that simple.

Feels like playing against a GM that just wants to defeat you

A grand RPG game with some of the best story telling. Just like WOTR it puts the player in the shoes of a warrior-king/commander whose arch enemies are a powerful witch and a false god. The scope of this game is enormous and it has been a real feat for the studio to accomplish. The dialogue choices are some of the most fun parts about the game together with the alignment system. The music is good also.
And then there's Linzi who is like Nenio's spiritual predecessor and those two companions have been my favorite characters of the franchise.

It is a difficult and complex game; if you don't play on the easiest settings it is going to take many hours to finish and you will have to do a lot of Kingdom management with re-ocurring events it's kinda grindy. Aside from a few bugs that can softlock your main campaign progress, you can ruin your campaign by taking too much time with either adventuring around or doing Kingdom management.

Not much fun. I might try it again but just too frustrating to be enjoyable.

Game falls apart after the entirely too long early game. Avoid.

I'm 200+ hours into this game and finally in the last act, The House at the End of Time. AKA, the worst ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ final dungeon in videogame history. All I want to do is finish this unbalanced, sloppy, tedious ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of a game so I can uninstall it and never think of it again. It started great but was just a constant downhill slide that accelerated past the point of any redemption during the Rushlight Tournament chapter. Kingdom management is absolute garbage and should burn in hell. Lame and repetitive story, unbalanced, railroady as ♥♥♥♥. And (again) the stupid Kingdom management. Playing this game is like playing a TTRPG with an untalented and narcissistic DM who hates the rest of the table more and more as the game goes on, until eventually every session turns into some kind of mouth-breathing ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ where invisible, unhittable fart-cloud assassins sneak attack half your party to death in the first round.

Lets just say if you enjoy putting your face on a cheese grater and rubbing repeatedly this game is for you. If you're looking for a casual game to enjoy a fantasy world with some challenge and good story.....RUN FROM THIS GAME AND DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. The kingdom building needs a mod or to be put on the absolute easiest because it's bugged to hell. The RnG will always favor your enemies (3-4 natural 1's in a row regularly). The story is meh and it really is just a slog sometimes. Get Baulders gate 3 or hell any of the Baulders gate games you'll enjoy them far more.

The contents are mostly visually appealing, and the UI is mostly intuitive and easy to control the action. These good aspects cannot make up for the boring play outside of battles, complete lack of balance among battles, and an overwhelming sense that they cared more about being true to the Pathfinder rules than the player's experience. I didn't make it far past the first act before giving up on this title. Even at 88% off, it wasn't a good deal.

The alignment choices, although important, are flawed. If the game can't provide better choices, they should just fix the alignment. Not enjoyable. And this was not the first time, it has other flaws as well (e.g. combat mechanics, party ai). I can't understand how you can find this game not frustrating.

Good story. Great decision trees. Plenty to do.