Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults Preview – Focused on Teamwork

Surprisingly enough, Pathfinder hasn’t had a ton of video game adaptations, though the team at BKOM Studios is here to change that. They’re taking one of Pathfinder’s most popular Adventure Paths, Abominations Vaults, and turning into a hack and slash RPG. 

A Classic Hack and Slash

What I played at SGF Play Days was a vertical slice of the game that is not quite finished. If you’re familiar with isometric hack and slash games like Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, the old Gauntlet games, or the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games, you know what I’m getting at. 

When you play, there are always four characters (an AI will control those not played by someone) that work together on the field. They have complementary abilities, like healing each other or setting up combos. 

One unique aspect was that each had an AoE they could throw on the ground that then buffs the heavy attack of your friends with a unique effect while they stand in it. Those sort of interactions are exactly what they want to happen throughout the game. 

When talking to Creative Director Wyatt Gray, he described the design philosophy of the game and what he envisions certain elements of the game to be like.

Focusing on Teamwork

For one, he wasn’t looking for a mindless hack and slash but something that really emphasized cooperation and the party working together to accomplish some task. That can come in the form of combat, navigating the level, solving puzzles, and more. 

For example, we all worked together to push large boulders out of the way to get further in the level. In another area, there was a noxious gas slowly killing us that could be relieved by a healing mist from some nearby mushrooms two party members could then activate. 

In a more advanced way, Gray mentioned scenarios where two people in the party may be rowing and controlling a raft while the other two defend them from enemies attacking. They want to get creative in the scenarios they put players in to have to overcome together. 

To that end, even if you’re playing solo, Abomination Vaults will always feature four heroes running around with you. You have the option of swapping through them at any time while playing as well. 

Gray noted that for a solo player, it is a slightly different game. You can fine tune characters to be a singular killing machine that sets up combos the way you want, where multiplayer lets you and some friends play each character the way they want. 

A Pathfinder Adventure Classic

The four characters you play are likely well-known to Pathfinder players: Amiri the Barbarian, Harsk the Ranger, Kyra the Cleric, and Ezren the Wizard. Fans of Owlcat Games may remember Amiri the Barbarian, too. 

Each character will have three different subclasses you can choose, which vastly change up their gameplay style. And of course there’s a ton of gear that will let you build them as you please.

Moreover, if you’ve played through the Adventure Path of Abomination Vaults of the pen and paper variety of Pathfinder, most of this game is going to be very familiar to you. 

Gray said that their game is essentially an adaptation of the 1 – 10 experience of Abomination Vaults, so the characters, settings, and story beats will remain the same. Obviously there will be some minor changes to make it work for a game, but by and large it’s the same thing. 

In the end, Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults looks like it will be a good time, particularly with friends. It has a let’s grab some food and drinks, chill for a bit, and just go on an adventure vibe"... sort of like the tabletop version of the game. 

Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults was previewed at Summer Game Fest and is looking to release in 2026 only on PC currently.