Games with similar, visceral combat but easier to get into

[Sunbather]

The combat in the Pathfinder games (and now Rogue Trader) has absolutely spoiled me. It is not only the mechanical aspect of the ruleset but also the 'feeling' of impact of actual combat. Ragdolls, blood, the weight of weapons etc. are rarely to be found in an RPG.

However, sometimes I am in the mood for just combat without all the reading and the complex stuff. Something I can boot up for an hour or two and have fun without having to delve too deep into the lore and the systems. Do you have any recommendations? So far I have:

1. The Midnight Isles DLC (what I don't like here is that you still have a lot of other stuff to do, namely progressing your characters and puzzles)

2. Solasta (however, the enemies vanish into the ground after you've killed them and the combat animations are stiff, making it a very game-y game imo)

3. The Last Spell (very, very good and certainly one of the snappiest and most visceral turn-based combat systems I know of)

4. King Arthur: Knight's Tale (I really dislike this game since every level looks similar, so do the enemies, but yeah, if it had more variety, THIS would be the game I am looking for)


What I have my eyes on but haven't played so far:

1. Stolen Realm (seems a bit childish though and exaggerated when it comes to ragdolls)

[anfindel13]

Black Geyser is very reminiscent of BG 1/2 etc. Archaelund, which is in early access, but a very active developer and update cycle also looks quite interesting - I've enjoyed a spare hour or three playing around with it. Also Colony Ship, if you are open to more of a sci-fi RPG.

[Null Winter]

They're very niche with explicit adult content (removable with mods), but 'Fear & Hunger' 1 and 2 are extremely visceral turn-based party RPGs with active dismemberment, brutal status effects, gory spells, etc. Sentient enemies will react as you'd expect (and in some cases, not expect) to being chopped up while still alive. You can read every lore book if you want, or totally ignore them and just hunt for endgame god fragments to butcher. Runs of the first game are meant to last only about an hour once you know what you're doing; the second game is longer on paper but is ripe for speedruns.

'The Last Remnant' is technically a party-based and turn-based RPG, but it's closer to controlling several small combat squads. You get sweeping and up-close animations of soldiers duking it out with two-handed weapons causing massive splatters, mages sending crystal shards to impale enemies, boulders from trebuchets bowling over troops, etc. Only problem is that it's a JRPG from that era when every JRPG was trying and failing to be super edgy; the main character is named "Rush Sykes" and wears blue jeans in a fantasy setting, for an idea of the tone.

The Wasteland games exist. Weapons take off limbs and heads upon landing fatal blows, you can cripple limbs with aimed shots, etc. You can play like a total scumbag or just flop through the stories without paying much attention, as you wish. They're not as talkative as the Fallout games, but there is still some plot if you want it. These would be closest in style and mechanics to 'WOTR' here.

[Sunbather]

Originally posted by anfindel13:

Black Geyser is very reminiscent of BG 1/2 etc. Archaelund, which is in early access, but a very active developer and update cycle also looks quite interesting - I've enjoyed a spare hour or three playing around with it. Also Colony Ship, if you are open to more of a sci-fi RPG.

Hey thanks for the reply. Both games have been on my list for a long time now. However, Black Geyser is RTwP and very focused on story, while Colony Ship is about 90% reading and RPGing and 10% combat if I judged the demo and gameplay footage correctly.

EDIT: I'm an idiot. I just remembered that the Pathfinder games can be RtwP as well. So my question was very unclear to begin with.

[Sunbather]

Originally posted by Null Winter:

They're very niche with explicit adult content (removable with mods), but 'Fear & Hunger' 1 and 2 are extremely visceral turn-based party RPGs with active dismemberment,
[...]
'The Last Remnant' is technically a party-based and turn-based RPG, but it's closer to controlling several small combat squads.
[...]
The Wasteland games exist. Weapons take off limbs and heads upon landing fatal blows, you can cripple limbs with aimed shots, etc. You can play like a total scumbag or just flop through the stories without paying much attention, as you wish. They're not as talkative as the Fallout games, but there is still some plot if you want it. These would be closest in style and mechanics to 'WOTR' here.

Great recommendations, they look like good games but Fear and Hunger isn't sold in Germany (thanks government-controlled youth protection) and The Last Remant is not sold anymore.

I forgot to mention the Wasteland games. Wasteland 3 is right there with the Pathfinder games when it comes to visceral combat! And yeah, they are definitively less talkative than Fallout or the Pathfinder games. And what's there in dialogue is so insane sometimes that it feels like combat, haha.

EDIT: And of course there's Battle Brothers and Wartales, although both have a lot of travel and leveling involved (Wartales certainly more than Battle Brothers). I just wish there was a game like Knight's Tale but with less grind and more variation. Basically an ARPG but with turn-based combat.

[Sunbather]

PS: Today I learned about the game "Crown Wars: The Black Prince" which looks very promising judging by the demo. But it only comes out in 2 months.

[Null Winter]

Originally posted by Sunbather:

-Length snip-

Funger 1+2 can be grabbed via Itchio (which wasn't region-locked last I checked) and added to Steam as a non-Steam game, and a non-German region Steam Friend can still gift the games to you. Key redemptions should also work, but then you might be funding a grey or black market site. The dev himself went on record in a Reddit post saying he understands if someone needs to do eyepatch things to get around government lock-outs in order to experience the games.

[Sunbather]

Originally posted by Null Winter:

Originally posted by Sunbather:

-Length snip-

Funger 1+2 can be grabbed via Itchio (which wasn't region-locked last I checked) and added to Steam as a non-Steam game, and a non-German region Steam Friend can still gift the games to you. Key redemptions should also work, but then you might be funding a grey or black market site. The dev himself went on record in a Reddit post saying he understands if someone needs to do eyepatch things to get around government lock-outs in order to experience the games.

Thanks, I'll make sure to check it out on itchio, don't care if it's on Steam or not. But since I've dabbled in plenty of mediocre turn-based combat games today, I just rebound back to Pathfinder for now, hahaha.

[mk11]

Have you tried:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1181830/Urtuk_The_Desolation/

[Janthis]

Have people already mentioned Pillars of Eternity? Best implementation of RTwP in my opinion, and rules/builds that make a lot more sense and are easier to figure out than Mathfinder.

[MMJ]

You can also try Solasta. It's based on the D&D 5th edition ruleset, and propose combats with a lots of 3D (most arena where you fight have high perchs and deep pits). That being said, the story and voice acting is very "meh".

[Vertigo]

Wyldermyth. It seems like a very simplistic game at first, but there is a depth to how you customize your characters. There are currently 5 different enemy factions, and each of them feel different in how they fight. It's not very blood and guts filled, but the gameplay is still solid.

[anfindel13]

Originally posted by Johnny_B_80:

Have people already mentioned Pillars of Eternity? Best implementation of RTwP in my opinion, and rules/builds that make a lot more sense and are easier to figure out than Mathfinder.

OP indicated they wanted something without a lot of reading. Been awhile, but I think Pillars was closer to Pathfinder games in terms of the amount of writing than they are seeking. Otherwise you are correct, they were excellent games. Same with Tyranny - which also is somewhat complex and verbose.

[jonnin]

Have you tried baldur's gate 3? The 5e mechanics are relatively simple compared to PF & older D&D, and the reading/plot/etc are minimal as its 95% a kill it if it moves game.

if you are into very old games and don't mind lame graphics, the remakes of icewind dale etc are similar plotless bashers using D&D 3ish mechanics (a lot like PF, but not all the exotic classes).

[Null Winter]

Originally posted by jonnin:

Have you tried baldur's gate 3? The 5e mechanics are relatively simple compared to PF & older D&D, and the reading/plot/etc are minimal as its 95% a kill it if it moves game.

if you are into very old games and don't mind lame graphics, the remakes of icewind dale etc are similar plotless bashers using D&D 3ish mechanics (a lot like PF, but not all the exotic classes).

BG3 was overhyped and underdeveloped with way less content and mechanics than WOTR; it's also very wordy while saying surprisingly little that matters. Interactive dialogue trees are nearly constant, especially in the early game. The damn thing doesn't even show you full class trees, feat lists, spells, etc. I'd have refunded my copy if the long-winded introduction alone didn't eat up the 2 hour window.

Icewind Dale might fit what the OP was looking for somewhat better.

[Sunbather]

Originally posted by anfindel13:

Originally posted by Johnny_B_80:

Have people already mentioned Pillars of Eternity? Best implementation of RTwP in my opinion, and rules/builds that make a lot more sense and are easier to figure out than Mathfinder.

OP indicated they wanted something without a lot of reading. Been awhile, but I think Pillars was closer to Pathfinder games in terms of the amount of writing than they are seeking. Otherwise you are correct, they were excellent games. Same with Tyranny - which also is somewhat complex and verbose.

Yeah, unfortunately a lot of answers here are just answering the question "Do you know any RPGs similar to the Pathfinder games?" which wasn't the question obviously. However, this is my fault. I should have worded my initial question more precisely and left out a lot of keywords. The "not much reading part" was kinda central though, I think. Hahaha.

Shoutout to Pillars of Eternity 2 though. A true gem: voice acting without compromising dialogue paths; beautiful and unique setting, interesting classes, excellent combat either RtwP or turn-based, and for me the best score ever.