Which CRPG do you guys recommend?

[weirddreams_fe]

Recently the CRPG genre really caught my attention, with the downfall of franchises such as Fallout, i saw many people talking about PoE and Tyranny as RPGs that should be followed.

So, with so many games like - Planescape: Torment, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, PoE, Tyranny and many others i dont know where to start. I'm a little bit afraid to take a wrong aproach with this genre and waste a good experience.

[Paladin]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από LINUXoldrocker99:

For those who don't know, Pathfinder is a tabletop game played with Euclidean solid dice. It's a fork of D&D, basically.

Mmmmm... I would say more like D&D 3.5 with a lot of house rules. :)

[Bleep Bloop]

Where to start?

Fallout 1 or Arcanum. They have fluid control schemes that allow you to sprint and avoid a slow paced game.

After that move on to BG1 and 2. Dont skip BG1 just because people say the 2 is better.

Play Planescape last once you have experience.

I see that you havent bought PoE yet and you shouldnt. Its garbage and doesnt hold a candle to the classics you listed. Same goes for other Obsidian RPGs.

[Pickle Bath]

Baldur's Gate 1 is mostly for nostalgia, it won't hold up too well compared to the updates and modernization achieved in Pillars. ie: pretty bland "boxing" style combat, story is alright but not amazing, areas tend to be open and not that detailed. Baldur's Gate 2 is a terrific game, but also an absolute MONSTER, like 250+ hours easily. It's a huge sprawling game and can easily burn you out of the entire genre. I can't imagine playing it now, but when I was a teenager that kind of time sink was great.

Icewind Dale is much more combat focused, but is pretty well streamlined and very atmospheric with cool environments and great memorable music.

Neverwinter Nights is great if you want an MMO-lite experience with the online "persistent worlds". The main campaign isn't that great, kinda bland. But if you get Hordes in the Underdark that's a great single player game with some Drow elves, planes walking, etc.

Fallout 1 is better than Fallout 2 imho. Cleaner and more straightforward and well directed. It has aged very well and is a must play. Both are great games though.

Shadowrun is alright, more for the story and world/setting. Good writing though.

Tower of Time seemed okay, had some cool looking combat, although I never played it. The many-titled Avernum series might scratch the old timey RPG itch.

If you like Star Wars then Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 are must plays, and great enjoyable games in their own right. Combat feels very fluid, it's fun to build with lightsabers and blasters instead of swords and spells. Story is good too. Vaguely open world-ish as you can fly planet to planet.

For new stuff Dragon Age Origins was top notch, one of the best in ages. So well done and detailed, a true labor of love. Divinity Original Sin 1 & 2 sure had good turn based combat if that's your kinda thing.

Or just read one of the many massive lists/guides out there for people in your exact situation: https://rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=9453

[oldrocker99]

Neverwinter Nights is great if you want an MMO-lite experience with the online "persistent worlds". The main campaign isn't that great, kinda bland. But if you get Hordes in the Underdark that's a great single player game with some Drow elves, planes walking, etc.

Hordes of the Underdark is included in the EE. And the hundreds of free modules at https://www.neverwintervault.org make NWN the most game you can get in a box.

[Armanz]

I heavily advise you to ignore everything Bleep Bloop said.
Both Fallout 1 & Arcanum are unplayable by todays or the last 10 years standards and can only hold up for people who already played them.
Calling Pillars garbage shows a complete lack of perception and understanding.

[weirddreams_fe]

I'm inclined to get BD2 and PoE, i already got Divinity Original Sin.

I get that the old titles could be hard to get into, but i don't dont mind that much. Mostly because i'm used to play old games, but not so much with the complexity that those old games (crpg) can provide.

I really want to like this genre and i appreciate everyone's opinions about this topic trying to help. The community seems great. Thank you guys!

[ChopSuey™]

Play them all! :) I've done them all over the past cpl decades. The years change the way that things are presented though so some things might not be as I remember them and there are certainly improvements made from the older games in the newer but with that said..



Dragon Age and expansions up until they went to whatever inquisition is are glorious. Perhaps one of my favorite series overall. Tons of character depth, development, a decent system, and choices that import from previous saves. I still remember that quite vividly and VERY disappointed when they went the route that was inquisition and my story ended.... that was a terrible, terrible idea trying to go to console they way they did.

POE I quite like. I'm only now going through and completing the first now that the second one is out and all DLC has been released. Came to the party late for the first only getting it when all of its DLC was released, took a break and now finishing up that 3rd act. More I play it again, the more I like the system in it. KEEN to get into the second.

Arcanum was really, really, really good. Great story there. Its a little aged... well been a long time since I played it, but i very much remember and loved it. Mmmm planescape.

Divinity is also well worth playing from the first. I've completed everything from dragon commander and on in that universe and whilst it isn't my favorite, it is still well worth the play and a very solid game... its made for a more modern audience.

Whilst Baldurs and Icewind and NWN and those were great games in their time, I feel you could probably skip them in favor of playing the others or more modern ones but with that said, I'd still also keep them in mind if you're ever looking for a 'fix' and have done the others. In their day they were *THE* thing to play and still have plenty there but I feel there are better choices from more recent years to get into the genre.

Tyranny... wanted to love. Seemed to get lost somewhere. Some interesting ideas but compared to all the other titles here it seems like a phone app game. Maybe it's they way it was presented or its just me but.

Pathfinder has had a rocky start but i love the foundations and ultimately the game. I think it's been a decent take on the game. Though... even with all the patches on that, I wouldnt make that your first choice as its a rookie company and they've made a ton of mistakes. Still there is something there that really makes me want to love it. Time matters in that one ;)


ALL in all.... there are a TON of titles that are well worth the time. Some from 15 yrs ago, some from recent time. PLENTY to get lost in. Best thing about the older titles is that there is a plethora of information if you get stuck in any way shape or form :)

[Thunderchief]

Wow. No one has mentioned Dark Sun.

It's not on Steam because it is so oldschool.
You can find it on GOG though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48cPwDURyVQ

[ColorsFade]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Heathen:

I'm inclined to get BD2 and PoE, i already got Divinity Original Sin.

I get that the old titles could be hard to get into, but i don't dont mind that much. Mostly because i'm used to play old games, but not so much with the complexity that those old games (crpg) can provide.

I really want to like this genre and i appreciate everyone's opinions about this topic trying to help. The community seems great. Thank you guys! :praisesun:

I'd really recommend watching a Let's Play of Baldur's Gate 1 or 2 before committing money to them. I've been doing a Let's Play for both of these (shameless plug).

BG2 is by far my favorite CRPG of all time, but I grew up with it so nostalgia is really strong with it. However, by today's standards it just doesn't hold up well. The combat system is lacking so many quality of life improvements that today's games provide.

I'd hate to see someone spend money on Baldur's Gate 1 or 2 only to be really disappointed in them because some old duffers like me said they are awesome.

So definitely take a gander first, before buying.

That said, if you watch the games on YouTube and still dig it, definitely get them. They're cheap, run on today's hardware (get the Enhanced Editions from Steam) and can be fun as heck. I still love them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9qfA5CXieA

The Divinity: Original Sins games are great and you should have a lot of fun with those. I've written a couple class guides for DOS1. Ping me anytime for DOS1 or 2. Fun games.

Pillars of Eternity 1 & 2 are definitely worth playing.

So is Neverwinter Nights 2 and it's expansion Mask of the Betrayer. Really fantastic games. And NWN2 has a huge modding community with a lot of player-created content. Some of it is quite good.

And something I haven't seen mentioned here: The Temple of Elemental Evil. You have to get the Circle of Eight patch to play it, but once installed it's a great game (it's buggy as heck without it). It's a fantastic, combat-oriented old-fashioned CPRG based on an actual D&D Module. Combat is turned-based (like the Divinity games) and quite tactical. It's a load of fun.

Oh, and people mentioned it already, but I second Dragon Age: Origins. It's just a fantastic CRPG with, IMO, a pretty nice blend of story and action.

RPG's can often lean one way or the other (story, or action). Planescape: Torment, as already mentioned, really leans about as far in the story direction, and away from the combat direction, as any CRPG in existence.

By contrast, The Temple of Elemental Evil leans really heavily toward combat and not so much story.

[oldrocker99]

I played Neverwinter Nights 2, and didn't like the graphics, believe it or not, nor the many search and fetch issues with the beginning of the game.

[Terra Blade]

Baulder's Gate 1 & 2 "enhanced editions" are both oldies but goodies. Then you have this game, which is basically inspired by those and Torment: Planescape. More recent games would be the Divinity Original Sin games again 1 & 2. All those are great starting points.

If you are looking for Sci-fi you could also check out the Shadowrun games, as well as the original Fallout games 1 & 2....starting to see a pattern here. >.>

Oh...and for something in between there is also Arcanum: Steamworks and Magika. Another older game, but still quite fun.

[Terra Blade]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από LINUXoldrocker99:

I played Neverwinter Nights 2, and didn't like the graphics, believe it or not, nor the many search and fetch issues with the beginning of the game.

Well there is always the fan content. I remember one mod that basically not only built it's own world but used custom scripting to give you a ship for sailing between islands and getting into a few ship-to-ship battles. I think it was finished, but that was over 10 years ago for me. Neverwinter Nights one also has tons of really REALLY good fan content, some of which not only affected my preferences in storytelling but even how I viewed the world. Definetly recommend that one for all the fan content alone...and the dev made content wasn't bad either.

[EleventhStar]

i see nobody has mentioned divinity original sin 2. isn't that game like this one too or is it different type of game?

[weirddreams_fe]

I just bought PoE, Divinity Original Sin 1. I'm going to play as soon as i can. I can't really play all of them quickly because i'll try to enjoy as much as possibble and the time requirements seems considerable.

[weirddreams_fe]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από ColorsFade:

And something I haven't seen mentioned here: The Temple of Elemental Evil. You have to get the Circle of Eight patch to play it, but once installed it's a great game (it's buggy as heck without it). It's a fantastic, combat-oriented old-fashioned CPRG based on an actual D&D Module. Combat is turned-based (like the Divinity games) and quite tactical. It's a load of fun.

By contrast, The Temple of Elemental Evil leans really heavily toward combat and not so much story.

I'll try to check on Youtube as you mention the Baldur's Gate 1 and 2. Is The Temple of Elemetal Evil avaible only on GOG?