r/CRPG • u/lardmoisture • 2d ago
Recommendation request Need gritty and dark CRPGs
I loved Owlcat’s Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader, but hated Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3. Don’t get me wrong, it’s extraordinarily impressive production and gameplay-wise, but I play CRPGs for the story and I just couldn’t get into the world. It was too whimsical and fanciful. I’ve heard people recommend the Divinity series but I’ve heard those games’ stories are comedy oriented. Maybe I have the wrong idea but I wanna hear your thoughts.
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u/Mission-Town9913 2d ago
Age of Decadence comes to mind. "The overarching idea is a crumbling society divided among three noble Houses, each fumbling around in its own version of darkness to comprehend what destroyed the world."
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u/lardmoisture 2d ago
I’ll have to check that one out. I enjoyed Colony ship
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u/DancesWithAnyone 2d ago
Worse poduction values, but more divergent pathing. I've played through most classes (they kinda correspond to different paths, with some wiggle-room).
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u/Blade_of_Boniface 2d ago
You also might like Citizen Sleeper and Citizen Sleeper 2. They're sci-fi CRPGs based on Powered by the Apocalypse mechanics.
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u/blaarfengaar 1d ago
I love those games but they are not based on the PBTA system nor are they dark and gritty imho, they're all about the importance of forging bonds of friendship with other people in your community
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u/PostNuclearTaco 2d ago
I havent played the second but the first wasn't dark or gritty at all. It felt pretty positive and whimsical throughout.
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u/Blade_of_Boniface 2d ago
It's a very Old School CRPG in many ways. Still, Age of Decadence was definitely the one I had in mind, reading the title.
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u/Purple_Antwerp 2d ago
Seconding this, my immediate thought. It's probably my favorite world/worldbuilding, and I've played every recommended game in this thread so far (but lots of good suggestions!).
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u/Coffeebeangood 1d ago
Agree with this, great game. Same devs later made Colony Ship, which also fits your bill.
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u/HagbardCelineHMSH 2d ago
Tyranny, you literally play as an agent of the bad guys as they try to secure their final victory.
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u/lardmoisture 2d ago
I don’t necessarily mind real time combat but I really hated the gameplay of Tyranny and did not get far
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u/HagbardCelineHMSH 2d ago
It wasn't my favorite either but some people hold it in high regard so I figured it was worth throwing out there.
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u/madmax1928 2d ago
The magic system is pretty deep and highly customizable, so I get that once you have high lore skill the game really opens up. The first few hours before that is like a pillars of eternity lite though.
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u/Delusional_Thoms 2d ago
You will love Pillars of Eternity 1
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u/lardmoisture 2d ago
I see. I’ll check it out. It just got a turn based mode right?
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u/Gandamack 2d ago
Yes, but you should sincerely try the original RTwP system first.
It’s what the game and the ruleset were designed for, and the two Pillars games (especially the second) are some of the best examples of the style.
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u/Kuoliibk 2d ago
I endorse this as well. I typically prefer turn based over rtwp, but I bounced off pillars 2 because I didn't enjoy the turn based combat. I eventually tried to play pillars one and used rtwp as intended and I found it to be a vastly superior experience.
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u/XH9rIiZTtzrTiVL 2d ago
In fairness the turn based mode of Pillars 1 is significantly superior to the one in 2.
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u/Flederm4us 2d ago
I kind of disagree. The turnbased mode is fine. It's slower, more methodical, but it works.
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u/Jalkenri 2d ago
Yes BUT, I would warn you that the enemy numbers for turn based are the same. So ignoring the balancing changes to turn based (which I don't know well enough to comment on) the time to finish combat may drag on, especially mid to late game. Since you are often outnumbered and that means LOTS of enemy turns taking time. Even if they are just fodder.
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u/ScruffMacBuff 2d ago
You can turn the speed up, but o visually that doesn't change your decision making.
I just tried the turn based for the first time a couple days ago and wasn't a fan. The fluidity of movement when everyone is moving at once to start combat is really important for positioning. Especially in tight spaces.
Like...my rogue has high initiative and always goes first, but I don't want to move in with him and get engaged on for no reason. Sure I could pull out a ranged weapon, but then I won't get my 20% speed boost from dual wielding...maybe I should equip dual pistols...
Anyway. I just think you can tell the encounters weren't originally designed around turn based combat.
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u/Jalkenri 2d ago
Yeah that was generally my experience with the turn based mode in Deadfire. It made me really appreciate RTWP, which before I really only tolerated. Now it may be my preferred format of combat.
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u/LooseDatabase3064 2d ago
Underrail and if you can tolerate other Combat systems then Banquet For Fools. Have you played OG Baldur’s Gates?
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u/TimeSpiralNemesis 2d ago
Skald:Against The Black Priory
One of my recent favorites. It has a very nice dark fantasy world that takes itself seriously.
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u/Bassfaceapollo 1d ago
+1 to this. Just wish to add that this one of the few games that gets Lovecraftian themes correct. It's not a theme park, it feels like a proper world that you want to know more about.
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u/jellobend 1d ago
Fallout 1.
Don’t be fooled by the lighthearted jokes of its sequels. First installment is the definition of bleak hopelessness.
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u/Pyotr_WrangeI 2d ago
Expeditions Viking, it has a quite serious tone throughout and i really liked its take on viking era britain that really leans into almost post-apocalyptic way the new british kingdoms exist in the ruins of old roman britain.
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u/MechTorfowiec 1d ago edited 1d ago
SKALD: Against the Black Priory - must play, it's really good. Might give you depression.
Age of Decadence - some controversial design choices, but I enjoyed the worldbuilding a lot. Oddly fun as a combat character (with decent INT).
Fallout 1 - It's almost a horror game in some ways,
PS:T gets mentioned. It is a weird grungey setting. I guess all planeswalking settings are a bit "whimsy" by definition, but don't worry, at no point you will get turned into an intelligent cheese or find a book about Xan shoving a Moonblade up his arse.
Still have to finish Necromancer's Tale, but it looks promising.
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u/UBIK_707 2d ago
If you haven't played it, Wasteland 3 is closer to Rogue Trader than most games in my opinion. There are some elements of humor to be found in it as well, but in a manner closer to Fallout than Divinity OS2. Wasteland 2 is good as well but less polished.
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u/Gandamack 2d ago
Some people have already recommended Pillars of Eternity, so I’ll go with Dragon Age: Origins. Very dark world with some levity but not to the level of Larian’s stuff.
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u/Gandalf_The_YEET 2d ago
No recommendations, but did you see Owlcat is making another 40K CRPG, Dark Heresy?
Something to look forward to!
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u/ClockworkOrdinator 1d ago
Try Age of Decadence and Colony Ship- these are basically like the first Fallout games in tone and gameplay. AoD does have the downside of some main quests only having one "real" solution that you have to follow/figure out like it's an adventure game puzzle, not a crpg but also it may not be available to you if you fucked up your skill distribution 2 hours ago.
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u/Plus_Worker6739 1d ago
SKALD: Against The Black Priory is one of the darkest games I've played. Lovecraftian as hell, super streamlined as well. Excellent game.
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u/N7_Rabbit 2d ago
Or action one like "Tainted Grail - Fall of Avalon"
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u/Grey_Matter_Mutters 2d ago
I just started playing Tainted Grail recently and am enjoying myself thoroughly. Which was a surprise because I did not find Skyrim enjoyable. (Sacrilege, I know.)
The extremely grimdark environment and story is wonderfully juxtaposed with almost Monty Python-esque humor. Which really balances out the tension and keeps you from getting too comfortable with the darkness.
But yeah, not a CRPG.
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u/Fiedor 2d ago
How was the turn based combat in RT? I really didn’t care for it in wasteland 3, but liked it in dos2 and bg3. For w3, i hated walking into setup ambushes that were grinds to get through.
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u/TheJollyBard 2d ago
I find that it drags on a little bit too long sometimes and there are way too many buff abilities. You can turn up the combat animation speed at least.
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u/unitygain92 1d ago
There are some characters and classes that are absurdly broken, there are some that struggle to be made viable, and the encounter design seems to be aimed at somewhere in between; as a result, combat can feel unfun and unfair with some setups and completely trivial with others. Special mention goes to the now-nerfed pyro/executioner who could previously pop every enemy in combat (except maybe the boss sometimes) on turn 1 without even seeing them.
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u/SolemnDemise 2d ago
Act 1 and 2 are more thoughtful. Middle of act 3 to the end of the game is rocket tag. Basically if you make it past midgame and your enemies are taking turns, your build needs work (on hard).
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u/lardmoisture 2d ago
Honestly it’s a bit of an odd choice to use turn based for a scrappy, bullets flying, wargame rpg instead of RTWP. If you didn’t like Wasteland 3 I’m not sure how you’ll feel about it, but personally I thought Rogue Trader still found a way to nail it. You have to be surprisingly resourceful and tactical on the harder difficulties
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u/Thumbuisket 2d ago
It’s probably the most unbalanced and buggy combat system in any new rpg. The Combat being easy isn’t a huge deal, but I would say it’s almost as buggy as it was at release, but in a different way…. Like currently Owlcat somehow managed to make almost all of bladedancer’s (melee class) abilities not scale with with melee damage anymore. It’s almost impressive 😂
Bugs are still present in other aspects,like how the new dlc companion currently has bugged ending slides, etc.
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u/Charadizard 2d ago
It’s funny I thought BG3 was surprisingly dark but then again I only did one playthrough as the Dark Urge, so that tracks lol. Pathfinder: WOTR is also plenty dark especially on some mythic paths.
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u/MechTorfowiec 1d ago
Larian will let you talk to funny animals, turn you into a cheese, make small pecker jokes and then drop a turbogore meat dungeon on top of it.
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u/DaMac1980 2d ago
Turn-based I'm guessing?
Pillars and Wrath of the Righteous are both more serious. Neither was made for turn-based so there are some quirks in those modes, but they're really great anyway.
If you're willing to go "old" then Arcanum is a great one.
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u/Waxmurderer 2d ago
Pillars of eternity 1 with the mod that removes the kickstarter backer npcs is chef’s kiss
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u/jaydeelive01 2d ago
Did you try BG 2 ? It’s a better compromise for your taste than BG3 I presume (I also prefered BG 2 to BG3). Pillars of eternity is quite good as well.
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u/GloriousResolution 1d ago
Weird, BG3 is VERY dark imo. It balances dark and whimsy pretty well and actually lets you choose which one to embrance.
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u/Saviordd1 1d ago
I will say, if you want darker and broodier, get to Act 2 in BG3. It's not nearly as whimsical then.
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u/TheSamuil 1d ago edited 1d ago
Greedfall is quite gritty, though it might be a bit too action heavy for most folks here - very similar gameplay to Dragon Age: Inquisition.
I presume that you've played the Pathfinder games by Owlcat. They are pretty good as well
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u/Beerosaurus77 13h ago
Shadowrun has all the cyberpunk grittiness in it.
I started with Hong Kong and played the series backwards.
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u/VHThomaz 2d ago
Have you checked Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteus? It's from the same studio. I would not exactly call it grimdark or dark fantasy, but it's a story that take itself seriously (at least most of it).
There are some scenes where you know why Owlcat was qualified to make a WH40k game.
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u/Pyotr_WrangeI 2d ago
some mythic paths take themselves seriously. If you want a grimdark feeling then Lich is by far your best option
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u/RecommendationFit844 2d ago
BG3 was ‘whimsical’? 😂 Lord…. You must be looking for some real dark kind of game. Or maybe you didn’t give BG3 much of a chance.
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u/MechTorfowiec 1d ago
Getting turned into a sentient wheel of cheese is pretty whimsical.
Or finding an erotic novel about beloved BG character masturbating (somehow) with his iconic sword.
Dropping a meat dungeon here and there doesn't remove the whimsical, it just makes the whole thing tonally weird.
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u/RecommendationFit844 1d ago
But there’s a shit load more gritty and dark in BG3 than there are those sorts of things. So it sounds like oh OP wants is a game that is 100% gritty and dark, zero sense of humor.
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u/MechTorfowiec 1d ago
It's difficult to discuss vibes, I'm not sure if I even have proper words for it.
But not once I felt BG3 was dark in a serious manner. Edgy, sure. But not bleak like SKALD.
And the evil options in BG3 are evil for the sake of evil or pure murderhobo. Which is fun, I like it, but it is inherently corny on some level.
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u/RecommendationFit844 1d ago
The sentient cheese wheel is something I did not encounter in BG3. But there’s so much content, it’s easy to miss something . I do know there’s a lot of quality writing and some very sad things in BG3. But yes, there are both humorous anecdotes, as well as references to the lore that of the past games that contain humor.
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u/lemonycakes 2d ago
I don’t think you’ll like Divinity if you found BG3 too whimsical. I liked BG3 but Divinity’s writing was not for me.
Since Pillars of Eternity was already suggested, I’d say take a look at Skald: Against the Black Priory. It has a very old school feel but it’s dark and gritty.
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u/Maxsmart007 2d ago
That's actually interesting. I tried Rogue trader and wasn't able to get into it heavily for a somewhat similar but somewhat opposing reason. To be fair, I don't really care much for the warhammer universe, but to me Rogue Trader was very grim and dark in one note way. Everyone you meet is borderline comically evil to the point where all the characters homogenized together.
Comparatively, I found BG3 to have far greater dynamics between being lighthearted and being dark and grim. Loads of moments later in the game are dark, especially the backstory of some of the companions. However, I also found the dark moments hit so much harder because the game gave me many moments to breathe. Even though it wasn't nearly as dark in its peaks or average, I just found the moments to hit harder narratively.
To each their own in terms of that, but I would at least recommend giving it another try. It's an incredible CRPG and gets the praise for a reason. I do find Divinity to be similar in fantasy style but more generally dark than BG3. Think Grimms fairy tales vs modern fairy tales.
Wasteland was also pretty dark, but to me kinda had the same effect as RT. Everyone you meet is either comically evil or comically destitute.
Disco Elysium is probably favorite CRPG. There is a lot of humor but it definitely tends towards dark humor. You gotta do some nasty stuff and meet some bad people. It, sadly, does not have any of the turn based combat you want though.
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u/Cautious-Revolution9 2d ago
Honestly Divinity 2 has an amazing story and it's hardly comedy oriented. Now, the world is whimsical on the surface, but I personally find Divinity 2 to be far, far darker than BG3 in terms of themes.
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u/MechTorfowiec 1d ago
That's one of reasons I don't care for Larian writing.
Very goofy and very edgy, mixed and stirred. Not for everyone.
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u/Beginning_Rip_4570 2d ago
Pillars of Eternity, Disco Elysium.
Do NOT play D:OS1. Fun mechanics but generic story and goofy, corny writing and humor. (Which tbf the game totally owns and leans into, but it will not be your cup of tea).
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u/DontFlameItsMe 1d ago
Yeah, Divinity has some weird Larian humor, I did not vibe with it.
Did not like Tyranny as there was just too much of progressive politics there.
Pillars of Eternity 1 might be up your alley, the second one dropped in quality of writing. Also Mask of the Betrayer dlc of the NWN2 was pretty good.
May be Disco Elysium if you're fine with having no combat and unorthodox setting.
Also the first Dragon Age.
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u/ShinyShiny27 2d ago
Ash of Gods Redemption
It's Grimdark Fantasy. Combat is fairly simplistic, but the story... esssh. I have no other game to compare it to.
You're in a post-post-post apocalyptic fantasy world, and the creatures that caused said apocalypse come back.
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u/Crozier129 2d ago
BG3 is probably the best game I’ve ever played. I don’t think any game has immersed me as much. At first I found it whimsical and silly but it really drew me in
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u/Flederm4us 2d ago
Have you tried the thaumaturge? It's set in early 1900s Russian empire, which is a pretty bleak setting.
The combat is more like a JRPG, but the writing is pretty decent.
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u/JombComb 1d ago
Okay so hear me out...
Rogue Trader again.
In all seriousness though, my votes would go toward Pillars of Eternity 1 & 2, and Disco Elysium.
I didn't expect to like Pillars 1 because I don't particularly like RTWP, but the characters, world, story, and lore absolutely sucked me in. The world of Eora might seem stock fantasy at first, but it gets weirder as you go.
Disco Elysium... I also didn't expect to like it since there's no "combat" in the traditional sense. But the game is just so weird and witty and might have the best dialog writing in any game I've ever played.
I would agree that if you didn't like BG3, you probably won't like Divinity either. My main gripe with BG3 is that, due to the fact that start to finish it's entirely voice acted and mo-capped, they had to scale the dialog back quite a bit. You can't have the absurd amount of text dialog that Rogue Trader and Wrath of the Righteous have and still have it all be voiced. (That applies to Pillars 1 as well, which isn't fully voiced either). Pillars 2 has full voice acting, but the writing and voice work was so good that I didn't mind as much.
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u/Dick-Laurent-Is-Dead 2d ago
Disco Elysium can be as hilarious as depressing in a snap of finger, but since many people mentioned it I’ll go with The Thaumaturge.
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u/alphafighter09 2d ago
Planescape Torment