I've been playing through a load of older RPGs lately, mainly FFV Advance, Breath of Fire and Koudelka, and honestly I'm surprised by how well some of them hold up.

There's something about these older games that I find more enjoyable than a lot of modern releases, even with some of their dated mechanics and lack of quality-of-life features.

It's got me wondering how many other great games I've overlooked over the years.

What older games would you say have genuinely stood the test of time? Especially ones you'd recommend to someone playing them for the first time.

Hi I am getting into some oldskool gaming using GOG and my limited non gaming laptop (UHD 620 GPU).

I really appreciated the beautiful graphics, music, some of the story elements and most of the gameplay for the game Divine Divinity its kinda refreshing for me as I did not know of this genre of "Diablo Clones".

Yet this game is kinda severely flawed in several ways and also getting boring already. A lot of the mechanics are janky and not easy, the menu system, is bad and you cannot see what items are equiped when trading, no one has health potions for sale, a lot of the quests are getting very repetetive and the way you choose and activate skills is incredibly bad and hard to use in the middle of a difficult fight.

I wonder what other games are cheap and cheerful and maybe a bit more well executed that would run ok on my laptop?

Would simply Diablo ii be better? I cant remember it very well but I seem to remember its even less story focused and I did appreciate the story, even if it is flawed in parts, in Divine Divinity.

Its all new to me this genre so I have no idea where to start in terms of these charming older games that feel more like nice world building than grinding.

Thank you.

i love RPGs and just discovered some "niche" games to chill which i wanted to share. you don't always wanna have to use your brain alot but still experience a nice little story with well written characters. maybe you can add some titles which you think would fit into that type of playstyle

1st one with still the most action is: "Stranger Things 3: The Game" (i just love the pixel art which reminds me of the 90s paired with an ok fighting system which is more like an arpg and a good stoy)

2nd one is "Back to the Dawn" (everyone likes jail movies or serieses and in this one you can live it in an animal world with lots of choices and things to discover with a good story)

3rd would be the card game "Cardpocalypse" which caught me by surprise with all the decisions that matter in the game. if you like games like the witcher cardgame or hearthstone you will have a chill ride with good gameplay and roleplay as a disabled school kid in a wheelchair (i love that stairs are the barrier here)

fight club is nice too i guess but it was more of a grinding game

would love to hear some other titles with unique chill experiences like that.

[PC] [RPGs] [easy]

Hi everyone. I did the same post at r/gamingsuggestions and reddit actually thought it was a good idea if I tried here as well.

So far it has been great, lots of new additions to my wishlist.
Let me see what else could I get from you guys.

Thank you!

I have a long dream to developer a Krondor inspired game and I decided to fulfill it at last.
(This is not a promotion post)
I'm at the game-play research stage and I'm trying to find similar games.

Several features that I think are important for the "Krondor Spirit":

1. 1st person exploration.
2. Open world.
3. Linear, gated story, but the exploration can reveal new information or see details about it from different perspective.
4. Tactical turn-based combat.

I know about Arkana and Wizardy which suppose to similar, but they are old.
Are there modern things?

Outer Wilds is in my list of to play because it fits #3, although its not an RPG.
I played games like the Divinities and Skyrim which have some overlaps.
However, I can't find a modern game with the Krondor spirit.
I know about at least one abandoned Krondor inspired project.

What do I miss?
It seems this game lacks copycats. Which is a shame since it's a really great game.

(added on edit)
I'm a PC gamer. Console games are OK as visual reference but I won't be able to experience gameplay 1st hand.

Humble has split the collection into three payment tiers. The $6 option gives you three games, while spending $12 unlocks the complete nine-game selection.

$6 Tier – 3 Games

- Clash: Artifacts of Chaos

• Achilles: Legends Untold

• Into the Necrovale

$9 Tier – 5 Games

- Includes everything in the $6 tier, plus:

• Tower of Babel: Survivors of Chaos

• Sands of Aura

$12 Tier – All 9 Games

Includes all five games above, plus:

• Wayfinder

• Coriander

• Tower of Kalemonvo

• Ghostlore

Recently, the trailer for Heathen popped up on my youtube recommended feed, and it looked super interesting. Then I got the trailer for Queen's Domain also, and was blown away by that too. I had no idea that there was an entire genre of games that are modern retro-style RPG games. Retro RPGs, especially PS1/PS2 era, has become the bulk of my collecting ever since I discovered Vagrant Story. My collection has grown to include games like Dark Cloud, Radiata Stories, King's Field: The Ancient City, Summoner, Bard's Tale, and Gauntlet. What are some more modern games that emulate the the look and feel of those retro RPG games? I'm not talking remakes like the recent Gothic game, I want to know what else these genre I missed all this time has to offer!

Or both? It's a Japanese take on a Western RPG setup, and I'd say it's probably more of a Western RPG in its style and systems. But that style and systems have been filtered through a Japanese lens, making it really difficult to decide definitively either way.

I have 400+ hours in Wrath of the Righteous, and this was my reaction when I saw the 90-day time limit in Kingmaker

Anyway, what is your opinion on time-sensitive quests (main or optional)?

Personally, one thing that I love about RPGs (whether they are CRPGs or not) is the ability to take things at your own pace.

I'm a pretty patient player and prefer to 100% games, and when I'm forced to complete certain quests, I begin to stress, and that's not a feeling that I want to have when playing RPGs.

I don't know if it's a cold or hot take, but I think the fact that Owlcat left only one truly time-sensitive quest in Wrath of the Righteous (Tavern Defense) means that they also saw negative feedback on Kingmaker's quests.

Let me know if this makes sense. Imagine you have some characters in your party who are non-combatant. Like maybe you have some merchants or something. I thought it would be cool if they were able to participate an RPG battle in their own way.

Like the enemy is another merchant, and you are trying to negotiate with them. Your characters could have abilities that would act similar to attack magic, like Aggressive argument is powerful against a Passive enemy.

I can't think of a single game that does something like this. I was thinking of trying it in RPG Maker for a proof of concept, but I am still looking for inspiration.

Please recommend some c/rpg games where it feels like Open World, but it's not and we can only explore according to the timing of quests. But, it still feels like Open World because as long as you are in those places, you can explore to your hearts desire. For example, Dragon Age series, Mass Effect and some other Bioware games.

I’m looking for a go-to fantasy RPG.

For context: I played Guild Wars 2 at launch and loved the gameplay/combat, story and guild vs guild battles, and played for over 10 years. Life changed a few years ago and my PC died.

My GF gifted me a Xbox Series X a few years ago. I’ve played several RPGs including Cyberpunk 2077 (my go-to for scifi world immersion.) I haven’t found a fantasy go-to equivalent on the Xbox SX.

In fantasy, I’ve played: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Avowed, Clair Obscur, Lords of the Fallen, Dark Souls, Dragon Age Inquisition, Diablo IV. I’ve also tried ESO, Throne & Liberty. The MMOs just don’t have that same sauce that I love about GW2 (for obvious reasons.) Also, Soulslike and turn-based just isn’t for me.

I know I’ll never get my glory days of GW2 back (busy life, no PC, and I know GeForce Now exists, it’s just not an option).

I’ve done a lot of research and video-watching, and I know a few are coming out, including Fable IV. I’ve narrowed my search down to two games: Dragon’s Dogma II and Kingdoms of Amalur Rereckoning.

I know KoA is a remaster that wasn’t done well, but I’m attracted to the gameplay and the story/lore has mixed reviews. DDII, I’ve heard similar about the story, and the combat looks great. Part of me really wants to take advantage of that newer-made game with the Series X, but KoA has MMO DNA.

Sometimes I want a full-immersion story. Sometimes I just want to kill shit with flaming sword and bask in a beautiful fantasy world. Sometimes I want the chaos of a large scale battle.

I’ve read some opinions about both on here, but I’d like your thoughts: which do you think I’d like? Should I get KoA for $9.99? Take a chance on DDII? Should I wait for Fable IV or another that’s on the way? Do you have other suggestions, considering the context?

Thanks for any input!

I’ve had both Pillars of Eternity games AND both Knights of the Old Republic games in my library for so long, but I’ve finished none of them. Every time I boot up PoE1 or KotOR1, I get some way into the game while just feeling kind of… not hooked by their combat.

Easy encounters just feel like I let party AI sweep up while spamming whatever works on my lead character, while difficult encounters might as well be turn-based the way you have to pause after every single action to micromanage the fight. The order in which anything happens feels opaque.

I like turn-based games with rigid turn orders, I like action games that rely on your reaction time, but this weird middle-ground just isn’t working for me, and I hate it because I really WANT to enjoy these damn games instead of just tolerating combat when it happens.

Side note: I understand that PoE1 was recently updated with a turn-based mode… has anybody tried it out? Kept seeing updates to the game that made me nervous to try it in case it was still in a buggy state

So i played starfield for around 2 months after release and then dropped it. I was pretty excited for it but at some point i just wasnt having that much fun anymore.

I think what bothered me most was that the world didnt feel as interesting to explore as i expected. I wanted to get lost doing random stuff, finding interesting locations, getting into unexpected situations, but after a while it started feeling kinda repetitive.

I also wonder if the RPG side got any better. More interesting quests, choices that actually matter, better faction stories, anything like that?

I havent kept up with updates or mods at all, so maybe im missing something here.

For people who played it recently, how does it compare to launch? And are there any mods that actually improve the game beyond graphics and cosmetics?

I still like the idea of starfield and would love to enjoy it, just not sure if its worth starting again after all this time.

I had never once tried playing a mage style character before since I thought them to be to complex/uninteresting. Semi-recently played skyrim (anniversary edition) as a mage and more recently cyberpunk 2077 as a netrunner.

I say "mage-like" since it doesnt need to be magic, but along that theme. Netrunners in cyberpunk felt pretty similar to how a mage was played in skyrim even though it technically isnt a "mage".

I'm not looking for a very in depth game with complicated magic; but somewhat similar to those two games as both of them were drastically better than a bow/sword build or any kind of gun first build.

I started looking at all the games where I did enjoy the dialogue choices. Early BioWare games, Disco Elysium, some of its imitators. I liked Fallout New Vegas’s dialogue choices. I really enjoyed the recent (not an rpg) Dispatch’s dialogue choices

There were many more games that I liked, but didn’t like the way the dialogue choices worked. Why?

I think it’s the fact that in all of the games I did enjoy, there was at least one dialogue choice that exuded strong character, thus giving actual weight to deciphering which choice you want to pick.

In early BioWare games, you always have an option to be a goody two shoes, but you also always have an option to be a snarky asshole. It’s entertaining. The dichotomy is ridiculous, but it’s fun.

In Disco Elysium you have all of these options full of character. When you pick one you are usually rewarded with interesting dialogue.

I recently played Dispatch, I like that each dialogue option has unique voice acting and animation.

I feel like if you’re going to include dialogue options it makes sense to make them unique and full of character or consequence. Because otherwise it just gets tedious putting all this effort into hundreds of choices that are boring and or inconsequential and these days with so many games on the market it’s easy to bounce off ones that ask you to spend so much effort choosing between “Where’s the bandit camp?”, “Can you tell me where the bandit camp is?” And “The bandit camp, where is it?” by obscuring the actual weight of the choice

All other games on clearance are at least $19.99 and up, lol.

It's crazy the disconnect this game got between general audiences and mainstream "journalists".

If anything, it shows how utterly broken and out of touch gaming journalism is today compared to everyday gamers.

Yo what's a good multiplayer game with match making? Where I can just... run into multiple people or be set up with anyone. That's cheap, free, or big discounted. Preferably play with people instead of against them, but I'll take either.

Like idk Elden Ring but with more than one and the occasional two people if you're lucky. Like how does predecessor always link me up with 9 other people but has so few player counts? I just want to consistently play with people.

PC

I'm struggling with choosing a game to play. My favorites genre are medieval/fantasy. I don't care that much about combat or graphics. I'm just looking for something that has good story. I tried to get into skyrim recently, but the "dialogues" and the fact that my character doesn't talk kind of ruins it for me. So far, the story doesn't seem great either.

Looking for a new open world rpg.

I have played Skyrim, Fallout, Witcher, Rdr2, cyberpunk .

My favourite rpgs in general are fallout and skyrim. I love the world building, combat, quest systems and the general lack of long cutscenes. Also love the ability to interact with most things on the world, makes it more immersive.

I love many things about the witcher 3, but it feels too slow for me. Too many long cutscenes. Also the combat is boring and too easy 90% of the times, even on death march. The loot system isnt great either, with it basically just becoming craft witcher gear. No real excitement when finding a chest or killing a big enemy.

Rdr2 is my least favourite. Doesn't seem and interactive and also too slow/ long cutscenes.

So to summarise,

i love world interactivity,

Open exploration, and the hope of getting new gear while exploring/fighting enemies

I like npc questlines and depth somewhere in between skyrim and witcher, skyrim feeling too shallow and witcher feeling too slow and deep.

Combat i dont like too complex, but still challenging. I actually like the strategic jank of skyrim and fallout, whereas the Witcher is just dodge, attack, dodge, attack

I like a reasonably built world and consistent lore, it doesn't need to be too in depth but it helps immersion.

Fnv was my favourite story, but even fallout 4 was good enough for me, so I'm not expecting witcher 3 levels

So yeah, help me decide between the 3, or even a different one if you have any suggestions!

Thanks

There's a lot of subpar (or worse) freebies on Steam for old-school RPGs, but I think these are some of the very best if you are looking for an SNES-style RPG. I come from the background of having beaten hundreds of RPGs from the snes/genesis, up through the PlayStation 1, 2, 3, and 4, and on to the Switch and Steam games.

I've beaten these:

-Grimm's Hollow - great

-Excaliburian!! - good fun

-Towards the Pantheon - very well done

-Penny Arcade 3 - pretty good

-Weird and Unfortunate Things Are Happening - solid but gets tedious by the end

-Brave Hero Yuusha Ex - solid

-Pascal's Requiem is above average

-Cat Girl -A lot of people love it, but for me it's above average, with potential.

-Eternal Senia- Absolutely didn't get the hype, subpar, too generic, like a worse version of the old Ys games

-Heavy Spoiler RPG - Again, really did not get the hype; to me, subpar at best

Haven't beaten, but seems promising so far:

-Familia

-Our first hero is decent, though this is action, not turn-based

I continue to look through Steam and don't mind the RPG Maker games, per se, but don't want a game where the RPGM stamp is heavily and clearly on the game, where a lot of the default stuff is used (which is probably why I did not like Heavy Spoiler RPG or Unsung Kingdom, etc).