turn based or slower paced games (cRPG/cards/4X/adventure-ish)

[Spore]

I finally admit it. While it is nice to watch a video on Metal Gear Solid Revengeance, fast paced gaming is not for me. I currently play Hearthstone but it is boring the skull outta me on prolonged times. I play MTGA but sometimes I just want something other than card games.

And while I enjoy Kingmaker, I would rather have it as a slower paced game - like Temple of Elemental Evil if someone knows that, or Disciples if someone knows that. Civ 5 is nice but I have yet to finish one of my 10+ hours games. Lastly I enjoy stuff like Legend of Zelda but I lack a TV and console to play those, and I dont really like the games on my 3DS (that said I am stuck at the water temple in OoT 3D, and I still debate whether or not to get Majora's Mask 3D because they changed the gameplay (worse Zora swimming, slower Deku scrub hopping).

I enjoy games because of story, because of music (important!) but mostly because of tight controls and decent graphics (I love indie cartoon styles and I don't need AAA graphics but I don't want to squint all the time).

An excerpt of my past games:
Baldur's Gate series
Bioshock Infinite (short enough, decent story)
Borderlands 2 (nice story, boring gameplay as a solo player)
Dark Souls 1-3 (while action focussed it is not boring you with hour long story exposition, and you can adapt your character to be somewhat slower paced instead of quick reaction DDR)
Dishonored series (I love sneaking games!)
Dust: An Elysian Tail (love jump and runs but i get lost in Metroid vania style games, similarly Ori and the Blind Forest)
Skyrim (after 7 years and 600 hours I think the magic is finally lost on me)
Fallout 4 (ironically enjoying it far more than FO 3 or even NV)
Far Cry 3 (loved the gameplay but the story cant become more stereotypical)
Hollow Knight (the first boss is an entrance barrier, it requires too much quick movement...)
Knights of Pen and Paper (I love old style RPGs like that)
Legacy of Kain series (the story - while positively DRIPPING in edge - is fantastic because of the world building)
OKAMI HD (love the presentation but you can feel the gameplay is 10 years old, hate the prompts that pop up everytime you pick something up)
Saints Row 4 (basically just a sandbox with stupid humor)
Shadow Warrior (loved the story, hate the sequel)
Undertale (great story and music, sadly over quite quickly)

[Kato]

Well, there are a bunch of Jrpgs with turn based or acceptably slow combat.
Obviously, the big Two, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. AFAIK DQ is always turn based and the first three FF games, as well as 10 let you take as much time as you need to make your decisions in combat. I don't think 4 to 9 are stressful in combat but your mileage may vary.

Or you could try your hand at a completely story driven game or even visual novel if you're curious.

Then there are tactical rpgs, like (again) FF Tactics or the Fire Emblem series (not sure what they are available for, though). There is far more variety there, like the used to be popular Heroes of Might and Magic series. Or if you're tired of medieval fantasy, XCom is pretty popular.

I'm sure there is a lot more but those come to my mind.

[Hunter Noventa]

Well, there are a bunch of Jrpgs with turn based or acceptably slow combat.
Obviously, the big Two, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. AFAIK DQ is always turn based and the first three FF games, as well as 10 let you take as much time as you need to make your decisions in combat. I don't think 4 to 9 are stressful in combat but your mileage may vary.

Or you could try your hand at a completely story driven game or even visual novel if you're curious.

Then there are tactical rpgs, like (again) FF Tactics or the Fire Emblem series (not sure what they are available for, though). There is far more variety there, like the used to be popular Heroes of Might and Magic series. Or if you're tired of medieval fantasy, XCom is pretty popular.

I'm sure there is a lot more but those come to my mind.

Most FF games that are active-time-based also have a 'wait' option that freezes time when your turn comes up, so you can take your time with that.

The original FF Tactics is available for PS1 if you find a used copy, PSP for the remake with better cutscenes but some graphical lag, and Android for the remake without the lag. You can also get FFT for PS3/Vita via the PSN Store. The sequels, A and A2 are for the GBA and DS respectively. I don't like them as much as the original, but you might, who knows.

I'll also suggest X-Com. The newer ones, Enemy Unknown/Enemy within,and the sequel, X-Com 2, are pretty good turn-based squad tactics games, with a bit of a strategic management element on top of that.

Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates are well-regarded turn-based JRPGs and both are available for the 3DS.

Also for the 3DS is Bravely Default, another JRPG which has cute graphics and amazing gameplay...though the story can take a bit of a dive in the latter half of the game.

Heck, I'd suggest picking up a Pokemon game if you haven't in a long time or ever, they might be up your alley too.

[Man_Over_Game]

Bulletstorm is right up your alley. Fun, action-paced shooter that relies on you using special moves rather than killing efficiently. In fact, the game basically rewards you for killing enemies INEFFICIENTLY. You earn EXP by doing lots of combat tricks, and has a scoring system based on how complicated they are. Knock an enemy up, kick him in the balls (bonus points) into a shock trap. Pull an enemy to you, overkill him in the face with a point-blank shot gun. More FPS than RPG, but it's combat is more closely related to Borderlands than Shadow Warrior.

Check out Helldivers. It's a local/online coop game that relies on using various different module abilities and teamwork to complete a mission. You can only carry a few modules at a time, so while you might have a "general" strategy (Modules include extra ammo, armor piercing rockets, super machine gun, etc), you have to quickly learn what you are going to provide for the team to survive. Sometimes, your level means you're bringing a battle mech and a tank to a gun fight. Sometimes, that means you're the guy providing the pros with extra ammo. There's not much that differentiates the pros from the newbies, except what they bring to the team (everyone uses roughly the same weapons). The enemies are extremely diverse, with their own strategies on how to deal with you, so the game does a good job of keeping you on your toes. Also, mind your friendly fire. It's a real thing and you better get good at not shooting friendlies or go home. The game is also hilarious, focusing on how Super Earth works to force Democracy on the less educated races in space.

Puzzle Quest, or Gems of War. The idea of PvP Bejeweled might not sound super interesting, but it's actually a load of fun. Puzzle Quest is the single player version, with around 50 hours of plot-based campaign missions, with decisions that can permanently impact your campaign. It has several classes and ways to play, and the items you get can completely change your entire playstyle. This isn't your mom's match-3 game, this is a game of intense focus, with some pretty solid (dramatic) music. Gems of War is its free online multiplayer child, with more to do, but grindier and with worse plots.

Hand of Fate is an interesting video game that uses a deck of cards, that you choose, to determine how your adventure goes. When a fight occurs, it takes your avatar and has you fight in a Batman-style combat. Each step you take consumes food, random events might provide gold, food, or enemies, and you can constantly improve your card selection to change how all of your future adventures go. For example, one card you may have is called "The Angry Barmaid". While traveling, one of the cards you land on might flip to reveal this event. When it's revealed, you encounter an angry barmaid who is yelling about her husband. You can tell her to shut up, you can help her scold her husband, or you can ignore her. If you tell her to shut up, she'll slap you, and you'll get caught in a fist fight with her cousins (items removed for this fight). If you help her find her husband, you get a quest to find him, which is treated as a random card placed somewhere on a nearby area. If you find him, you can either fight him, or get drunk with him. Either way, you tell him to go treat his wife nice, and he'll thank you, giving you the rest of his gold (cuz' he's drunk).

[CarpeGuitarrem]

You should probably give Deltarune a look if you dug Undertale.

https://www.deltarune.com

[GloatingSwine]

I enjoy games because of story, because of music (important!) but mostly because of tight controls and decent graphics (I love indie cartoon styles and I don't need AAA graphics but I don't want to squint all the time).


If you want a turn based game with good story, great music, and the most stylish graphics you ever did see, then get Persona 5.

[Hunter Noventa]

If you want a turn based game with good story, great music, and the most stylish graphics you ever did see, then get Persona 5.

o/ You'll never see it comingggggg o/

Yeah, it's pretty hard to top Persona 5 for style and substance of late.

Also, if you have any love of giant robots at all, and a PS4 or Vita, I'd highly suggest importing Super Robot Wars V and/or X. The Asian region versions have full English translations and it's all about using robots to beat up monsters and robots while screaming hot-bloodedly. There's a lot of love put into the games and they're just plain fun. Not super difficult in any way, but fun.

[Man_Over_Game]

Look up Exit Fate (Exitfate.webs.com)

It's a free game built almost perfectly around Suikoden 2, while having it's own diverse and interesting storyline. It's a LOT of fun.

[Spore]

You should probably give Deltarune a look if you dug Undertale.

https://www.deltarune.com

Oh yes, though I found the combat in DR and UT quite annoying to be fair.

[factotum]

I'm quite enjoying the Bard's Tale 4: Barrows Deep--turn-based combat where you can gain an advantage by jumping into combat before the enemy notices you, and so far the story is keeping me invested. The fights almost become a sort of puzzle--can I stack up my team's abilities in the limited number of moves I get in a turn to do the most damage possible to the enemy?

[Nadevoc]

The Divinity: Original Sin games might appeal to you. They play similar to Baldur's Gate or Kingmaker, but with turn-based combat

[Gray Mage]

I'd say that Darkest Dungeon might be worth looking into. Themes and atmosphere are similar to Dark Souls/Hollow Knight in a different angle/setting, but with the turn based combat means you can take your time.

The lastest Tomb Raider games as well I found to be a good pace, especially if you focus on picking off enemies one at a time (at this moment haven't played Shadow of the Tomb Raider, but can vouch for the other two).

And if the genre isn't an issue to you, most JRPGs are either turn based (Persona 5 and DQ were mentioned upthread) or at least has a slower paced combat than most of the games on your list (the Tales of series being a good example I think).

[Narkis]

You mentioned Disciples, so I'd recommend Heroes of Might and Magic 5, if you haven't played that already. It's an older game, but it should be right up your alley and I think it's the last good HoMM game.

From newer games, I'd say anything made by Paradox fits. Crusader Kings 2 lets you play as a medieval noble in any place between England and India, in Europa Universalis 4 you control any country in the world from 1450 up to 1820, Hearts of Iron 4 is more combat focused and set immediately before and during WW2, and Stellaris is their space game. They're all in a genre of their own, really slow real time, and have more depth than most other games of recent years. You will need to spend some time with a video tutorial on youtube in order to figure o

[Kato]

The original FF Tactics is available for PS1 if you find a used copy, PSP for the remake with better cutscenes but some graphical lag, and Android for the remake without the lag. You can also get FFT for PS3/Vita via the PSN Store. The sequels, A and A2 are for the GBA and DS respectively. I don't like them as much as the original, but you might, who knows.


I honestly like the FFTA games much better than the original, maybe except for the story. Also, I heard terrible things about the lag in the port..

But since OP has a 3DS and if he wants to try a JRPG, there are if course also the Chrono Trigger port and the extremely excellent Radiant Historia. (imo)

[Excession]

Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre. All from the same developer. Interesting stories and settings, amazing music, and tight controls. Bastion is an ARPG style, with different choices of weapons and modifiers to use. Transistor switches to a turn based combat system with even more depth. Pyre is basically a fantasy basketball game, where who you choose to have on your team changes the story.

This (https://youtu.be/f9O2Rjn1azc) is one of the songs from Transistor. Others contain spoilers and should be experienced in game first.

Edit: only Transistor really counts as slower paced, with the turn-based combat, but Bastion or Pyre are not overly fast. All really nail the music, graphics, story and tight controls that you want.

[Hunter Noventa]

I honestly like the FFTA games much better than the original, maybe except for the story. Also, I heard terrible things about the lag in the port..

But since OP has a 3DS and if he wants to try a JRPG, there are if course also the Chrono Trigger port and the extremely excellent Radiant Historia. (imo)

I have a deep-seated hatred for the 'learn abilities from equipment' system of FFTA and FFTA2. That and the simplification of the turn order system bugged me too. They're still fun games, but the original had better gameplay to me.

[Knaight]

Here's my reading of your core preferences:

Slow Paced
Pretty (Including music)

The rest I assume is secondary, though story and what not will have some attention paid to it.

Turn Based

Slay the Spire - Beautiful graphics? Check. Turn based with cards? Check. It's a turn based roguelike deck builder, and it's excellent while also fitting your criteria.
Master of Orion (New) - Technically this has a real time with pausing battle system, but you don't win in the battle system. You win in the strategic layer, and the strategic layer is pure turn based 4x.
Dominions 5 - The graphics might be below what you like, but I'd consider it decent, and it's probably the single deepest 4x game I've ever played. The music can get repetitive in extremely long games, but it's a rock solid score. As for story there's an implicit narrative through the ages, but there's also a ton of lore, and it's a mythological kitchen sink by way of actual P.hD professors of mythology.
Battle for Wesnoth - It's pretty, but the big thing here is that it's free, and while turn based the individual games come in pretty fast.
Armello - It's a beautiful game, and covers the multiplayer board-like computer game niche well, taking advantage of unknown information mechanics board games can't really do easily (e.g. fog of war).
Age of Wonders III - This is a 4x, with a deliberately stripped down strategic layer used to support the real draw of the game, the sophisticated tactical layer. It's generally good looking, with a very bright and colorful aesthetic which mostly deemphasizes detail work.
Opus Magnum - I might be going a bit far afield here, but while this game isn't turn based per se it has no real time elements whatsoever. It's also an example of a hybrid of minimalist design with a more detailed depiction, which supports an excellent design puzzle game.
Bionic Dues - This is another roguelike, here involving a mech squadron split between one pilot. The controls are rock solid, and while there's a bit of a learning curve it's really fun once you get the hang of it. The whole dynamic of enemies which often have better stats than you with hilariously exploitable quirks put right out there is both really solid and underused elsewhere.
Deadly Rooms of Death - This series is among the games I'll list as my favorite, depending on how I'm feeling at the moment. It's a turn based puzzle game where you play a dungeon crawler, and every turn you either move one tile or rotate 45 degrees with your sword that sticks out one tile further. The graphics are pretty solid, with a very clean tile and pixel art based aesthetic, and it's just generally excellent.
Faeria - It sounds like you liked Hearthstone for a while, and this is an interesting take on the genre. It's basically Hearthstone with a more interesting implicit setting, much better art, and the a hex map your units move around on.



Slow Paced

Shadow Tactics: Blade of the Shogun - This is a squad stealth strategy game, technically real time but in a way that rewards taking time and careful deliberation (unless you want to go for the speedrunning medals, but those are incredibly optional and also ridiculous). The big thing here is that it is a serious candidate for the prettiest game in this post.

Faster Than Light - You're probably already familiar with this, but if not it's another roguelike, here one where you move a space ship through a number of encounters, and manage it at a fairly high level. It's pretty slow and can be paused at will.

Steamworld Heist - I could have called this a turn based game, but it does have a timing element to it, if a generally slow paced one. It's a 2D vertical-plane tactical squad shooter, with a slight timing element to precise aim and an emphasis on ricochet shots.

Snake Pass - This is a platformer where you can't jump, and instead slither and climb. A side effect of that is that you can generally get through pretty methodically, and won't hit a wall based on twitch gameplay (probably, I'm basing this on how I didn't hit that wall, whereas I basically always do in the genre, and smack really hard into it with the likes of Dustforce). It's also bright, pretty, and attached to a solid soundtrack.

Endless Sky - It's basically EV Nova for modern computers, for people who don't want to futz around with the technical side of trying to get really old games working. It's technically not done, but it does have both a full campaign and a larger galaxy than EV Nova did. It also has sufficiently cumbersome ships to make the game not very twitch based, though you can always decide to be that guy in some underarmored mini ship bristling with guns if you've got a need for speed.

[Excession]

If you liked Saints Row 4, try the "Gat Out of Hell" mini-sequel. Mostly more of the same, but the hell setting is cool and the controls felt improved to me; the flight controls especially. Plus the musical numbers are crazy weird.

[TheFarReach]

There’s a turn based XCOMish like coming out next Thursday, called Mechanicus. Soundtrack sounds good from what I’ve heard so far, with good visuals.

[factotum]

If you liked Saints Row 4, try the "Gat Out of Hell" mini-sequel. Mostly more of the same, but the hell setting is cool and the controls felt improved to me; the flight controls especially. Plus the musical numbers are crazy weird.

Better the flight controls may be, but they take that as an excuse to make half the games about flying around the place, and alas, the controls are not *so* much better that this is fun. The flying races were a particular bugbear of mine, which is why I never finished the game.

[Avaris]

Sunless Sea might appeal? Slow paced gameplay sailing a ship around an underground cavern. Combat largely automatic, lots of story playing out on text boxes, giving time to read them.

[Bastian Weaver]

Invisible Inc. is a great sneaking turn-based game with good story.
I've just started playing Hard West - turn-based dark western with some mystical elements. I like it so far. Oh, and there's a card part, too - you define your characters' abilites by using "cards of destiny".

[Triaxx]

Slow paced and you like Fallout? Try the first two games. Baldur's Gate style isometric view with turn based combat.

Fallout Tactics is something of a hidden gem of the series. A post apocalyptic squad based game, it can be played as a quasi real-time game, in individual or squad turn-based mode.

You mentioned Temple of Elemental Evil, make sure you've played it with the Circle of Eight mod, which is a game changer.

In the same vein, Icewind Dale is Baldur's Gate with less focus on story, and more on stabbing things.

[Wraith]

If you enjoyed Baldur's Gate-style RPGs, I would heartily recommend Shadowrun Returns. Not as epic in scope, but similar isometric visuals and turn-based combat, with a sci-fi twist.

Chaos Reborn has a more linear storyline - you are one of a bunch of wizards, kill them dead, the end - but it looks lovely and has a decent PvP system too. Slow paced enough that it has a "play by post" setting, where you can log in and take turns whenever it suits you rather than having to sit down and hammer out a 30-minute match all at once.

I also liked Neverwinter Nights a lot, which has a similar sort of pseudo-turn based as Baldur's Gate though the main plot gets criticism for being a bit TOO slow and the visuals haven't aged particularly well. The expansions - Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark - are much better in both respects, as is the sequel NWN2.

[Sermil]

o/ You'll never see it comingggggg o/

Yeah, it's pretty hard to top Persona 5 for style and substance of late.


o/ My mind is... too fast for eyes o/

And music. At some points recently, my entire YouTube suggested list was a solid-red from Persona 5 OST videos; I listen to the music that much. Plus 1 to Persona 5.

Persona 4: Golden is available for mobile; also great music & great story & turn-based combat. Maybe even better story & characters than P5.

EDIT: darn it, now you've gotten me listening to the P5 soundtrack again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U48KTJjmy_8&list=PL0JUbdF--Lfj6czOJWqv_ojBaRBd8iw28&index=2