New computer, looking for RPG suggestions

[Haruspex_Pariah]

So after years of procrastination I've finally got a new computer, one that can run modern games. I use Steam, and would rather not get another launcher.

I'm currently having a blast with Grim Dawn (which the new machine runs smooth like butter), but I'm also itching for a modern RPG experience more along the lines of Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect trilogy. A good CRPG might be interesting too. I'm not too picky with genre specifics, as long as I can customize my own character, and there's a good mix of combat, exploration, quests, and world/character interactions.

Games I've already played which I think are relevant to the post:

Spoiler

Show

Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR, Dragon Age Origins + Awakening, Dragon Age 2 (didn't finish, but it wasn't bad), Mass Effect trilogy, Fallout 1, 2, New Vegas.

[Dire_Flumph]

Definitely Witcher 3. Other good options, but for me nothing comes close. Only downside to your preferences is that you play as Geralt and you don't have any choice about that. You can customize his skills though.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Definitely Witcher 3. Other good options, but for me nothing comes close. Only downside to your preferences is that you play as Geralt and you don't have any choice about that. You can customize his skills though.

Well, I don't mind playing as a fixed Geralt if the other features of the game are good. Making my own character is definitely a plus, but not critical.

Should I get the Witcher trilogy while I'm at it? There's a bundle.

[Yael]

Maybe try Pathfinder Kingmaker? I just started playing it, and it runs great for emulating the PF1.0 rules.

I don't know if you're including it, but KotOR 2 is great too.

And the good ol' trip through northern Tamriel is always a welcome one for a fresh start or a returning playthrough, of course I'm referring to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It is usually low price for Steam Sales, and so are both games I mentioned before.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

KOTOR 2 is not out of the realm of possibility, but I’d like something a little closer to modern day in terms of graphics and such first.

I heard kingmaker was buggy? But maybe those are fixed.

Same with Skyrim, what with the backward flying dragons and such.

[KillianHawkeye]

You might be interested in The Outer Worlds?

[Aa602213x1023]

I use Steam, and would rather not get another launcher. . . . A good CRPG might be interesting too. I'm not too picky with genre specifics, as long as I can customize my own character, and there's a good mix of combat, exploration, quests, and world/character interactions.

I would highly recommend Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire as satisfying all these criteria. (Its predecessor, Pillars of Eternity I, will be free on Epic Games starting December 10, but that would require a launcher other than Steam, and POE II is far superior in my opinion, regardless.)

[Dire_Flumph]

Should I get the Witcher trilogy while I'm at it? There's a bundle.

The games got steadily better as they went along. Honestly the 3rd game is by far the best, the 2nd is good and it's hard to recommend the first one unless you really get into the world and want to finish everything. If you want filling in on the backstory, the game does a good job, but there are also good primers as well if you want one.

[Drasius]

If you like Drim Dawn, then perhaps Path of Exile or Last Epoch will be suitable for your ARPG needs. Monster Hunter might also fit, but that's less of a sure bet.

For the actual question, if you liked bioware style stuff, Pillars of Eternity is basically a reboot of the style of game that was baldurs gate era bioware/KotOR, acceptable gameplay but very strong characters and story telling with customisable PC. Speaking of ye olde bioware, if you can get past the dated graphics, Jade Empire is solid.

Tower of Time and Tyranny are both excellent titles with a bit of oldschool bioware about them, though Tyranny is getting on a bit now.

The new Baldurs Gate 3 is in early access, which should hopefully be decent, and from all reports so far, it's not bad at all.

As others have said, Skyrim has had pretty much all the bugs ironed out of it in the multiple re-released it's had. Alternately, Fallout 4 isn't bad, and if you liked New Vegas, this is probably something you might loke too.

Greedfall is pasable, if a bit generic feeling despite the setting being non-standard.

The Outer Worlds has already gotten a mention, but IIRC, it's not on steam?

You could wait roughly a day and jump on the Cyberpunk 2077 train as it launches tomorrow, though I'm not quite sure it can live up to all the hype, but it sounds like it's exactly what you're after.

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor was a pretty big deal on release, though, again, might be showing it's age a little, but it's more action adventure than anything else and there's limited customisation of the PC.

[Zombimode]

I heard kingmaker was buggy? But maybe those are fixed.

Same with Skyrim, what with the backward flying dragons and such.

I think you are doing yourself a disfavor if you assume that the state a game is originally released is the state it remains for all eternity.

Most game are supported quite well and playing a game some years after its release provides a pretty bug free experience.


Kingmaker is amazing.

Skyrim I can also recomend. And: if you have Skyrim then Enderal is also open to you. And Enderal is one of the greatest.


Other recomandations:
Divinity: Original Sin (1 & 2)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Mars: War Logs & Technomancer
Risen trilogy (if you like Gothic style games)
Elex (same: if you like Gothic style games), interestlingly: the english translation of Elex is probably better then the german original
Tyranny is also excellent (party based RPG)

[Haruspex_Pariah]

I enjoy Grim Dawn for its layers of mechanics over a largely simple concept. Pick the right skills, pick the right gear, execute.

There’s a plot, and there are characters, but to be honest I never really connected to any of them. That’s not what the genre excels at and that’s fine. It is enough to have a strong atmosphere and visuals.

Looking back at my list, I guess I really am a fan of the old BioWare style of things. Though the clunky adaptation of D&D rules maybe not so much.

[Aotrs Commander]

I think you are doing yourself a disfavor if you assume that the state a game is originally released is the state it remains for all eternity.

Most game are supported quite well and playing a game some years after its release provides a pretty bug free experience.

In fact, I will go so far as to say in the modern era, Don't Play Games On Release, like, period. It's always worth being patient. I waited (despite being a crowdfunding backer) a full year and basically the final patches were out for Pillars 2 and Kingmaker before playing them, and had a much superior play experience as a result.

[thirsting]

The Outer Worlds has already gotten a mention, but IIRC, it's not on steam?

Has been released to Steam too a little while ago, only reason I got it now.

Fallout New Vegas gets mentioned a lot in the same sentence as Outer Worlds, but for a good reason. It really seems like a spiritual sequel. I like it a lot.

[factotum]

Why not give Persona 4 Golden a try? It's a JPRG, not the traditional Western RPGs you've tried, but it's cheap and it's a good introduction to the series if you should happen to find you like it.

[Narkis]

Witcher 3 is indeed the best CRPG of recent years, even if you can't customize Geralt. I thought both 1 and 2 were good games, but there have been quite a few people who didn't like them but liked 3.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker was very buggy at release, but those bugs have long since been fixed. You shouldn't be afraid to play it, it is great. The closest anyone has ever come to the spirit of Baldur's Gate.

I found those two to be the best recent games in the genre, and I would recommend you start with the best before you move on to the rest.

[Cespenar]

I mean, going from the classic old Bioware-style of games, Pillars 2, Tyranny, and Torment: Tides of Numenera are pretty safe bets.

But all of them can wait until you finish Witcher 3, really. It deserves its "mentioned to death" status.

[sihnfahl]

Same with Skyrim, what with the backward flying dragons and such.

Wonderful thing about Bethesda games? SO fan supported, those issues have long been resolved. Just download the user patches.

And since you have a modern machine, get the HD textures people made.

As for my suggestion? Get the Wasteland series. Not particularly taxing on a system, but they are good.

And, of course, I will add that Witcher 3 with all the DLC is worth it.

And Baldur's Gate.

[The Hellbug]

It may not be exactly what you're looking for, but I can't recommend Disco Elysium enough--it's certainly the the best experience I've had with a CRPG in the last decade. It's a bit of an oddball, though, so look into it before committing to it. (Upside, though, it's on the shorter end for CRPGs, clocking in at about the 20-25 hour range in my experience)

[Eldan]

Well, I don't mind playing as a fixed Geralt if the other features of the game are good. Making my own character is definitely a plus, but not critical.

Should I get the Witcher trilogy while I'm at it? There's a bundle.

Witcher 1 is a very bumpy ride. The mechanics are clunky, the graphics are very dated and the story is so-so. Not really recommended, entirely skippable. Later games have story recaps if you need them.
Witcher 2 is fun, but only features two paths, more or less, and is otherwise pretty linear. Mechanics much improved, story quite a bit better, fun characters.
Witcher 3 is all around amazing and I can't really think of anything that compares within its genre niche.

[Eldan]

It may not be exactly what you're looking for, but I can't recommend Disco Elysium enough--it's certainly the the best experience I've had with a CRPG in the last decade. It's a bit of an oddball, though, so look into it before committing to it. (Upside, though, it's on the shorter end for CRPGs, clocking in at about the 20-25 hour range in my experience)

Disco Elysium is the best RPG of all times and sounds entirely not what the OP is looking for, I feel. It's very slow-paced, incredibly heavy on the dialogue and world-building, it has no combat except for one sort-of sequence that's also resolved in the dialogue system. It's incredibly good, if you want a game where you are an alcoholic, depressed wreck of a man trying to hold his sanity and health together long enough to solve one last case in a bombed-out post-Soviet slum. And if you want a game that feels like someone directly ported a game of FATE to the PC, where you mostly roll dice on a lot of skills and then have arguments with your inner voices about whether you should drink alcohol and shout at random passersby you are the law and they should respect you.

If you want to get into an argument with a wall about which kind of graffiti best expresses your postmodern views of nationhood and poetry, then this is, well, the game to get.

[GloatingSwine]

If you don't have it already, get one of the cheap trials of Game Pass.

There's a whole mess of RPGs of every flavour on there. (Pillars of Eternity, Torment Tides of Numenera, Final Fantasy 7-9 and 15, Dragon Quest 11S, Outer Worlds, all three Wasteland games, all of the Bard's Tale games, and loads of indie stuff).

[Haruspex_Pariah]

As an aside, it’s been so long since I bought a modern AAA game that I kind of forgot how expensive they can get.

Thanks all for the suggestions; I can’t possibly buy them all but at least I have some starting points.

PS: nobody’s mentioned Andromeda. I guess it’s as bad as I heard?

[warty goblin]

As an aside, it’s been so long since I bought a modern AAA game that I kind of forgot how expensive they can get.

Thanks all for the suggestions; I can’t possibly buy them all but at least I have some starting points.

PS: nobody’s mentioned Andromeda. I guess it’s as bad as I heard?

Just hold off buying anything for, like, a week or something and the Christmas sales will kick off.

It's not that Andromeda is terrible or anything, it's just that there's basically nothing it does that other games don't do better. If you want to roll around an open world shooting stupid AI goons, Ubisoft has released about a thousand versions of that game, except with more reactive and interactive worlds to mess about in. If you want a bit more talking and RPG, there's various Bethesda vintage Fallouts, and Outer Worlds. If you're negotiable on the shooting, but want an open world and lots of RPG talky bits, Witcher 3 is just vastly better in all regards. Hell, Bioware sort of did jetpacks better with Anthem*. About the only thing Mass Effect has going for it is if you have a desperate need for what feels like a bad photocopy of Mass Effect. None of your favorite characters are here, so here's some less interesting copies of them! Explore exciting new worlds, like the desert one, the other desert one, and the snowy one, for the latest in slowly increasing a dull-ass meter! And I hope you enjoyed shooting that dude, because you will shoot that dude a lot. With the same gun, that you will have to grind your sorry ass off to keep fully upgraded.


*Not an Anthem recommendation. It does have good jetpacks. Occasionally you get to use them in between loading screens. I picked up a copy for like $9, and figured it was barely worth that.

[Dire_Flumph]

PS: nobody’s mentioned Andromeda. I guess it’s as bad as I heard?

I have a lot of fond memories of the original Mass Effect games, though they were uneven the story, characters and worlds stick with me to this day.

I played Andromeda about two years ago. I remember enjoying it at the time enough to finish, but for the life of me right now I can't remember anything about the story, enemy alien race or a single squadmate.

It wasn't awful, it was just so bland compared to the originals.

[factotum]

PS: nobody’s mentioned Andromeda. I guess it’s as bad as I heard?

Well, it's ME3 quality of storytelling with a storyline that will never be completed due to the failure of the game in the marketplace, so not a great choice, really.

[Clertar]

Seconding Kingdom Come: Deliverance. A very immersive CRPG with amazingly crafted historical detail.

[Narkis]

PS: nobody’s mentioned Andromeda. I guess it’s as bad as I heard?

In a word, yes.

[Morty]

Disco Elysium is the best RPG of all times and sounds entirely not what the OP is looking for, I feel. It's very slow-paced, incredibly heavy on the dialogue and world-building, it has no combat except for one sort-of sequence that's also resolved in the dialogue system. It's incredibly good, if you want a game where you are an alcoholic, depressed wreck of a man trying to hold his sanity and health together long enough to solve one last case in a bombed-out post-Soviet slum. And if you want a game that feels like someone directly ported a game of FATE to the PC, where you mostly roll dice on a lot of skills and then have arguments with your inner voices about whether you should drink alcohol and shout at random passersby you are the law and they should respect you.

If you want to get into an argument with a wall about which kind of graffiti best expresses your postmodern views of nationhood and poetry, then this is, well, the game to get.

That pretty much sums it up. Disco Elysium is one of the best games I have ever played, but it is very different from the others being suggested here. We can only hope more RPGs follow its example.

All other recommendations I could make have been made, I think. I can only add that Pillars of Eternity: Deadfire was probably the most fun I've had playing a martial character in a "classical" party-based RPG, if you care about this sort of thing (not that the competition is very stiff here).

[Anteros]

While we're on the topic, any good party RPGs with job systems? I've played what I consider to be the obvious ones like FFT, and I'd like something a little more modern.

[Rynjin]

Witcher 1 is a very bumpy ride. The mechanics are clunky, the graphics are very dated and the story is so-so. Not really recommended, entirely skippable. Later games have story recaps if you need them.
Witcher 2 is fun, but only features two paths, more or less, and is otherwise pretty linear. Mechanics much improved, story quite a bit better, fun characters.
Witcher 3 is all around amazing and I can't really think of anything that compares within its genre niche.

I actually kind of miss the "rhythm game" based combat of the first Witcher, it was certainly interesting and it's kind of sad they didn't even try to iterate on it and just went with the bog standard boring "heavy attack, light attack, parry" system so many other games have.

While we're on the topic, any good party RPGs with job systems? I've played what I consider to be the obvious ones like FFT, and I'd like something a little more modern.

The only one I can think of that fits the bill is Code: Vein, the "anime Souls-like". You collect various Codes as you progress through the game, and each unlocks a new playstyle and moveset. Each is leveled separately, and you can swap between them freely. The main sticking point is whether you like the concept of mastering a Code giving you access to its abilities in other Codes; by endgame the only thing the Code you currently have equipped determines is your stats (which are entirely dependent on Code).

It's a solid 7/10 game, so if you don't mind playing something that isn't ZOMG amazing, it's worth taking a look at.

As for the OP, Cyberpunk 2077 came out today. It's pretty good so far.