King Arthur: Knight's Tale I played on your recommendation and man, for something so generically named it's incredibly satisfying to play! After feeling a bit burned after XCOM: Chimera Squad, King Arthur scratched that itch and then some.
The Banner Saga Trilogy. One of my favorite games of all time. Perfect example of how to use a small dev team to create something that is unique, recognizable at first glance and fun to play. And the story was engaging.
My only gripe with The Banner saga is how they handled initative in combat, the game actively punishes you for killing weaker enemies, forcing every fight to play out the same way: you want to injure (not kill) the weaker enemies when possible and focus on the stronger targets.
Love the art style but the combat system is just poorly designed. Enemies get the same number of turns regardless of how many units they have left on the field. It basically encourages you not to kill them. Also some of the gotcha moments in the story are not well thought out either. Losing a character you mainly leveled due to unpredictable story choice is just bad design.
@@hbkmog2766 I disagree with both points in the sense of being objectively bad design. Its a matter of taste. The combat is stylized like in every game therefore it comes down to design decisons - people also complain about combats where characters are as functional with 1% health as with 100%. Personally I enjoyed it for being different than other systems. And the argument about story and character loss - some might find it just a realistic deisgn. Sometimes you can't avoid it to lose someone important. Now does this mean I think everybody should like it? Nope, it comes down to personal taste. I count both of these actually being strengths of the game, but I whole heartedly understand if someone disagrees.
@@erih2934 for a tactic/strategy game, if your whole strategy revolves not killing your enemy, I'd consider that as questionable design. In order to defeat your enemy, you need not to defeat them.
Another similar game, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden. I really liked it, it's more into divide and conquer than straight out fights as you move around the area looking for lone enemies or small groups you can take out in 3 actions (more with some skills). Each character can take a single action each turn and you only have 3 at any time thus you have to plan around their unique skillset. some can stun for a set number of turns, knock back foes so they take fall damage, fire twice for a accuracy penalty, lock them in place etc. If you plan well you can do the whole game without getting hit a single time even on hardest/ironman setting.
If I remember correctly, Lost Eidolons is planning to add more battles in a future update in a challenge sort of mode. It felt to me like it had just 30 battles since all the optional battles were the same, humans or monsters with all of them doing the same stuff. You knew exactly what way they would approach you etc. Really loved most of the missions with the only one I honestly disliked was the last mission. Great first game.
It's not an RPG, but I really liked the combat in Gears Tactics. The game gives you an overwatch ability, but then tries everything in it's power to stop you from using it. It REALLY rewards playing aggressively.
Gears Tactics is good but I get bored on act 2. The problem for me are the scenarios or maps. If i play the game 5 times with the same squad, every time i`ll do the same.
speaking of 40k (and the fact many have probably allready recommended this game). but i will also recommend "Mechanicus". a TRPG like deamon hunters, but focus on the adeptus mechanicus (the faction full of inspector gadgets in red robes, with technophilia and a god complex) fighting the Necrons (undead green-glowy robot Egyptians with a god complex and their mindless minions). Contains a good story, good game mechanics, nice visuals and GODLIKE soundtrack.
My two favorite "recent" TRPGs are Battle Brothers and Darkest Dungeon. I pretty much consider anything released in the past ten years "recent", lol. Thanks for the video. That King Arthur game definitely got my attention.
Not sure if you ever covered Othercide but I feel like it's the sort of tactics game that'd be right up your alley. Never got very popular but most I've talked to who played it really enjoyed it. It's got an art direction that's entirely it's own style and some badass boss music too.
I got Troubleshooter recently too after viewing another video. It's maybe 80% as good as the experience with Trails in the Sky and almost as balanced, only with more emphasis on combat. This makes it one awesome game.
Starcrawlers ....it's fantastic. It's one of those old school style, first person view RPGs where your team's portraits are at the side of the screen and you move square by square. It's so polished, game play wise, and the art and animations are made with love.
@@domm6812 It's a dungeon crawler. I think T-RPGs defining design are turn-based combat, mission structure and unit positioning. You'd have to stretch the definition a bit already to include Circus Electrique or Darkest Dungeon, while it has turn-based battles and positioning playing a big part they're not structured around objective-based battle maps.
@@Biouke Tower of Time is real-time with pause but it's still tactics. Real-time tactics games exist, after all, and TRPGs are about mixing the tactics genre with role-playing games. Starcrawlers is indeed a dungeon crawler, however.
Battle brothers and it's 3D cousin Wartales really hit the spot for middle age realism. All the bombastic Baldur's gate/diablo magic heavy stuff doesn't really click with me so I'm glad there's games that cater to medieval fantasy but leans into realism
Funny how I feel the exact opposite. I'll much rather have four distinct heroes than an army of grunts. Easier to control and each has a significant impact
Expeditions Viking was also already great imo. There is also the oldest one Expedition Conquistador which i never played, bc i heard it aged very poorly, being already very "dated tech" when it released in 2013.
I played Expeditions Rome thanks to your review, I would never picked it up without your recommendation. And I loved it! Now I am in the middle of second play-through. I bought it when I was playing King Arthur, and I had hard time finishing KA because I wanted to play ER only :)
Been playing Wrath of the Righteous. So much more user friendly then Kingmaker. I've made a Bloodrager/Armour subclass with Prestige into Hellknight very tanks and very fun!
The story in chaosgate is probably my favourite of those here, which maybe isn't surprising as it was written by Aaron Dembski-Bowden who has a pretty great track record with his books. Also the Inquisitor's voice actor was fun, would love to see her play an inquisitor role in another 40k game.
Hoping to get to Banner Saga after Arbiter's Seal and Othercide. Gears tactics was fun too, but not difficult especially with that OP Scout Shotgun class with Grenade perks That said, this is an informative list.
Chaos Gate is a whole lotta fun. I wasn't sure how much I'd like just a reskinned XCOM but the 40k aesthetic is just too good, it overshadows the faults for me.
You know what would have been great? If the Sierra Cyberforce games ended up getting remastered at some point. I need more isometric mech-builder TRPG's.
I had 78 hours in Troubleshooter and don't think I was even remotely close to finishing. Unfortunately my PC crapped out and didn't have any sort of cloud saves. But I loved that game and for me it's my favourite 'x-com' type of game, even ahead of x-com now. King Arthur, recently got it and sunk 116 hours into it. I love how position can matter in that game, have been re-watching Merlin so became deeply involved again with Arthurian legend.
Symphony of War is a much better TRPG than I expected from the title cover. Maybe give it a try and a review if you have time. Lots of squad customisation. Wasn’t released too long ago.
The ones I enjoyed from this year are Prime of Flames, Alina of the Arena and Symphony of War. The first two are more rogue-like than RPG and SoW is more of a classic Fire Emblem but units are actually composed with multiple characters. From past years I enjoyed Othercide, Mordheim, FellSeal and Troubleshooter. I also really like turn based tactics in my CRPG instead of real-time w/ pause and maybe that's why I love games with a blurry line between CRPG and TRPG like Shadowrun (plus the setting is cherry on the cake). When you think about it it has the objective-based battles with tight map design and HUB/mission structure of TRPGs with the exploration/investigation/roleplay added in.
Since I don't play that many games I can't make a list like this. This year my TRPG list would be Troubleshooter and Solasta. Going back maybe 5 years or so, I'd also add Disgaea 5 and Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark. Also, honorable mention for Age of Wonders: Planetfall, even though it's a strategy game, it's tactical combat is better and deeper than most TRPGs.
Daemonhuters is my game of the year. Absolutely love it. Don't know much about the 40k lore but love the aesthetic & don't think it's necessary to know at all.
ChaosGate is a great game for a single playthrough. The story is awesome, rebuilding the Edict is fun. The classes all have unique styles. It really is a good ride the 1st time through. The problem is the mid-game grind, the lack of variety in side quests, and the fact there are only win/lose endings, along with the fact the Stratagem system is a complete waste, means it's fun 1 time. But it's very fun that one run. Knight's Tale has almost the opposite problem. With every mission a set piece, there is no mid-game slog, and you're almost always weaker than the opposition until end game. But the morality system means every playthrough can be different. And the battles will always be a challenge, especially if you boost difficulty to match familiarity. But the story isn't terribly surprising. And this game is more Grimdark than the Warhammer one. Which is saying something. So it's fun. But I can only take so much of it. Expeditions: Rome is brilliant. Nothing in it should be as good as it is. I played Vikings, and that game is ok as ok gets. Rome does everything well. Especially after the Legion Battle update. And it's absolutely worth playing at least 3 times, with 1 as a female PC. Because of the different endings and the tonal shift when playing m vs f.
@@HellPedre I don't think I've found anything that was a perfect Shining Force replacement. I do really like Larian's stuff (Divinity Original Sin and Baldur's Gate 3) I just played Wasteland 3 that was pretty fun although kind of over the top Edgy sometimes. Honestly I wish they'd do a remaster of the the Shining Force series.
Hi Mortym! I am a huge fan of trpgs. Planning strategies and building your characters/units are definitely are two of my favorite things to do in rpgs. Your list has some games I'm certainly interested in trying. Here's one for you to consider: Mordheim: City of the Damned. It takes place in the fantasy Warhammer universe. Check it out if you have time. You can pick it up during sales dirt cheap.
Mordheim has a very neat ambiance and soundtrack and you can play the skavens :D Suffers from 2 downsides, thought: 1. No separation between PvE and PvP. That would be fine if it was all skirmishes but you get actual story missions and iirc you can't postpone them indefinitely so a few losses against friends can stop your progress and you're good to start a new band. I think it's like PvP skirmishes are unlimited but you only can do 1 PvE skirmish between story missions so it's hard to recoup after a loss. Can't remember well except there was a bummer of that kind. 2. Games Workshop milking its IP so additional factions are overpriced DLC.
Cool list, I have to check a bunch of these out. I'm curious about the games you say were more narratively focused with less combat. I've heard similar about the new Digimon tactics game. If you ever check that out I'd like to hear how they compare in a narrative to gameplay ratio.
I think an underestimated gem ist Fell Seal: Arbiters Mark. Yes it is Indie, yes it doesn't use a 3D engine...but i like the story, characters, class system and combat. It is a TRPG that will most likly specially appeal to fans of FF Tactics.
The Banner Saga Trilogy is also a great trpg that I’d recommend to others. And while I have the same issues as highlighted by Mortym, I absolutely loved the recent Warhammer 40K Chaos etc.. game !
I've not played it yet (I picked up the base game for free on Epic Games Store) but not seen it mentioned in the comments but have you tried Gloomhaven (based on the boardgame of the same name)? I'll probably get around to trying it eventually. I was just curious about it. It was only released in 2021 but has had some recent DLC in 2022. I've also seen you mention Shadowrun on here before. I played Shadowrun: Returns. I just need to play the other two now.
If you're ok with more turn-based games, could you take a look at Othercide, perhaps? It's not an RPG, but it has turn-based combat - "Horror XCOM" would describe it the closest.
Aside from XCOM and XCOM II, I enjoyed the Pathfinder games a lot (yeah, I modded them....). Also, the Wasteland games and the Shadowrun Triology are great. And still installed and played are Gears Tactics, Phoenix Point and Encased.
I would add Tactics Ogre and Jeanne D’Arc to the list of great trpgs. Also, an honorable mention to Final Fantasy Tactics which I liked a lot less than I expected.
I would be interested in you assembling a list of games you like that are all "friendly" to being played without guides on normal or higher difficulty. I love the genre but some games are incredibly difficult to play without either a ton of experience or guides. This isnt a problem for most genres because theyre either very simple or expected to onboard players better.
@@trolleurdurden5534 For a guy with a username that (no offense) makes me think you would just type something like "git gud" you sure gave a great answer. Thank you!
Hi @Mortismal Gaming, I left comment yesterday but I think it got auto-deleted because it contained a link to Nexus. I've been meaning to say that I share the same sentiment towards your observations regarding King Arthur's Knight's Tale endgame, so I made a mod, which actually addresses all the things you mentioned + more + overhauls and brings up to par many characters. Name of the mod is: King Arthur Knight's Tale Enhanced Edition. Maybe you would be interested in giving this game another go with my mod? The changes are quite substantial and should make your experience very fresh. It would be amazing if you would be willing to make a video with your feedback on the mod, as your observations regarding base game was spot on.
Newbie question on TRPGs - are they normally just tactical combat and cutscenes like Lost Eidolons? I liked the combat, even though I wasn't great at it, and the camp was ok. However, the complete lack of player agency on what was happening (basically one long cutscene after another just leads you from battle to battle with players having no input or choice) at least in the early game was extremely disappointing to me. Is that a standard of TRPGs, as opposed to CRPGs where the player makes lots of decisions, or was this just a bad example in that particular case?
Maybe try dungeons of naheulbeuk. Trpg funnier than the southpark games. Wait on sale for the expacks though, especially ruins of limis as its way too short.
I'd recommand: Drakensang - Rivers of Time; (CRPG based on the Dark Eye p&p system, don't confuse it with the online game of the same name) Vandal Hearts; TRPG for the PS One and one of my all time favorites (love the soundtrack, e.g. like the main theme "Burning Sorrow")
Didn't really like the others in your list, but Daemonhunters really surprised me because I'm dead tired of the Space marines + angry inquisitor trope SO MUCH. It was great up unti the final mission which almost ruined the entire game for me, but yea, definitely a great little gem. We need more high quality TRPGs.
Great video, but I found the Triangle Strategy take to be weird, but I guess it's personal taste. Yes, it takes awhile to get a full team going. But once you do, if you're playing on Hard, the time spent in battle is really meaty. I don't need every game I do to have 100 stages, just make what's there really good. It's only really a problem if there are too few stages.
I have to respectfully disagree I believe your honorable mentions should Be higher on the list! Right now really enjoying pathfinder WOTR. Thank your for your great content.
Try Mutatant: Road to eaden. No choices, but fun tactical RpG. I grew up playing tabletop RpG in this universe and really hope this franchise will thrive!
I play many different games so trying to play all of Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children intimidates me. Feels like I would miss out on many other games trying to play that especially now when it's the busies time of the year for gaming (This February is also crazy). Also, are you planning on reviewing Persona 5?
I am loving Troubleshooter even if my opinion of the story is way worse than yours. I got bored of Cirque Electric very fast. Circus management was a chore and the combat was not enough fun to overcome it. I must try Expeditions Rome. I also really enjoyed the other two but I came to them before the channel. I can tell the honourable mentions are unlikely to land with me :). So thanks for the Troubleshooter heads up!
If you liked Chaosgate you need to try Mechanicus. I think it is arguably better than chaosgate with one of the coolest uses of time as a mechanic in the game
On Rome: Expeditions I had a game breaking bug about 3/4 through the campaign which tech support acknowledged as valid, yet 2 months later, no solution, and there are many other people experiencing this too. Beware ! King Arthur, on the other hand, is truly excellent and superb.
Totally agree on triangle strategy. I really like the combat, but the story is WAY too heavy for me. It seems like forever to get into the actual combat.
@@Jbpennes Story and characters, TRPGs focus specifically on the strategy combat and team management usually utilizing a mission structure as opposed to more emphasis on the narrative and roleplaying in a CRPG. Admittedly similar genres but a few distinct differences. You wouldn't really compare XCOM with DOS1/2 for instance. Certainly down to semantics in some respects though sure.
@@MortismalGaming what defines a genre is the game mechanic. In DOS combat are tactical and all you mentioned the refer to RPG = TRPG :) If DOS would be a CRPG it could be compared to Diablo which is ridiculous ;)
@@Jbpennes you can feel however you want about it, its of little consequence. Diablo is an ARPG though. Regardless, that's why they aren't on the list, which is the answer to your question.
If you haven't tried Fallout Tactics I'd give that a shot. It got fairly bad reviews and often gets confused with the (really bad) Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, but I've always loved it and had fun playing it. It's much more like Commandos in that it's mainly a bunch of missions and not a whole lot of RPG. You can run it in real time, individual turn base or squad turn based and you can switch between those modes at any time. It also came with it's own modding tools and is really easy to mess around with. Like vampire bloodlines, all the files are in plain text. There's some pretty good mods out there for it as well.
King Arthur: Knight's Tale I played on your recommendation and man, for something so generically named it's incredibly satisfying to play! After feeling a bit burned after XCOM: Chimera Squad, King Arthur scratched that itch and then some.
Yeah, I loved it! Closest thing I've found to X-Com 2 in terms of the feel.
The Banner Saga Trilogy. One of my favorite games of all time. Perfect example of how to use a small dev team to create something that is unique, recognizable at first glance and fun to play. And the story was engaging.
banner saga is what happens when you have a vision instead of focusing on graphics only.
My only gripe with The Banner saga is how they handled initative in combat, the game actively punishes you for killing weaker enemies, forcing every fight to play out the same way: you want to injure (not kill) the weaker enemies when possible and focus on the stronger targets.
Love the art style but the combat system is just poorly designed. Enemies get the same number of turns regardless of how many units they have left on the field. It basically encourages you not to kill them.
Also some of the gotcha moments in the story are not well thought out either. Losing a character you mainly leveled due to unpredictable story choice is just bad design.
@@hbkmog2766 I disagree with both points in the sense of being objectively bad design. Its a matter of taste. The combat is stylized like in every game therefore it comes down to design decisons - people also complain about combats where characters are as functional with 1% health as with 100%. Personally I enjoyed it for being different than other systems.
And the argument about story and character loss - some might find it just a realistic deisgn. Sometimes you can't avoid it to lose someone important.
Now does this mean I think everybody should like it? Nope, it comes down to personal taste. I count both of these actually being strengths of the game, but I whole heartedly understand if someone disagrees.
@@erih2934 for a tactic/strategy game, if your whole strategy revolves not killing your enemy, I'd consider that as questionable design. In order to defeat your enemy, you need not to defeat them.
1 point for Troubleshooters, it's an underrated gem !
Another similar game, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden.
I really liked it, it's more into divide and conquer than straight out fights as you move around the area looking for lone enemies or small groups you can take out in 3 actions (more with some skills).
Each character can take a single action each turn and you only have 3 at any time thus you have to plan around their unique skillset. some can stun for a set number of turns, knock back foes so they take fall damage, fire twice for a accuracy penalty, lock them in place etc.
If you plan well you can do the whole game without getting hit a single time even on hardest/ironman setting.
If I remember correctly, Lost Eidolons is planning to add more battles in a future update in a challenge sort of mode. It felt to me like it had just 30 battles since all the optional battles were the same, humans or monsters with all of them doing the same stuff. You knew exactly what way they would approach you etc. Really loved most of the missions with the only one I honestly disliked was the last mission. Great first game.
It's not an RPG, but I really liked the combat in Gears Tactics. The game gives you an overwatch ability, but then tries everything in it's power to stop you from using it. It REALLY rewards playing aggressively.
Gears Tactics is good but I get bored on act 2. The problem for me are the scenarios or maps. If i play the game 5 times with the same squad, every time i`ll do the same.
The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos (2020) + DLCs
#1 in with sense of humor category 😂
speaking of 40k (and the fact many have probably allready recommended this game).
but i will also recommend "Mechanicus". a TRPG like deamon hunters, but focus on the adeptus mechanicus (the faction full of inspector gadgets in red robes, with technophilia and a god complex) fighting the Necrons (undead green-glowy robot Egyptians with a god complex and their mindless minions). Contains a good story, good game mechanics, nice visuals and GODLIKE soundtrack.
My two favorite "recent" TRPGs are Battle Brothers and Darkest Dungeon. I pretty much consider anything released in the past ten years "recent", lol. Thanks for the video. That King Arthur game definitely got my attention.
Not sure if you ever covered Othercide but I feel like it's the sort of tactics game that'd be right up your alley. Never got very popular but most I've talked to who played it really enjoyed it. It's got an art direction that's entirely it's own style and some badass boss music too.
I got Troubleshooter recently too after viewing another video.
It's maybe 80% as good as the experience with Trails in the Sky and almost as balanced, only with more emphasis on combat. This makes it one awesome game.
Starcrawlers ....it's fantastic. It's one of those old school style, first person view RPGs where your team's portraits are at the side of the screen and you move square by square. It's so polished, game play wise, and the art and animations are made with love.
Whoops, yeah it probably doesn't count as TRPG what with not being top down. Check it out anyway!
@@domm6812 It's a dungeon crawler. I think T-RPGs defining design are turn-based combat, mission structure and unit positioning. You'd have to stretch the definition a bit already to include Circus Electrique or Darkest Dungeon, while it has turn-based battles and positioning playing a big part they're not structured around objective-based battle maps.
@@Biouke Tower of Time is real-time with pause but it's still tactics. Real-time tactics games exist, after all, and TRPGs are about mixing the tactics genre with role-playing games. Starcrawlers is indeed a dungeon crawler, however.
Battle brothers and it's 3D cousin Wartales really hit the spot for middle age realism. All the bombastic Baldur's gate/diablo magic heavy stuff doesn't really click with me so I'm glad there's games that cater to medieval fantasy but leans into realism
I love Fell Seal Arbiters Mark. Daemonhunters would be up my alley if i could control more units. 4 feels very limiting
Funny how I feel the exact opposite. I'll much rather have four distinct heroes than an army of grunts. Easier to control and each has a significant impact
@@Lo-Kag I get ya. I just grew up with baldurs gate/FF tactics/tactics ogre so I got used to 5/6 units lol
I really REALLY hope Chaosgate will get more content for that game, like maybe an xpac for each of the chaos gods would be pretty coooool
yay! Expeditions Rome getting some love! I enjoyed that game a lot, it has it's problems of course, but overall it was an amazing experience for me
Expeditions Viking was also already great imo. There is also the oldest one Expedition Conquistador which i never played, bc i heard it aged very poorly, being already very "dated tech" when it released in 2013.
I played Expeditions Rome thanks to your review, I would never picked it up without your recommendation. And I loved it! Now I am in the middle of second play-through. I bought it when I was playing King Arthur, and I had hard time finishing KA because I wanted to play ER only :)
Nice to see a nod for Circus Electrique. Really dug that one.
Gonna have to get my hands on Expeditions Rome. Looks sweet.
Been playing Wrath of the Righteous. So much more user friendly then Kingmaker. I've made a Bloodrager/Armour subclass with Prestige into Hellknight very tanks and very fun!
The story in chaosgate is probably my favourite of those here, which maybe isn't surprising as it was written by Aaron Dembski-Bowden who has a pretty great track record with his books. Also the Inquisitor's voice actor was fun, would love to see her play an inquisitor role in another 40k game.
She was a VA in Dragon Age: Inquisition. For one of the less popular characters. But I agree, she was a great character in this.
The new Mario Rabbids game is one of the best turn based games I've played recently! Doesn't have the best performance, but it's a blast to play.
Truly is a gem. Caught me way off guard by how good it was. Just recently got the sequel and it's shaping up to be a good game too.
Hoping to get to Banner Saga after Arbiter's Seal and Othercide.
Gears tactics was fun too, but not difficult especially with that OP Scout Shotgun class with Grenade perks
That said, this is an informative list.
Chaos Gate is a whole lotta fun. I wasn't sure how much I'd like just a reskinned XCOM but the 40k aesthetic is just too good, it overshadows the faults for me.
You know what would have been great? If the Sierra Cyberforce games ended up getting remastered at some point. I need more isometric mech-builder TRPG's.
For me it has to be Jagged Alliance 2. With mods I think that even though it's now over 20 years old it holds up and even surpasses most modern TRPG.
love this game, how come there is nothin comparable today ...
I had 78 hours in Troubleshooter and don't think I was even remotely close to finishing. Unfortunately my PC crapped out and didn't have any sort of cloud saves. But I loved that game and for me it's my favourite 'x-com' type of game, even ahead of x-com now.
King Arthur, recently got it and sunk 116 hours into it. I love how position can matter in that game, have been re-watching Merlin so became deeply involved again with Arthurian legend.
Love your reviews and was looking to get a new TRPG. Great timing lol
Symphony of War is a much better TRPG than I expected from the title cover. Maybe give it a try and a review if you have time. Lots of squad customisation.
Wasn’t released too long ago.
Have you seen The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos? I’m currently playing it and it’s quite fun, actually :)
The ones I enjoyed from this year are Prime of Flames, Alina of the Arena and Symphony of War. The first two are more rogue-like than RPG and SoW is more of a classic Fire Emblem but units are actually composed with multiple characters.
From past years I enjoyed Othercide, Mordheim, FellSeal and Troubleshooter.
I also really like turn based tactics in my CRPG instead of real-time w/ pause and maybe that's why I love games with a blurry line between CRPG and TRPG like Shadowrun (plus the setting is cherry on the cake). When you think about it it has the objective-based battles with tight map design and HUB/mission structure of TRPGs with the exploration/investigation/roleplay added in.
Since I don't play that many games I can't make a list like this. This year my TRPG list would be Troubleshooter and Solasta. Going back maybe 5 years or so, I'd also add Disgaea 5 and Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark. Also, honorable mention for Age of Wonders: Planetfall, even though it's a strategy game, it's tactical combat is better and deeper than most TRPGs.
Troubleshooter looks like a fun game. I bought it already, and I'm looking forward to playing it.
Daemonhuters is my game of the year. Absolutely love it. Don't know much about the 40k lore but love the aesthetic & don't think it's necessary to know at all.
Lost Eidolons is amazing 😍
You should try Symphony of War which released this year. The best SRPG since Fell Seal for me.
ChaosGate is a great game for a single playthrough. The story is awesome, rebuilding the Edict is fun. The classes all have unique styles. It really is a good ride the 1st time through.
The problem is the mid-game grind, the lack of variety in side quests, and the fact there are only win/lose endings, along with the fact the Stratagem system is a complete waste, means it's fun 1 time. But it's very fun that one run.
Knight's Tale has almost the opposite problem. With every mission a set piece, there is no mid-game slog, and you're almost always weaker than the opposition until end game.
But the morality system means every playthrough can be different. And the battles will always be a challenge, especially if you boost difficulty to match familiarity.
But the story isn't terribly surprising. And this game is more Grimdark than the Warhammer one. Which is saying something. So it's fun. But I can only take so much of it.
Expeditions: Rome is brilliant. Nothing in it should be as good as it is. I played Vikings, and that game is ok as ok gets. Rome does everything well. Especially after the Legion Battle update. And it's absolutely worth playing at least 3 times, with 1 as a female PC. Because of the different endings and the tonal shift when playing m vs f.
Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark - is amazing
Which of these has the best/most engaging story in your opinion?
Also have you played: Warhammer 40k Mechanicus, Xcom 2 or Symphony of War?
I love a good TRPG ever since the days of games like Shining force and Warsong, back in the day.
what would be a good Shining Force -like game for you? Im looking for one since... wel... +20 years
@@HellPedre I don't think I've found anything that was a perfect Shining Force replacement. I do really like Larian's stuff (Divinity Original Sin and Baldur's Gate 3) I just played Wasteland 3 that was pretty fun although kind of over the top Edgy sometimes.
Honestly I wish they'd do a remaster of the the Shining Force series.
Some good lesser known TRPG's are:
King's Bounty: The Legend + Crossworlds
Battle Chasers: Nightwar
Blackguards 1,2
Aarklash: Legacy
Star Renegades
Hi Mortym! I am a huge fan of trpgs. Planning strategies and building your characters/units are definitely are two of my favorite things to do in rpgs. Your list has some games I'm certainly interested in trying. Here's one for you to consider: Mordheim: City of the Damned. It takes place in the fantasy Warhammer universe. Check it out if you have time. You can pick it up during sales dirt cheap.
Mordheim has a very neat ambiance and soundtrack and you can play the skavens :D
Suffers from 2 downsides, thought:
1. No separation between PvE and PvP. That would be fine if it was all skirmishes but you get actual story missions and iirc you can't postpone them indefinitely so a few losses against friends can stop your progress and you're good to start a new band. I think it's like PvP skirmishes are unlimited but you only can do 1 PvE skirmish between story missions so it's hard to recoup after a loss. Can't remember well except there was a bummer of that kind.
2. Games Workshop milking its IP so additional factions are overpriced DLC.
Cool list, I have to check a bunch of these out.
I'm curious about the games you say were more narratively focused with less combat. I've heard similar about the new Digimon tactics game. If you ever check that out I'd like to hear how they compare in a narrative to gameplay ratio.
troubleshooter is HUGE, still playing through the story after ~80 hours. they just added a new character too via DLC
Curious if that Troubleshooter content estimate of 100 hours includes the DLC or just the base game?
have you played Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest? pretty hard but fun.
I think an underestimated gem ist Fell Seal: Arbiters Mark. Yes it is Indie, yes it doesn't use a 3D engine...but i like the story, characters, class system and combat. It is a TRPG that will most likly specially appeal to fans of FF Tactics.
The Banner Saga Trilogy is also a great trpg that I’d recommend to others. And while I have the same issues as highlighted by Mortym, I absolutely loved the recent Warhammer 40K Chaos etc.. game !
I've not played it yet (I picked up the base game for free on Epic Games Store) but not seen it mentioned in the comments but have you tried Gloomhaven (based on the boardgame of the same name)? I'll probably get around to trying it eventually.
I was just curious about it. It was only released in 2021 but has had some recent DLC in 2022.
I've also seen you mention Shadowrun on here before. I played Shadowrun: Returns. I just need to play the other two now.
I've tried it, I dont care much for card mechanics stuff though
@@MortismalGaming I'm not keen on them either but from initial appearance they look less egregious than Midnight Suns but I might be wrong.
If you're ok with more turn-based games, could you take a look at Othercide, perhaps?
It's not an RPG, but it has turn-based combat - "Horror XCOM" would describe it the closest.
have you try Brigandine? i want to see your review on it. from what i heard its an interesting TRPG
Chaos Gate and Expeditions Rome are awesome. You can add Mechanicus and Expedition Vikings
Never gonna get to the end of my game list at this rate with everything you recommend sir!
Troubleshooters is great, and the game is virtually unknown :( Thanks for doing it justice.
Are any of these games on console or just pc?
Aside from XCOM and XCOM II, I enjoyed the Pathfinder games a lot (yeah, I modded them....). Also, the Wasteland games and the Shadowrun Triology are great. And still installed and played are Gears Tactics, Phoenix Point and Encased.
I would add Tactics Ogre and Jeanne D’Arc to the list of great trpgs.
Also, an honorable mention to Final Fantasy Tactics which I liked a lot less than I expected.
I would be interested in you assembling a list of games you like that are all "friendly" to being played without guides on normal or higher difficulty.
I love the genre but some games are incredibly difficult to play without either a ton of experience or guides.
This isnt a problem for most genres because theyre either very simple or expected to onboard players better.
@@trolleurdurden5534 For a guy with a username that (no offense) makes me think you would just type something like "git gud" you sure gave a great answer. Thank you!
Been playing trouble shooter for a long time a very underrated game.
I agree with basically everything in this list, and this reminded me to buy the Circus game.
Hi @Mortismal Gaming, I left comment yesterday but I think it got auto-deleted because it contained a link to Nexus. I've been meaning to say that I share the same sentiment towards your observations regarding King Arthur's Knight's Tale endgame, so I made a mod, which actually addresses all the things you mentioned + more + overhauls and brings up to par many characters. Name of the mod is: King Arthur Knight's Tale Enhanced Edition. Maybe you would be interested in giving this game another go with my mod? The changes are quite substantial and should make your experience very fresh. It would be amazing if you would be willing to make a video with your feedback on the mod, as your observations regarding base game was spot on.
Newbie question on TRPGs - are they normally just tactical combat and cutscenes like Lost Eidolons? I liked the combat, even though I wasn't great at it, and the camp was ok. However, the complete lack of player agency on what was happening (basically one long cutscene after another just leads you from battle to battle with players having no input or choice) at least in the early game was extremely disappointing to me. Is that a standard of TRPGs, as opposed to CRPGs where the player makes lots of decisions, or was this just a bad example in that particular case?
It is very common but not necessarily always the case. Most of the time though
@@MortismalGaming Good to know. I know to avoid TRPGs now. Just like you and card mechanics, I dislike it. Thanks for the answer.
Maybe try dungeons of naheulbeuk. Trpg funnier than the southpark games. Wait on sale for the expacks though, especially ruins of limis as its way too short.
I'd recommand:
Drakensang - Rivers of Time; (CRPG based on the Dark Eye p&p system, don't confuse it with the online game of the same name)
Vandal Hearts; TRPG for the PS One and one of my all time favorites (love the soundtrack, e.g. like the main theme "Burning Sorrow")
Didn't really like the others in your list, but Daemonhunters really surprised me because I'm dead tired of the Space marines + angry inquisitor trope SO MUCH. It was great up unti the final mission which almost ruined the entire game for me, but yea, definitely a great little gem.
We need more high quality TRPGs.
Currently playing 3 of them on and off. But I had never heard of Abandoned Children before, and it looks awesome. Might try out the clown game too.
Great video, but I found the Triangle Strategy take to be weird, but I guess it's personal taste. Yes, it takes awhile to get a full team going. But once you do, if you're playing on Hard, the time spent in battle is really meaty. I don't need every game I do to have 100 stages, just make what's there really good. It's only really a problem if there are too few stages.
I have to respectfully disagree I believe your honorable mentions should Be higher on the list! Right now really enjoying pathfinder WOTR. Thank your for your great content.
Have you played Wartales? i love combat in it
Yeah I did a sponsored video for it a while back actually
Try Mutatant: Road to eaden. No choices, but fun tactical RpG.
I grew up playing tabletop RpG in this universe and really hope this franchise will thrive!
I have: ua-cam.com/video/srdZm8KNTsw/v-deo.html
@@MortismalGaming Thanks for the link Mortismal. .. Not one of your top picks though 😞
Phoenix Point. Have played all the games on your list and they’re all great but PP just has so much more depth in its systems.
Ay nice!
Might give King Arthur a try now. Was not about to download a 100+ gb game.
I play many different games so trying to play all of Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children intimidates me. Feels like I would miss out on many other games trying to play that especially now when it's the busies time of the year for gaming (This February is also crazy).
Also, are you planning on reviewing Persona 5?
Not currently
@@MortismalGaming I see
Congratulations on 90k subscribers! On to 100000 in less than a month!
Nice video, i play all of them :)) thanks
I am loving Troubleshooter even if my opinion of the story is way worse than yours. I got bored of Cirque Electric very fast. Circus management was a chore and the combat was not enough fun to overcome it. I must try Expeditions Rome. I also really enjoyed the other two but I came to them before the channel. I can tell the honourable mentions are unlikely to land with me :). So thanks for the Troubleshooter heads up!
If you liked Chaosgate you need to try Mechanicus. I think it is arguably better than chaosgate with one of the coolest uses of time as a mechanic in the game
I've reviewed it, yeah it was good
Grey Knights are 40k's ghost busters.
Can you do one of these for JRPGS?
On Rome: Expeditions I had a game breaking bug about 3/4 through the campaign which tech support acknowledged as valid, yet 2 months later, no solution, and there are many other people experiencing this too. Beware ! King Arthur, on the other hand, is truly excellent and superb.
Would "Ruined King" considered trpg?
its gameplay is turn based jrpg just like jrpgs in the 90's
Knights of the Chalice.
You should play "BATTLETECH" from Paradox Interactive and "PHOENIX POINT" from Julian Gollop
Totally agree on triangle strategy. I really like the combat, but the story is WAY too heavy for me. It seems like forever to get into the actual combat.
I enjoyed the Symphony of War.
My list would have included Symphony of War: Nephilim Saga
How come DOS (Divinity Original Sin) 1 and 2 are not on that list?!
CRPGs, not TRPGs
@@MortismalGaming DOS 1 and 2 are tactical RPGs... There's no difference between those games and the ones you show, or please tell me :)
@@Jbpennes Story and characters, TRPGs focus specifically on the strategy combat and team management usually utilizing a mission structure as opposed to more emphasis on the narrative and roleplaying in a CRPG.
Admittedly similar genres but a few distinct differences. You wouldn't really compare XCOM with DOS1/2 for instance. Certainly down to semantics in some respects though sure.
@@MortismalGaming what defines a genre is the game mechanic. In DOS combat are tactical and all you mentioned the refer to RPG = TRPG :)
If DOS would be a CRPG it could be compared to Diablo which is ridiculous ;)
@@Jbpennes you can feel however you want about it, its of little consequence. Diablo is an ARPG though. Regardless, that's why they aren't on the list, which is the answer to your question.
As much as I love xcom, I have never been able to get into fire emblem. The series just seems like a dating Sim with a side of ttrpg.
If u liked expeditions rome u should play expeditions viking
Some interesting ones, yeah.
I'm torn on xcom2 because I've heard it's difficult even on rookie.
Sad to see phoenix point forgotten
Any intention of ever playing the other expeditions: games, like Vikings
Maybe at some point, but with the studio behind them imploding after Rome I'm not in a hurry
Good show sir
Silent storm must be here.
5:55 WTF? Did they forget to compress, like... everything?!?
I wanted to love daemonhunters, but the whole stuff spawnng shenanigans really put me off in tactical games.
If you haven't tried Fallout Tactics I'd give that a shot. It got fairly bad reviews and often gets confused with the (really bad) Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, but I've always loved it and had fun playing it. It's much more like Commandos in that it's mainly a bunch of missions and not a whole lot of RPG. You can run it in real time, individual turn base or squad turn based and you can switch between those modes at any time. It also came with it's own modding tools and is really easy to mess around with. Like vampire bloodlines, all the files are in plain text. There's some pretty good mods out there for it as well.
Bro your intro music is iconic but it’s so ominous haha I feel like it doesn’t fit with the tone of most of your vids
never played Disgaea 5?
Anyone try any of these on Steam Deck?
Most of them work great, troubleshooter does not