I think a lot of folks are encountering CRPGs for the first time now. Many of them enjoy the genre. So a rather small yet good CRPG like Shadowrun: Dragonfall might be able to find more success now than it did like 8 years ago. These are just my guesses though.
BG3 didn't do anything new, so there's not much to take from this game. I'm actualy afraid the opposite might happen, with developers being scared away from the genre becuase people will expect the same tratment of BG3 (and by that i mean full voice acting and all cutscenes animated). The only saving grace in the genre right now is owlcat games, who keep innovating and creating reaaaly good games (rogue trader is looking realy good)
@@joaoteixeira8349 How did they not do anything new? They managed to integrate 5e rules into a video game really well and created the first fully voice acted CRPG. It is true that this raises the bar significantly for CRPGs, but maybe we'll see some AAA developers dip their toes into the genre.
@@andreisandulescu9042 There are games that have managed to integrate 5e rules better. Not that is that difficult of a job, 5e rules are simple enough. For comparison, Pathfinder Kingmaker integrating 3.75/Pathfinder 1 rules was far more impressive. With AI voice we will more fully voice acting in the future. One minor problem for BG3 and with all RPGs that have a silent protagonist and voiced acting is that the dialogue is a bit jarring at times. What BG3 managed to do was 1. release a game that was mostly well-made, in a period where that is rare. 2. Show why Early Access, despite its problems can still deliver, 3. show that strong IPs and hard work combined can spell success.
I liked PoE1 fairly well, and only played it so I could import my save into 2 and was very excited for a nautical RPG and... wow. It really took the wind out of my sails as it were. A lot of small issues really dragged down what could have been a cool game, but everything just kinda fell apart for me. Just beat it two days ago actually, still kind of bummed out by how disappointing the whole thing was.
@@malonshammerI liked POE 2 a lot more than 1. The combat was much more refined and enjoyable, and while the main story was lacklustre, the DLC more than made up for it.
Divinity Original Sin EE got me into the genre, on PS4 at that. Absolutely love that game. But what pushed me over the edge was Pathfinder WotR. This channel was why I bought the game when it officially launched on PC and I never looked back. It took me doing a lot of research on it to fully grasp the game but when I did, it opened up and I love it even more now. Keep up the great work and will be a fan for as long as the channel exists!
As someone currently playing BG1 for the first time, i think it still holds up! I'm about 10 hours in and I'm really enjoying exploring the world and finding so many unique little things throughout. The game has so much heart and soul.
I'm doing the same! Long build up to getting BG3! Currently playing BG1 EE and at chapter 5: having decision angest about running to max 5 other characters, or mix and match between a larger pool... I realise starting as a ranger was a bit redundant :)
@@spaceman9599 I like BG1 for its very well-made story. I mean you find documents detailing the strategy of the major antagonists, and they actually make sense. The antagonists aren't just there to be killed, they have believable goals and ways to achieve them. BG3 is good in that as well, but man, is this rare in so many games.
I've been a CRPG player (I'm 50) since The Bard's Tale I and SSI Goldbox games - BG and others on this list were incredible (I actually played Wasteland I), but you're right - going back that far can make enjoying them difficult. I have Tyranny on deck, and I'm 600 hours into BG3. I've got another 300 in Pathfinder - maybe I'll give that another run. /shrug Thanks for the video!
@@davdav1370 My little brother is 45. We played RPGs when it was all text (Your Magic Missle hit for 17 damage!) and used to imagine what we're seeing today. So yeah, it's been an incredible journey. Of course, we're waiting for VR to catch up. :)
it was great i agree, the only thing though was that because you could make ur own spells and skils it was very easy to break the game. i remember soling it as a rogue on the hardest setting. stil fun though.
This, so much. It's so sad that they didn't market Tyranny more, which made the chances for a sequel so low. When Tyranny (even with all the dlc) ends, it's such a cliff-hanger and if you enjoyed it, you immediately want to play a sequel. This setting is perfect! I'd also love to see another Arcanum game, another Age of Decadence game (but with gameplay and visuals closer to Colony Ship), Disco Elysium (not by the corporate ZAUM, but rather Kurvitz), Planescape Torment, also isometric Pillars of Eternity 3 instead of Awoved /or is it Avowed?/) and probably a few others I'm forgetting right now. I can make children on an industrial scale and sacrifice them just to see it all through.
Surprised not to see Disco Elysium on this list. I understand its fairly different in style to the more dnd like games, but its such an amazing game from a writing standpoint. Definitely my personal favorite, with Baldur’s Gate 3 being a close second.
I think it's more or less excluded from the genre here, as being more of a narrative game of some sort. I think you can call it a crpg, but with less roleplaying elements perhaps. Doesn't matter really and genres are rarely very well defined. Not sure if Planescape: Torment was excluded for similar reasons or just didn't make the list. For me, both above mentioned games are at the absolute top regardless of genre.
I don't think Disco Elysium would be mentioned before Planescape Torment would've been. But both of these games are more of a story sprinkled here and there with some combat tactics, rather than crpg with a good story.
I guess you can see it like that if you take it too seriously. All the political and philosophical, for me, are there more for comedic/humor purpose than anything else. The game doesn't take itself seriously, even though there are mature themes, so why should we take it seriously? I laughed a lot on my first playthrough, and I got also emotionally invested in the characters and the world. I think thats what they were aiming for. It didnt look pretentious to me.
mortym, i just wanna let you know im truly grateful for the videos you put out; i probably never would've considered in a million years playing a CRPG until i saw your crpgs for beginners video, which led to me finishing Shadowrun Returns then, and now i'm diving headfirst into BG1 (and yes your analytics are correct, i probably watched that guide 3 times over just to understand the systems haha). but seriously, your perspective entertains & helps a lot of of us here. i think it was in the bg1 beginner guide that you said there's no shame in dropping the difficulty to a more comfortable spot when you paid for the game--somehow i had never considered that--and it's helped me to enjoy myself much more when playing these types of games, given that im much newer to them, so thank you. 🙂
Always happy to see some Tyranny love. Not only is the spell system among the best of any genre, it's unique turn-of-the-iron-age setting and nuanced worldbuilding make for incresibly deep roleplaying options. If you can get past somewhat janky visuals at times and the text-heavy nature of it, it's well worth it
Yeah I really enjoyed the setting and humor of Wasteland 3. It got me into turn based games and after it I tried DOS2 and fell in love. I’m in act 2 of BG 3 now on PS
Wasteland 3 was a better Fallout than the actual Fallout games released since NV. Getting the golden ending was as awesome as rewarding as getting the Pathfinder golden endings
@@FaithnatoHi! Im currently playing Wasteland 3 and I love it. I’m thinking of playing Divinity OS2 afterwards, do you know if I can run it? I can run WL3 on low-medium graphics with resolution adjustments.
Great list, excited to try some of these games! Hoping we can one day get a game like WoTR with BG3's quality or BG3 with pathfinder's ruleset and complexity. Very hopeful for the future of CRPGS
It's just such a good game. BG3 imo was close but Wrath still is on top of the throne. The sheer power fantasy of becoming a literal godlike entity is just way too fun.
@@ethanduncan1646there’s a lot of bullshit in it though. I remember a specific area called Black Water which was especially wack. There’s also just way less roleplaying, which isn’t totally bad depending on what you’re into.
@@Izigurand hmmm... i dont think theres less roleplaying. Theres defenitely less unorthodox ways to express your character and maybe less freedom but not less roleplaying
Kind of miss Planescape: Torment on this list, but that might be nostalgia speaking. The first cRPG that I played that felt like a real RPG and I absolutely loved the setting and story. I am not much into replay, so I never really replayed either Torment, BG1 or BG2.
Torment was all bout the story. So many incredible companions and npcs in that game. I still remember quotes from Dakkon to this day, like "Endure, and in enduring grow stronger." Or the base question of the game: "What can change the nature of a man?". For my Nameless One, it was regret. That said there wasn't a hard fight in the entire game, as you could literally stack buffs to make your char 100% unkillable. I wonder if it would be possible to update the ruleset on that game with mods. Would be a super chore, but think how amazing that game would be even today.
Likewise, Planescape Torment is still the pinacle for me in regards to story. I think BG3 is objectively a better 'game' but for a story. Torment is such an amazing and unique piece. Similarly to Morrowind in the ES franchise, it just bucks the norm and does something special.
Same for me, BG3 is amazing and a contender for best CRPG ever, but PS:T still has the best story of any game I've ever played, it's still my favourite game just for the story, characters and setting. I never replayed it either, but it's still so memorable for me 20 years later.
Before even getting to the list (and after finishing the BG3 for the first time after 150h) I just realized how many amazing, memorable RPGs I've played. And that I'd probably need to use some metrics like "time played" to be actually able to put them in some order. But definitely my favorites include: BG3, BG1&2, WoTR, Tyranny, Planescape Tornment, Disco Elysium, Fallout 1&2 and DOS2.
I don't have anything of value to add so I'll just say this: your channel has become my favourite on youtube. I can see your passion for (c)rpgs oozing from every video of yours. Watching you always makes my day better. Truly, thank you so much.
Your Baldurs Gate New Player Guide is how I discovered your channel, and I'm very thankful that you made that video because I love watching your content! Keep up the great work!
You probably get this a lot, but your reviews and video breakdowns have led me to purchase some of these games and I have been having so much fun. I can't wait to try out WotR once I am finished with BG3 because I want to experience the more challenging system that it offers.
The first CRPG I fell in love with was Exile 3 from Spiderweb Software back in the 90s. It was later remade as Avernum 3 (and is available on Steam!). Great writing, great story, choice and consequence. If you don't mind 2D retro graphics, I strongly recommend it.
Dragon Age Origins will always be my favourite of the genre. Incredible characters, well written dialogues, generic but enjoyable story, can be completed in a "short" time (for CRPG standards) and the game looks beautiful even now
It was great, but i think what held it back was gameplay. Fights and systems were really bland and shallow even at its era. Loved the game but i dont think it deserves top10 award except maybe for being popular
Tyranny really was a revolutionary game. I loved how decisions you made even before game start effected the world you played in. Also, not only was the way spells unique in that you created your own spells by mixing different runes to create different effects, but I also loved how they handled spells. Instead of having a class determine what skills you knew, and they improve at set intervals, instead the skills you knew and how the improved was determined by how often you used them. The more you used a skill, the more that skill improved.
I just recently got into this genre in May. The first game I started (and still playing) is Pathfinder WOTR. I think it'll take me many years to finish all of the games in my list haha
I have incredibly found memory of playing Baldur's Gate 2. Definitely agree that the gameplay might be outdated , as the gameplay interface isn't particularly user friendly. But the character depth and party banter was easily my favorite part of the game. Playing the game genuinely felt like I grew with the party members. The conflict that occurs when team members have disagreements. The bond that was formed through the trials. I really liked it. Also, I'm not particularly fond of romance, but I remember feeling inclined to romance one character, only to realize later that I actually respected Jaheira as a character, and wound up in a romance with her. It was a very interesting experience. While not all romances are written equally, I thought Jaheira's personal quest line was exceptional.
I recall her being notoriously hard (and possibly buggy in addition to that?) to romance (possibly the hardest in any game/CRPG). Some fan patches or Enhanced Edition may have changed that though.
He's always been a bit down on DAO. NWN is a hard game to judge. Do you base it on the sold content? If so, it's quite mediocre. If you base it on the toolset, well, it's as good as the mods you played. Which there are some amazing adventures, to be sure (Aielund Forever!). And he said Deadfire would be on the list of 10.
Dao is the flagbearer of this crpg Renaissance, and one of my favorites, but it's just objectively not better than games in this list. Nostalgia value just doesn't cut it
@@shawngillogly6873 I was wrong. I meant to type NWN 2. Though, I still love the first NWN and would definitely make the list. Maybe because it's one of the first cRPGS that I played, so I could have personal biased.
i really liked DAO back when i was a kid, but its system is very watered-down compared to even older CRPGs at the time... although it was the only CRPG that delivered this sort of cinematic experience until BG3. Dragon age as a series is such a shame, it should've culminated into something like what BG3 has achieved now, but it strayed further and further away from its roots and when the new DA game comes out, it'll be mercilessly compared to BG3 as something it should have been
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous has such a haunting tone to it. I think it would be hard to go back to it after BG3, but I think it has the best tone and mood out of any CRPG.
I loved WOTR and could easily get back into it. BG3 is now one of my favorites of all time (think top 3 vs WOTR which is top 10), but to be honest the relationships in WOTR were written a bit better - in particular Wenduag.
As always is very nice to hear your input in your favorite games, a favourite games list is exactly that, your favourite games (well CRPGs) list, not the best CRPGs to date, so other people will find Pillars of Eternity inside it, others would think Dragon Age Origins. I have yet to try any of the pathfinder games, as CRPGs go it has been this year the first time that I have gotten into D&D ones, started with Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 (which were amazing, and I agree I consider the first one above the second personally, it feels more like an adventure), then played Solasta and now Baldurs Gate 3. I might go directly to pathfinder, since I know its more dense but now I understand the D&D-like systems better.
I know they may not be as crunchy as you like, but Planescape Torment and Disco Elysium have such compelling narratives and worlds that I think you should show them a little more love.
@@thepancakemannDisco Elysium has one of the worst stories I have seen in any RPG, full of plot holes, inconsistency and one of the worst ending to a story ever. And the fact you're second favourite story is from RDR2, shows that you have the most normie and basic taste in storytelling, nothing wrong with that, but don't call garbage like that as one of the best.
@@kyleward7417 @kyleward7417 I'd like to think my narrative preferences are traditional. I'd also hazard a guess that you thought Disco had narrative inconsistency and plot holes because you didn't understand what you were reading and you weren't paying attention. I mean correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't even know what your to use. I highly doubt you're capable of understanding the nuance of either game's story - both of which are two of the most critically acclaimed of all time for a reason. There's certainly nothing wrong with being a contrarian, but calling either RDR 2 or Disco Elysium "garbage" in any way is just intellectually dishonest. Elysium's story is not better than the sum of its writing and RDR2's narrative suffers from length. They are otherwise absolute gold standards.
Cliffhanger ending that'll never be finished is a sour taste. And while the build variety is great, the combat difficulty doesn't merit the investment in those mechanics. Add to that an entirely too short Main Story, and the terrible ship combat, and it's good not great.
@@patrik3482 Couldn't disagree more. The gameplay and multiclass are much better than PoE1 and while the writing is slightly worse, Poe1 had serious pacing issues after Act 2.
Good list, only one i would add is bg2, BG1 will always be my favorite no 2 was so good not only story wise, adding much need mechanics and another great voice acted villain with Irenicus.
The only thing I thought 2 was lacking was all the areas you get to explore in 1. Each area had a surprise in store for you and you couldn't wait to jump right into that fog of war and explore new things. Also, bg2 is much too focused indoors. Druids take a hit on that because Call Lightning could be hard to use since you're almost always in houses, sewers, or dungeons. Theiy should have given given them the Icewind Dale spell Static Charge to correct this.
For me in no particular order - Fallout 1 - Fallout 2 - Planescape: Torment - Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura - Dragon Age: Origins - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Baldur's Gate 2 I haven't finished Divinity: Original Sin 2, Wasteland 3, and Baldur's Gate 3 to have them included in my list but they are strong contenders.
I find it interesting that Star Wars fans tend to prefer KOTOR 2, but CRPG fans (us) prefer the original. There's something to be said for a classic storyline, that plays through relatively bug free, and offers fairly binary - but effective choices. edit: I have never started more games and not finished them than in Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2. It makes me wonder if I really like them, or just the systems in them.
Love your taste and takes. I love this channel, it is what i always wanted from your reviews and concise guides. Kind of reminds me a bit of totalbiscuits reviews, which is good. Keep doing what you're doing Mort, you deserve all the recognition.
I really liked pathfinder kingmaker, the only problem for me was that it was very combat focused. There were times when you enter a cave and you had combat encounters every ten meters.
@@MichaelWard-le1ck they fixed it. also just play kineticist and skip every combat xD that class gets stupid op later on and i'd just place aoe on ground and then hit them with another one and watch them die slowly in clouds of burning steam on top of lava x)
@@MichaelWard-le1ck You'll know someone is a Kingmaker player if hearing the words 'Wild Hunt Monarch' sends them into convulsions. A whole lot easier the second time around with adequate preparation and foreknowledge but it was absolutely brutal when we all played it at launch.
If you love obsidian, you won't be disappointed with pillars of eternity or Tyranny. Its essentially isometric callbacks to the crpgs of old. Kotor ii is still my favorite of all time, but pillars of eternity has moved to number two & Tyranny 3 due to obsidian's character development, world buildin & general story tellin'. Always cool to see fans of kotor & nvn
You're the man ! Literally every time a new crpg or action rpg/ soulslike hane comes out that I'm interested in I get the 100% notification from you . And your thoughts and videos steer me in the direction I want to go
Aye, finally a very mature and fair review both of BG3 and WotR and other games. Loved BG3 a lot. WotR also was good, but too overcomplicated with really bad balance between classes & companions. Wish we got smth like BG3, or may be Divinity 3, but with character building somewhere half-way to WotR: more complex, but not too overcomplicated, and with a good balance so all of them are equaly viable.
The fact that you find BG3 easy is crazy and so funny to me because this is the 1st time I’ve played something this like outside of dragon age and it’s so hard and challenging for me and yet so fun.
@@AlKiar I played WotR only on difficulty that would be something between normal and daring(3rd and 4th out of 7) on playthru I went with making my own build, but BG3 even on the hardest was not even close to that in difficulty, I still found WotR to be more challenging, so no need to try the second hardest to find tactician easy
@@kokotkokotsky3897 yea I meant even playing it for a few hours it would teach you a lot. BG3 is really easy and wish there was some way to make it more difficult without having to make enemies more tanky.
My friend told me not to go hard beacuse its SUPER hard (he had like 150 hrs in beta) i got to 2nd act and just restarted game to go tactican(i also wanted to play origin character) and still felt like i dont have a challenge. I considered playing solo, but it seems like companions and interactions are solid 70% of the game. Only tough fight was House of Hope, ofc you can cheese it with barrelmancy but i decided to fight it normally and it was REALLY fun. Also the audio
@@AlKiar I wish they made gold useful, maybe let enemies take less enviromental damage and have more hp, like twice. With 0 character planning i finish most combats in 1-2 turns ;/
I finally played and finished Tyranny after sleeping on it for a long time, and my god... I was absolutely amazed by the world building and the overall lore of the settings. Peak OE. I truly hope that one day, we see the sequel.
Steam sale is going on rn. i'm buying literally every single one of these. your recommendations have never let me down in the past, even games that people said were "mid" but you recommended have been amazing.
Thanks for the top. I was astonished by bg 3. I didn't have a modern computer for a long time and I didn't play for a long time as well. I played some good titles for last 3 years after I bought modern computer, but no other games satisfied me so much. It is close to game of decade to me, really interesting story and immersive gameplay, best gaming experience to me since last deus ex releases. I have tyranny and dos2 in my library already from sales and will give them a try in future. Also I played vtmb in teen years and thought it is action rpg, but glad to see it in a list as well. People should be aware. Keep it up!
I didn't have a modern computer until relatively recently, too. And I kind of have a weakness for "lo-fi" crpgs and strategy games. So yeah BG3 blew me away. I do think that BG3's production values blew most crpgs out of the water, though, which is why it's such a smash hit.
Mortismal's 7 favorite cRPGS? What a great proposition. It's so unfortunate that I already have at least 3 games on my list-to-come while I'm finishing Sea of stars. Thank you for your interesting opinions!
Great list, and obviously it's down to personal choice which is totally fine - but I'm somewhat surprised that Planescape Torment didn't make it in there!
I found to your channel through those old divinity (and pf:kingmaker) vids! Think you had maybe 6-7k followers back then. Not that long ago actually. So congrats to your great success 🎉
It's interesting that you mention Bloodlines and immersive sims. After all the definitive blueprint for ImSims (Deus Ex) was just Warren Spector trying to make a stealth game which is also a shooter and, at its core, a RPG. And Larian's level and quest design, with the physics and environmental interactions their game engine allows, are pretty close to the ImSim way of doing these things. As much as I love CRPG I think they've stuck a bit too long on the Infinity engine formula and I hope BG3 and Disco Elysium will widen the spectrum of what those games can be. I would also like to see more RPGs in which you control only one character that are not post-apocalypse Fallout inspired. As CRPG are often written and balanced with your companions in the equation it's often difficult to really roleplay some kind of "evil" or just unlikeable character from fear of them leaving and getting stuck on a difficulty wall. Tyranny was also great for this, it didn't point you to a default good guy route.
nice list i really enjoyed all of these games , and i like Wrath more as Bg3 as well. This channel is the reason why i tried this type of games tbh. Thx for that!
If Tyranny didn't end so abruptly, it might be my favorite of all time. I loved my brief time with game and would love to see it finished some time in the future. Great list, btw. Really enjoyed it.
Your Divinity content is how I found the channel. Also helped that you weren't a Rockstar shill, like most other gaming channels on UA-cam, and you focus on PC gaming.
Pathfinder WotR is mine favored too, but I personally have enjoyed the Kingmaker more, I have even enjoyed the kingdom management much more than the crusade minigame :). Also I would add Dragon age origin, which is I would say the most simplified crpg to get into.
@@majorgear1021 It depends, king maker is realtime only, so some people may not like it just from that, but I personally find kingmaker story and companions better than of WotR.
Been a minute since I got to enjoy one of your videos avoiding the newish fun games I'd like to play first before I watch your videos on them ❤ keep up the great work
I was not that surprised to see Pathfinder at the top, because I've been talking with a friend about it being a little better than BG3 in the story at least, whoever, to see WotR instead of kingmaker truly amazes me, I honestly couldn't keep playing WotR, but kingmaker to this day has my heart as the best fantasy story I've seen.
Very much agree with all your picks that I have played as well. Super glad to see Tyranny on here, really enjoyed that one after only being more or less "meh" about PoE1. Also, I'm now pretty hyped for my WotR playthrough, have only just started my first run and have arrived at the mongrel village. Though, I gotta say, I was very surprised when I realized during character creation that it uses PF 1e and not 2e. Still gotta play both Wasteland 2 & 3 and PoE2 - despite my interest in the nautical setting, I was just too burned out after PoE1. My Top 7 CRPGs presently would be: 1. Disco Elysium 2. Baldur's Gate 3 3. Knights of the Old Republic II 4. Divinity: Original Sin 2 5. Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition Trilogy (yes, I'm, cheating to get both BG1 & BG2 in here) 6. Tyranny 7. Planescape: Torment Others that come to mind are Icewind Dale, VM: Bloodlines, Fallout 2, KotOR1, Dragon Age: Origins, and Death Trash (despite still being in Early Access).
Part of me wants so badly for there to be a cRPG renaissance and we just get a bunch of high quality games in the genre over the next few years. But, part of me also thinks that the nicheness is what made BG3 so big. Nobody expected a cRPG to take over the world, but the "Dude, I know this isn't you kind of game but you *have* to try it. At least hope into multiplayer with me to check it out" word of mouth spread has definitely played a part in it's popularity as well. Also, this made me want to go back and play Tyranny again. Such a hidden gem that deserves way more credit than it has gotten. Maybe Obsidian will surprise us once they're done with Avowed and Outer Worlds 2? A guy can hope! And I'm looking forward to seeing what Owlcat does with Rogue Trader. I've played the beta a couple of times just to see the progress, but I can't wait to get my hands on the full release and hopefully bury 100+ hours into yet another game this year.
Nice list. Mine goes a bit more old school but then again I'm probably older. Of course, it depends on how you define the "c" in CPRG. Computer Role Playing Game? Or Classic Role Playing Game? I'm going with "classic", otherwise Skyrim, Disco Elysium and Mass Effect 2 are on this list. But using the classic definition it's probably something like this: - Ultima 7 The Black Gate - opening still gives me chills - BG2 - epic - Dragon Age: Origins - some of the best moral quests despite some gameplay jankies. Barely beats out Tyranny since that one kind of ends abruptly. - Planescape Torment - best RPG story ever - KOTOR 1 - great story and NPCs. KOTOR 2 could have been here if not for the bugs. - BG3 - epic, part 2 - Pathfinder WotW - mythic paths elevate this into sheer greatness
for anyone looking for more grate CRPG's i would recommend games by Spiderweb, their games like Geneforge and Avernum are among the best written CRPG's I've ever played. Under rail and The Age of Decadence are also strong recommends.
I have a lot of love for Pillars of Eternity, especially for the first one. There was something so captivatingly dark about the world there, and their take on deities was refreshing! It took risks and it mostly paid off! I love the original Baldurs greatly, but Pillars absolutely became one of the best RPGs I've ever played!
There's a difficulty adjustment mod "Tactician Plus" for BG 3. Me and my friend doubled the enemy HP in the middle of Act 2 and now it actually offers some challenge.
I'm really looking forward to your whole review of BG3, especially when considering the not super amazing state of act 3 and the ways the game plays out based on different decisions (which I don't know a ton about being only on my second playthrough)
What CRPGs saved for me is turn-based combat. I was always too dumb to play RTwP right so allies were running in AoE spells or enemies were on completely different positions when my caster finished his spell or party members die suddenly because of damage spikes and I react to that like Slowpoke and so on. So after BG3 I'd like to take a closer look on the Divinity and Pathfinder games (again). And also there's Rogue Trader at the end of the year. (Oh, and Pillars of Eternity 2 has also turn-based combat as far as I remember correctly)
Tyranny was actually my first CRPG. I was always a console player growing up and I'd never been interested in games without gamepad support. But someone recommended it and i decided to pick it up and had a blast. Great narrative and gameplay. IIRC the ending was lackluster, setting up a sequel we'll never see Wasn't until DoS2 that i played another and its still one of my favourite games of all time, and by far the best coop experience I've had
Wasteland 3 was my 1st crpg and i loved it. Consider it one of fav games ever. It got me try others like DOS which was also great and solasta I've been playing recently.
I'm totally brand new to CRPGs with BG3 being my first ever! However, I did play D&D in the way past. I've saved this video and will check out these games, probably going back and starting with BG1.
Before I watch the video, Tyranny in the thumbnail is AMAZING. Man I really liked that game in the short amount of time I spent on it! And I bet Wasteland 3 is on this list!
I had a hard time getting into DOS2 because of the magic and physical armor system but after playing it for a while it makes sense why they introduced those after DOS1. It's too easy to abuse crowd control in the first game and honestly, the combat in the second game is a lot more fun@@chuckchan4127
One of my favorites that I actually got introduced to by you is Expeditions: Rome. Not sure it qualifies as a CRPG but it's probably in my top 5 behind Wasteland 3, BG3 and DOS2
For BG 1 Mort , id say i got into it on my own cause id had it sitting in my library for ages. Every other one of bought since then i attribute to all your videos.
I love how you keep boosting Tyranny. What a game.
We all have a wish that Obsidian somehow comes fully back from the lands of venture bro microloot
Tyranny has one of my favorite magic systems in all CRPGs.
boost boost raise the roof
@spaceman9599 what? Obsidian is one of the few developers who always seems to put their all into their games and you're still complaining lol.
I just really hope the popularity of BG3 will bring more new crpg ideas from other studios and more pathfinder as well!
Great video!
I completely agree, but unless the production is anywhere near the same it most likely won’t.
I think a lot of folks are encountering CRPGs for the first time now. Many of them enjoy the genre. So a rather small yet good CRPG like Shadowrun: Dragonfall might be able to find more success now than it did like 8 years ago.
These are just my guesses though.
BG3 didn't do anything new, so there's not much to take from this game. I'm actualy afraid the opposite might happen, with developers being scared away from the genre becuase people will expect the same tratment of BG3 (and by that i mean full voice acting and all cutscenes animated). The only saving grace in the genre right now is owlcat games, who keep innovating and creating reaaaly good games (rogue trader is looking realy good)
@@joaoteixeira8349 How did they not do anything new? They managed to integrate 5e rules into a video game really well and created the first fully voice acted CRPG. It is true that this raises the bar significantly for CRPGs, but maybe we'll see some AAA developers dip their toes into the genre.
@@andreisandulescu9042 There are games that have managed to integrate 5e rules better. Not that is that difficult of a job, 5e rules are simple enough. For comparison, Pathfinder Kingmaker integrating 3.75/Pathfinder 1 rules was far more impressive. With AI voice we will more fully voice acting in the future. One minor problem for BG3 and with all RPGs that have a silent protagonist and voiced acting is that the dialogue is a bit jarring at times.
What BG3 managed to do was 1. release a game that was mostly well-made, in a period where that is rare. 2. Show why Early Access, despite its problems can still deliver, 3. show that strong IPs and hard work combined can spell success.
Pillars of Eternity 2 might be my most memorable CRPG - cannot wait to get into Tyranny after BG3 runs out
I tried Tyranny and despite loving PoE, I can't get into it. All the military stuff is just very boring to me
I liked PoE1 fairly well, and only played it so I could import my save into 2 and was very excited for a nautical RPG and... wow. It really took the wind out of my sails as it were. A lot of small issues really dragged down what could have been a cool game, but everything just kinda fell apart for me. Just beat it two days ago actually, still kind of bummed out by how disappointing the whole thing was.
good game but wasnt a fan of the system/armor mechanics, still close but its story wasnt on par with others.
Think the characters were weak aswell. Best character didnt make it to the second game the pervy fire priest.
@@malonshammerI liked POE 2 a lot more than 1. The combat was much more refined and enjoyable, and while the main story was lacklustre, the DLC more than made up for it.
Divinity Original Sin EE got me into the genre, on PS4 at that. Absolutely love that game.
But what pushed me over the edge was Pathfinder WotR. This channel was why I bought the game when it officially launched on PC and I never looked back. It took me doing a lot of research on it to fully grasp the game but when I did, it opened up and I love it even more now.
Keep up the great work and will be a fan for as long as the channel exists!
As someone currently playing BG1 for the first time, i think it still holds up! I'm about 10 hours in and I'm really enjoying exploring the world and finding so many unique little things throughout. The game has so much heart and soul.
I'm doing the same! Long build up to getting BG3! Currently playing BG1 EE and at chapter 5: having decision angest about running to max 5 other characters, or mix and match between a larger pool...
I realise starting as a ranger was a bit redundant :)
Though the difficulty can be… unforgiving at times. I’m a fan of both BGs and the Icewind Dale games, though BG2 is my favorite.
Playing Baldurs gate 1 on mobile. It's not the preferred way to play but it's still awesome. Can't wait to try Baldurs gate 2
@@spaceman9599 I like BG1 for its very well-made story. I mean you find documents detailing the strategy of the major antagonists, and they actually make sense. The antagonists aren't just there to be killed, they have believable goals and ways to achieve them. BG3 is good in that as well, but man, is this rare in so many games.
I highly recommend a solo run of BG1 and 2.
Duel wielding dwarf was the most fun ever.
I've been a CRPG player (I'm 50) since The Bard's Tale I and SSI Goldbox games - BG and others on this list were incredible (I actually played Wasteland I), but you're right - going back that far can make enjoying them difficult.
I have Tyranny on deck, and I'm 600 hours into BG3. I've got another 300 in Pathfinder - maybe I'll give that another run.
/shrug
Thanks for the video!
Damn, it must be quite a journey for you to see all these new titles coming out and seeing genre still standing strong.
@@davdav1370 My little brother is 45. We played RPGs when it was all text (Your Magic Missle hit for 17 damage!) and used to imagine what we're seeing today.
So yeah, it's been an incredible journey.
Of course, we're waiting for VR to catch up. :)
Tyranny is just too good. Which of my potential children I have to sacrifice to get another crpg set in that setting?
Man i wish Avowed was in Tyranny universe instead of Pillers universe .
I really like it too. It's very underrated.
it was great i agree, the only thing though was that because you could make ur own spells and skils it was very easy to break the game. i remember soling it as a rogue on the hardest setting. stil fun though.
This, so much. It's so sad that they didn't market Tyranny more, which made the chances for a sequel so low. When Tyranny (even with all the dlc) ends, it's such a cliff-hanger and if you enjoyed it, you immediately want to play a sequel. This setting is perfect!
I'd also love to see another Arcanum game, another Age of Decadence game (but with gameplay and visuals closer to Colony Ship), Disco Elysium (not by the corporate ZAUM, but rather Kurvitz), Planescape Torment, also isometric Pillars of Eternity 3 instead of Awoved /or is it Avowed?/) and probably a few others I'm forgetting right now. I can make children on an industrial scale and sacrifice them just to see it all through.
@@JediLordRevanI wish that Avowed wasn't in the making at all, and they'd start making PoE3 and Tyranny2 instead
Surprised not to see Disco Elysium on this list. I understand its fairly different in style to the more dnd like games, but its such an amazing game from a writing standpoint. Definitely my personal favorite, with Baldur’s Gate 3 being a close second.
I think it's more or less excluded from the genre here, as being more of a narrative game of some sort. I think you can call it a crpg, but with less roleplaying elements perhaps. Doesn't matter really and genres are rarely very well defined.
Not sure if Planescape: Torment was excluded for similar reasons or just didn't make the list.
For me, both above mentioned games are at the absolute top regardless of genre.
I don't think Disco Elysium would be mentioned before Planescape Torment would've been. But both of these games are more of a story sprinkled here and there with some combat tactics, rather than crpg with a good story.
What classes can you be in that game?
Nah, the writing is really good. It's super atmospheric and has a really literary style of it's without being pretentious imo. @@brookspn
I guess you can see it like that if you take it too seriously. All the political and philosophical, for me, are there more for comedic/humor purpose than anything else.
The game doesn't take itself seriously, even though there are mature themes, so why should we take it seriously?
I laughed a lot on my first playthrough, and I got also emotionally invested in the characters and the world. I think thats what they were aiming for. It didnt look pretentious to me.
mortym, i just wanna let you know im truly grateful for the videos you put out; i probably never would've considered in a million years playing a CRPG until i saw your crpgs for beginners video, which led to me finishing Shadowrun Returns then, and now i'm diving headfirst into BG1 (and yes your analytics are correct, i probably watched that guide 3 times over just to understand the systems haha). but seriously, your perspective entertains & helps a lot of of us here. i think it was in the bg1 beginner guide that you said there's no shame in dropping the difficulty to a more comfortable spot when you paid for the game--somehow i had never considered that--and it's helped me to enjoy myself much more when playing these types of games, given that im much newer to them, so thank you. 🙂
Always happy to see some Tyranny love. Not only is the spell system among the best of any genre, it's unique turn-of-the-iron-age setting and nuanced worldbuilding make for incresibly deep roleplaying options. If you can get past somewhat janky visuals at times and the text-heavy nature of it, it's well worth it
Yes! Wasteland 3 is one of my personal favorite CRPGs of all time. I’m also glad to see Tyranny get some love on the list.
Yeah I really enjoyed the setting and humor of Wasteland 3. It got me into turn based games and after it I tried DOS2 and fell in love. I’m in act 2 of BG 3 now on PS
Wasteland 3 was a better Fallout than the actual Fallout games released since NV. Getting the golden ending was as awesome as rewarding as getting the Pathfinder golden endings
@@ElectricianAl I love the writing style of Wasteland 3. It is kind of crazy that they mange to wrote a dark theme story yet funny at the same time.
@@FaithnatoHi! Im currently playing Wasteland 3 and I love it.
I’m thinking of playing Divinity OS2 afterwards, do you know if I can run it? I can run WL3 on low-medium graphics with resolution adjustments.
Great list, excited to try some of these games! Hoping we can one day get a game like WoTR with BG3's quality or BG3 with pathfinder's ruleset and complexity. Very hopeful for the future of CRPGS
While your top 2 are also my own, I love seeing Tyranny on the list! It’s such a hidden gem in my opinion. Thanks for this great list
Wrath of the righteous was really something special. Once I'm finished with BG3 I think I'll go back and revisit it.
Want to wait for the rest of the dlc so my mods quit getting broken
It's just such a good game. BG3 imo was close but Wrath still is on top of the throne. The sheer power fantasy of becoming a literal godlike entity is just way too fun.
@@christophertheofilos1063Is there more dlc coming?
@@ethanduncan1646there’s a lot of bullshit in it though. I remember a specific area called Black Water which was especially wack. There’s also just way less roleplaying, which isn’t totally bad depending on what you’re into.
@@Izigurand hmmm... i dont think theres less roleplaying. Theres defenitely less unorthodox ways to express your character and maybe less freedom but not less roleplaying
Kind of miss Planescape: Torment on this list, but that might be nostalgia speaking. The first cRPG that I played that felt like a real RPG and I absolutely loved the setting and story. I am not much into replay, so I never really replayed either Torment, BG1 or BG2.
Torment was all bout the story. So many incredible companions and npcs in that game. I still remember quotes from Dakkon to this day, like "Endure, and in enduring grow stronger." Or the base question of the game: "What can change the nature of a man?". For my Nameless One, it was regret.
That said there wasn't a hard fight in the entire game, as you could literally stack buffs to make your char 100% unkillable. I wonder if it would be possible to update the ruleset on that game with mods. Would be a super chore, but think how amazing that game would be even today.
Likewise, Planescape Torment is still the pinacle for me in regards to story. I think BG3 is objectively a better 'game' but for a story. Torment is such an amazing and unique piece. Similarly to Morrowind in the ES franchise, it just bucks the norm and does something special.
Same for me, BG3 is amazing and a contender for best CRPG ever, but PS:T still has the best story of any game I've ever played, it's still my favourite game just for the story, characters and setting. I never replayed it either, but it's still so memorable for me 20 years later.
TBH I am really sad they didn't put Githzerai race in BG3. Because of Dakkon i prefer Githzerai over Githyanki.@@sieglindeeilserv8799
Yes! I have it as App on my Chromebook and intend to play it before i die!
Before even getting to the list (and after finishing the BG3 for the first time after 150h) I just realized how many amazing, memorable RPGs I've played. And that I'd probably need to use some metrics like "time played" to be actually able to put them in some order. But definitely my favorites include: BG3, BG1&2, WoTR, Tyranny, Planescape Tornment, Disco Elysium, Fallout 1&2 and DOS2.
I don't have anything of value to add so I'll just say this: your channel has become my favourite on youtube. I can see your passion for (c)rpgs oozing from every video of yours. Watching you always makes my day better. Truly, thank you so much.
Tyranny is such an underated gem.
Your Baldurs Gate New Player Guide is how I discovered your channel, and I'm very thankful that you made that video because I love watching your content! Keep up the great work!
I played wasteland 3 because of this channel mention as one of your favorites and I am glad I did! I loved it! Thanks for putting it on your channel
You probably get this a lot, but your reviews and video breakdowns have led me to purchase some of these games and I have been having so much fun. I can't wait to try out WotR once I am finished with BG3 because I want to experience the more challenging system that it offers.
The first CRPG I fell in love with was Exile 3 from Spiderweb Software back in the 90s. It was later remade as Avernum 3 (and is available on Steam!). Great writing, great story, choice and consequence. If you don't mind 2D retro graphics, I strongly recommend it.
Dragon Age Origins will always be my favourite of the genre. Incredible characters, well written dialogues, generic but enjoyable story, can be completed in a "short" time (for CRPG standards) and the game looks beautiful even now
It was great, but i think what held it back was gameplay. Fights and systems were really bland and shallow even at its era. Loved the game but i dont think it deserves top10 award except maybe for being popular
@@Thalaranthey probably top 1 for me strictly due to nostalgia. I remember it to this day and played it what 20 years ago.
I still play it to this day.
Tyranny really was a revolutionary game. I loved how decisions you made even before game start effected the world you played in. Also, not only was the way spells unique in that you created your own spells by mixing different runes to create different effects, but I also loved how they handled spells. Instead of having a class determine what skills you knew, and they improve at set intervals, instead the skills you knew and how the improved was determined by how often you used them. The more you used a skill, the more that skill improved.
I love to see Tyranny here. Actual moral choices, interesting characters, unique world, a story!
I just recently got into this genre in May. The first game I started (and still playing) is Pathfinder WOTR. I think it'll take me many years to finish all of the games in my list haha
I have incredibly found memory of playing Baldur's Gate 2. Definitely agree that the gameplay might be outdated , as the gameplay interface isn't particularly user friendly. But the character depth and party banter was easily my favorite part of the game. Playing the game genuinely felt like I grew with the party members. The conflict that occurs when team members have disagreements. The bond that was formed through the trials. I really liked it. Also, I'm not particularly fond of romance, but I remember feeling inclined to romance one character, only to realize later that I actually respected Jaheira as a character, and wound up in a romance with her. It was a very interesting experience. While not all romances are written equally, I thought Jaheira's personal quest line was exceptional.
I recall her being notoriously hard (and possibly buggy in addition to that?) to romance (possibly the hardest in any game/CRPG). Some fan patches or Enhanced Edition may have changed that though.
I'm surprised PoE 2, NWN 2 (edited), and DAO didn't make this list. Tyranny is a hidden gem though. Love it so much!
He's always been a bit down on DAO. NWN is a hard game to judge. Do you base it on the sold content? If so, it's quite mediocre. If you base it on the toolset, well, it's as good as the mods you played. Which there are some amazing adventures, to be sure (Aielund Forever!). And he said Deadfire would be on the list of 10.
nwn base game isn't great tbh, what made NWN great was mp, and community content. if u got into that id say its still the best mp crpg out there.
Dao is the flagbearer of this crpg Renaissance, and one of my favorites, but it's just objectively not better than games in this list. Nostalgia value just doesn't cut it
@@shawngillogly6873 I was wrong. I meant to type NWN 2. Though, I still love the first NWN and would definitely make the list. Maybe because it's one of the first cRPGS that I played, so I could have personal biased.
i really liked DAO back when i was a kid, but its system is very watered-down compared to even older CRPGs at the time... although it was the only CRPG that delivered this sort of cinematic experience until BG3. Dragon age as a series is such a shame, it should've culminated into something like what BG3 has achieved now, but it strayed further and further away from its roots and when the new DA game comes out, it'll be mercilessly compared to BG3 as something it should have been
Much like the birth of Jesus, modern timekeeping will now be divided into “Before BG3” and “After BG3” to reflect its historical release.
I loved Tyranny. Ive beaten it 4+ times and the combat system, characters, and story was amazing.
Just found your channel recently, like within the past month. Been watching some old vids and all your new vids. Thanks for this video!
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous has such a haunting tone to it. I think it would be hard to go back to it after BG3, but I think it has the best tone and mood out of any CRPG.
I have no problem playing Wrath alongside BG3 even. They each offer things the other does not
WotR is the closest thing to BG3 we have, and if we talk only about the system complexity it's even better than BG3.
Yeah I agree. I definitely would have a hard time going back to wrath now, but I still loved my time with it all the same.
I loved WOTR and could easily get back into it. BG3 is now one of my favorites of all time (think top 3 vs WOTR which is top 10), but to be honest the relationships in WOTR were written a bit better - in particular Wenduag.
@@casadogaspar And if we reference _ANYTHING_ else it's not.
As always is very nice to hear your input in your favorite games, a favourite games list is exactly that, your favourite games (well CRPGs) list, not the best CRPGs to date, so other people will find Pillars of Eternity inside it, others would think Dragon Age Origins.
I have yet to try any of the pathfinder games, as CRPGs go it has been this year the first time that I have gotten into D&D ones, started with Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 (which were amazing, and I agree I consider the first one above the second personally, it feels more like an adventure), then played Solasta and now Baldurs Gate 3. I might go directly to pathfinder, since I know its more dense but now I understand the D&D-like systems better.
I'm excited for the continued growth of your channel. Keep up the good work! 🎉
You know warhammer rogue trader is coming 7th December Mort ? what a great end of year for RPG gamers
Always wanted to check out Pathfinder, might have to give it a go now seeing where it landed on your list!
My first crpg was pillars of eternity. I remember playing it years back and absolutely loving it!
Really excited to see this list and how things have changed. Your ability to finish so many of these games is amazing.
I know they may not be as crunchy as you like, but Planescape Torment and Disco Elysium have such compelling narratives and worlds that I think you should show them a little more love.
Disco Elysium has the best writing of any RPG. The only other story in gaming I felt came close was RDR2 and it's from a different genre.
@@thepancakemannDisco Elysium has one of the worst stories I have seen in any RPG, full of plot holes, inconsistency and one of the worst ending to a story ever. And the fact you're second favourite story is from RDR2, shows that you have the most normie and basic taste in storytelling, nothing wrong with that, but don't call garbage like that as one of the best.
@@kyleward7417sheeeeeesh
@@kyleward7417 @kyleward7417 I'd like to think my narrative preferences are traditional. I'd also hazard a guess that you thought Disco had narrative inconsistency and plot holes because you didn't understand what you were reading and you weren't paying attention. I mean correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't even know what your to use. I highly doubt you're capable of understanding the nuance of either game's story - both of which are two of the most critically acclaimed of all time for a reason.
There's certainly nothing wrong with being a contrarian, but calling either RDR 2 or Disco Elysium "garbage" in any way is just intellectually dishonest. Elysium's story is not better than the sum of its writing and RDR2's narrative suffers from length. They are otherwise absolute gold standards.
@kyleward7417 your attitude compels me to conclude you are objectively wrong
Honestly surprised Pillars of Eternity 2 didnt crack your top 7
I love that game, but I can also see why it would objectively not be as good as these games listed.
Cliffhanger ending that'll never be finished is a sour taste. And while the build variety is great, the combat difficulty doesn't merit the investment in those mechanics. Add to that an entirely too short Main Story, and the terrible ship combat, and it's good not great.
Sorry, but it's a terrible game with even more terrible writing. And what's worst is what a huge downgrade it is compared to the first game.
@@patrik3482 Couldn't disagree more. The gameplay and multiclass are much better than PoE1 and while the writing is slightly worse, Poe1 had serious pacing issues after Act 2.
I agree with him tbh these 7 are just better haha
Good list, only one i would add is bg2, BG1 will always be my favorite no 2 was so good not only story wise, adding much need mechanics and another great voice acted villain with Irenicus.
Agreed. BG1, 2, and now 3 would take up the top three spots in my favorite CRPG list.
Yeah BG2 was better than BG1 I'd say (although I never experienced all of BG1)
The only thing I thought 2 was lacking was all the areas you get to explore in 1. Each area had a surprise in store for you and you couldn't wait to jump right into that fog of war and explore new things. Also, bg2 is much too focused indoors. Druids take a hit on that because Call Lightning could be hard to use since you're almost always in houses, sewers, or dungeons. Theiy should have given given them the Icewind Dale spell Static Charge to correct this.
The Divinity lore videos are what brought me to your channel. Im so glad I discovered your content.
The true Aeon ending from WoTR gives me chills to this day! Also, PathFinder WoTR was how i found out about your channel!
For me in no particular order
- Fallout 1
- Fallout 2
- Planescape: Torment
- Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Baldur's Gate 2
I haven't finished Divinity: Original Sin 2, Wasteland 3, and Baldur's Gate 3 to have them included in my list but they are strong contenders.
I find it interesting that Star Wars fans tend to prefer KOTOR 2, but CRPG fans (us) prefer the original. There's something to be said for a classic storyline, that plays through relatively bug free, and offers fairly binary - but effective choices.
edit: I have never started more games and not finished them than in Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2. It makes me wonder if I really like them, or just the systems in them.
Love your taste and takes.
I love this channel, it is what i always wanted from your reviews and concise guides.
Kind of reminds me a bit of totalbiscuits reviews, which is good.
Keep doing what you're doing Mort, you deserve all the recognition.
I really liked pathfinder kingmaker, the only problem for me was that it was very combat focused. There were times when you enter a cave and you had combat encounters every ten meters.
Kingmaker was amazing but I hated the last dungeon more than anything to ever exist
@@MichaelWard-le1ck they fixed it. also just play kineticist and skip every combat xD that class gets stupid op later on and i'd just place aoe on ground and then hit them with another one and watch them die slowly in clouds of burning steam on top of lava x)
@@MichaelWard-le1ck You'll know someone is a Kingmaker player if hearing the words 'Wild Hunt Monarch' sends them into convulsions. A whole lot easier the second time around with adequate preparation and foreknowledge but it was absolutely brutal when we all played it at launch.
@@pervognsen_bitwise mandragora swarm
KOTOR and NWN2 top my list but maybe I'm just nostalgic for old BioWare and Obsidian. Can't wait to try out Tyranny!
If you love obsidian, you won't be disappointed with pillars of eternity or Tyranny. Its essentially isometric callbacks to the crpgs of old. Kotor ii is still my favorite of all time, but pillars of eternity has moved to number two & Tyranny 3 due to obsidian's character development, world buildin & general story tellin'.
Always cool to see fans of kotor & nvn
You're the man ! Literally every time a new crpg or action rpg/ soulslike hane comes out that I'm interested in I get the 100% notification from you . And your thoughts and videos steer me in the direction I want to go
Aye, finally a very mature and fair review both of BG3 and WotR and other games. Loved BG3 a lot. WotR also was good, but too overcomplicated with really bad balance between classes & companions. Wish we got smth like BG3, or may be Divinity 3, but with character building somewhere half-way to WotR: more complex, but not too overcomplicated, and with a good balance so all of them are equaly viable.
Very excited about Warhammer 40000: Rogue Trader, could be a great addition to the ever growing list of bangers
The fact that you find BG3 easy is crazy and so funny to me because this is the 1st time I’ve played something this like outside of dragon age and it’s so hard and challenging for me and yet so fun.
Honestly play WOTR on the second hardest difficulty just for a few hours and you’ll beat BG3 Tactician so easily.
@@AlKiar I played WotR only on difficulty that would be something between normal and daring(3rd and 4th out of 7) on playthru I went with making my own build, but BG3 even on the hardest was not even close to that in difficulty, I still found WotR to be more challenging, so no need to try the second hardest to find tactician easy
@@kokotkokotsky3897 yea I meant even playing it for a few hours it would teach you a lot. BG3 is really easy and wish there was some way to make it more difficult without having to make enemies more tanky.
My friend told me not to go hard beacuse its SUPER hard (he had like 150 hrs in beta) i got to 2nd act and just restarted game to go tactican(i also wanted to play origin character) and still felt like i dont have a challenge. I considered playing solo, but it seems like companions and interactions are solid 70% of the game.
Only tough fight was House of Hope, ofc you can cheese it with barrelmancy but i decided to fight it normally and it was REALLY fun. Also the audio
@@AlKiar I wish they made gold useful, maybe let enemies take less enviromental damage and have more hp, like twice. With 0 character planning i finish most combats in 1-2 turns ;/
I seriously love your videos, man. Keep going!
I was here for almost the start cool to see your list update :)
I 100% your videos like you 100% games for your reviews. Keep up the good work!
I finally played and finished Tyranny after sleeping on it for a long time, and my god... I was absolutely amazed by the world building and the overall lore of the settings. Peak OE. I truly hope that one day, we see the sequel.
Steam sale is going on rn. i'm buying literally every single one of these. your recommendations have never let me down in the past, even games that people said were "mid" but you recommended have been amazing.
I love every game you mention and your channel is an added joy for me.
Thanks for the top. I was astonished by bg 3. I didn't have a modern computer for a long time and I didn't play for a long time as well. I played some good titles for last 3 years after I bought modern computer, but no other games satisfied me so much. It is close to game of decade to me, really interesting story and immersive gameplay, best gaming experience to me since last deus ex releases. I have tyranny and dos2 in my library already from sales and will give them a try in future. Also I played vtmb in teen years and thought it is action rpg, but glad to see it in a list as well. People should be aware. Keep it up!
I didn't have a modern computer until relatively recently, too. And I kind of have a weakness for "lo-fi" crpgs and strategy games. So yeah BG3 blew me away. I do think that BG3's production values blew most crpgs out of the water, though, which is why it's such a smash hit.
Mortismal's 7 favorite cRPGS? What a great proposition. It's so unfortunate that I already have at least 3 games on my list-to-come while I'm finishing Sea of stars. Thank you for your interesting opinions!
Great list, and obviously it's down to personal choice which is totally fine - but I'm somewhat surprised that Planescape Torment didn't make it in there!
I found to your channel through those old divinity (and pf:kingmaker) vids! Think you had maybe 6-7k followers back then. Not that long ago actually. So congrats to your great success 🎉
It's interesting that you mention Bloodlines and immersive sims. After all the definitive blueprint for ImSims (Deus Ex) was just Warren Spector trying to make a stealth game which is also a shooter and, at its core, a RPG. And Larian's level and quest design, with the physics and environmental interactions their game engine allows, are pretty close to the ImSim way of doing these things. As much as I love CRPG I think they've stuck a bit too long on the Infinity engine formula and I hope BG3 and Disco Elysium will widen the spectrum of what those games can be.
I would also like to see more RPGs in which you control only one character that are not post-apocalypse Fallout inspired. As CRPG are often written and balanced with your companions in the equation it's often difficult to really roleplay some kind of "evil" or just unlikeable character from fear of them leaving and getting stuck on a difficulty wall. Tyranny was also great for this, it didn't point you to a default good guy route.
nice list i really enjoyed all of these games , and i like Wrath more as Bg3 as well. This channel is the reason why i tried this type of games tbh. Thx for that!
If Tyranny didn't end so abruptly, it might be my favorite of all time. I loved my brief time with game and would love to see it finished some time in the future. Great list, btw. Really enjoyed it.
265K subscribers! You've earned it with the work you put in. Keep up the good work!
Your Divinity content is how I found the channel.
Also helped that you weren't a Rockstar shill, like most other gaming channels on UA-cam, and you focus on PC gaming.
Pathfinder WotR is mine favored too, but I personally have enjoyed the Kingmaker more, I have even enjoyed the kingdom management much more than the crusade minigame :). Also I would add Dragon age origin, which is I would say the most simplified crpg to get into.
Interesting. I’ve watched a few rpg videos that bashed king maker for being boring. That turned me off of it.
@@majorgear1021 It depends, king maker is realtime only, so some people may not like it just from that, but I personally find kingmaker story and companions better than of WotR.
BTW Tyranny fans Malazan is a book series I think you guys would like, a LOT of similarities
thank you! will check it out.
Been a minute since I got to enjoy one of your videos avoiding the newish fun games I'd like to play first before I watch your videos on them ❤ keep up the great work
I'm wondering why you didn't think Baldur's Gate 2 made the cut.
I just don't like it as much as the others lol the epic levels of AD&D are also a mess
I was not that surprised to see Pathfinder at the top, because I've been talking with a friend about it being a little better than BG3 in the story at least, whoever, to see WotR instead of kingmaker truly amazes me, I honestly couldn't keep playing WotR, but kingmaker to this day has my heart as the best fantasy story I've seen.
Tyranny! Its so amazing and so underrated. Glad to see some rep.
That's a great list. Nice to see someone who loves Tyranny and Pathfinder: WotR. Stellar games.
Very much agree with all your picks that I have played as well. Super glad to see Tyranny on here, really enjoyed that one after only being more or less "meh" about PoE1. Also, I'm now pretty hyped for my WotR playthrough, have only just started my first run and have arrived at the mongrel village. Though, I gotta say, I was very surprised when I realized during character creation that it uses PF 1e and not 2e. Still gotta play both Wasteland 2 & 3 and PoE2 - despite my interest in the nautical setting, I was just too burned out after PoE1.
My Top 7 CRPGs presently would be:
1. Disco Elysium
2. Baldur's Gate 3
3. Knights of the Old Republic II
4. Divinity: Original Sin 2
5. Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition Trilogy (yes, I'm, cheating to get both BG1 & BG2 in here)
6. Tyranny
7. Planescape: Torment
Others that come to mind are Icewind Dale, VM: Bloodlines, Fallout 2, KotOR1, Dragon Age: Origins, and Death Trash (despite still being in Early Access).
Part of me wants so badly for there to be a cRPG renaissance and we just get a bunch of high quality games in the genre over the next few years. But, part of me also thinks that the nicheness is what made BG3 so big. Nobody expected a cRPG to take over the world, but the "Dude, I know this isn't you kind of game but you *have* to try it. At least hope into multiplayer with me to check it out" word of mouth spread has definitely played a part in it's popularity as well.
Also, this made me want to go back and play Tyranny again. Such a hidden gem that deserves way more credit than it has gotten. Maybe Obsidian will surprise us once they're done with Avowed and Outer Worlds 2? A guy can hope! And I'm looking forward to seeing what Owlcat does with Rogue Trader. I've played the beta a couple of times just to see the progress, but I can't wait to get my hands on the full release and hopefully bury 100+ hours into yet another game this year.
Nice list. Mine goes a bit more old school but then again I'm probably older. Of course, it depends on how you define the "c" in CPRG. Computer Role Playing Game? Or Classic Role Playing Game? I'm going with "classic", otherwise Skyrim, Disco Elysium and Mass Effect 2 are on this list. But using the classic definition it's probably something like this:
- Ultima 7 The Black Gate - opening still gives me chills
- BG2 - epic
- Dragon Age: Origins - some of the best moral quests despite some gameplay jankies. Barely beats out Tyranny since that one kind of ends abruptly.
- Planescape Torment - best RPG story ever
- KOTOR 1 - great story and NPCs. KOTOR 2 could have been here if not for the bugs.
- BG3 - epic, part 2
- Pathfinder WotW - mythic paths elevate this into sheer greatness
Hell yeah! Wasteland 3 baby! Such a banger.
for anyone looking for more grate CRPG's i would recommend games by Spiderweb, their games like Geneforge and Avernum are among the best written CRPG's I've ever played. Under rail and The Age of Decadence are also strong recommends.
I have a lot of love for Pillars of Eternity, especially for the first one. There was something so captivatingly dark about the world there, and their take on deities was refreshing! It took risks and it mostly paid off! I love the original Baldurs greatly, but Pillars absolutely became one of the best RPGs I've ever played!
I ultimately prefer the first, too.
Pillars has a great atmosphere, neat mechanics and horrific writing. It ruins the game for me sadly.
There's a difficulty adjustment mod "Tactician Plus" for BG 3. Me and my friend doubled the enemy HP in the middle of Act 2 and now it actually offers some challenge.
I'm really looking forward to your whole review of BG3, especially when considering the not super amazing state of act 3 and the ways the game plays out based on different decisions (which I don't know a ton about being only on my second playthrough)
Great list!! You and werglia got me hooked on crpgs. I've been missing out. Thought they were slow and boring for years. Now I can't get enough!!
Such a good list. I'm happy i have all these games except baldur's gate 3. I'm planning on playing wrath of the righteous thanks to your video.
glad u mentioned Tyranny
Fallout 1, Planescape torment, Pillars of Eternity, Dragon age 2, Pathfinder (both),
What CRPGs saved for me is turn-based combat. I was always too dumb to play RTwP right so allies were running in AoE spells or enemies were on completely different positions when my caster finished his spell or party members die suddenly because of damage spikes and I react to that like Slowpoke and so on. So after BG3 I'd like to take a closer look on the Divinity and Pathfinder games (again). And also there's Rogue Trader at the end of the year. (Oh, and Pillars of Eternity 2 has also turn-based combat as far as I remember correctly)
But when will i ever get to the rest of these now that i have BG3??
Tyranny was actually my first CRPG. I was always a console player growing up and I'd never been interested in games without gamepad support.
But someone recommended it and i decided to pick it up and had a blast. Great narrative and gameplay. IIRC the ending was lackluster, setting up a sequel we'll never see
Wasn't until DoS2 that i played another and its still one of my favourite games of all time, and by far the best coop experience I've had
Wasteland 3 was my 1st crpg and i loved it. Consider it one of fav games ever. It got me try others like DOS which was also great and solasta I've been playing recently.
Ooooooh bold of you to drop this now with rogue trader coming out in December 😮
A man of resounding taste, not a single bad take in this video, very affirming of my CRPG problem
Great video Mort. Love your content and all the time you put into these games and the videos you make. Keep up the great work!
I'm totally brand new to CRPGs with BG3 being my first ever! However, I did play D&D in the way past. I've saved this video and will check out these games, probably going back and starting with BG1.
Before I watch the video, Tyranny in the thumbnail is AMAZING. Man I really liked that game in the short amount of time I spent on it! And I bet Wasteland 3 is on this list!
damn never would have guessed bg3 would beat out dos2 personally. Thanks for all your hard work man =)
I had a hard time getting into DOS2 because of the magic and physical armor system but after playing it for a while it makes sense why they introduced those after DOS1. It's too easy to abuse crowd control in the first game and honestly, the combat in the second game is a lot more fun@@chuckchan4127
true tbh, i played through dos2 three times at least back in the day and honestly couldn't describe the plot if someone asked me now@@chuckchan4127
@@chuckchan4127the companions in DOS2 really do carry hard. Some of the best writing in gaming period imo.
Before I started watching, I already knew what was going to be number one. :P
Great video and a great list of really fantastic games.
I would’ve been absolutely shocked if Wrath wasn’t your #1. We will see if I play BG3 6 times too! Haha great video thanks!
Thanks for sharing this! :)
My personal favourites:
1. Baldur's Gate 3
2. Divinity: Original Sin 2
2. Pillars of Eternity
4. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
5. Baldur's Gate
6. Icewind Dale
7. Neverwinter Nights
One of my favorites that I actually got introduced to by you is Expeditions: Rome. Not sure it qualifies as a CRPG but it's probably in my top 5 behind Wasteland 3, BG3 and DOS2
Its in a weird place between CRPG and TRPG. Great game though for sure.
For BG 1 Mort , id say i got into it on my own cause id had it sitting in my library for ages. Every other one of bought since then i attribute to all your videos.