Aliens Dark Descent was probably the best and most innovative approach to the aliens serious since they started making games for the IP like 30 years ago
I’m surprised King Arthur wasn’t higher on the list. Definitely not S tier but I find it to be a really good game for what they had to work with. Feels like the passion was there, and some good mechanics - (from what I’ve noticed during my first playthrough this week). Would love to see what they could have done with a budget like BG3.
I was going to make a similar comment. It wasn't the best game I ever played. But I played all the way through, had fun, and am thinking of purchasing the DLC and replaying it once I get through playing Metaphor ReFantazio, which is a really good game if anyone has not checked it out yet.
Makes me just a little sad that Unicorn Overlord will never come to PC because I think you/others would potentially really like that one as a spiritual successor to things like Ogre Battle. Does something very unique to what most TRPGs do, all in Vanillaware’s beautiful art style
I bought a Switch specifically to play Unicorn Overlord, and don't regret it. That game is a lot of fun. I did find it to be pretty easy, however, even on the hardest difficulty. I also really don't like the damage previews showing you exactly what will happen, but given how the combat system works, I think it's a necessary evil. Still though, I'd definitely agree with recommending it to people. Good game, liked the characters quite a bit.
@@charmishing Nah, it doesn't work like that in Unicorn Overlord. The previews are 100% accurate, and it's easily proven. It even accounts for crits and dodges.
Would buy UO in a heartbeat as I really like Vanillaware games. Fortunately I own a PS5, so will definitely get the game when its more reasonably priced.
King Arthur Knight's tale got a huge overall balance patch like a year ago which should improve the experience, also imo the game is at least top 5 TRPGs for me.
I am so surprised and so glad Troubleshooter got rank 1. It is the most underrated unknown gem ever. The mechanics, the gameplay, the amount of content for such a cheap game is so good
Totally agree, their new game progress gets shown time to time and im really excited for the next iteration. For me the best thing about Troubleshooter is that you dont have understand TRPG's to play as the story is slow going in conjunction to complexity. The end game and dlc expects advanced mechanical knowledge which frustrated me because the sandbox aspects of grinding/character builds etc. make it near impossible to have the best setup to beat difficult scenarios.
I tried to play Troubleshooters and really enjoyed the core gameplay, but the progression was extremely cryptic to me. I couldn't understand how to effectively spend my resources. In the end, I had to shelf it...
Really happy to see Aliens Dark Descent and Jagged Alliance 3 so high up. Also very curious were Battle Brothers will Rank on next Years list for Mortismals.
So many years later, and the aggressive "meh"-ness of Empire of Sin still hurts. I was so intrigued by the conceptual pitch combined with that specific setting, from all the promotional material.
Since you ranked tactics ogre so highly, I wonder what would you think about the final fantasy tactics series - especially the advanced titles that released on the GBA and DS
Warhammer battlesector is now my second favorite Warhammer game behind rogue trader. Super good game. I just wish the campaign was a little deeper, and I wish they'd add a campaign for each faction. But the turn based tactical combat is so good.
Hey Mortim! I’m a big fan of your channel. This TRPG talking reminded me I’d love to hear your thoughts about Valkyria Chronicles and Mordheim: City of the Damned.
The skills building system of Troubleshooter is absurdly complex (at least to optimise, and you really want to optimise); its on original Path of Exile levels, so it's not for the faint of heart, but it's an excellent game.
I don't think you've played it/reviewed it yet but the very first Expeditions game Expeditions: Conquistador is very much a TRPG and although fairly generic (kind of like a Battle Brothers/WarTales overhead map), is still a lot of fun. I've not tried Expeditions: Viking yet, so I'm unsure whether it's is a TRPG or CRPG.
Thanks for the video. I always appreciate a mention for Triangle Strategy. It's unfortunately that most people leave to just one playthrough. I find myself returning to it at least once a year, and there's a surprising amount of depth to it. I understand the complaints about the story, but it is a good story, plus, it flushes out every character, which there are a lot of. Onward to 400k. All glory to the algorithm.
For me, I find *Wildermyth* was the most surprising, that I find looks more enjoyable than many though it uses rather a rather low-tech design. Mind you, it has A LOT of RPG elements to foster immersion and story, which might explain why I like it more.
Love the video, love having ideas for games I might like to try when I have time between other things. One thing I would love for these kinds of list videos is if you added links directly to the full review videos for each of the games mentioned.
Hell yeah! Troubleshooter is incredible and is great to see it in the first spot. I'll try to play Triangle Strategy and Marvel Midnight Suns this year, but they're too expensive for me right now unfortunately.
So so happy to see Troubleshooter on this list -- that game has so so much going for it and its so thick with systems, good story, and excellent replayability it really should not be passed up
Shout-out to *Mutant Year Zero*! As someone who isn’t typically into TRPGs, I really enjoyed MYZ. The gameplay was very fun, and I appreciated the game’s length-it wouldn’t have worked as well if it were much longer. A great game for $20 or less!
Viel of the Witch is a nice new addition for Lost Eidolons. Its funny I would rank King Arthur: Knights Tale as one of my all time favourites, you should really give it more of a go.
Hmm Mortismal Gaming, I think you might also like Last Train Home. They have it as strategy, but it is more X-COM like and the battles are TRPG real time with Pause.
I found Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children from one of your videos and that game literally reinvigorated my enthousiasm for the genre. It puts a lot of the big names to shame with its depth. The story was also good, it just had a few pacing issues, but the characters are very likable. I can't wait for their next game.
Very nice - Phantom Doctrine looks really cool. You know I love TBW - the rewind power made it a great entry point for me. Picked up Midnight Suns for free from Epic last year - I'll get to it eventially Sounds like I must play Wrap Up - added it and a few others to the wishlist. Thanks, Mortym! fwiw - TBW was the first time I've followed a dev's journey. It was cool to see Tom Francis talk about the process of making a demo (which I'm sure you know is not as simple as just snipping a bit of the game) and getting it up on Steam in time for NextFest (the time vs. possible reward of it all). Loved seeing his genuine passion and excitement when their wishlist numbers immediately shot beyond their expectations. I became quite the cheerleader for a while!
To more directly answer your question, a tactical rpg usually involves a deeper emphasis on troop management, resource use and puzzle-like combats (situations which require very specific clever responses to win). Crpgs can have these aspects too, but they're less emphasized or less common, placing more of that emphasis on its other aspects (that can be the lore, the world, exploration, dialogue, etc.)
Well I’m re-downloading a ton of these now. A few fun suggestions I enjoyed: Shadow tactics is a stealth tactical game with light RPG elements. And the older Hare-Brained Schemes games like the Shadow run titles (the first is good, but Dragonfall is great) and the Battletech game :)
Hey, i love your videos and if i may leave a suggestion for a future video: Story of Zombie Jake in the Divinity series and another one about the easter eggs in the Divinity games. I know that it might not be the most viewed content, but i also know that you're very passionate about the Divinity lore. In any case, keep up the good work 🙂
My go-to has always been Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2, despite some of the hate I see it getting at times. The story ain't all there but in terms of mixing quality combat with high quantities of just stuff to do? A2 really shines. I'd love to see all three Tactics games get ported to modern hardware and PC at some point just to have a better way to play them all. Honestly the entire Ivalice-adjacent series just has a special place in my heart, especially because of the art made by Akihiko Yoshida for the Tactics series, 11, 12, and 14 (plus numerous others). His character design is legitimately insane to me, and he's the one artist I've considered actually going out of my way for to buy acrylic stands of their art. Also yes, I did take this whole comment as an excuse to segway into praising Akihiko Yoshida.
He gave Wasteland 3 a glowing review but it wasn't on this list. Another glaring omission would be Rogue Trader, another game that he seemed to praise.
Glad to see Phantom Doctrine and Jagged Alliance 3 so high on the list. The former I've played through multiple times and own on both Switch and PC. The latter I liked very much, even though I find myself getting choice paralysis at many points.
Hoping you get around to Invisible Inc. and (I repeat myself) Dungeon of Naheulbeuk. Oh, and Banner Saga! Also, Shadowrun isn't TRPG? Also, I learned of Trouleshooter and Metal Slug: Tactics from your channel and enjoyed both quite a bit!
@@MortismalGaminginteresting. I would put it on the trpg side if someone asked me to label it but then no clue what proper labeling would be. Which is a bit interesting what distinction do you have to define a trpg and a crpg and why does Expedition Rome get the C instead of T
Off topic but is XCOM 2 worth it with the dlc as well? I saw a lot of comments about it in the last few videos and am interested,on a side note I started playing games like these again last year after more than a decade of a break so am out of the loop any other recommendation will be appreciated thanks.
With Xcom 2 you will have a good time, I personally dont like the Dlc not too much. Since you asked, Battle Brothers is great. Dont hesitate because it looks low poly, but all the pawns are incredible detailed and there is variaty off different enemys in a low Fantasy Settings. One of the greatest Gaming Journeys for me personaly.
XCOM 2 plus war of the chosen is spectacular. Best in genre. But some people don't like how war of the chosen and alien hunters effectively increase the difficulty of the game. I don't think you'd miss too much if you skipped alien hunters but definitely get war of the chosen. My 2 cents
King Arthur: Knight's Tale ranks higher on my personal list, but I totally see why the opposite's true for many TRPG fans. The early-to-mid game can be pretty brutal as far as item modifiers go, given the random nature of loot. I was about to give up before a series of lucky loot rolls really beefed up my crew.
there's some great gems there, lastly i spent about 50 hours of frustration on Lamplighter's league, i finally gave up, but the soundtrack is outstanding 👌
I bought Troubleshooter on your recommendation a while ago, but still have not played it yet; my backlog is just too dang long. I'm really happy to see JA3 rank so highly on your list. I'm tempted to recommend you give JA2 a try - because it remains my favorite TRPG ever despite being 25 years old at this point - but I've not been able to play it since Windows 7 reached EOL. Even with Straciatella or the 1.13 mod, every run I've tried on Win10 or Win11 has crashed irrevocably on me. Which makes me sad, because the tactical combat system is close to the perfect level of verisimilitude in my opinion. Instead, I'd point you towards the 2014 game, Valkyria Chronicles 4. The writing is honestly not the greatest (though significantly better than the first game), but the turn-based combat is deceptively deep and addictive.
Everything you said about the bearded ladies two games on the list is spot on. I actually love MYZ more because it's so god-damned dialed in it's crazy. got wiped in the final zone in IM mode 😂 beat Miasma in IM it's definitely more accessible and Diggs is my favorite character class to play by far... I can't wait for more from that studio I can't get enough 🥰✌️
I didn't look up much about Showgunners but it looked cool so I had it wish listed on steam, A friend gifted me it, and I was blown away by how much I ended up enjoying it. Great little game.
As good as always Mort! Would love to see your games this year. Maybe you get around to Banner Saga, or Phoenix Point (on game pass btw). Thanks for all you do!
Great to see Tactics Ogre so high. Such a fantastic game. I'm assuming you haven't played Final Fantasy Tactics? Thought it's not as mechanically complex or deep as Tactics Ogre (but still super fun and engaging in its own right), the story and characters make up for it. You should definitely check it out if/when that rumoured remaster comes out. And then there's Vagrant Story, which is another amazing and truly unique game that I am confident you would love. Fortunately, Yoshi-P (a huge Matsuno fan) at Square Enix has recently expressed his desire to see FF Tactics and Vagrant Story available on modern platforms, so hopefully remasters of these two are not too far off.
Gonna have to look up troubleshooters. The anime aesthetic throws me off but I do like deep mechanics. I also don't like *silly* oriented stories so we will see. However this list for sure is you I can see that! I love it. Personally, Midnight Suns did alot for me even the social part of the game. I actually loved it, and when I get a better computer will be playing it again. Phantom Doctrine was also really fun! I loved that game from a spy perspective, cool to see some games like terra invitca have some of that in it oddly enough. OOOO this makes me CAN'T WAIT for you to review XCOM (any of them) my all time favorites!
Great list. Surprised Troubleshooter trounches... well, all of them haha. Must be a good game. ;) If you need more TRPG recommendations (I'm sure your list is already long), I have two more for you: Blackguards and Battletech.
Great list, you could try Banner of the Maid, it's fun and not very expensive. I really liked the card elements of Marvel Midnight Suns and Thea. Anyone have any suggestions?
Enjoy these personal “overall rankings” quite a bit. Always find something new or forgotten in them. Might be time to dust off Mutant Year Zero and finally finish that one with the DLC. A duck, a pig, and a moose… how can you go wrong with that line up?
I have played most of these too. Our Adventurer Guild, Fell Seal Arbiter, Disgaea, Banner Saga, Disciples Liberation, Langrisser, Brigandine are fairly decent on Steam and then yeah... a bunch on Nintendo... perhaps if Switch 2 ever comes out you could add that to the Mortismal package :) :)
Ff tactics and Tactics Ogre are my top 2 interchangeably, granted I don’t play western Tactics RPGs. Are you going to review, final fantasy tactics war of the lions?
Only one question: WHY POST THIS VIDEO RIGHT AFTER STEAMSALES IS OVER?)) Btw can’t agreee with miazma chronicles: for me it’s just a reskin of Mutant: Road to Eden. Same mechanics, same abilities and even same jokes. The really good job was done by artists. Same as in theirs previous game: Corruption 2049, which was same reskin of Mutant)
Would love to see where you would put Double Fine's Massive Chalice on this list. It was a budget Xcom-like with a great atmosphere and an understated sense of humor throughout. Its unique feature is the game takes place over a 300 year timespan and at some point you need to retire your heroes from battles to have children who become your next generation of heroes.
Out of curiosity, where would you (generally) put Expeditions: Rome? I'd definitely say that it leans more CRPG, but the core of the gameplay is TRPG for sure.
You should check out Steam World Heist 2. It’s a fun TRPG from 2024 with some interesting design and really great world building and music. I played it over the holidays and had a lot of fun with it.
I wouldn't say Tactical Breach Wizards is a TRPG, it's a puzzle game. There is a solution/"right answer" to each level, like one of those sliding-tile puzzle toys.
Great list Mort! One glaring problem though, with one of my bugbears: Daemonhunters - 'daemon' is just pronounced 'demon'. Same way caesar is pronouned see-zar, not say-zar. That is all. ;-p
I think TRPG's are an interesting genre for your 100% reviews, because there are a few I think are actively hurt by 100%. Empire of sin and Othercide are the two that stuck out most for that, where just playing through once gave me an extremely positive experience. And your perspective of 100% makes a lot of sense not liking them. Just a good reminder that some games get worse with 100% because of their design/replayability.
Aliens Dark Descent was probably the best and most innovative approach to the aliens serious since they started making games for the IP like 30 years ago
+1 on the Battletech recommendations.
Another +1 form me. It's one of my favourite trpgs.
Thank you, I had missed a few of these.
I also would suggest Battletech, and the Valkyrie Chronicles games, I especially loved the latter!
The first Valkyria Chronicles was the very first game I played on my PS3. It was glorious. One of the most beautiful games of its era.
I’m surprised King Arthur wasn’t higher on the list. Definitely not S tier but I find it to be a really good game for what they had to work with. Feels like the passion was there, and some good mechanics - (from what I’ve noticed during my first playthrough this week). Would love to see what they could have done with a budget like BG3.
I agree with everything you said. Plus I really like the genre.
I was going to make a similar comment. It wasn't the best game I ever played. But I played all the way through, had fun, and am thinking of purchasing the DLC and replaying it once I get through playing Metaphor ReFantazio, which is a really good game if anyone has not checked it out yet.
Makes me just a little sad that Unicorn Overlord will never come to PC because I think you/others would potentially really like that one as a spiritual successor to things like Ogre Battle. Does something very unique to what most TRPGs do, all in Vanillaware’s beautiful art style
I bought a Switch specifically to play Unicorn Overlord, and don't regret it. That game is a lot of fun. I did find it to be pretty easy, however, even on the hardest difficulty. I also really don't like the damage previews showing you exactly what will happen, but given how the combat system works, I think it's a necessary evil.
Still though, I'd definitely agree with recommending it to people. Good game, liked the characters quite a bit.
@@CyricisticWell it’s not exactly what will happen just what’s mostly likely. And most tactical rpgs have that mechanic.
@@charmishing Nah, it doesn't work like that in Unicorn Overlord. The previews are 100% accurate, and it's easily proven. It even accounts for crits and dodges.
Wow another ogre battle fan, praying it somehow gets a revival or a remake for 64
Would buy UO in a heartbeat as I really like Vanillaware games. Fortunately I own a PS5, so will definitely get the game when its more reasonably priced.
Please play "Invisible Inc"
Bit on the "puzzle tactics" side, but is it very polished and has sound gameplay systems.
was going to type just that
"Invisible" is the best stealth tactical game I've played. It can be stressful as hell.
agreed a very good game pls review
Yet another vote for Invisible Inc.
King Arthur Knight's tale got a huge overall balance patch like a year ago which should improve the experience, also imo the game is at least top 5 TRPGs for me.
Thank you for sharing this, I may check it out! thats great news
yeah, I agree. Great game with lots of different potential play styles.
You should check out Battletech (Harebrained Schemes)
I am so surprised and so glad Troubleshooter got rank 1. It is the most underrated unknown gem ever. The mechanics, the gameplay, the amount of content for such a cheap game is so good
On the other hand it's super confusing and maps take ages to clear, I like the game but it takes a while to get into.
Agreed, I like it well enough but to say it’s complicated is a vast understatement
Totally agree, their new game progress gets shown time to time and im really excited for the next iteration. For me the best thing about Troubleshooter is that you dont have understand TRPG's to play as the story is slow going in conjunction to complexity. The end game and dlc expects advanced mechanical knowledge which frustrated me because the sandbox aspects of grinding/character builds etc. make it near impossible to have the best setup to beat difficult scenarios.
I couldn’t get into this game. The dialogue was lame to the point of putting me off. Maybe I’ll try it again.
I tried to play Troubleshooters and really enjoyed the core gameplay, but the progression was extremely cryptic to me. I couldn't understand how to effectively spend my resources. In the end, I had to shelf it...
Always good to see a Warhammer 40K game on one of your lists. Praise the Machine God!
THE DEVINE WATCHES OVER US!
Really happy to see Aliens Dark Descent and Jagged Alliance 3 so high up. Also very curious were Battle Brothers will Rank on next Years list for Mortismals.
So many years later, and the aggressive "meh"-ness of Empire of Sin still hurts. I was so intrigued by the conceptual pitch combined with that specific setting, from all the promotional material.
The amount of content youve been putting out is amazing, thanks for the content, it never fails to keep us entertained!
Since you ranked tactics ogre so highly, I wonder what would you think about the final fantasy tactics series - especially the advanced titles that released on the GBA and DS
Warhammer battlesector is now my second favorite Warhammer game behind rogue trader. Super good game. I just wish the campaign was a little deeper, and I wish they'd add a campaign for each faction. But the turn based tactical combat is so good.
Yeah, I love the combat, wish we had more campaigns.
Isn't the supremacy mode kind of a campaign of the other factions? Or is it much duller than the campaign?
Great list! Worth mentioning that King Arthur received many balancing patches, optimizations and free additional content, don't sleep on it!
I got Lamplighters league under 3€, and am really happy with it. Performance is really good on steam deck so far.
Ahhh, I wish this came out a few days ago whilst the Steam sale was on!
same
Patients, there will be another Sale Soon
Hey Mortim! I’m a big fan of your channel. This TRPG talking reminded me I’d love to hear your thoughts about Valkyria Chronicles and Mordheim: City of the Damned.
Will certainly look into Troubleshooter, looks interesting, and that is some high praise for sure.
The main issue with it is the low difficulty, especially late game. Feel free to go wild with optional difficulty options.
The skills building system of Troubleshooter is absurdly complex (at least to optimise, and you really want to optimise); its on original Path of Exile levels, so it's not for the faint of heart, but it's an excellent game.
Troubleshooter abandoned children mentioned, glad you enjoyed it.
Troubleshooters is so underrated, was really happy to see it so high up in your list.
I don't think you've played it/reviewed it yet but the very first Expeditions game Expeditions: Conquistador is very much a TRPG and although fairly generic (kind of like a Battle Brothers/WarTales overhead map), is still a lot of fun. I've not tried Expeditions: Viking yet, so I'm unsure whether it's is a TRPG or CRPG.
He definitely did Expeditions Rome and loved it, that's what got me onto his channel. Surprised it wasn't on this list.
Thanks for the video. I always appreciate a mention for Triangle Strategy. It's unfortunately that most people leave to just one playthrough. I find myself returning to it at least once a year, and there's a surprising amount of depth to it. I understand the complaints about the story, but it is a good story, plus, it flushes out every character, which there are a lot of. Onward to 400k. All glory to the algorithm.
Yay for Jagged Alliance 3! I had a lot of fun finishing that game and have to play it again this year!
For me, I find *Wildermyth* was the most surprising, that I find looks more enjoyable than many though it uses rather a rather low-tech design. Mind you, it has A LOT of RPG elements to foster immersion and story, which might explain why I like it more.
Love the video, love having ideas for games I might like to try when I have time between other things. One thing I would love for these kinds of list videos is if you added links directly to the full review videos for each of the games mentioned.
Troubleshooter Abandoned Children is on sale atm (67% off until 13 Jan).
Aliens Dark Descent on my wishlist now.
Hell yeah! Troubleshooter is incredible and is great to see it in the first spot. I'll try to play Triangle Strategy and Marvel Midnight Suns this year, but they're too expensive for me right now unfortunately.
So so happy to see Troubleshooter on this list -- that game has so so much going for it and its so thick with systems, good story, and excellent replayability it really should not be passed up
Never heard about Troubleshooter. I need to check it out. Great list but I would put King Arthur a little higher - really enjoyed this one.
Thanks for another ranking video! Have a happy new year!
Happy New Year to you too!
Shout-out to *Mutant Year Zero*! As someone who isn’t typically into TRPGs, I really enjoyed MYZ. The gameplay was very fun, and I appreciated the game’s length-it wouldn’t have worked as well if it were much longer. A great game for $20 or less!
Viel of the Witch is a nice new addition for Lost Eidolons. Its funny I would rank King Arthur: Knights Tale as one of my all time favourites, you should really give it more of a go.
Troubleshooter is so good, cant wait for the sequel!
Hmm Mortismal Gaming, I think you might also like Last Train Home. They have it as strategy, but it is more X-COM like and the battles are TRPG real time with Pause.
Nice game with unique setting. Ofc you should play with Czech audio for immersion :)
I found Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children from one of your videos and that game literally reinvigorated my enthousiasm for the genre. It puts a lot of the big names to shame with its depth. The story was also good, it just had a few pacing issues, but the characters are very likable. I can't wait for their next game.
I am sure you have been recommended Phoenix Point countless times, but I have sunk a LOT of hours into it. It is a great game!
@@VigilanceFilms oh hell yes, one of my all time favorites. I think i have 900hrs logged in steam and ps5 combined. 6 playthroughs XD
Circus Electrique on the list but neither Darkest Dungeon... please review them to fix this asap! Great video as always.
Tower of Time is very creative with the world-building and I just generally wanted to see what was next
Do you have any plans to review Phoenix Point or Battletech?
They are on my list, yes
Great video. Giving me way too many things to play, here.
Very nice - Phantom Doctrine looks really cool. You know I love TBW - the rewind power made it a great entry point for me. Picked up Midnight Suns for free from Epic last year - I'll get to it eventially Sounds like I must play Wrap Up - added it and a few others to the wishlist. Thanks, Mortym!
fwiw - TBW was the first time I've followed a dev's journey. It was cool to see Tom Francis talk about the process of making a demo (which I'm sure you know is not as simple as just snipping a bit of the game) and getting it up on Steam in time for NextFest (the time vs. possible reward of it all). Loved seeing his genuine passion and excitement when their wishlist numbers immediately shot beyond their expectations. I became quite the cheerleader for a while!
what is the different between trpgs and crpgs?
One is tactical, the other is computer
To more directly answer your question, a tactical rpg usually involves a deeper emphasis on troop management, resource use and puzzle-like combats (situations which require very specific clever responses to win). Crpgs can have these aspects too, but they're less emphasized or less common, placing more of that emphasis on its other aspects (that can be the lore, the world, exploration, dialogue, etc.)
Focus on story vs tactics. CRPG originally was a computer version of table top P&P RPGs. TRPG being more like computerized wargaming.
Well I’m re-downloading a ton of these now. A few fun suggestions I enjoyed: Shadow tactics is a stealth tactical game with light RPG elements.
And the older Hare-Brained Schemes games like the Shadow run titles (the first is good, but Dragonfall is great) and the Battletech game :)
Hey, i love your videos and if i may leave a suggestion for a future video: Story of Zombie Jake in the Divinity series and another one about the easter eggs in the Divinity games. I know that it might not be the most viewed content, but i also know that you're very passionate about the Divinity lore. In any case, keep up the good work 🙂
Invisible Inc is another one to give a go in this space
My go-to has always been Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2, despite some of the hate I see it getting at times. The story ain't all there but in terms of mixing quality combat with high quantities of just stuff to do? A2 really shines. I'd love to see all three Tactics games get ported to modern hardware and PC at some point just to have a better way to play them all. Honestly the entire Ivalice-adjacent series just has a special place in my heart, especially because of the art made by Akihiko Yoshida for the Tactics series, 11, 12, and 14 (plus numerous others). His character design is legitimately insane to me, and he's the one artist I've considered actually going out of my way for to buy acrylic stands of their art. Also yes, I did take this whole comment as an excuse to segway into praising Akihiko Yoshida.
Will you do any disgaea games ?
Not soon
Have you played the wasteland games?
He gave Wasteland 3 a glowing review but it wasn't on this list. Another glaring omission would be Rogue Trader, another game that he seemed to praise.
Yeah, crpgs though
@@MortismalGaming
I guess that I don't understand the difference. I very much consider Wasteland 3 and Rogue Trader to be TRPG's.
Ahh my daily visit with Mortismal what interesting bites you got for me today
Showgunners and Triangle Strategy top my list, but some good ones on this list I might need to check out.
Glad to see Phantom Doctrine and Jagged Alliance 3 so high on the list. The former I've played through multiple times and own on both Switch and PC. The latter I liked very much, even though I find myself getting choice paralysis at many points.
Hoping you get around to Invisible Inc. and (I repeat myself) Dungeon of Naheulbeuk. Oh, and Banner Saga! Also, Shadowrun isn't TRPG? Also, I learned of Trouleshooter and Metal Slug: Tactics from your channel and enjoyed both quite a bit!
The Shadowrun games are arguably more CRPG than TRPG, although it's obviously a blurry boundary.
Brilliant video, love tactical RPGs and made a note of some here I have missed.
You missed Expeditions:Rome lad!
You could argue It's a crpg
I think Mort classes it as a CRPG, even though Expeditions: Conquisitador (the first game) is a TRPG.
Expeditions: Rome is in his top CRPGs list.
It is indeed in the CRPG list where it belongs
@@MortismalGaminginteresting. I would put it on the trpg side if someone asked me to label it but then no clue what proper labeling would be. Which is a bit interesting what distinction do you have to define a trpg and a crpg and why does Expedition Rome get the C instead of T
Off topic but is XCOM 2 worth it with the dlc as well?
I saw a lot of comments about it in the last few videos and am interested,on a side note I started playing games like these again last year after more than a decade of a break so am out of the loop any other recommendation will be appreciated thanks.
Or the best one (DQV) or third best (FFVIII)
With Xcom 2 you will have a good time, I personally dont like the Dlc not too much. Since you asked, Battle Brothers is great. Dont hesitate because it looks low poly, but all the pawns are incredible detailed and there is variaty off different enemys in a low Fantasy Settings. One of the greatest Gaming Journeys for me personaly.
XCOM 2 plus war of the chosen is spectacular. Best in genre. But some people don't like how war of the chosen and alien hunters effectively increase the difficulty of the game.
I don't think you'd miss too much if you skipped alien hunters but definitely get war of the chosen.
My 2 cents
Xcom 2 is the best of the entire genre although it is more of a strategy game than a Rpg.
XCOM 2 war of the chosen is the gold standard - the best tactical RPG out there. There's a reason a lot of games are compared to XCOM.
King Arthur: Knight's Tale ranks higher on my personal list, but I totally see why the opposite's true for many TRPG fans. The early-to-mid game can be pretty brutal as far as item modifiers go, given the random nature of loot. I was about to give up before a series of lucky loot rolls really beefed up my crew.
there's some great gems there, lastly i spent about 50 hours of frustration on Lamplighter's league, i finally gave up, but the soundtrack is outstanding 👌
Good list! I need to dig into Aliens I know I’ll love it.
I bought Troubleshooter on your recommendation a while ago, but still have not played it yet; my backlog is just too dang long. I'm really happy to see JA3 rank so highly on your list. I'm tempted to recommend you give JA2 a try - because it remains my favorite TRPG ever despite being 25 years old at this point - but I've not been able to play it since Windows 7 reached EOL. Even with Straciatella or the 1.13 mod, every run I've tried on Win10 or Win11 has crashed irrevocably on me. Which makes me sad, because the tactical combat system is close to the perfect level of verisimilitude in my opinion.
Instead, I'd point you towards the 2014 game, Valkyria Chronicles 4. The writing is honestly not the greatest (though significantly better than the first game), but the turn-based combat is deceptively deep and addictive.
Everything you said about the bearded ladies two games on the list is spot on. I actually love MYZ more because it's so god-damned dialed in it's crazy. got wiped in the final zone in IM mode 😂 beat Miasma in IM it's definitely more accessible and Diggs is my favorite character class to play by far... I can't wait for more from that studio I can't get enough 🥰✌️
I didn't look up much about Showgunners but it looked cool so I had it wish listed on steam, A friend gifted me it, and I was blown away by how much I ended up enjoying it. Great little game.
As good as always Mort! Would love to see your games this year. Maybe you get around to Banner Saga, or Phoenix Point (on game pass btw). Thanks for all you do!
Looking to get more into this genre, so I just found a whole lot of new games to try out😆
Great to see Tactics Ogre so high. Such a fantastic game.
I'm assuming you haven't played Final Fantasy Tactics? Thought it's not as mechanically complex or deep as Tactics Ogre (but still super fun and engaging in its own right), the story and characters make up for it. You should definitely check it out if/when that rumoured remaster comes out. And then there's Vagrant Story, which is another amazing and truly unique game that I am confident you would love. Fortunately, Yoshi-P (a huge Matsuno fan) at Square Enix has recently expressed his desire to see FF Tactics and Vagrant Story available on modern platforms, so hopefully remasters of these two are not too far off.
Gonna have to look up troubleshooters. The anime aesthetic throws me off but I do like deep mechanics. I also don't like *silly* oriented stories so we will see.
However this list for sure is you I can see that! I love it.
Personally, Midnight Suns did alot for me even the social part of the game. I actually loved it, and when I get a better computer will be playing it again.
Phantom Doctrine was also really fun! I loved that game from a spy perspective, cool to see some games like terra invitca have some of that in it oddly enough.
OOOO this makes me CAN'T WAIT for you to review XCOM (any of them) my all time favorites!
ADD and Wartales we're masterpieces, near perfect video games.
Jagged Allianve 3 is still on my "to-play" list. Might have to bump it up the order based on that praise.
Did you play Unicorn Overlord?
i doubt it since he is a PC gamer
I hope it will be on PC someday....
No, they've stated pretty definitively they have no plans to port it to PC
Great list. Surprised Troubleshooter trounches... well, all of them haha. Must be a good game. ;)
If you need more TRPG recommendations (I'm sure your list is already long), I have two more for you: Blackguards and Battletech.
Great list, you could try Banner of the Maid, it's fun and not very expensive. I really liked the card elements of Marvel Midnight Suns and Thea. Anyone have any suggestions?
Enjoy these personal “overall rankings” quite a bit. Always find something new or forgotten in them. Might be time to dust off Mutant Year Zero and finally finish that one with the DLC. A duck, a pig, and a moose… how can you go wrong with that line up?
I have played most of these too. Our Adventurer Guild, Fell Seal Arbiter, Disgaea, Banner Saga, Disciples Liberation, Langrisser, Brigandine are fairly decent on Steam and then yeah... a bunch on Nintendo... perhaps if Switch 2 ever comes out you could add that to the Mortismal package :) :)
Ff tactics and Tactics Ogre are my top 2 interchangeably, granted I don’t play western Tactics RPGs.
Are you going to review, final fantasy tactics war of the lions?
Ah you talked about tactics- can you give us your brief thoughts on it before the actual review?
If you are playing FF Tactics and Tactics Ogre I would also recommend Vandal Hearts (especially first one) for ps1.
Please, review ff tactics. Have a great year. Ty
Symphony of War was a neat TRPG that I enjoyed, if that is not on your todo list yet
+ This he should definitely review it and given the tactics ogre review it probably gets in ahead of that!
Have you tried Mario+Rabbits?
No, heard good things though
Only one question: WHY POST THIS VIDEO RIGHT AFTER STEAMSALES IS OVER?))
Btw can’t agreee with miazma chronicles: for me it’s just a reskin of Mutant: Road to Eden. Same mechanics, same abilities and even same jokes. The really good job was done by artists. Same as in theirs previous game: Corruption 2049, which was same reskin of Mutant)
Yeah... won't be buying any of these until the next Steam sale
On the bright side, he has just saved us a lot of money through non-purchases
So happy to see Wartales so high on this list. I love that game so much. I wish it had more attention.
Would love to see where you would put Double Fine's Massive Chalice on this list. It was a budget Xcom-like with a great atmosphere and an understated sense of humor throughout. Its unique feature is the game takes place over a 300 year timespan and at some point you need to retire your heroes from battles to have children who become your next generation of heroes.
Absolutely loved Troubleshooter and I'm so excited that they decided to make Banished Children
You should try the Disgaea saga, the first one at least (it even have a remake)
Will you revisit Troubleshooter at some point and make a video about the new content since your review?
Probably not, too busy as it is
Hey Mort, have you Battletech from HBS ? I can sincerely recommend it.
you should play Shogun Showdown from this year! Probably the best roguelike tactics game since Into The Breach
Great! nephilim Symphony of war is also a good recommendation
I'm curious as why The Taumaturge is not in the list, as I got the idea he was quite found of it in the review
Out of curiosity, where would you (generally) put Expeditions: Rome? I'd definitely say that it leans more CRPG, but the core of the gameplay is TRPG for sure.
Can't wait to see where the Darkest Dungeon games will end up on the list
Tacos are good
Amen to that
Beer is good.... and stuff
So is Pizza
@@barryvercueil2346 i haven't seen a Psychostick reference in the wild in a long time! 🎉
But THACO is better!
Your video output is incredible. Please don’t lose your quality standard. Quality over quantity 🥰
You should check out Steam World Heist 2. It’s a fun TRPG from 2024 with some interesting design and really great world building and music.
I played it over the holidays and had a lot of fun with it.
Freedom force would have fit nicely in this list . when will you review it?
Eventually
Troubleshooter is such an underrated gem
I wouldn't say Tactical Breach Wizards is a TRPG, it's a puzzle game. There is a solution/"right answer" to each level, like one of those sliding-tile puzzle toys.
Have you ever tried Silent Storm by Nival Interactive?
Not yet
Great list Mort! One glaring problem though, with one of my bugbears: Daemonhunters - 'daemon' is just pronounced 'demon'. Same way caesar is pronouned see-zar, not say-zar. That is all. ;-p
Yeah so I grew up with TTRPGs where Demons and Daemons are different things and also pronounced differently. It is simply too late for me on this one.
@MortismalGaming you are such a devil Mort! 😈
I think TRPG's are an interesting genre for your 100% reviews, because there are a few I think are actively hurt by 100%. Empire of sin and Othercide are the two that stuck out most for that, where just playing through once gave me an extremely positive experience. And your perspective of 100% makes a lot of sense not liking them. Just a good reminder that some games get worse with 100% because of their design/replayability.
Can't wait for Troubleshooter 2