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[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

hey guys

this may be a dumb question, but this seems like an okay thread for it since we're discussing the best

If I wanted to get into cRPGs, which is a good one for somebody unfamiliar with genre conventions to get into? I'm mostly used to console-style RPGs.

As someone who was in just that situation, I strongly recommend Dragon Age: Origins. It's complex, but not too complex, combat can be paused for a pseudo-turn-based feel, and it has a good mix of linear & non-linearity that makes it a good gateway RPG. Plus, it's new enough to have done away with most of the really clunky stuff that older PC RPGs were guilty of, while old enough to be available for nice & cheap (the deluxe edition is on Steam for $30 but it goes on sale for around $10 on a regular basis).

If you want to get into the hack & slash PC Action/RPG genre, Path of Exile is a great choice because it's free-to-play and a great game. Actually, free-to-play - all of the in-app purchases are unrelated to gameplay progression (stuff like alternate skins and the like).

As far as indie PC RPGs go, I really liked Avadon. Graphics aren't good, but the gameplay & story are.

 

[Sorcerer]

Diablo 3 and South Park?

Way to soon.

Is this list trying to be all inclusive for people who started playing rpgs a year or 2 ago?

Also Kotor 2 over Kotor 1?

Just no.

 

[adj_noun]

Well, RPGCodex's (better) list does have KOTOR at 45 to KOTOR 2's 19.

Not that lists are binding arbiters of quality, mind. I thoroughly enjoyed both and can see arguments for KOTOR the first being higher.

 

[Tom Penny]

Skyrim, Morrowind and Oblvion should take up the top 3.

 

[MikeE21286]

For those who've played South Park, is it too high?

I've never played it but it seems reaaaallllly high

 

[adj_noun]

For those who've played South Park, is it too high?

I've never played it but it seems reaaaallllly high

Yeah, it's too high. I really enjoyed it, but it's really more about being drenched in South Park than being an RPG.

 

[The Technomancer]

16. Divinity: Original Sin

...the game literally just came out

Eh, fuck it, thats the problem with these kinds of lists anyway, they're all trying to capture something that's fundamentally transient

 

[syko de4d]

This thread is making the wait for Pillars of Eternity even harder.

oh yes... i hope PoE will be top 10 or even top 5 material.

If you want to get into the hack & slash PC Action/RPG genre, Path of Exile is a great choice because it's free-to-play and a great game. Actually, free-to-play - all of the in-app purchases are unrelated to gameplay progression (stuff like alternate skins and the like).

The other PoE, my most played game since wow classic/bc
Next month there will launch new leagues and a new mini expansion. Pretty good point to start with the game, GAF Guild should be active for this again
First half next year there should be ACT4, so alot of content to look forward to.

And your first PoE build will always suck (if you dont just copy paste a build from poe forum or subreddit)

edit:

For those who've played South Park, is it too high?

I've never played it but it seems reaaaallllly high

Way to high. Is super short (12-16hours) , gameplay is very repetitive and i find the writing from most of the actual Southpark episodes way better. It was just a fan service for southpark fans, if you love the series you will like the game.

 

[Infinite Xero]

Which notable non-Western RPGs is it missing? Maybe, maybe the Ys releases? What else?

I didn't know the list was only PC games (I guess the website name is kinda obvious though) but a couple of Final Fantasies and Breath of Fire IV should be on that list too..

 

[d1rtn4p]

Mass Effect 2 a better RPG than Ultima VII? Absolute insanity...

 

[PFD]

ITT: I don't agree with one of their choices, therefore this whole list is horseshit

 

[Toxi]

I've seen people argue System Shock 2 isn't a first-person shooter and people argue it's not a role-playing game. So what the hell is it?

 

[syko de4d]

I've seen people argue System Shock 2 isn't a first-person shooter and people argue it's not a role-playing game. So what the hell is it?

First person role playing shooter? FPRPS

 

[zhorkat]

I've seen people argue System Shock 2 isn't a first-person shooter and people argue it's not a role-playing game. So what the hell is it?

Immersive sim?

 

[Toxi]

First person role playing shooter? FPRPS

Maybe it was a Dating Sim all this time and I never noticed.

Spoiler

When SHODAN-chan asked me to go on a date with her, I just said "Nah."

 

[OrlanisWorks]

How they can have Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 in lieu of the first game is beyond my comprehension. Did they play that broken piece of shit on release? And no, I don't think community mods and bug fixes should be taken into account here.

Hahahahahaha that's silly.

I need to play Bloodlines. Yet to install, but I know there's an assmunch worth of patching to do for it to play awesome.

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

I just realized they excluded MMO's.

 

[Exploratory]

People seriously don't like Mass Effect 2 on GAF hm?

 

[Duxxy3]

I will never understand the love for those late 90's, early '00 WRPG's.

 

[Head.spawn]

Skyrim, Morrowind and Oblvion should take up the top 3.

Gross.

 

[Kacho]

This thread is making the wait for Pillars of Eternity even harder.

I had no idea this existed. Thanks. Looks and sounds great. <3 Obsidian

 

[Toxi]

I will never understand the love for those late 90's, early '00 WRPG's.

Which ones? They're a diverse bunch, you'd probably at least like one of them.

 

[Taruranto]

I will never understand the love for those late 90's, early '00 WRPG's.

You don't understand why people like excellent games over modern turds?

 

[draetenth]

Not a bad list. I don't really agree with Diablo 3 over 2 and I dunno, but I can't really call Mass Effect 2 an RPG. It felt more like a shooter/action game to me and felt like it barely had RPG elements.

It basically felt like a watered down Dark Souls with guns... (probably not the best of comparisons, but all I could think of).

 

[Ridesh]

People seriously don't like Mass Effect 2 on GAF hm?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=418389

 

[Farks!]

People seriously don't like Mass Effect 2 on GAF hm?

It's a good game, maybe even very good, but in the context of RPG's it leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[Cormano]

Diablo 3... Wtf

 

[Shengar]

Can't argue with a list that have PST as its first place

Skyrim, Morrowind and Oblvion should take up the top 3.

 

[Ikuu]

...the game literally just came out

Eh, fuck it, thats the problem with these kinds of lists anyway, they're all trying to capture something that's fundamentally transient

What's wrong with the game? Why does it being new mean it's not good enough for the list?

 

[marrec]

People seriously don't like Mass Effect 2 on GAF hm?

It was seriously disappointing compared to the first game and would have been entirely forgettable if not for one or two well written characters.

By the end I wasn't even having a modicum of fun with the poor third person shooting or the watery thin RPG mechanics.

 

[dottme]

It's a good game, maybe even very good, but in the context of RPG's it leaves a lot to be desired.

Exactly. It is a good game but it isn't like the first Mass Effect and it isn't a RPG.

It is a good shooter with a good story.

 

[joecanada]

Always fun to see reviewers backing down from their previous claim, eheh-

.

Is this even real? WTAF. Any suspicions I had about reviews is now confirmed, this is an absolute joke. They probably all played the first mission and called it a day.

 

[Havel]

Mass Effect 2 and Skyrim above Deus Ex.

Alright then.

 

[DaciaJC]

I'm delighted to see Mount & Blade: Warband on the list. Such a gem of a game.

 

[Spieler Eins]

Well that certainly is ...uh, a list from PC gamers.

 

[Ikuu]

Well that certainly is ...uh, a list from PC gamers.

Yea, almost as if it says it in the title.

 

[JJDinomite]

Skyrim? Seriously? lmao

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Witcher 1 should be in there. Skyrim can kaput. Witcher 2 should be higher, so should D:OS. 1st is correct though.

 

[GoodlifeX]

Contrary to the GAF think tank. I think Skyrim is great. Not as good as Morrowind, but still great.

 

[Zod the Bear]

I know it was an expansion, but NWN: Hordes of the Underdark would be in my top 25

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

Too much modern. Not enough classic. There is a wealth of RPGs from the 80s and 90s that was glosses over. Bioware/Black Isle played a huge role regarding RPGs with stuff like Baldur's Gate II and PS:T but there's a lot of other stuff beyond the Bioware catalog.

 

[LurkerPrime]

I can't agree with this list because I don't think of Mount&Blade or Dark Souls as RPGs. They're something different and unique.

Games like Diablo or Torchlight shouldn't be on this list either - ARPGs are their own thing. It only serves to dilute the point of this list.

Even without those issues, the ordering is (of course) all wrong.

 

[jblank83]

Too much modern. Not enough classic. There is a wealth of RPGs from the 80s and 90s that was glosses over. Bioware/Black Isle played a huge role regarding RPGs with stuff like Baldur's Gate II and PS:T but there's a lot of other stuff beyond the Bioware catalog.

Pretty much. Any list that doesn't include a Wizardry, Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder, and other foundational RPGs is suspect. These aren't flavor of the month classics. These games created entire genres. They invented game design that is still copied to this day. I'll avoid an argument over games like Mass Effect and Skyrim, but ignoring such games in favor of something like South Park or Gothic?

Then again, we're talking about gaming media. Were they to not list Skyrim or Mass Effect, they would have to deal with a shit storm of negative reactions, even if those reactions are uneducated and wrong. Nor do I expect modern gaming media to be well informed of 80s PC RPGs, much less 80s console RPGs, much less most 90s RPGs either. We're lucky to even see Ultima on the list.

 

[kswiston]

While I give them props for trying to include some indie games, it seems like they just included a few that were/are popular on Steam and not necessarily that spectacular. I liked Dungeons of Dredmore, but I don't see how you could possibly include that while snubbing the Might and Magic Series (especially IV-VII) and the Wizardry series. It's not even the best modern Roguelike title.

Also, several of these games are way to new to be on a best of all time list. I don't doubt that it will make lists in several years time, but how can you properly judge Divinity Original Sin when it still has that new game smell to it? Same goes for South Park.

 

[Realyn]

At first I was shocked that Skyrim is ahead of Morrowind. Then I noticed that Morrowind isn't one of the best 25 ROLE PLAYING GAMES. But D3 is.

Haven't laughed that hard in weeks.

 

[Mozendo]

Ehh....
Most of the modern games on the list don't deserve to be there.

 

[Freddo]

I guess it's not a bad list, but my top 5 would be completely different, and include games like The Witcher, Daggerfall and Morrowind. Games that aren't even on the list. And VtM: Bloodlines would have a much better position.

 

[Purple Cheeto]

No Eye of the Beholder? Boo.

 

[Exploratory]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=418389

Thanks wasn't feeling too hot about my game of the generation.

 

[jblank83]

At first I was shocked that Skyrim is ahead of Morrowind. Then I noticed that Morrowind isn't one of the best 25 ROLE PLAYING GAMES. But D3 is.

Haven't laughed that hard in weeks.

Forgot to mention Diablo 3 RoS being anywhere at all in a "best RPGs ever" list. That's absurd, and I say that as someone who enjoyed RoS a lot, like 350+ hours a lot.

It's not. It just isn't. It's not bad. I'd say it's good. But it's not one of the best ever. For all the improvements RoS made to Diablo 3, it's still highly flawed, unbalanced, and lacking content.