• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Age of Incline: RPG Codex's 2012-2016 GOTY Results

Renekton

Member
It all depends on where you lurk... there are some people like that on the Codex and the RPG Watch, and even some articles like this one from Scorpia:

Still, if you were gaming back in the early 80's you are almost in your 40's and hopefully have something better to do than shitpost online.
So... Scorpia and Desslock. Arguably not close to the sheer volume that 90-00s RPGers have thrown at everybody else.

I don't think it is too age-related, people don't always have better things to do. Older people helped with the resurgence of toys and comicbook properties.
 

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
You listed 14 games, 6 of them are console exclusives. We're left with 8 PC games you highlighted from 2004-2012 - one per year. Of those 5 are from BioWare, the other 3 are published by Bethesda.

Here's 8 great RPGs released for PCs just in 2000, every single one from a different company:

Deus Ex
Diablo 2
Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
Icewind Dale
Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer
Evil Islands: Curse of the Lost Soul
Summoner
Wizards & Warriors

That's why people like me hate the mid/late 2000's.

Summoner? "Great"?

C'mon. The Dead Alewives bonus movie is the best thing on the disc.
 
Honestly considering the "quality" of the average RPGCodex post, I'm not sure they deserve any attention. It's all rampant sexism, racist, GG tier bullshit over there. Their forums are a cesspool.

While I don't think that any of the things you mention are something we should turn a blind eye towards, I also think the idea of completely ignoring anything a community does based on the actions of its members - even a majority - is a little silly.
 

The Wart

Member
You'd be surprised. I mean, I plan on shitposting well into my 40's (I'm not even close to that now) so....

Edit: C'mon summoner wasn't bad. I mean, it was kinda a preview into what the 2000's would bring us in terms of RPG direction. Fewer characters, action RPG system, half baked plot...

Wasn't saying it was bad, just questioning the notion that it belonged on a list of greats. I've never heard anyone describe it as anything more than one of the better PS2 launch titles, which is super not saying much.

Caveat: I have never played it...
 

bati

Member
I should probably play Underrail or Age of Decadence at some point

Holy shit yes. I declared UnderRail to be in my top 5 games of all time as soon as I finished it (easily one of the best turn based RPG combat systems ever made) and I've been recently binging on AoD and it's just such a fantastic experience that I'll probably have to find another open spot in my top 5.

If I had to point to two of the best RPGs made in the last 5-10 years these two games would be it.
 

Arulan

Member
I've said this several times before, but the rise of crowd-funding is perhaps the most important event of the past decade for the video game industry, if not more. That and the ease of publishing, promoted in part by Steam's removing themselves as the gatekeepers policy, has allowed an incredibly diverse onslaught of fantastic games year after year for some time now.
 

Renekton

Member
While I don't think that any of the things you mention are something we should turn a blind eye towards, I also think the idea of completely ignoring anything a community does based on the actions of its members - even a majority - is a little silly.
The thing is that this is not an objective, fact-based topic like science.

In RPGs we are making very subjective assessments, so the assessor's personality could be a major consideration.

Edit: very sorry for derailing, I will stop now
 

Violet_0

Banned
I actually liked SR HK better than Dragonfall, but neither would be near the top of my admittedly rather short list

my #1 would probably go to Valkyria Chronicles, which caught me by surprise with how good it is
 

Burt

Member
Always happy to see some Underrail love, and it's nice to see that Lords of Xulima ranked. Great game that doesn't get talked about much.

I guess Xenonauts wiped out XCOM 2's slot? Is it that good? Been looking at it for years, but don't own it yet. XCOM 2 was a seriously great pick up from last Humble Bundle, though.

Surprising that RPGC has that much love for Dragon's Dogma when the audience clearly skews towards WRPGs with relatively intricate systems. DD is good, but it's firmly in the 'style over substance' camp.
 

bati

Member
Always happy to see some Underrail love, and it's nice to see that Lords of Xulima ranked. Great game that doesn't get talked about much.

I guess Xenonauts wiped out XCOM 2's slot? Is it that good? Been looking at it for years, but don't own it yet. XCOM 2 was a seriously great pick up from last Humble Bundle, though.

LoX is great but it's incredibly tightly tuned...a little too much for my taste even. There's practically no leeway in the order you do things in because the fights are that hard. It also has some annoying meta-gaming gimmicks like delaying your plant gathering so you can reap max benefit once your skill level is high enough. The combat is also a little drawn out imo. I lost interest about 35h into the campaign and the few people I talked to also quit around that mark.

As for Xenonauts - it's a fantastic game, much closer to the originals than Firaxis' version. While Xcom 1 and 2 feel more like board games Xenonauts retains that signature simulation design that worked so well in older TBS games like UFO and Jagged Alliance games.
 
Y'all, I thought The Witcher 3 was shallow bullshit. Am I now more hardcore than the Codex?

I have basically no other complaints about the list.
 

Burt

Member
LoX is great but it's incredibly tightly tuned...a little too much for my taste even. There's practically no leeway in the order you do things in because the fights are that hard. It also has some annoying meta-gaming gimmicks like delaying your plant gathering so you can reap max benefit once your skill level is high enough. The combat is also a little drawn out imo. I lost interest about 35h into the campaign and the few people I talked to also quit around that mark.

As for Xenonauts - it's a fantastic game, much closer to the originals than Firaxis' version. While Xcom 1 and 2 feel more like board games Xenonauts retains that signature simulation design that worked so well in older TBS games like UFO and Jagged Alliance games.

Confession time: I got diverted from LoX at around the 20 hour mark and haven't gotten back yet. I really enjoyed my time with it, though! But yeah, if it drops off towards the tail end, totally fair criticism.
 
Codex has always felt like a noisy group of troglodytes in a cave with perfect echoing acoustics. That being said, while they are generally not necessarily accurate in their take on games (and I use that in a singular due to the intense echo chamber they run there),they are unerringly precise. As long as you can shift into their frame of reference and understand the properties they weigh to judge games, this kind of information is useful.

BTW, what's the take people here have of the mid/late 2000's?

It's not really that bad, but a huge drop in output over 2000 was double-whammied by the smalller worlds and levels as CRPGs moved kicking and screaming into real 3D game engines. Also note that World of Warcraft caused a giant mess in CRPGs for years in indirect ways.

The 2003-2006 period was darker times IMO. Going from sprawling games like BG2 back to Spiderweb games,which while great,was somewhat humbling.

Lords of Xulima on balls to the wall hard with whatever ironman-ish sort of setting they had was amazing. Games are at their best when they are ripping you to shreds.
 

Miletius

Member
Wasn't saying it was bad, just questioning the notion that it belonged on a list of greats. I've never heard anyone describe it as anything more than one of the better PS2 launch titles, which is super not saying much.

Caveat: I have never played it...

Summoner is one of those cult classics that I kind of feel like you have to play (and been there, really) to understand it's appeal. It's everything that people now love to hate about 3d WRPG design, but it somehow comes together nicely. Plus it's soundtrack is pretty awesome.
 

Laughing Banana

Weeping Pickle
Were you filled with rage for all of those 110 hours? How much did you hate the game???

Lol no, I quite enjoyed it, in fact. I wouldn't put 100 hours over something I didn't enjoy, lol.

It's just quite amusing to see that the two games that I have just finished and I am about two start are listed both as one of the "worst" and the "best".
 

dude

dude
while I don't like the codex too much (they remind me too much of an RPG forum I moderated when I was 16) this list is pretty good besides Pillars being waaayyyy too low. But that's expected.

Also, I'm replaying Pillars right now, and anyone who had problems with encounters before should replay the game. The expansions and patches fixed a lot of issues.
 

Lanrutcon

Member
So much love in that list.

Lords of Xulima is one of those fantastic gems that no-one played. Because the game has limited encounters and a steep difficulty curve, it almost becomes a puzzle game: squeeze every ounce of xp out of the game you can, build your characters properly and the game is a still fairly difficult by today's standards.

Waddle through the areas making a beeline directly for the boss? spread your stats around thinly? rampantly spend your gold on consumables? ...then you're gonna get humbled real quick.
 

Rad-

Member
I think PoE is just too low. Personally I consider it the best Obsidian game.

And that list taught me about Fallout 1.5 mod. Had no idea that shit even existed.
 

Bl@de

Member
Witcher 3? On the codex? Are they filthy casuls now? Would've expected AoD or Underrail making first place.
 

LordJim

Member
It's all-white, so RPGCodex loves it

It being a great RPG overall is absolutely irrelevant, I am sure.
Shitposting aside, I am pleasantly surprised Invisible Inc made it, but I hoped one of the Legends of Heroes entries would make it int the list
 

Staf

Member
It's all-white, so RPGCodex loves it
Colin_Farrel-Disgusted.gif
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
So much love in that list.

Lords of Xulima is one of those fantastic gems that no-one played. Because the game has limited encounters and a steep difficulty curve, it almost becomes a puzzle game: squeeze every ounce of xp out of the game you can, build your characters properly and the game is a still fairly difficult by today's standards.

Waddle through the areas making a beeline directly for the boss? spread your stats around thinly? rampantly spend your gold on consumables? ...then you're gonna get humbled real quick.

It is good, but it gets pretty repetitive and grindy as you get further into it.
 
So much love in that list.

Lords of Xulima is one of those fantastic gems that no-one played. Because the game has limited encounters and a steep difficulty curve, it almost becomes a puzzle game: squeeze every ounce of xp out of the game you can, build your characters properly and the game is a still fairly difficult by today's standards.

Waddle through the areas making a beeline directly for the boss? spread your stats around thinly? rampantly spend your gold on consumables? ...then you're gonna get humbled real quick.

The beginning is brutal, I agree. Afterwards it becomes a bit easier, especially when you get to slaughter all the guards for XP. Fuck those hounds though.

Development has started on a sequel by the way so it seems it sold pretty well!
 
The main site's articles are typically high quality, but sometimes I don't even know why I bother discussing anything there.

Some of its normal users are very smart and they really know their RPGs. You just have to wade through a lot of disgusting posts until you find the ones worth reading.
 

Lanrutcon

Member
The beginning is brutal, I agree. Afterwards it becomes a bit easier, especially when you get to slaughter all the guards for XP. Fuck those hounds though.

Development has started on a sequel by the way so it seems it sold pretty well!

Nice! Will look out for that.
 
RPGCodex is extremely alt-right/racist.

Edit. Sorry, legitimately didn't remember I pledged to not post in this topic anymore. Honest mistake.

It doesn't negate the fact that The Witcher 3 is where it rightfully should be because of its greatness, despite all else.
 

CloudWolf

Member
lmao at Fallout 4 as the worst RPG in 4 years. I'm not much of a fan of Bethesda's RPGs, but give me a fucking break.

I'm not a fan of RPGCodex, but Fallout 4 is without a doubt one of the worst RPG's of the last five years. I mean, I wouldn't even call it a RPG game anymore since they stripped the game of every bit of meaningful character building.
 

Lime

Member
It being a great RPG overall is absolutely irrelevant, I am sure.
Shitposting aside, I am pleasantly surprised Invisible Inc made it, but I hoped one of the Legends of Heroes entries would make it int the list

It was just a joke about the bigotry of the Codex.
 

Fantastapotamus

Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
What's wrong with Torchlight II? I enjoyed my time with it.

Nothing is wrong with Torchlight II.

I'm not a fan of RPGCodex, but Fallout 4 is without a doubt one of the worst RPG's of the last five years. I mean, I wouldn't even call it a RPG game anymore since they stripped the game of every bit of meaningful character building.

I would agree with that, especially if you consider the talent and money that went into the game.
I always get RPG Codes and No Mutants Allowed mixed up, is the latter still a thing. I bet they looooooved Fallout 4

This is wrong though. Almost every conversation you have with Dorian is about Tevinter politics or his love of his country. Like... 2 or 3 of his conversations involve anything about his sexuality.

I actually really, really, really, really, really hated DA:I but Dorian is the only good part about that game. And not because of his sexuality.

On what planet is FTL an RPG?

How is not one?
 

Fantastapotamus

Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Is Risk of Rain an RPG? Is The Binding of Isaac? Does RPGCodex get confused by the presence of real time w/ pause mechanics?

If you'd ask me "What genre is FTL?" I wouldn't say "Oh, it's an RPG!" but I can see a case being made that it counts as one.
 
If you'd ask me "What genre is FTL?" I wouldn't say "Oh, it's an RPG!" but I can see a case being made that it counts as one.

The same case can be made for numerous other non-RPGs. Hell, why not make it for CoD multiplayer? Because FTL has some superficial similarities to Infinity Engine games.
 

water_wendi

Water is not wet!
On what planet is FTL an RPG?



Is Risk of Rain an RPG? Is The Binding of Isaac? Does RPGCodex get confused by the presence of real time w/ pause mechanics?

Its not RTwP that makes something an rpg or not. Its about whether player control or the character stats and attributes determine the outcome. In Super Mario Bros the only reason Mario doesnt fall into the pit is because the player has the skill and timing to make the jump. Whether Mario lives or dies is 100% on the player. In a rpg such a determination would be taken out of the players hand and put more directly into the character.
 
The same case can be made for numerous other non-RPGs. Hell, why not make it for CoD multiplayer? Because FTL has some superficial similarities to Infinity Engine games.
This has nothing to do with RTwP mechanics. Replace "my character" for "my spaceship" and it's clear why FTL is an RPG.
 
At the very least, this data confirms what rational minds thought at the time: Dragon Age: Inquisition was vastly overrated in its time.

I agree in that DA:I is very overrated, but I think RPG Codex people are not the public for that type of game.



... or that's what I thought at first, but thinking it a bit more, hey, I also didn't think The Witcher 3 would appear as their top game. The cynic in me thought it would be too mainstream, too casual, too "AAA" for RPG Codex. I was wrong.
So if they can love TW3, it's fair if they score lowly DA:I.
 
Top Bottom