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cRPGs: what are your thoughts?

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    February 22, 2017 4:29 PM EST

     Howdy, folks. I've recently returned to the cRPG genre (isometric, "old school" kind of RPGs) with Pillars of Eternity, having first endeavoured into the genre with Fallout 1 and 2 a few years ago. And although the story, setting and world-building of those games, especially FO2, are still amongst my favorites (top three, indeed. It's Fallout, after all), the gameplay was somewhat frustrating until I could get the hang of it, a fact that unfortunately diminished my enjoyment from the games and kept me away from other titles of the genre.

     Thankfully, in what I considered to be personal abstinence of good RPGs since I finished The Witcher trilogy in early 2016 mixed with my discovery that Obsidian Entertainment was funding the sequel to Pillars 1, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire on Fig, I decided to take a peek on the original game. And man, what a good call that was.

     Pillars of Eternity couples all the gloriousness and deepness you can expect from the genre and Obsidian in particular with a modern take on combat that is much more friendly and welcoming to us youngsters (but still way more challenging than your average modern RPG). What's more, this is the first IP (intellectual property) Obsidian has owned and created since the times they were still the old Interplay/Black Isle Studios, and that fact alone already turns the franchise into something even more special than their other games, as it's something they've developed from the ground up, and it's also the game (and Kickstarter campaign) that literally saved their studio and their jobs. (see "The Road to Eternity" documentary)

     It's the kind of game that you can spend hours in the character creation screen, because even though the amount of physical customization isn't as deep as in a Bethesda game, the amount of character background you can create coupled with the amount of quality reading you can go through can and will surprise those who are new to cRPGs.

     But enough about Pillars. What I want to know is how many (if any) fans of cRPGs we have here in the Vault, their thoughts about the "resurgence" of the genre with titles like PoE, Tyranny, Wasteland 2, Divinity: Original Sin and the upcoming Torment: Tides of Numenera (a "thematic" successor to Planescape: Torment) and, if you dislike the genre, why?

     Are you uncertain what this kind of game is all about? Here are a few trailers that will hopefully give you an idea of how they play (and get you hyped!). As you will see, they are more focused on the story, world reactivity and character development than other RPGs, and greatly resemble your average tabletop experience.

     Consider supporting Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire on Fig. As little as $5 is already a great help to the development of the game, as even though Obsidian has already funded their game, the stretch goals they've announced can only add up to what is shaping up to be a great game.

     Please, refrain from throwing around spoilers about any game around here without a warning ahead. I myself have only completed the Act I of Pillars of Eternity, and to those considering picking up the game, I also advise not reading  about the game online or even in their crowdfunding page for Deadfire. Only watch the trailers and only read the store page of the game. Trust me, it's better to go around discovering things for yourself.

     

     


    This post was edited by Mr. at February 22, 2017 4:30 PM EST
    • 122 posts
    February 22, 2017 7:08 PM EST
    I actually enjoy these a good bit from a roleplay aspect, though I freely admit a tendency to try and grind ridiculous amounts of levels in "safe" areas so that I can enjoy the story without being bogged down too much when it comes to the more difficult sorts of combat.

    You may also enjoy some of the games from Lone Wolf Studios. Gene Forge is a particular favorite of mine for it's interesting world and story.

    As an aside, I always saw a lot of what made these games so fun in some of the more popular Bioware titles, like Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect. They typically have extremely open worlds to explore, numerous things to do, multiple ways of playing, and lots of options to show your character's innate virtue...Or lack thereof.
  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    February 22, 2017 11:07 PM EST

    Mercurias said: I actually enjoy these a good bit from a roleplay aspect, though I freely admit a tendency to try and grind ridiculous amounts of levels in "safe" areas so that I can enjoy the story without being bogged down too much when it comes to the more difficult sorts of combat.

     

    You may also enjoy some of the games from Lone Wolf Studios. Gene Forge is a particular favorite of mine for it's interesting world and story.

     

    As an aside, I always saw a lot of what made these games so fun in some of the more popular Bioware titles, like Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect. They typically have extremely open worlds to explore, numerous things to do, multiple ways of playing, and lots of options to show your character's innate virtue...Or lack thereof.

     

     Indeed, you can easily get into quite some trouble in games like these, but I found out that preparation is key. In Pillars of Eternity, for example, always make sure that you leave a town/city with maxed camping tools and only use the "per rest" abilities as a last resort, as you never know what comes next. I can see the reasoning behind bunkering and gaining some levels before leaving, but I do believe that Pillars in particular has a "Story only" difficulty setting.

     Thanks for the indications, I'll be sure to check it out.

     As for Bioware, it's only natural, as they were indeed responsible for what is likely the best known and most successful cRPG to date: Baldur's Gate II. Unfortunately, I think that their latest games aren't as good as, say, Dragon Age: Origins, which is why I'm not really looking forward to Andromeda. And when it comes to Knights of the Republic, although a solid title, in my opinion it isn't as good storywise as KotoR: The Sith Lords, which was developed by Obsidian (and sadly launched with a crap load of bugs. Thankfully the community has fixed and restored much of the cut content of that game)