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What isometric RPG to play?

Ensi

Educated
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Messages
69
I've played the classics: FO1/2, Arcanum, BG/ID, PS:T, NWN 2, and I've played some of the newer ones like Shadowrun (loved Dragonfall, HK was pretty good too), Wasteland games (so-so), PoE (decent), D:OS (decent). Haven't played Numenera, not super interested. Might give Tyranny more of a shot eventually.

Right now I'm working my way thru Geneforge 5 and enjoying it, had only played Avernum: Escape from the Pit before. His stuff seems solid but I don't think I can get much clunkier/uglier than these more polished titles. I wanna finish G5, but what after that, or if I get tired of it? Open to suggestions.

I tried Age of Decadence, wasn't super into it but I may need to give it more of a chance. The amount of skill checks and the total inability to do combat and diplomacy annoyed me a lil bit (wah wah, I'm a noob).

Story is good, good combat would be nice as well.
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,949
Pathfinder: Wrath
You can do diplomacy and combat in AoD, you would just get different results. For example, having differing levels of charisma allows you to deal with the preacher in Teron differently. Also, I suggest giving UnderRail or Serpent in the Staglands a whirl.
 

Ensi

Educated
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Messages
69
I almost put some kind of disclaimer about how little I care about silly semantics over isometric ;)

Thx Lac, I'll give those a look. I did try Underrail really briefly, but didn't give it a fair shake.
 

Robespierre

Madame Guillotine
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Make the Codex Great Again!
About AoD, you should give it another try, totally worth it, a rough gem, yes, but a gem nonetheless. It might be a bit difficult for a beginner to create an efficient hybrid build, you might want to do your first run with a pure-talker or a pure warrior.

Underrail is another gem. Char building is stellar in this one and if you are not an anti-cooldowns biggot you will definitely get some fun out of it.

Also, you should definitely play Dark Sun : Shattered Lands : exciting setting, nice tb combat, some C&C etc.
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,949
Pathfinder: Wrath
Yeah, Dark Sun is awesome, if a bit ...retro by now. But in a good way. Also try Knights of the Chalice.
 

Unkillable Cat

LEST WE FORGET
Patron
Joined
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27,091
Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy
Try taking a look at the Eschalon games, see if they tickle your fancy. Just be warned that you may ultimately be disappointed.

If you want something old-school, consider Veil of Darkness, a game originally sold as an RPG but really isn't, but it sure nails the isometric perspective.
 

Neanderthal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,626
Location
Granbretan
Good combat wi lots on options, fantastic graphics, an a decent story all in an isometric view? I'd take a shot at first Freedom Force game, you have to get used to comic book aesthetic but once you have its fuckin rewardin an fun. Plus theres a shit ton o mods to flesh it out, look for Alex' Freedom Fortress for em.
 
Self-Ejected

IncendiaryDevice

Self-Ejected
Village Idiot
Joined
Nov 3, 2014
Messages
7,407
I've played the classics: FO1/2, Arcanum, BG/ID, PS:T, NWN 2, and I've played some of the newer ones like Shadowrun (loved Dragonfall, HK was pretty good too), Wasteland games (so-so), PoE (decent), D:OS (decent). Haven't played Numenera, not super interested. Might give Tyranny more of a shot eventually.

Right now I'm working my way thru Geneforge 5 and enjoying it, had only played Avernum: Escape from the Pit before. His stuff seems solid but I don't think I can get much clunkier/uglier than these more polished titles. I wanna finish G5, but what after that, or if I get tired of it? Open to suggestions.

I tried Age of Decadence, wasn't super into it but I may need to give it more of a chance. The amount of skill checks and the total inability to do combat and diplomacy annoyed me a lil bit (wah wah, I'm a noob).

Story is good, good combat would be nice as well.

The next one you want to try is Drakensang: The River of Time. Or Divine Divinity. Or Neverwinter Nights 1 expansions/modules.
 

hellbent

Augur
Joined
Aug 17, 2008
Messages
322
Some good choices on this thread - agree with Divine Divinity, Freedom Force, & Eschalon I.

Consider NWN 1 with user modules or Hordes of the Underdark expansion. Do not do the original campaign.

And keep plugging away with AoD, it is worth the effort. You could always try Dungeon Rats and Dead State, too.
 

Wayward Son

Fails to keep valuable team members alive
Joined
Aug 23, 2015
Messages
1,866,294
Location
Anytown, USA
You could always play IWD again. That's always my answer. Divinity is also p. good (like OP, IDGAF about semantics over what's isometric and what isn't), I've heard, but not experienced that Dungeon Rats is pretty good. I've pretty much only played what you already stated in the OP though.
 

Drowed

Arcane
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
1,676
Location
Core City
check out Ember

Please don't. The game looks nice, but it's one of the most boring games I ever played. It isn't even terrible, just bland as hell. The visual and most of the technical aspects of the game are competent enough, which makes this one of the biggest missed opportunities of the last few years. It's depressing.

"Generic" is a widely used adjective to criticize certain games, but Ember's quests, characters, and plot are so generic that you cannot even remember anything about what's going on after 5 seconds: "blah you're the light guy bleh kill the dark guy". Not to mention the clunky gameplay, which you realize was entirely designed for a tablet.

I really tried to like it, but even Sacred 2 looks creative and stimulating (at least the quests are so stupid that they're kinda funny) near this.
 

McPlusle

Savant
Joined
May 11, 2017
Messages
319
Good combat wi lots on options, fantastic graphics, an a decent story all in an isometric view? I'd take a shot at first Freedom Force game, you have to get used to comic book aesthetic but once you have its fuckin rewardin an fun. Plus theres a shit ton o mods to flesh it out, look for Alex' Freedom Fortress for em.
Shit, I really need to play this again. How was the sequel?
Temple of Elemantal Evil with Circle of Eight mod is good if you like TB.
I own this but still have never played it. Should I play vanilla first or install that mod?
 

Neanderthal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,626
Location
Granbretan
Good combat wi lots on options, fantastic graphics, an a decent story all in an isometric view? I'd take a shot at first Freedom Force game, you have to get used to comic book aesthetic but once you have its fuckin rewardin an fun. Plus theres a shit ton o mods to flesh it out, look for Alex' Freedom Fortress for em.
Shit, I really need to play this again. How was the sequel?

FFvsThird Reich lost somethin, world was less detailed an quests more straightforward, still a good game, wi good mechanics an alright story but it was just a bit less ambitious than sequel. Quests mainly became fight until reachin boss fight at end o level, as opposed to first ones diverse an difficult objectives.
 

ShadowSpectre

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Messages
333
Location
Limbo
Jagged Alliance 2. I started a playthrough and the game holds up so well. I mean crows even come and peck at the decaying corpses. Story is satire and combat is excellent. It does require some level of strategic management though.
 

Zenith

Arbiter
Joined
Apr 26, 2017
Messages
296
After you get over a couple of years of Spiderweb burnout, try Geneforge 2 as well, it's my favourite, and the only one in the series (maybe actually in the genre) that's truly open.
 

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