Blobber Recs

[TheDiceMustRoll]

Hey all, I wanted to try getting into Blobbers. I was having very limited success with Bard's Tale HD Collection. Are there any modern Blobbers that are better? That Starcrawlers looks pretty slick.

 

[samuraigaiden]

If real time menu based combat isn’t a turn off, you should give the Grimrock games a try.

 

[TheDiceMustRoll]

If real time menu based combat isn’t a turn off, you should give the Grimrock games a try.

I'm liking what I'm seeing RE: Starcrawlers. It gets compared to GR a lot..

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Dungeon Master (1987), along with its sequel Chaos Strikes Back (1989), can be played for free via the Return to Chaos clone.

Legend of Grimrock (2012) was an homage to Dungeon Master, and the only weakness of the game is that it was too similar to its illustrious predecessor. The sequel, Legend of Grimrock II (2014), innovated on the Dungeon Master formula, in particular with character customization/progression.

Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar (2017) is the best neanderthal-developed computer game ever.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Lands of Lore is my recommendation for 1st blobber.

Eye of Beholder & Eye of Beholder 2 are pretty good too and made by same team as LoL.

Might and Magic VI-VIII have their own charm.

Spoiler

Before anyone kills me, III and World of Xeen are on my to-do list.

 

[Mortanius]

Paper Sorcerer isn't in the same league as any the classics, but its a pretty modern friendly entry into the genre if you don't want to dive into something too complex or time consuming immediately. The art oozes style too.
If you don't mind starting with something more complex I'd really recommend Elminage Gothic. Probably the best modern equivalent of the older Wizardry I-V style (entirely combat focused) blobbers. Not for storyfags.

 

[CryptRat]

Legends of Amberland is probably a good first entry into the genre, it has a fully open overworld with towns and NPCs to explore and is about solving quests by clearing caves from their inhabitants, there's no real trap or puzzle or confusing dungeons but when it comes to exploring the world and killing things it is perfectly decent. Enemies are visible and fought while walking, there's no separate screen.

Sword and Sorcery : Underworld is probably too. It's more elaborate when it comes to puzzles and traps, and in practice takes place on what is more of a big open dungeon with no very specific overworld part. I think combat in The Bard's Tale and Legends of Amberland are fine but Sword and Sorcery : Underworld has the best combat system and content among the three in my opinion.

These 2 games are a bit different to each other, which one is more suited probably depends on what exactly you're looking for. If you're looking for comprehensive dungeon crawling and crafted discrete encounters I would go with Sword and Sorcery : Underworld but if you want to travel through wilderness looking for the next lair your party is strong enough to clear then Legends of Amberland is a better choice.

 

[Thac0]

Sword and Sorcery : Underworld is probably too. It's more elaborate when it comes to puzzles and traps, and in practice takes place on what is more of a big open dungeon with no very specific overworld part. I think combat in The Bard's Tale and Legends of Amberland are fine but Sword and Sorcery : Underworld has the best combat system and content among the three in my opinion.

And here I went thinking I knew every worthwhile blobber on Steam. This looks better than the other Steam blobbers except Grimoire by a significant margin.
Codexer made too and everything. The new artstyle also doesn't look half bad compared to the porn game level stuff it had before.
That goes onto the wishlist.

 

[d1r]

Wizardry: Tales of Forsaken Lands

Can be easy emulated on the PS2 emulator, and you can speed up the game by 150% if it's too slow for you. It's a neat little blobber with a great atmosphere and music.

 

[Plane Escapee]

I enjoyed Starcrawlers but it really isn't a game that blows you away. If you also are starved to play something in a sci-fi setting it might do it for you. Maybe.

I really enjoyed Might & Magic X: Legacy (Turn-based, party-based, 2014) but I hadn't played any prior M&M games and people who have were mostly not all that impressed from what I remember. But if you don't already have much experience with blobbers I imagine you might have a fun time with it as well.

I also thought that both Paper Sorcerer (Turn-based, party-based, 2013) and Vaporum (Real-time, single character, 2017) were worthwhile, especially for how little they cost.

I played Operencia: The Stolen Sun (Turn-based, party-based, 2018) for only a short time just before it left game pass this year but based on those couple of hours I'd say that it is also a very approachable modern blobber and a fun time. I'd probably buy it and play on if it goes on sale.

 

[Efe]

Operencia is similar to bards tale 4. not bad if you like new shiny blobbers. bt4 soundtrack is good

There are some games made by codexers like ghost ship and grimoire.
Might want to consider these since you can bitch directly to their creator about things you like and dont like.

might and magic X legacy. IMHo terrible game. you move at a snails pace, exploring the map and moving around starts feeling like a chore. Tried it a couple times and always uninstalled very early on.

I'd recommend stranger of sword city if you dont mind asian games.

iirc there was a big blobber discussion thread but it was in jrpg forum because aweigh doesnt post on this section? or something like that. try to find that, it has A LOT of games in it

 

[V_K]

Depending on your definition of "modern", Wizards&Warriors is both quite approachable and deep, with some of the best dungeons in any RPG. From there you can move on to Wizardry6-8 which are similar (two of them have the same lead designer) but more hardcore. Grimoire is a blobber in the same style, but I haven't given it a proper playthrough yet so I can't recommend it. If you are going to play Grimoire, I'd suggest doing it after Wizardries since its mechanics are even more complicated - there's just more of everything: PCs, races, classes, stats, skills.

Of the blobbers released in the past 10 years, I second Legend of Grimrock 2 (great atmosphere and level design, interesting character system) and Paper Sorcerer (very original premise and unique art style). I found Operencia way, way too streamlined and easy and Bard's Tale 4 just unplayable.

7 Mages is a mixed bag - some very creative level setups and innovative mechanics (party splitting, music-based magic), but character building and itemization is a bit too shallow, and writing is rough. Still was fun to play through once. Might&Magic 10 is ok overall but has pacing issues, I got bored with it halfway through (though to be fair, I had the same experience with every single Might&Magic game I've playes, so YMMV).

Finally, if your definition of a blobber is not too purist, Lords of Xulima is a blobber in everything but perspective. Its exploration is isometric, but the party moves as a single unit and combat is a classic front/back row affair (with some innovations regarding flanks and weapon reach). Also some fun level design there, and great character system with lots of customization and very tight skill points economy. Gets a little HP-bloaty by the end, but overall a great game.

 

[aweigh]

Hey all, I wanted to try getting into Blobbers. I was having very limited success with Bard's Tale HD Collection. Are there any modern Blobbers that are better? That Starcrawlers looks pretty slick.

Elminage: Gothic (PC)
Elminage: Original (PC)
Stranger Of Sword City (PC)
Wizardry Empire 2: Legacy Of The Princess (PC)
Wizardry Gaiden 4: Beat Of The Demon's Heart (SNES)
The Dark Spire (Nintendo DS)

 

[Thac0]

I wanted to try getting into Blobbers.

Elminage: Gothic

You are a sadist.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Might & Magic III is a very beginner-friendly and fun blobber.

 

[Butter]

Avoid real time blobbers. M&M 3-5, Grimoire, Wizardry 6-8, Legends of Amberland are great entry points.

 

[eggdogg]

Lords of xulima and wizardry 8 are the blobbers i've kept replaying.

 

[Dorateen]

Once you get familiar with these computer role-playing games, check out Thunderscape.

It's a unique setting from SSI, very atmospheric.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Wizardry 8

 

[fantadomat]

Hey all, I wanted to try getting into Blobbers. I was having very limited success with Bard's Tale HD Collection. Are there any modern Blobbers that are better? That Starcrawlers looks pretty slick.

Bard's tale 4 is ok after all the patching and shit,it is a good entry point. Also Operencia is pretty cool,especially if you are in to Hungarian mythology and history. Legends of Amberland is a good throw back to basic old blobbers,but it is pretty simplistic and basic. You could also play the peak of blobbers.... Might and Magic 6.

You are a sadist.

More like a retard that could recommend only 5 mediocre brainless dungeon crawlers ad nauseam. Have you seen him recommend anything but that shit?

Wizardry 8

A sure way to turn off a dude from playing blobbers for life lol. To play that shit you need a bunch of mods and cheat engine on top of them to make the combat tolerable.

 

[TheDiceMustRoll]

So I've played a couple blobbers without knowing it, namely Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey for the DS. I liked parts of that game ,but the whole "demon convincing" mechanic was more annoying and random seeming than I could have liked. In general the SMT games would be much more fun without it (persona, lol) but I wanted to be able to create a party and just roll on there from the start. The persona games got obnoxious with the story elements and as interesting as the stories can be, I don't like JRPGs usually due to having to complete half the game's content before you're actually allowed to have a full party. And nobody can die. That's a big problem.

Starcrawlers sounded alright because its shorter missions that expand into larger ones - I should note that I'm not looking for a 300+ hour game, lol. M&M6 sounds pretty good too.

 

[Strange Fellow]

If you want to be smart about this, play Wiz 8. If you want to be less smart, play anything else. If you want to be dumb, listen to self-proclaimed storyfags like fantadomat.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

- I should note that I'm not looking for a 300+ hour game, lol. M&M6 sounds pretty good too.

M&M 6 is massive.

 

[fantadomat]

- I should note that I'm not looking for a 300+ hour game, lol. M&M6 sounds pretty good too.

M&M 6 is massive.

It is a 50h game for a newfag,it is not that massive lol. Unless you are a seventy year old grandpa that plays it in only TB.

 

[draug]

Both Legend of Grimrock games are fun and easily accessible places to start. If you want something with a bit more meat to it, definitely Wizardry 8.