I'm new to CRPGs, what games are the absolute must plays?

[Ol' Willy]

but Underrail has objectively better combat.

Indeed, because Underrail took Fallout combat and improved it. Thank Black Isle for the foundation.

 

[Sweeper]

Indeed, because Underrail took Fallout combat and improved it. Thank Black Isle for the foundation.

I mean okay, but in that case it vastly improved it since the combat in Fallout was pretty simplistic. Shoot melee and ocasionally aim shot.
Again, death animations were cool, especially on crits, but there's nothing really particularly good about Fallout combat.

 

[Ol' Willy]

I mean okay, but in that case it vastly improved it since the combat in Fallout was pretty simplistic. Shoot melee and ocasionally aim shot.
Again, death animations were cool, especially on crits, but there's nothing really particularly good about Fallout combat.

Fallout combat is kinda underdeveloped because the game was never 100% about combat. But the foundation is there, alright. We have AoD inspired Fallout TC (Sonora), I wish some crazy mofo will make an Underrail inspired Fallout TC. Then we can properly compare.

 

[Sweeper]

Fallout combat is kinda underdeveloped because the game was never 100% about combat

 

[Ol' Willy]

Sweeper

Not 100% about combat != shit combat

 

[Fowyr]

Never heard of these and don't care.

Joined: Apr 11, 2020

 

[Fowyr]

I played Ultima Underworld recently, and it was pretty fun. However I stopped at around level 4 in the underworld as it got repetitive (and I had started KotC - wrong move on my part to play two games at the same time).

Believe me, it will get better and better soon. Fucking level seven and eight. I love and hate them.
EDIT: Sorry, double posting. Why you are so slow, Codex slowpokes?

 

[Viata]

You will enjoy Ultima Underworld more, I think. The other Ultima titles are quite dated by now and personally I never liked them.

I played Ultima Underworld recently, and it was pretty fun. However I stopped at around level 4 in the underworld as it got repetitive (and I had started KotC - wrong move on my part to play two games at the same time).

You stopped it too soon, mate. The only time to stop Ultima Underworld is after you finish it so you enjoy watching the credits.

 

[Semiurge]

Never heard of these and don't care.

Joined: Apr 11, 2020

Don't let that fool you, I was already lurking before you joined.

 

[rpg_ghoul]

Stop playing that old shit young man.

stop playing games older than yourself to fit in among people who don't feel in any way particular about you

The real truth. You'll probably never meet anyone like us in real life, you'll probably not enjoy these games either.

I've got other hobbies which fit this catagory don't worry.

 

[rpg_ghoul]

Ignore everyone here and play:

Gothic 1
Gothic 2
Fallout 1
Fallout 2
Planescape: Torment
Ultima Underworld
Baldur's Gate 1
Deus Ex (with GMDX mod)
Dark Souls 1
System Shock 2
Witcher 3 (with Enemies of Rivia mod)
Zelda: Breath of the Wild (on an emulator on PC)
ELEX
Kingdom Come: Deliverance (modded as per my modding thread here, linked in the review)

You are welcome.

Thank you, I'm definetly gonna try all these except BotW but why do say to emulate when the original hardware isn't outdated?

 

[DalekFlay]

Thank you, I'm definetly gonna try all these except BotW but why do say to emulate when the original hardware isn't outdated?

I'm a Piranha Bytes fanboy but Gothic 1 is... pretty rough, today. I'd honestly start with the underrated Risen and then if you like their formula as much as I do go back and try Gothic 1 then. Or just read a summary of 1 and skip to Gothic 2, which is still amazing.

Rest of his list is pretty great, though Ultima Underworld is again a game most people today would find pretty rough I think.

 

[Viata]

Go with Gothic 1. I played it recently and it was still amazing. No reason to play something else, just go straight to play it.

 

[DalekFlay]

Go with Gothic 1. I played it recently and it was still amazing. No reason to play something else, just go straight to play it.

Suggesting a youngin' who is "new to RPGs" play Gothic 1 of all things right off the bat is insanity. You played it recently and it was still amazing, I replayed most of it and couple years and ago and enjoyed it, but we're coming from a much different place than he is. You gotta ease the girl into it, you can't just ram it up her ass.

 

[Viata]

Nah, someone somewhere had Gothic 1 as his first RPG, so your post makes no sense.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Yeah, I'll at least finish the Fallouts before I get anymore. The rest (besides Morrowind) I got for free, but I will pick up more games if they have another sale on any of the games I want to play the most. I'm at home 24/7 currently, so they won't last me too long.

If money is an issue, remember that you can play Dungeon Master (which for decades has been abandonware) for free via Return to Chaos, and that Dungeon Master boasts one of the two truly innovative interfaces in CRPG history (Morrowind is the second), so it's quite easy to play. The only potential obstacle to your enjoyment lies in Dungeon Master's 16-color Atari ST graphics, but in that case you can turn to Legend of Grimrock I & II released a quarter-century later.

 

[rpg_ghoul]

Go with Gothic 1. I played it recently and it was still amazing. No reason to play something else, just go straight to play it.

All the Gothics are on Sale for $3.60 on GOG, definetly wanna get II cos someone said it's the only game that scratches the same itch as Morrowind what about 1 and 3?

 

[Butter]

Gothic 1 is like a rough draft of Gothic 2. It's smaller and less polished. Gothic 3 doesn't live up to the first two, but it's an OK game overall.

 

[rpg_ghoul]

Gothic 1 is like a rough draft of Gothic 2. It's smaller and less polished. Gothic 3 doesn't live up to the first two, but it's an OK game overall.

I think I'll just grab II for now.

 

[rpg_ghoul]

Also, just an update on Fallout 1, I enjoyed it but uh, I didn't find it lived up to 2nd Best RPG of all time (https://rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=11193) like I know it's set in a wasteland but, the world just feels a bit bland and the npcs don't really have personality. It was fun, but it felt like more of a mystery/puzzle solving game with strategy combat, I think it's due to me not growing up in that era, but I see its merits, but I wouldn't recommend it to others my age, until they've sunk a bit deeper into RPGs that is. But I'm told Fallout 2 is a bit more exciting with more fleshed out characters, is this correct?

 

[Butter]

Fallout 2 is much bigger, with more locations, more companions, more quests. The wasteland has developed, and factional politics become more important than in the first game. If that were the end of the story, Fallout 2 would be my favourite game, but unfortunately the tone is all over the place. There are quite a few pop culture references and fourth wall breaks that bludgeon you over the head. Best to just ignore them whenever possible. Still they don't stop Fallout 2 from being a great game.

 

[The Jester]

Also, just an update on Fallout 1, I enjoyed it but uh, I didn't find it lived up to 2nd Best RPG of all time (https://rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=11193) like I know it's set in a wasteland but, the world just feels a bit bland and the npcs don't really have personality. It was fun, but it felt like more of a mystery/puzzle solving game with strategy combat, I think it's due to me not growing up in that era, but I see its merits, but I wouldn't recommend it to others my age, until they've sunk a bit deeper into RPGs that is. But I'm told Fallout 2 is a bit more exciting with more fleshed out characters, is this correct?

Like you, I didn't appreciate the value of Fallout 1 until I finished Fallout 2
That's when I realized the strengths of Fallout 1
The storytelling is more coherent and clear than the second game
The bleak atmosphere conveys a sense of loneliness in Wasteland
The few characters are well written and interesting
The story of Master, Richard Grey, it touched me on a more personal level
It is a game that make me feel so many different feelings
Sadness
Hope
Emptiness
Wonder
Melancholy
It is truly a masterwork of a game that is impossible to appreciate it in it's full glory without multi Playthrough.

 

[octavius]

The only potential obstacle to your enjoyment lies in Dungeon Master's 16-color Atari ST graphics,

How can anyone not like this nice, colourful graphics? The pixelation is even real, not factory made.

 

[azimovhaas8 (Moth)]

But Wizardry isnt hard just an annoying drag.
Now if you beat actual hard games that involved skill like Castlevania 3 (cause rpgs don't lets be honest) or Ghosts'n Goblins then i would get it.

And i know you old fucks don't want to hear it but any From Game is harder than your old boring shit.

Probably i joined small "discussion" about Wizardry 1-5 and it's comparrison to other more modern games at late, but here my 50 cents.
I played and completed Dark Souls 1, Sekiro, Might & Magic 2, Wizardry 7, Wizardry 1 and many more games, but how 5 games i just typed can be compared? (in my perspective, ofc)

Dark Souls 1 is strongly related to mechanical challenge - this game also have RPG elements (with similar outcome, but still), allowing to make game either easier (some spells, especially pyromancy in DS 1 and shield) or harder depending on player's choice. While here is good deal of overall mechanical challenge game bosses can throw at player along with interconnected world - still, i consider both Dark Souls 1 nothing beyond moderate to hard game, with hardest times in DS 1 for me being related to my own lack of game knowledge and enemy move set.
I played DS 1 as strenght based two-handed swordsmen with faith as second specialization - and i do not felt much challenge at times even playing by using Mouse + Keyboard. Notorious for some reason O&S bros? 5 deaths before victory. Quelag? 0 deaths.
Maybe it is related to some of my good choices in the game and my not *bad* reflexes, but Might & Magic 2 final dungeon even at level 30 been more stressful then whole O&S series of battles, personally. Still, game is unforgiving at times and do not going to guide player hand by hand.
Sekiro posses "stealth" as important mechanic and i been using stealth whole game, because i have some experise with stealth systems in games - and while generally Sekiro is harder compared to DS 1 it is fairly passable game, once player know gimmicks specific to Sekiro combat.

Might & Magic 2, Wizardry 1 require meta-knowledge, some patience from player side, and they require player to take notes at all points in the game OR very good memory. Choices made by player actions and in RPG related aspects will weight much more heavily. Do not made a poison curing potion before combat or not made some hints? FUCK YOU. So it is game system knowledge requiring not good reflexes (or not only good reflexes in case of games with real time) but also knowledge unique to related game [magic / spell system usually are most varied of the bunch].
And sometimes game knowledge will allow player to make shortcuts and do not cheeze that much for game completion.
[Actually, player also can grind in Dark Souls 1-3 the same as in Wizardry / M&M, but this is some developers foresight for less aknowledged players, as it seems]

Might & Magic 2 can be completed pretty quickly, Wiardry 1 is pretty neat game with parts of game not even being needed for game completion at all.

So while i love both Dark Souls 1 and something like Wizardry 1 almost equally - it is hard for me to differentiate both games by difficulty alone, at least in my opinion.

 

[octavius]

Might & Magic 2, Wizardry 1 require meta-knowledge,

How so?