Indie My personal list of criminally underrated RPGs.

[Arthandas]

Crosscode is popamole shit with nice pixel art, calling it an RPG or putting it next to Zelda is an insult. I agree with the rest though.

You should also add Fear & Hunger 1 and 2.

 

[Zanzoken]

Seven: The Days Long Gone.

Fairly unknown isometric action RPG. Cyberpunk vibe, I would call it a flawed gem more than 'criminally underrated'. Is it worth the $30 they are still asking for it as of right now? Probably not, if I'm being honest. $19.99 would be a very good price point for the Enhanced Edition they are now offering w/ the free DLC. There is a demo however if you want to test drive it for free.

Far better graphics but far less complex systems then probably what else is on this list so far.

I will echo this recommendation because I did enjoy the game and play it all the way through, which is somewhat rare for me. It is very ambitious and cool in some of the things it does, however I would also place major emphasis on the "flawed" part of flawed gem. I definitely recommend people try out the demo and/or wait for a sale vs paying full price.

Codex thread on the game is here with a lot more info / impressions: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...ction-rpg-from-former-cd-projekt-devs.102178/

 

[ShaggyMoose]

Eador Genesis - A kind of roguelike grand strategy-strategy-tactics game all rolled into one. You've got a top level campaign where you select worlds to conquer which reward you with unlocking parts of your tech tree and passive bonuses to help conquer worlds. Then you've got the world maps the next level down where you'll build up a city each time and recruit heroes and an army for them that can all level up, then the lowest level which consist of dozens of provinces which you can indivdually explore and fight tactical battles in and find encounters with random monsters and shopkeepers and such, along with little quest vignettes where you can bless a baby or sacrifice it to the dark gods depending on your alignment, which trickles back up into the highest layer where it influences the story and your relationship with other demigods. A masterpiece of marrying multiple layers of gameplay together. There's also an amazing mod called New Horizons that goes with it, the culmination of years of tweaks and added content from a dedicated fanbase. The mod does wildly alter the basic gameplay balance though, making recruitable units and wizards much more powerful and high level invincible warriors decked out in relics much less invincible. I feel like both the modded and base game have their merits, but the campaign is so incredibly long I've never found the time to get anywhere close to finishing it either way.

This reminded me that I have the sequel (Masters of the Broken World) in my Steam library but never played it. Looking at the reviews it seems the game has enough critical flaws that I never will...

 

[Serus]

Some of those games seems not really CRPGs, just games with stronger or weaker RPG elements. Eador is just a (very interesting) homm-like game. They are usually not considered crpg so this one shouldn't be either. It seems the case of "If i like it - it is a crpg", as are probably some other games on the list. Other than Eador i only played Starsector and it was years ago. I wouldn't call it a CRPG but they might have added whole new layers to the game over the many years.
Overall a very interesting list. Some games i had in my to-play list already but some i didn't heard of and they might be worth a look. Thanks.

 

[Sreggin Etah I]

X-Piratez. Check out my LP! It's a total conversion of the original X-Com where you control a faction of mutant amazon pirate babes in post apocalyptic earth. Ridiculous amounts of content. My new favourite game. Don't confuse my lack of description for lack of interest, it really is the best thing I've played, ever. I'm just sick of describing it after writing so much in the LP and plugging it in other places on the interwebs.

Do you have any hidden gem hentai recommendations? Only one I know of is Lona rpg, and virgin island wasn't too bad.

Btw, you two might want to look into this obscure series Monster Girl Quest:

https://mgq.miraheze.org/wiki/MonsterGirlQuest_Wiki

It's a hentai series that i saw some people recommending it in other 'underrated games' threads, they said that it does have a insane amount of content and depth, i haven't played them yet so i can't be sure. It seems like it's two trilogy of games, the first trilogy is a visual novel with RPG elements and the second trilogy is a full fledged JRPG, the games are translated except for the third part of the second trilogy, it still under translation. The translator said that the third part alone have 100 hours of gameplay so the games do look big..

 

[Sunri]

Do you have any hidden gem hentai recommendations? Only one I know of is Lona rpg, and virgin island wasn't too bad.

Hello friend i can recommend some of my favorites not all of them are action rpgs like Lona, but they are in fantasy setting so should be good enough!

https://mirthal.itch.io/aurelia

Aurelia is a retro pixel art visual novel where you will explore a fantastic medieval world and meet beautiful women, exotic races, and monster girls.
You will take the role of a young man that inherits his grandfather's house and, on a sudden twist of fate, becomes entangled with a mysterious sorceress.


Great art and big dungeon with blobber gameplay and some shitty mini games.


https://af.gog.com/en/game/seeds_of_chaos?as=1649904300


Not your average visual novel, Seeds of Chaos is a dark fantasy tale with RPG elements inspired by influential CRPG titles of years gone by.

Follow the story of Rowan Blackwell, former hero, as he finds himself forced to serve the dark bidding of a nefarious evil. Descend into darkness and join our hero on a journey of corruption and betrayal. Will you be able to maintain your heroic spirit, or will you live to become the undoing of everything you once fought for?


Godlike art choices and consequences, more like visual novel than rpg


https://gacorman70.itch.io/grolokk

Welcome ye lusty scoundrels seeking high adventure! Grolokk is a turn based RPG made in RPGMakerMV, following the adventures of a lowly Goblin Raider as he goes from a mere expendable piece of cannon-fodder to a full fledged Goblin Warlord!


Genuinely fun game.


https://damned-studios.itch.io/parasite-black

About PARASITE BLACK.

A mature, dark fantasy adult sandbox game set in Mirnos, a world under the fierce onslaught of a dangerous, bizarre race known as the Demorai. Born into the Kingdom of Alderay, you're sent on a suicide mission that should have cost you your life. Instead, you've been blessed with a second chance... Or rather cursed. But with your newfound "gift", you may just be able to turn the tides of war and save the realm from the clutches of the Demorai!

Edgy game with good art


https://apollo-seven.itch.io/naked-ambition

The king is dead leaving a power vacuum in the kingdom. Help guide the Princess on her quest to get herself upon the throne. You'll have to manage her classes and personality as she tries to gain support. But be careful, dangers are lurking everywhere and the Princess has a mind of her own.

I got so invested in trying to win this game that i forgot it's a porn game a lot of rng so might be frustrating


https://happydaedalus.itch.io/the-survival-of-sarah-rose

Good art and interesting story with multiply outcomes.


Ofc almost all those games are not finished and probably never will but still worth playing just dont support Patreon scam artist he-he instead pirate them or sum shit there are more titles but i just listed those in medieval/fantasy setting out off the top of my head have fun.

 

[luj1]

Escape from the Pit

Codexers have heard of it perhaps, but how many of them have played it?

Great writing, combat and atmosphere.

 

[ind33d]

Fire Emblem/XCOM/Shining Force should be considered RPGs. It's really bizarre that once an RPG has good gameplay it suddenly becomes a different genre

 

[deama]

https://gacorman70.itch.io/grolokk

Welcome ye lusty scoundrels seeking high adventure! Grolokk is a turn based RPG made in RPGMakerMV, following the adventures of a lowly Goblin Raider as he goes from a mere expendable piece of cannon-fodder to a full fledged Goblin Warlord!


Genuinely fun game.

Is there a way to speedhack it? It's a bit too slow for me and cheat engine doesn't work on it.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I don’t recall if Foglio did the manual art in Exile or Avernum. Both are in-game Manual I think.

Anyway, I love the Exile art as it reminds me of FRUA, Hearkenwold & Iceblink Engine, and maybe Jewel of Arabia. Of course ACS would be my initial influence.

I’ve been itching to get back to ACS again. Damn pity ACKS didn’t get updated.

​

​