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- Jan 28, 2011
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The first wave of the isometric RPG renaissance was the games that were crowdfunded in 2012. Wasteland 2, Pillars of Eternity, Divinity: Original Sin, Shadowrun Returns, Banner Saga, Expeditions: Conquistador, etc.
The second wave was the sequels and follow-up titles to those games, most of which were unsuccessful (with Divinity: Original Sin 2 as the famous sole exception).
The developers of the first wave have largely moved on to other things and for a while it seemed like the renaissance might be over.
But now we find ourselves facing a huge and unexpected third wave of isometric RPGs, virtually entirely spearheaded by European developers. It turns out that Pathfinder: Kingmaker and ATOM RPG, the games of the so-called "Russian RPG Renaissance" of 2018, were merely the precursors of this wave.
Dark Envoy (Poland)
Disco Elysium (Estonia)
Divinity: Fallen Heroes (Denmark)
Encased (Russia)
Gamedec (Poland)
Iron Danger (Finland)
Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory (Ireland)
Project Witchstone (Quebec)
Realms Beyond (Germany)
Solasta: Crown of the Magister (France)
Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones (Turkey)
Urban Strife (Romania)
and probably more
These aren't low budget pixel art indies, procedurally generated roguelites, or AoD/Underrail-type amateur efforts that take a decade to complete. They all look polished and professional. Some of them are crowdfunded or will be, but many aren't. It's really an unprecedented situation for the genre. There are so many of them.
The second wave was the sequels and follow-up titles to those games, most of which were unsuccessful (with Divinity: Original Sin 2 as the famous sole exception).
The developers of the first wave have largely moved on to other things and for a while it seemed like the renaissance might be over.
But now we find ourselves facing a huge and unexpected third wave of isometric RPGs, virtually entirely spearheaded by European developers. It turns out that Pathfinder: Kingmaker and ATOM RPG, the games of the so-called "Russian RPG Renaissance" of 2018, were merely the precursors of this wave.
Dark Envoy (Poland)
Disco Elysium (Estonia)
Divinity: Fallen Heroes (Denmark)
Encased (Russia)
Gamedec (Poland)
Iron Danger (Finland)
Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory (Ireland)
Project Witchstone (Quebec)
Realms Beyond (Germany)
Solasta: Crown of the Magister (France)
Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones (Turkey)
Urban Strife (Romania)
and probably more
These aren't low budget pixel art indies, procedurally generated roguelites, or AoD/Underrail-type amateur efforts that take a decade to complete. They all look polished and professional. Some of them are crowdfunded or will be, but many aren't. It's really an unprecedented situation for the genre. There are so many of them.
