Where to go after the first CRPGs? (newbie question)

[JoacoN]

Hey everybody, I wanted to ask something. I recently started playing CRPGs during quarintine as I had a lot more time, and I ended up loving them.
It first started with Fallout 3, I practically didn't know anything about fallout apart from some gameplays of 4 I saw, but I was really curious to see how it was and I ended up loving the exploration and aesthetic it had, how everything seemed rotten and putrid + the spanish dub is really damn funny at times with how much it can go from awful to really good in an instant.
Then I played FNV and I loved it too, a lot more in fact (20 hours in fallout 3 vs 90 in FNV), the setting was even better, the locations, characters, triple the amount of quests, just a lot more to experience.
I tried oblivion and skyrim, but I found them both really boring and got tired of them past a few hours, but Daggerfall is really really fun, I haven't finished yet but I start a new character every few months and it's always fun to just walk around cities and doing random side quests.
I also finished fallout 1 (amazing ending) and played fallout 2 (loved stuff like new reno and vault city), which were both great.

Now my question is, where should I go from there? I see people recommending Arcanum, others Ultima, others Wizardry, etc...
But I wanted to know what's a good CRPG for a mostly beginner in the genre, something that is similar to how classic fallout or Daggerfall work before I branch out to other styles of CRPG? It doesn't matter from what year it is, I can emulate it if it's needed

 

[Dedicated_Dark]

**Didn't we have like 2 weeks probation period after making an account? How did this guy join and post on the same day!**

Also, if you played Fallout 1 and 2 you are already in the top 20% of crpg gamers. But your statements regarding the games seem vague enough to be bullshit.

https://rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=11193
^Here's the rpgcodex top list, the next list will most certainly be worse cause I know BG3 will be in there somewhere. Anyway, go play some good shit like Gothic or Bloodlines. Also, gotta question your logic of trying Oblivion and Skyrim instead of Morrowind. Morrowind is deep throated for a reason.

 

[Gandalf]

Something like Fallout style? Maybe try Arcanum. It's a little rough, though. You can also try Underrail too.

 

[jaekl]

 

[Vic]

similar to how classic fallout or Daggerfall work

 

[Gandalf]

Oh yeah! Jackpot! REDAXIUM 2 is both like Fallout and Daggerfall at the same time. I wish it had ss big map as Daggerfall, though.

 

[JoacoN]

"Also, if you played Fallout 1 and 2 you are already in the top 20% of crpg gamers. But your statements regarding the games seem vague enough to be bullshit."
Ye I played fo1 and 2 but didn't want to make the post much longer, just put them there as a baseline of what I played so far, steam says I have 13 hours in fallout 1 and 30,4 in fallout 2.
fo1 was kinda quick cause I was pretty noob so I missed around half of the game, I think I only completed the BOS quests fully and the Mariposa base, in Boneyard I farmed a couple deathclaws cause I made a small guns build with a rifle and a shotgun, so it was pretty OP (same build I used first time in 3 and NV), I also did the scorpions mission for Shady Sands, and tried to use the recorder on Gizmo but i couldn't figure out how to use it, so I just pistol blasted him. The only time I had to use a guide was for figuring out how disabling the fields in Mariposa Base worked
In fo2 I tried something different and did a melee build + tried to roleplay more, which was pretty busted but it made combat really long (which is when I decided to turn on combat speed to the max) cause I would always send enemies flying with my hammer. I had to use a guide again when in San Francisco cause I tried for a whole afternoon to sneak in Navarro to get to the vertibird and fly to the oil rig, but I found out I instead had to repair the ship in San Francisco (which honestly was more boring than anything, would have prefered to have the chance to use the vertibird to go directly to the oil rig). Also RIP Lenny and Myron, both died in Navarro cause I put their combat AI to "agressive" and they rushed 3 Enclave soldiers.

I tried oblivion and skyrim cause they told me they were the most similar to fallout and good entry points, but idk they were just boring and didn't have much going on, so I guess I should try morrowind next.

Also thanks everybody for the recommendations, idk when this message will be sent cause it says im in process of mod aproval, but I hope it's soon.
Think im gonna play Bloodlines cause I really like source engine games and I haven't played any vampire centric games yet, so it could be an interesting experience

Redaxium 2 seems interesting too, like a liminal space (tho a little rough looking)

Starfield eugh

 

[JoacoN]

The reason why I played fo1 and 2 was because I really liked 3 and loved NV, so I wanted to continue with the series. But after that I realised "hey maybe CRPGs are kinda cool I should play more"

 

[__scribbles__]

But I wanted to know what's a good CRPG for a mostly beginner in the genre, something that is similar to how classic fallout or Daggerfall work before I branch out to other styles of CRPG? It doesn't matter from what year it is, I can emulate it if it's needed

As for classic Fallout - Arcanum is the next logical step, give it a try. There's Dark Sun: Shattered Lands if you want something more old-school and D&D, and check out Planescape: Torment as well. Wasteland is good, but it's more combat-focused than Fallout.

As for Daggerfall, Arena is obvious, but there really hasn't been much quite like Daggerfall made. Some other wide-open sandbox RPGs are Kenshi if you don't mind third-person camera and RTwP combat. There is also Darklands, but that's primarily text-based and party based. Excellent game though, definitely give it a try.
Ultima Underworlds are smaller in scale but another good option. Just beware that Ultima Underworld 2 is pretty heavily tied into the mainline Ultima series story-wise.

 

[Geewoody]

I think the next logical step for someone like you is the Baldur's Gate series, as a very simple and accessible introduction to party-based CRPGs, since you have only played games focused on a single character. Party members cooperating with one another in RPGs is a very different and important dynamic that the companions of Fallout do a very poor job capturing.

Just as Fallout 1 and Baldurs Gate 1 are foundational to the modern crpg, Ultima and Wizardy are foundational to the genre as a whole.

For Wizardry, I would recommend the PS1 port of Wizardry 1-3 to start, titled "Wizardry: Llylgamyn Saga". This port contains several QoL features and many graphical improvements. While I prefer Bradley's run on the series, the original trilogy is far more accessible, and as long as you read the manual you should be okay. You may find Lands of Lore or the Might and Magic series more immediately accessible for this subgenre as well.

For Ultima I'd recommend looking into xu4, which is a source port of Ultima 4 or Exult which is a source port of Ultima 7. Again, read the manual and you should be fine. These are exploration focused games and note taking is recommended.

Something I cannot stress enough, however, is to play the games relevant to your generation/time period rather than focus solely on old ones, so give Baldur's Gate 3, Disco Elysium, Pillars of Eternity, Divinity Original Sin, Underrail, Grimrock, Expeditions, etc. a look as well.

 

[Abu Antar]

ERYFKRAD do your thing.

 

[Vic]

Realms of Arkania HD

 

[Covenant]

I think World of Xeen would be a good starting point for someone just getting into CRPGs for the first time. It provides a nice counterpoint to Fallout - much less dialogue, much more combat, and more of a lively world.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

If your forte is first person CRPGs, try Prey, Arx Fatalis, Deus-Ex, System Shock 2, and Might & Magic Dark Messiah. All of them are pretty easy to get into and are a lot of fun. Nothing of them require crunch or deep understanding of a rule system. They're all very intuitive.

 

[Spukrian]

Now my question is, where should I go from there?

https://af.gog.com/game/ultima_underworld_1_2?as=1649904300

 

[EtcEtcEtc]

Hey everybody, I wanted to ask something. I recently started playing CRPGs during quarintine as I had a lot more time, and I ended up loving them.
It first started with Fallout 3, I practically didn't know anything about fallout apart from some gameplays of 4 I saw, but I was really curious to see how it was and I ended up loving the exploration and aesthetic it had, how everything seemed rotten and putrid + the spanish dub is really damn funny at times with how much it can go from awful to really good in an instant.
Then I played FNV and I loved it too, a lot more in fact (20 hours in fallout 3 vs 90 in FNV), the setting was even better, the locations, characters, triple the amount of quests, just a lot more to experience.
I tried oblivion and skyrim, but I found them both really boring and got tired of them past a few hours, but Daggerfall is really really fun, I haven't finished yet but I start a new character every few months and it's always fun to just walk around cities and doing random side quests.
I also finished fallout 1 (amazing ending) and played fallout 2 (loved stuff like new reno and vault city), which were both great.

Now my question is, where should I go from there? I see people recommending Arcanum, others Ultima, others Wizardry, etc...
But I wanted to know what's a good CRPG for a mostly beginner in the genre, something that is similar to how classic fallout or Daggerfall work before I branch out to other styles of CRPG? It doesn't matter from what year it is, I can emulate it if it's needed

If you like CRPG's in general, just play from the 101 list, it'll keep you busy.. I'd say go for Age of Decadence next.

 

[Lemming42]

Which type of game are you interested in, and what kinds of things are you looking for (combat, story, exploration, etc)? There's lots of subgenres to check out and they all play very differently. But if you liked Daggerfall and Fallout then you probably won't be put off by the mechanics and interfaces of most other 90s games, so you can pretty much pick anything that looks interesting and you'll be able to get to grips with it pretty quickly.

Also play Deus Ex - if you like terrible voice acting, it's got some of the best of all time.

 

[Butter]

Stick with the 96-04 period for a while. Deus Ex, Arcanum, Bloodlines, Baldur's Gate, Gothic, and Might & Magic 6 are all good choices after Fallout 1 and 2 and Daggerfall.

 

[JarlFrank]

Arcanum

Yes. This is Fallout but better. In fact, it is the best RPG ever made.

 

[REhorror]

There is like a handful of good CRPG, my man. It's not hard. My recommendation:
The classic: FO1+2, Torment (shit combat), Arcanum (shit combat), Gothic 1+2 (good to very good combat).
The new-age shit: Fallout New Vegas, STALKER.
The current day shit: Iron Towers Studio, Owlcat games.

 

[Jvegi]

Gothic is the pinnacle of the genre.

 

[REhorror]

Gothic is the pinnacle of the genre.

If it has permanent companions, I'd say so.

Can't have a RPG without a partey.

 

[JoacoN]

But I wanted to know what's a good CRPG for a mostly beginner in the genre, something that is similar to how classic fallout or Daggerfall work before I branch out to other styles of CRPG? It doesn't matter from what year it is, I can emulate it if it's needed

As for classic Fallout - Arcanum is the next logical step, give it a try. There's Dark Sun: Shattered Lands if you want something more old-school and D&D, and check out Planescape: Torment as well. Wasteland is good, but it's more combat-focused than Fallout.

As for Daggerfall, Arena is obvious, but there really hasn't been much quite like Daggerfall made. Some other wide-open sandbox RPGs are Kenshi if you don't mind third-person camera and RTwP combat. There is also Darklands, but that's primarily text-based and party based. Excellent game though, definitely give it a try.
Ultima Underworlds are smaller in scale but another good option. Just beware that Ultima Underworld 2 is pretty heavily tied into the mainline Ultima series story-wise.

I tried Ultima Underworld but I had the same issue with vanilla daggerfall with my mouse duplicating on the screen having like a hundred copies of it spammed all around the place. I could try it again now that I have another PC

 

[JoacoN]

I think the next logical step for someone like you is the Baldur's Gate series, as a very simple and accessible introduction to party-based CRPGs, since you have only played games focused on a single character. Party members cooperating with one another in RPGs is a very different and important dynamic that the companions of Fallout do a very poor job capturing.

Just as Fallout 1 and Baldurs Gate 1 are foundational to the modern crpg, Ultima and Wizardy are foundational to the genre as a whole.

For Wizardry, I would recommend the PS1 port of Wizardry 1-3 to start, titled "Wizardry: Llylgamyn Saga". This port contains several QoL features and many graphical improvements. While I prefer Bradley's run on the series, the original trilogy is far more accessible, and as long as you read the manual you should be okay. You may find Lands of Lore or the Might and Magic series more immediately accessible for this subgenre as well.

For Ultima I'd recommend looking into xu4, which is a source port of Ultima 4 or Exult which is a source port of Ultima 7. Again, read the manual and you should be fine. These are exploration focused games and note taking is recommended.

Something I cannot stress enough, however, is to play the games relevant to your generation/time period rather than focus solely on old ones, so give Baldur's Gate 3, Disco Elysium, Pillars of Eternity, Divinity Original Sin, Underrail, Grimrock, Expeditions, etc. a look as well.

Gotcha, I tried giving Pillars of Eternity a chance but after I got to a zone with a beach and a really complex cave I kinda fell off, really didn't feel like wanting to see the story they presented and the companion I had was pretty annoying
I got duckstation set up so I could try Wizardry after the holidays when I got more time, and I saw ultima 4 on gog so it could be a good option too

 

[JoacoN]

Thanks everybody for the support, think im gonna start by Bloodlines, Deus Ex, and Arcanum, they look really unique in their setting and from the gameplays I checked I can half understand them.
Ultima and Wizardry look good too, but I don't wanna burn out all of these in the same month, I got all summer to play them so gonna do it more slowly.