A review of every major CRPG from the last ten years

[@fmatson]

Disco Elysium - '...as you step into the shoes of a character...' - Well, if you can find them.

[@leonf8199]

lul they are literally in the same room + balkon

[@sovietcanuckistanian]

I spent the first day running around with only one shoe , until I had the debrief with Kim on the balcony

[@bwfextreme]

@@sovietcanuckistanian I’ve never played a game like Disco before and I found both shoes within the first 10 minutes. Not too hard to open a door and grab the shoe

[@justinsmith5582]

@@bwfextreme 2 doors

[@markwheeler4245]

I keep looking at Disco Elysium but I’ve never been into pc style games I started gaming on NES and still play console but after all I hear about DE being a great game I’m kinda tempted to try it

[@Indigo_Gaming]

It's incredible that you're able to put out so much useful and well-produced RPG content on a regular basis. Great job, man!

[@NeverKnowsBest]

Thanks. My secret is that I don't have a life.

[@Indigo_Gaming]

@@NeverKnowsBest Ah, the best secret! 😂

[@solanumtuberosa]

@@NeverKnowsBest gamers live many lives *cue linkin park song*

[@isair81]

@@NeverKnowsBest That always helps!

[@TheDragonshadow1231]

@@NeverKnowsBest Lol freak you on bethesda Fallout 4, 76 FO4 is ok except 76.

[@uniquechannelnames]

I gotta say Disco Elysium was the most unique game I've ever played in my life. I grew up playing the Baldur's Gate series, Ultima (even played Ultima Online in its golden age), Jagged Alliance, even playing RPG MUDs. But the writing in Disco Elysium reads like a masterful page-turner, the discussions on philosophy, life, death, the consequences of actions, addiction, memory loss, despair, trauma and pain... All interwoven with the fact that you are only capable of seeing, and acting upon the events around you that your skills allow you to. If your skill level isn't high enough, it might not even be brought up at all. This makes subsequent playthroughs a fresh experience as a different skill set results in you perceiving the world in different ways. I love how this game embraces the more vague world of our minds, like consciousness, feelings, hunches, dreams. Overall for me it's a clear 10/10 legendary status for me. Shit I might go start a new game right now...

[@blushingralseiuwu2222]

For sure, too bad its a detective/mystery game. Not saying its bad, but replay value take a hit because you already know the major storyline.

[@kaizenyasou6963]

Y it's like inside out film but with way more darkness and deep meanings and politics... A masterpiece

[@dersuddeutschesumpf5444]

It's an incredible game that deserves every single award it won. The way it's able to convey the extremely dark and difficult emotions of an addiction and depression ridden detective is simply amazing. It being skill based did nothing but absolutely blow the replay value out of the water and add tons on unique and wholesome flavour to each playthrough. The story alone is worth buying the game ignoring the incredible art style. All in all I can't recommend this game enough

[@rodrigomanzo777]

of all the games in this list Disco Elysium is perhaps the only masterpiece in this list (i hear divinity is also on another level but i havent played it)

[@rodrigomanzo777]

@@blushingralseiuwu2222 the value isnt in the plot, but in how your character responds to it, it is perhaps one of those few games where you can play more than 2 characters, even the outcomes of answers are well planned, and you can skip/do things different in different playthorughs, with differnt outcomes. But tbf, the storyline argument is pretty much the same for every game out there. Maybe the only one i'd commend for the agency it gives to the player is Pentiment, but even then not even close to Disco Elysium

[@ronnier1456]

I’ve never commented on a KZbin video. Ever. This video, while definitely made for a niche audience, showed so much preparation, balanced informative commentary, and true opinions from the creator of the video. I’m blown away after watching this in its entirety. I wasn’t bored at any point, even during the reviews I’d the games I had either a lot of experience in or didn’t care for. Man I could keep providing praise for this video but I will stop and just say, thank you for giving me a reason to really respect those that out together KZbin videos professionally again. Highest recommend possible for this particular project.

[@theblacksheep1000]

then you are a considered a NCBAYTV (Non Commenting Blown Away KZbin Viewer) in the genera!

[@Nairneh]

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I wish I found this a little earlier :).

[@adino20]

What is a true opinion?

[@TheKotfu]

Shame that the one comment you made is this...

[@mercster]

Kinda fucked up your first KZbin comment, didn't ya.

[@danielmace406]

My favorite part of original sin wasn't the interaction with the environment, it was the quests. The quests actually felt like quests, rather than fetch errands. They were well thought out and highly engaging.

[@dane7584]

I must ask, how? As you start the game you are put in charge of an murder investigation. I went all around town talking to everyone and gather clues, break into houses for that purpose just to realize that the world has zero interactivity to my actions and that the plot will resolve itself by just going out of town in a straight line beating up enemies as you come across them. The rest of the game is just more of the same going in a straight line which is even more forced upon the player as zones are leveled in such intent. The writing is passable at best with the world being inconsistent as hell from serious diplomatic issues presented first, going to banal goofy fantasy stuff (remember facing a goofy necromancer suicide bomber, wtf?).

[@strongerstone9651]

@@ar-yj8lb that's a loss, several years ago my first play through was stopped at Arx city, too. early time this year I pick it up and replay it and really enjoy this experience. My point is, the plot in the Arx and the end of the game, all the final charaters are meet together, the feeling is so good and is so unique, only by the lastest piece of this game, it makes the game whole and to an another level.

[@whoaskedyoutolookatthis]

And not having a compass telling you where to go was the best part for me. I've gotten used to the fallout/skyrim type of quests. Just follow the compass or the point in the map and tadah. I had to wreck my brain for some quests in DOS2.

[@AuxCart]

Playing divinity OS2, and I was similarly blown away by the sheer variety of ways I found for getting past the fort at the beginning. Haven't gotten much further due to the combat spike past there, but I'm going back someday. 😅

[@tekelupharsin4426]

@@AuxCart DOS2 is an absolute masterpiece. It's easy to cheese fights if you're a n00b. If you're struggling with a particular battle, just start combat with only one character and barrel sneak your other characters in one at a time with attacks of their own. This way each character can enter the battle separately via a sneak attack from an ideal position. It's pure cheese, but the strategy I'd recommend for those new to the game if they find a fight too tricky to initialize with the entire party at once. Once you learn the true depth of the combat system, you can win every fight in the game without having to cheese anything. Also, potions. Potions, potions, potions - the Five Star Diner skill is the best talent in the game, IMHO. I recommend you put it on every character.

[@pistol0grip0pump]

Disco Elysium was so beautiful, sad, deep and enthralling. The tone and setting was so rich you could taste it. Praying for a sequel, it kept me going through a very isolated lockdown.

[@-BEASTOR-]

That game was so good.

[@oweebu1757]

Sequel is in the works and developer said it will have a lot of new things (like combat). Disco Elysium was so good its like my second favorite game.

[@laresilience5829]

Make sense. Estonian dev. We know how to survive long lonely winter 😅

[@AZInMotion]

Yes man incredible experience

[@enternamehere142]

But, very boring.

[@JuliusCaesar103]

Mr. NeverKnowsBest I just want to tell you that your videos provide me a great amount of pleasure and without exception, they've always made me ponder different concepts about game making and game design. Thank you very much for making videos.

[@GamingYooler]

Your Disco Elysium review got me to pause at the spoilers and buy the game. I wouldn't have given it a second look otherwise. So thank you, it was a really enjoyable experience and just hearing the soundtrack play in the background of parts of this video is already making me nostalgic for it. Going off these recommendations Shadowrun Dragonfall will be my next stop, having already played Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2 to death.

[@pierreclaverie3884]

After dozen of hours this soundtrack felt quite annoying to me tho...

[@zaratustra00]

I am in Wasteland 3 now :)

[@Bill_Garthright]

I was surprised at how much I loved _Disco Elysium._ At first glance, it didn't seem like my kind of game. But it certainly was! PS. I would recommend _Kenshi_ and _Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG,_ if you're not already familiar with those. The latter is still technically in early development, but not for long, I think. (I bought it - and played the prologue - nearly a year ago.)

[@nicholascallahan142]

Is the 1st sins good I got 2 but I'm stuck on the last boss battle I think I'm gonna co op it with some one

[@zzxp1]

Disco Elysium has been the most joyful experience i've had with an RPG in recent years. I also remember liking Dragonfall very much even if i no longer remember much of the story and the combat was rather bland. Shoutouts also to Kingmaker that would be easily the best D&D inspired game of the list if not for the amount of bugs and how some decisions could snowball into a dead end.

[@plok742]

considering its history, who could have ever imagined the CRPG genre reaching unequivocal AAA blockbuster smash hit levels of success with BG3. The genre hasn't been revived, its something bigger than it ever was before

[@jjpaq]

A lot of it is due to the technology improving-the levels of fidelity and visual effects that are possible, while still keeping the scale and depth of the game as huge as CRPGs need to be, just weren't possible years ago.

[@ericknorskr8568]

@@jjpaq kinda? CRPG's are still the same, back in the day a crpg would take 2-3 years to make, while a normal game would take under a year. It is still comparable, as even the most rushed of games take 2-4 years to make. BG3 can be easily compared to Arcanum of steamworks and magick, it ain't happening again in a looong time, 8 years is a lot of time for a single game, and a niche one at that, even though bg3 kinda of broke this. But i don't think is financially possible for AAA companies to do this, they are generally desorganized and underpaid. larian is a unicorn among developers, as BG3 took 8 years of 24/7 work (larian has dev's in multiple continents)

[@ericknorskr8568]

iirc the lead dev said it wouldn't be possible without the dynamic with the thailand team.

[@PaulRGauthier]

How about we just admit that it was always huge? Rpgs have NEVER been "niche." What Baldur's Gate 3 did was prove this fact.

[@plok742]

@@PaulRGauthier as this video explains, the CRPG genre had basically no new games for nearly a decade and had to be revived through crowdfunding

[@MorphyVA]

Currently playing Pillars of Eternity 1, and I just did the Battle of Yenwood quest. Everything leading up to that quest was entertaining as hell and just won me over!

[@stephensewell2287]

Battle of Yenwood Field was a very fun quest, and the DLC storylines I found enjoyable. The main story is extremely disjointed imo as it was really dragged down by the assault of lore and worldbuilding the game throws at you and the lack of meaningful steaks established, especially with how it engages with the player character. I'd be interested in seeing what your opinion is at the end of the game.

[@maiskorrel]

If you like pillars than I also really recommend the sequel (POE II: DeadFire) definitely an improvement in comparison with the first game. Both games are nice though

[@BlueDongDroop]

PoE 1 was really fun when it came out after a long CRPG drought, but playing it now it feels like trash.

[@mattrg320]

I'm also playing Pillars of Eternity 1 at the moment. I'm not a huge fan of the pause and play combat system, but I find this game interesting and engaging. If I ever run into a truly difficult situation, I just don't hesitate to lower the difficulty. Playing the game with this mantra has improved my experience significantly. I normally don't play games like this, but with this game, I don't really mind at all. I enjoy the story and the characters; it's a journey.

[@prospero2000usa]

@@mattrg320 POE 2 does have a turn-based mode as an option. I prefer that over pause and play as well, and he did miss mentioning that option in the review. Perhaps wasn't there as an option when first released.

[@kylelakowski94]

Wasteland 3 got me into CRPGS. thank you for this video I'm now 25 hours into DOS. I can't believe I took this genre for granted for so long

[@captainsmellyparts5579]

Pillars of Eternity 1 got me into CRPG's, but Wasteland 3 is the one that I would recommend somebody new to the genre. It's entertaining and it isn't hard at all to get into, also very forgiving with unlimited repec.

[@lillyclarity9699]

I love Age of Decadence. It's my third favorite RPG. It's so amazing and extremely underrated. The amount of choice available, the fact that there are around 9 significantly different 50+ hour main questlines. Such an amazing game and what a wonderful mystery - I always have a softspot for games where you can figure out "what broke the world." Disco Elysium is my favorite RPG. "I AM A POLICEMAN OF THE STATE TO COME"

[@patrickstar2027]

same, it's definitely rough around the edges but the charm and gameplay is amazing.

[@RMHutchings]

I agree it's a real love letter to fans of CRPGS. I think despite the setting it does a better job recreating the Fallout 1 magic than bethesda or Inexile managed. Although I've just started wasteland 3 and I'm enjoying it more than 2 so far.

[@luluna5228]

whats your second best

[@lillyclarity9699]

@@luluna5228 man, I left that comment over a full year ago by this point - you're lucky that Disco Elysium is still my favorite and hasn't been dethroned, honestly. I dunno what my second favorite in mind was when I wrote this comment, honestly, but in general it's probably Divine Divinity, Original Sin 2, Elden Ring, Bloodborne, or Dragon's Dogma. Or Underrail. Morrowind should be mentioned, too. idk man this question gives me anxiety just play all the rpgs, they're all pretty great honestly

[@luluna5228]

@@lillyclarity9699 played all but underail, have you played fallout 2? it wasnt as good as people say in my opinion but it was good. how good is underrail? better than fo2?

[@captainblacktail8137]

Tyranny is well worth playing if at least to experience the setting and well done unique villainous perspective. However it will definitely leave you with wishing that there was more.

[@DreamskyDance]

I liked Tyranny very much... the combat and not much variety in enemies didnt bothered me like he stated in the video. And the shortness... it feels like I read one book from fantasy book series ( like Malazan book of the Fallen, or Prince Of Nothing... the vibe of the game actually reminds me of those two series a bit ) but i liked the shortness of it in a way, i often do not like overly long games unfortunately. It would be great if they would make Tyranny 2 and 3 and 4..etc and really have multiple standalone games but in a series, like a fantasy book series XD

[@khatack]

Tyranny is also utter crap as a game. It has the most retarded character development system since Oblivion.

[@socomchamp00]

I actually didn't enjoy Tyranny, it was so boring for me that I couldn't even finish the game. I was super disappointed considering how much fun I had playing Pillars of Eternity.

[@emre30489]

i am into rpg games since i first time played skyrim but i never got to chance to play some old fashion isometric style rpg with not having any(or almost none) voice overs. tyranny was the first game i played a c-rpg style game because epic games gave it for free (lol) and i fucking loved it. Originality of its story and in-depth characters was very interesting for me. dont know why some people here think its boring maybe i am just too new to this genre and tyranny brings nothing new or interesting enough to distinguish from other crpgs out there. still wahtever your reasons are, i think tyranny is a good game especially with its unique story.

[@khatack]

@@emre30489 That is because you fundamentally do not understand the game. What you list as good is, as you said, nothing new and not even that good by comparison. The very original setting is its only real selling point, which is admittedly one of the most interesting settings ever used in a video game, but alone it kinda just ends up as wasted potential ruined by a shit game. Although, if Skyrim is your frame of reference, then I can see how Tyranny might seem like something amazing. And no, Skyrim is not an rpg, no matter how much it tries to pretend to be one.

[@redacted9606]

As far as Underrail's oddity system, I'm with sseth. Its an experience, and after you've experienced it once you'll never want to experience it again.

[@alexgalays910]

awful.

[@albotroszzz8750]

Hey hey

[@SpecShadow]

he's right and you know it

[@123698lol]

I like it, personally. But I also autistically check every single cabinet and box I can.

[@D00000T]

@@123698lol tbh, the devs knew exactly that the type of people to play something like underrail are the autistic specially challenged ones like us. Probably why there aren't any quest markers or any useful in game guides since they knew someone was going to spend a portion of their life finding out everything about their game and then create an entire wiki to be a guide for any other specially challenged that come along.

[@TheNerevahkiin]

I’m SO glad that these games aren’t really niche anymore thanks to good marketing, repeated successes (most notably Divinity:Original Sin 1&2 as well as Pillars of Eternity) and Steam sales/distribution. The popularity they’ve been getting in recent years is more than deserved!

[@milansvancara]

PoE 2 was the peak and we wont get over it... it wasn't as successful as expected and they wont make a sequel

[@mitch6962]

Why does that make you glad?

[@Dext3rM0rg4n]

@@milansvancara this aged badly, BG3 proved that the CRPG revival didn't peak with PoE. I wonder if we'll get more CRPG from bigger studio now that it's proven that this genre can still get mainstream success.

[@milansvancara]

@@Dext3rM0rg4n Well I'm glad I was wrong, however I still miss real time combat category

[@SchlauSchafe]

@@milansvancara i bet that's a tough call for the devs when they make CRPGs because the playerbase for them is pretty split, iirc. I, for one, hate the real time combat and much prefer turn based, so at least games with both types of combat exist, lol.

[@guguigugu]

Shadowruns were 10/10, despite being low budget. the writing, if you make a point to read through the dialogues properly, was way above generic videogame level. i loved them all.

[@MrSp0iler]

modern games are so slow i just watch others play

[@Frosty1979]

Dragonfall was my favourite. Brilliant game. First one was just okay though.

[@guguigugu]

​@@Frosty1979 i slightly prefer hong kong. loved the setting and the sountrack. but dragonfall had the best story, definitely.

[@xlr8442]

I've only played HK, and while it certainly had it's downfalls, most major to me being no voice acting, it is the game that got me into CRPGs

[@GuyLogen]

I agree. Infact I would argue they are better than DOS:1 in terms of how interesting they can be and also how simple they are to get into for a beginner. Also the writing is definitely superior to most games barring a few better more story focused experiences like a disco elysium (haven’t played it yet though).

[@angrythomas6954]

When the world needed him most he returned

[@j.s.t.6515]

Batman!! I mean... The leader!!

[@justagosling]

Its a setup for the Baldurs Gate 3 spam.

[@JazzzRockFuzion]

Wasteland 3 - one of my favorite CRPGs - dropped three days before this video released; would love to know your opinions of it!

[@dodgyhodgyo4]

Just makes me sad that Fallout didn't go the same direction as Wasteland. For as much as I love New Vegas I can't help but feel it would have been far less clunky feeling and at times tedious if it were a top down CRPG.

[@KeithKillingly]

was wondering why it wasn't in here. Honestly think it's alot better than w2, but i love both

[@pninnan]

@@dodgyhodgyo4they had to follow industry trends, and fps was/is much much more sellable than crpgs. The new fallout wouldn’t have succeeded to the same level otherwise.

[@dodgyhodgyo4]

@@pninnan I know I know, money talks and that modern formula clearly works with how well Fallout 4 did, but my baby 22 year old ass still recognises the Beauty of those first two classics.

[@mohammedsarker5756]

@@dodgyhodgyo4 nah, FPS is more fun, NV gives the best balance of both worlds

[@horstschlemmer9578]

I just want to add to your points about Dragonfall. For me as a German, the setting is very interesting. I dont think there is a single other game, where you play in Cyberpunk Berlin.

[@MaitreMechant]

there's another one called State of Mind if you're interested

[@alexwalters9173]

NeverKnowsBest, I seriously hope you try Wasteland 3. I'm 70 hours in and it feels totally unique. Controls are refined, the UI and graphics are gorgeous and it's fully voice acted.

[@otakon17]

Damn, how did you have time to write this comment? It cam out like what, 3 days ago as of this comment?

[@zaratustra00]

yeah i am 19h and need to say it's very good so far. We shall see critique from NeverKnowBest!

[@CreedManiac99]

@@otakon17 it came out before on Gamepass

[@sotothankyouidied]

This game actually caught me off guard by how addicting it is

[@rythmstream3622]

I see fellow people of great taste

[@StarlightDragon]

Yo, I got underrail because of you apparently. I had forgotten why I had it on my wishlist and bought it on a whim. Outside of some issues with the UI and interface design, I have thoroughly loved it. I wasn't sure how "well" I was doing, but hearing that Depot A was indeed a difficulty spike has made me feel comfortable with my progression as I just completely cleared that level. And what a phenomally designed dungeon crawl

[@MinecraftMasterNo1]

If Paradox was to put up a kickstarter for a new Tyranny game, I will sell my family to fund that shit. The game deserved so much more love and attention than what it got.

[@joaquinnievas9079]

I dont know if you have to do that for the Kickstarter campaing, but being a Paradox game, you Will have to sell your family for the DLCs

[@KinFilms]

The game is criminally underrated. The marketing for the game did a terrible job, and the low sales at launch robbed us of real DLC. It's one of the rare games to actually make you FEEL something. The growing sense of power and possibility was incredible. It's what games like Skyrim attempt, but the poor writing and comically broken level of bugs prevent. I would put up $500 for a sequel (as long as it was similarly good and a little longer).

[@dominikseljan3043]

​@@KinFilms Right on dude! I had a blast playing it recently. All the choices you can make and the whole environment is so unique.

[@stylesheetra9411]

With how much paradox like mana a crpg seems like the perfect choice for them But rpg dont work well with their dlc policy

[@toffeecrisp2146]

I liked it too, i just wish they had fleshed out the paths that involved remaining loyal to Kyros, as much as they did, the path of siding with the rebels. And that they had finished the story in a nore satisfying manner.

[@WhiskeyAfterHours]

Underrail is such a fantastic game, I hope everyone here listens to his reccomendations!

[@bugfeatures]

I started Underrail, but didn't get very far. I usually like to take my time so "not far" was still a one or two hours in and i realy hate to replay something i already know, its just boring. So i could not bring myself to start over with a different build. And now its collecting digitial dust in my library despite beeing highly interesting to me. What a shame.

[@cloudwalk4566]

@@bugfeatures I tried it like 2 or 3 times (for about 8-10 hours each in about 2 years) ....then, finally I bought the expansion and played it through. I was completely destroyed mentally (lol), but I loved every second of it. For me it's way better than Fallout or Wasteland or any other games in this genre. You WILL need patience, and a build from the forums. ;)

[@Matthew075]

Sure if you enjoy being tortured or having to restart a million times until you understand how the game works...

[@Matthew075]

@@cloudwalk4566 If you NEED a build from the forums then it sucks as an RPG. The point of an RPG is building your own character.... not playing someone else's build.. where is the fun in that?

[@cloudwalk4566]

@@Matthew075 it's perfectly fine with any character on normal.

[@beestings22]

I can’t exactly put my finger on why, but this is one of my favorite KZbin videos of all time. I’ve watched it all the way through about 5 times, and a couple more unfinished watches. I’ve only ever played one of these games, and not even that far. I just really enjoy the way you break these things down, the way you engage with them, and the way you present them to the audience. Thank you for making this.

[@Corrupted]

DOS2 was the first CRPG I played in over 8+ years, it's so god damn good that it got me really interested in replaying the old games like baldurs gate that I missed when I was a kid, it's absolutely a masterpiece and worth the 70-100 hours you will put into it!

[@Pogey_Bait]

You should play Pathfinder Kingmaker.

[@GappyYT]

@Karlimodivinity original sin 2

[@Vidrageon]

DOS2 is a masterpiece, agreed. Up there with BG2 and Planescape: Torment imo.

[@namelessking9068]

before i played dos2, i knew it is amazing with 90+ ratings but i where positiv surprised. its mindblowing :) btw, its better as baldurs gate

[@arcanethink]

Also Disco Elysium

[@captain4318]

Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny will both be free on the Epic store for a week, starting at December 10. 100% Worth picking them up if you are interested in this genre and haven't played them.

[@alal792]

Got em, then purchased 2 when I say it was the culmination of the series

[@SpecShadow]

and both comes with DLCs... White March 1 and 2 are nice enough to pick up

[@CrissCHG]

Thanks !!!

[@cryptox1469]

God damn it i missed it

[@D00000T]

@@cryptox1469 you can still get it for free from certain places of the web

[@dendarkjabberwock]

Really wholesome review of great CRPGs in past ten years. Especially glad that brilliant AoD, ATOM and Underrail were mentioned cause they are not so well known as DoS/PoE/Disco. They even have more indie vibe than Shadowrun.

[@jarredlucas4000]

Use less acronyms, you have all the time in the world son.

[@guts1859]

@@jarredlucas4000 Those aren't acronyms, son. For an abbreviation to be an acronym it must be pronounced as a word. I doubt anybody would pronounce 'AoD' as a word.

[@animelibrarian6525]

Age od Decadence is such a hidden gem, I'm glad you talked about it.

[@Bill_Garthright]

I remember waiting for _Age of Decadence,_ ... and waiting,... and waiting. Until I finally gave up. I kept checking the website, but eventually, I figured it was vaporware, so I stopped. So that's one of the few games on this list I haven't played. (I was familiar with all of them.) I do wish he'd included _Kenshi,_ though - and _Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG._ Admittedly, the latter is technically still in early access (though I played the prologue nearly a year ago and loved it). But _Kenshi_ should have been included, don't you think? I mean, it's a very unique kind of game, but wouldn't you consider it to be a CRPG? I played it for more than a thousand hours (starting when it was still in alpha) before I'd finally had enough. And I may end up going back to it again sometime. I can't remember the last time I stuck with a game that long.

[@rustyshackleford3190]

If you enjoy Age of Decadence you'll be happy to discover Dungeon Rats, a sort of sequel game. Same mechanics, different story. Very fun.

[@ExeErdna]

@@rustyshackleford3190 Dungeon Rats felt very experimental yet anything in that AoD universe is cool to me.

[@Sleeprocket1]

The Space Colony game also seems pretty cool, i tried the combat demo for a bit and i think its looking pretty good if you liked AoD

[@arrogantsavant2960]

I bought it 2 hours after this video I've been having a lot of fun

[@MrPobanz]

I recently started Pathfinder: Kingmaker and especially due to turn-based combat, its by far my favorite of the BG successors. Given how successful Wasteland 3 turned out to be and having Baldurs Gate 3 on the horizon, as an crpg fan of old I couldn't be more happy with the current state of the genre. It certainly helped that the gaming industry grew a lot since the early 2000's which results in this kinda niche genre to be large enough for high budget titles which don't lose their core because of the need of mass-appeal. One nice side effect is full voice acting, which I myself would've deemed totally unimportant just a decade ago, but turned out to be a big improvement when it comes to enjoyment of those games (and should make them more enjoyable for a wider audience as well).

[@isaaclong6085]

I'm really happy it's resurged a bit. I didn't grow up with crpgs, so I was very unfamiliar with them. A lot have been being ported to xbox, so I've got to indulge in some of the old classics and modernized takes

[@MrPobanz]

@@isaaclong6085 I'm glad they're ported to consoles as well, while I wouldn't like to play them that way myself, its always great when a wider audience can enjoy those games. Don't know if you played the DoS games (especially the 2nd) but afaik they did a really good job and I'd highly advise giving them a try, especially with friends via coop.

[@poppers7317]

I also like Pathfinder: Kingmaker the best of these Baldur's Gate like games. There's also a turn based mod that makes it more enjoyable for me. I have so many issues with Pillars. The balancing is boring. The fights are repetitive as hell. Having so many trash fights and not even getting xp is just horrible design. In Pathfinder the fights feel way more handcrafted. The combat in Pillars just feels way less good in general in comparison to the old Infinity Engine games or Pathfinder. And having that many useless "backer characters" in the game world desroys any immersion for me. The character system also isn't very intricate. Pathfinder has so many more possibilities.

[@aloneaflame9343]

@@poppers7317 You don't need the turn based mod anymore since it comes with the "definitive edition" patch for free. Also they do it better than in Pillars; you can switch it on the go. This feature is quite essential due to the nature of trash "random encounter" mobs. Overall I love Kingmaker though, it radiates such a nostalgic, warm vibe. Sort of like the first LOTR.

[@johndeighan2495]

I just started Kingmaker a few days ago. Heard it was buggy so avoided it, but it's been running smooth. There are things that irritate me about it, like too many ability-depleting effects at low levels, which is a pain to deal with, and there seems to be a lot of fun-free faffing involved... but overall I'm quite impressed. I plan to take my time with it and see it through to the end (while I'm waiting for BG3 full release).

[@jonathanhijlkema8247]

Divinity original sin 2 is one of my favorite games ever. The music in that game made it into a complete masterpiece for me. Hope they hang on to that musical genius for Baldurs gate :)

[@PaulRGauthier]

That comment aged like fine wine.

[@Anacronian]

I've played most of the games on this list and I look forward to the next Pathfinder game, But my soul crave more Disco Elysium!

[@jasonmendoza2044]

I’m about to buy it and get started 👌🏽

[@Frogotron]

Absolutely brilliant video so far, just wanted to say I had never heard of Age of Decadence before but will definitely be playing it now, thanks :)

[@regalpinion4201]

Mr. Dubois?

[@dominikseljan3043]

Same here, went directly on my wishlist as soon as I've seen it :)

[@higgenbottom3203]

Tequila Sunset?

[@ElSeto93]

Really loved Tyranny. Hope there will be more similar games like it in the future.

[@matthewdavis101]

This is just as wonderful a documentary as it is a review. Thank you for taking the time to explore my favorite video game genre - reminding me of the games I've loved and introducing me to many I plan to try this holiday season. Really well done.

[@AlsGaming]

Age of Decadence and Underrail probably have to be some of my favourite games of all time. ATOM is still good, but as you said it shares too many of fallout's negatives. The standalone expansion for it is already out (Trudograd), which has a lot of improvements over the original but is still very early access. I just think it's great that we've basically entered a new golden age for cRPGs, especially since both indies and big developers are releasing great titles.

[@danielgiovanniello7217]

I'm still waiting for Hairbrained Schemes to give us a new Shadowrun game. I know Dragonfall isn't a perfect game, but its story and characters had me hooked the entire way through. Glory is such a great character, I just wish more people knew about the game and played it.

[@toffeecrisp2146]

Age of decadence was a rough gem and its nice to see a YTer talk about it. I was blown away by the number of outcomes the game has and how, without the right stats, you never learn what the real history of the game world is about. One ending in particular was so damn rewarding and brilliant, I was left wanting to watch the ending slides again.

[@tilleul6917]

Yes, finding the hidden lore of this game was so fun and interesting, some loremaster storyline endings are quite excellent.

[@toffeecrisp2146]

I played a combat focused character first time around, joined the legion and got to decide who would become emperor etc that was alot of fun with multiple variables. Then i played a loremaster and found an entirely different, much more world shaking, storyline underneath the first. Suffice to say, I would get up close and personal with cthulhu again.

[@arrogantsavant2960]

@@toffeecrisp2146 Age of decadence has had me hooked for a variety of reasons it is the best game I've found for trial and error gameplay going over parts I've already played for different and interesting dialogues although I have started cheating with wikis after 100 hrs XD

[@DreamskyDance]

Age of decadence is awesome, unfortunately i played it only one playthrough.. so i dont know other endings.. which do you mean ? ... for me it was basically revealed at the end... llike the meme says : * spreads hands * ***ens....

[@toffeecrisp2146]

@@DreamskyDance I think it's more accurate to say, eldritch entities? And you can get to serve a couple or... take charge of the situation, shall we say. The very best ending, imo, is the one where you find a handful of very obscure artifacts and locations, learn things no one else knows and you turn the table on the ultimate enemy.

[@Canadish]

I really love how CRPGs came roaring back. I remember back in the late 00's that it really felt like RPGs were dead as a genre and action games with RPG elements were there to stay, with Bioware leading the charge on dumbing everything down. Seeing the state they're in now...yeesh. They bet on the wrong horse.

[@dankcaesar4760]

They really didn’t, yes there games now are pretty shit don’t get me wrong but they probably would have gone bust like most of the old school RPG companies did, BioWare are still there making probably more money than they were making CRPGs, which is not a good thing, but that’s just the state of the modern gaming industry

[@Canadish]

@@dankcaesar4760 They had good success with Mass Effect 3 and Inquisition, which seem to have found differrent audiences, but the likes of the more recent Andromoda and Anthem has been total failures, critically and financially. The drove out all the talent, Bioware is just a shell name now, packed with fresh faced graduates ripe for abuse and exploitation by EA, lured in by the prestigious name. If Dragon Age 4 even comes out, I suspect it will be another flop of a live service and EA may just finally terminate them like all the others.

[@MrPobanz]

Classic crpg's were and are still rather niche, but due to the growth of the market itself, even that niche is profitable enough for AAA games like Wasteland 3 and Baldurs Gate 3, who are (or could be) still highly profitable because they are serving their nowadays very large audience -compared to the past- what they like, because the devs are staying in their niche without dumbing down for mass appeal. Its great that the market has grown big enough that serving a dedicated audience is just as valuable as mass appeal, thus I highly doubt that Larian & co would go the route of Bioware, because the market of those is already saturated and in their niche they have a large and dedicated audience.

[@Ravi9A]

They did not bet on the wrong horse, they shot it themselves after buying the gun from the likes of EA.

[@trunkage]

@@dankcaesar4760 No, the problem is that CRPG just arent that popular. It's a niche of a niche so plan your budget around it

[@shiroka1371]

My take on the games featured here that i did play: Shadowrun: I've enjoyed Dragonfall and Hong Kong immensely and liked the companions too how alive they were and some of them being down to earth instead of having several companions being completely out of the norm which made you think if this was a gathering of freaks. Wasteland: Played 2 and 3. 2 is more varied and difficult with its skills, while 3 is more streamlined and having QoL Changes. Sadly, the 2nd still has some jank (XCOM like chances of hit) and higher difficulties can be unbalanced later on (God Militia shooting crits nearly every shot and having Power Armor is worth nothing). Can recommend trying out WL3 before playing WL2. Personally i never saw WL as some sort of spiritual successor and vice verse. They are very different due to WL being more squad based and having outside some companions no interactions, while Fallout was more personal and thus at times a grim experience alone. I recommend checking out "FOnline" for those who would like to play a MMO in Fallout 1/2 Style which is definetely better than 76 ;) Divinity OS: Good RPGs with lots of manipulation you can do in battles and outside. It really forces you to think sometimes out of the box and changing hopeless battles into affordable ones. The only grip i had with both games is, that level differences are pretty hard. Even 2 Levels of Difference can decide the outcome of a battle, so you had to do quests in order to be able to explore the rest of the map unless you use your creativity to circumvent it :) Pillars of Eternity: Only played the first game, but even at the end of the game i felt that it was missing something but i don't know. I never felt really engaged to it and i was wondering if i had no fun anymore with this type of game like Baldur's Gate or other Infinity Engine Games... Tyranny: Surprisingly, i had more fun with this game than with pillars. A Shame it ended so shortly just when you felt it was about to burst into the main part of it. Torment: Tides of Numenera: I've backed this too and had my share of fun with this game. As you mentioned, it heavily adapted it's idea and everything else from Planescape but it never felt like something on its own but only borrowed. The Soul just simply lacked into it if you played Planescape before. Pathfinder: Now THIS was the game which re-ignited my passion of the old CRPG's i fell in love with. The first hours was enough to engage me completely into it and spending 100 hours until its end. Pillars felt just way to hollow for me while this game was brimming with life like Divinity OS did. This was for me the true spiritual successor to BG as you also have come to conclusion at the end. By the way, you forgot to mention that the Kingdom Part can be entirely skipped for those who don't like to be bothered with this Side-Game and that you can use a round-based mode anytime on the fly which is pretty handy against more difficult opponents! Disco Elysium: As Pathfinder was my Game for being true to BG, Disco Elysium was my personal spiritual successor to PT (again also your choice). From Start to Finish it was engaging and the constant inner monologues of your skills were funny at times but sometimes even dark and pretty much to the point of being "too" realistic. While Numenera tried to emulate PT, Disco Elysium strived it's own way and i'm sure it will become a cult classic like PT, if not already. All in all, a very good Video which showed dedication and having a good taste for games :)

[@ssedaka]

I love listening to your videos as podcasts, you express yourself so well and always have an interesting take on things, rock on :)

[@foxysobek8109]

Smite bad

[@termutis1899]

FoxySobek vvgt

[@foxysobek8109]

@@termutis1899 vvgq

[@zaratustra00]

yeah, good for language development too

[@heychrisfox]

Dropping by to thank you for this! What a fantastic video. I love RPGs, but their long length is intimidating, so it's nice to hear someone breaking it all down. And your analysis is very balanced and erudite.

[@nineblessednineadorednined9214]

I'm a very, very old and experienced gamer but an almost complete noob to crpgs until recently. I've played and love a lot of arpgs, jrpgs, srpgs, mmorpgs, etc (it's my favorite genre!) but had played pretty much none of the classic crpgs. After going through and enjoying several of your videos I watched this one (actually a while ago, rewatching now thinking of what crpg to try next) and it has become a revelation and a big inspiration for me to delve into this great subgenre. Thank you so much, for all the content you put out but specially for this video! I really like the chart at the end of the video and I think it provides some very interesting insights into crpgs and really the rpg genre as a whole. If you notice the vertices of the triangle (the three classics) are kind of representatives of the three main systems, aspects, features, not sure what to call them of (c)rpgs. Baldur's Gate represents classic world building and exploration, Planescape Torment stands for character development (from a literary perspective), story and writing, while Fallout exemplifies character building and mechanics. Again every (c)rpg has all three of course but I think the different ratios in which they're mixed is what makes certain games within the genre feel and play like others. It's also interesting to see what games that deemphasize each aspect (the ones that could be called "least like this or that classic") play like: Divinity features a lot of world interaction and character building but story and writing I think take a bit of a secondary role and thus ends up playing almost like an srpg. Shadowrun has a lot of numerical and textual depth but not so much depth of setting, along with Age of Decadence ending up feeling reminiscent of some sort of sim. Finally Tyranny with its choice driven, open story and progression but somewhat afterthought battle and spec systems I thought felt almost like an adventure game.

[@thesummerofmark]

Thanks NeverKnowsBest for giving me something to watch while I’m nursing my back pains

[@Vantaz]

I hope it improves.

[@miraclemaker1418]

Get well soon my guy

[@nickringwood4606]

Get well soon

[@solvableplane3212]

Good luck

[@leegenny8712]

@@Exigentable dude!! isn't that thing highly addictive??

[@bocconom]

I played Wasteland 2 Director's Cut, DOS 1 and 2, and Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2 and Pathfinder: Kingmaker. I loved each one for what they offered. I prefer my RPGs in Real Time with Pause but DOS 2 is the best RPG I have ever played. Larian did a good job with Turn Base.

[@clumsysandbocks5650]

I'm a big fan of Tides of Numenera. It works well as a companion piece to Planescape Torment. The Bloom is one of my favourite settings in a CRPG and Callistege, Rhin and Tybir are amongst my favourite companions. I certainly didn't think it was boring at any point and would recommend it. This is a great video btw, I've watched it multiple times.

[@clandon9624]

I totally felt this way, however I played Tides without knowing that it took heavy inspiration. I still hold it in somewhat high regard, but totally get why people would write it off as a clone. It has redeeming qualities but I don’t think it has enough to warrant people playing Tides over Planescape

[@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333]

do you think its kinda underrated?

[@clumsysandbocks5650]

​@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 I do think it is is underrated although I don't think it is one of best or most innovative games in the genre.

[@clumsysandbocks5650]

@@markodern789 I didn't say it was a masterpiece, I just said I was a big fan and would recommend it.

[@waveplay3978]

It kind of feels like the 2010's CRPG revival was an open contest for the deal of getting to make BG3 at the end of it. It's fitting that Larian is the studio that found the most success / highest rise of reputation out of all the other companies with the DOS games and now gets to make BG3. I just got Disco Elysium yesterday as it's on sale right now and am looking forward for a patch of free time so that I can really dive into that game.

[@misterkefir]

Top 3 long form video game essay channels on YT, hands down. Splendid work, my dude. I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Perfect voice, perfect delivery.. informative and funny at the same time. 10/10 ;)

[@johnwatkins3883]

pillars of eternity 1 and 2 was amazing. For the last year or 2 ive been searching for a game I had that feeling bugging me to play. Pillars did that and some it's now one of my favorite game series. When I first played I found the game really hard and actually stopped playing it but for some reason sometime later down the road I gave it another shot and im so happy I did. The 2nd one was equally as good as the first 1. My only problem with the first one was all the reading and thank god the 2nd one fixes that mostly. Another thing i liked I love games were choices actually matter. Id have to say pillars does the save imports just like mass effect perfectly, I really enjoyed that and made the play through of the 2nd one so much better. Great experience, really wish there would be a 3rd one that followed your same character again. I have hopes there will be a 3rd cause I feel like the ending of the 2nd one was left a little open if they really wanted to continue it. Im also not gonna lie idk how many ending are in the 2nd game but the ending I got honestly sucked and left me a little butthurt but not every will get the same ending as me. Give pillars a shot, im happy i did and you might be to.

[@Stoigniew666]

PoE has NOTHING on Baldur's Gate. Nothing.

[@Knifedog212]

@@Stoigniew666 yea it does lol

[@Stoigniew666]

@@Knifedog212 nope :)

[@TupDigital]

This has become one of my overall favorite gaming vids on YT. I played Disco Elysium as my first CRPG last fall and fell in love with the substance of it, desiring something more than just the typically shallow depth of even many games that seem deep...not to mention the writing humor and other aspects of DE. I just started Wasteland 3 recently, and still being a CRPG greenhorn, it struck me as, "yes!! Disco Elysium with similar combat to Final Fantasy Tactics!" (which i loved). The depth and mechanics of these games obv arent for most people; I feel like CRPG must have less casuals than any other genre. Thanks for your superb work, Never!!

[@chabbab6698]

I would hardly disagree. You can not seriously compare Westerland 3 to Disco Elysium. The writing of Wasteland 3 is far inferior to Disco Elysium. Also combat has nothing to do with Disco Elysium and that is a design decision.

[@bofad6074]

@@chabbab6698 yeah their wrong, but they're having fun and thats what matters !!!!!!

[@eloujtimereaver4504]

@@chabbab6698 Wasteland 3 can be compared to Disco Elysium, you just did it. The writing may not be as good, but just because you have enjoyed gourmet in the past does not mean fast food can not still be enjoyable. A game with similarities to two wildly different games you enjoy can be great, even if it is inferior to both in their respective fields.

[@Michaeluj]

I'm so happy to see this, after all that time since we briefly chatted about how worthwhile this sort of summary video would be. And yes, it is really helpful! That chart at the end comparing the games to their inspirations, plus your rankings, were a very nice touch! Excellent job!

[@NeverKnowsBest]

Yeah Michael, this video was largely thanks to you giving me the idea, and I think it turned out pretty well in the end. So thank you for the idea and its very good to hear from you again.

[@danielgreen6302]

@@NeverKnowsBest Thank you, for the finger award toward Bethesda terrible stolen copycat FPS scrap.

[@Goodwarrior12345]

As someone who's been a fan of Larian ever since Divine Divinity and through the jank of Ego Draconis, it makes me so incredibly happy to see them succeed and finally get the recognition they deserve. Original Sin 2 was easily one of my favourite games I've ever played, and the fact that they keep somehow delivering far more than what the expectations are is incredible to me. Probably one of the only studios for whose games I genuinely get hyped for.

[@bofad6074]

Divine divinity is actually way better then it has any right to be

[@jangiurg5295]

I just bought Pathfinder based on your recommendation. Put around 3 hours into it, playing turn-based and absolutely loving it. Cant wait to play more.

[@saggg7252]

Did you finish the game

[@jangiurg5295]

@@saggg7252 I did, though it took me months as I took a lot of breaks in between. Overall I enjoyed it, but some of the lategame dungeons really sucked, making you stumble around blindly. Also the difficulty really is riddiculous, I switched to easy after like 40 hours just to finish the game.

[@DeusDevoid]

One of my favourite things to do before they nerfed it was with a rogue/metamorph hybrid, I’d inflict bleed on move, then cast chicken on them, which forces them to move the full distance their AP would allow. Divinity OS2 was so good

[@Genethagenius]

Loving “Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall”. (“SR: HK” is great also!). Can’t recommend both enough to fans of the franchise, cyberpunk, or urban fantasy and turn-based rpg’s!

[@iimer]

Feels bad for Spiderweb Software to not even get a mention. Their games might not be lookers, but they're well written and have been around for a long time. For me, the Shadowrun Trilogy have been by far my favorite of this recent renaissance of CRPGs, followed by Kingmaker.

[@LeggyLegends]

Great video interesting way to get your condensed thoughts on a genre with good pacing! Despite it's flaws Tyranny will always have a soft spot in my heart, it still feels like it fell into obscurity and I'd love to take a deep dive into it if I ever get my ass around to doing my own critique videos some day.

[@misterfuzz2681]

Watching this after the release of Baldurs Gate 3 is crazy. CRPGs I think might come back bc of how much success it’s come with

[@aslag94]

I'm so happy to have discovered your channel. The passion you've got for CRPGs comes through so strongly. Love all your content! Also you like Underrail, always a massive plus in book.

[@Darkholow]

Thank you for this long video of my favorite genre in gaming. I loved Pathfinder Kingmaker so much that it reached my top 10 of all time and I cannot wait for Wrath of the Righteouss.

[@dantauche7917]

Would LOVE to see a sequel to this that includes Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, Wasteland 3, ATOM RPG: Trudograd, & The Ascent!!

[@Sentom23]

Hey man you're my favorite game (and any art form) critic/reviewer. I watch your vids even on games im not even remotely interested in. So anyways keep up the good work

[@zaratustra00]

same here ;)

[@benmllr5499]

It's quite refreshing to see Magritte in avatar on KZbin. My favorite painting artist ever. You are awesome just for that.

[@Sentom23]

@@benmllr5499 Yeah, Son of Man is my favorite painting ever and Magritte one of my favorite painters, along with Zdzislaw Beksinski, Peter Deligdisch (aka PeterDraws on KZbin), Shintaro Kago, and some others I can't name off the top of my head right now

[@benmllr5499]

@@Sentom23 the mysteries of horizon and, by far, empire of light are my favorite. I love Vasarely also, Miro, Modigliani and in another style, Katsushika Hokusai and Hiroshi Yoshida for their influence with the Japonism in some of Impressionists style.

[@Sentom23]

​@@benmllr5499 Oh well the other Magritte work i love is Treachery of Images, which is the first one I saw by him and immediately fell in love. By the way that's a nice list you got there, I'll be checking them out. It's always hard for painting (as an art form) to resonate with me, so I'm not very knowledgeable in the field, and I don't dedicate too much time to it. I'll let you know my first impressions of the artists you said: *Vasarely* : Interesting, reminds me of moving optical illusions, worthy of further research *Miro* : Already knew him, was never a big fan *Modigliani* : Very cool, don't know if he was intentionally going for creepy, but it's pretty uncanny. Really like him, reminds me of that painting from the IT movie (i think he actually inspired it?) As for the Japanese I like Yoshida a lot more than Hokusai, but I understand you weren't referring to them specifically. In general, of all the ones you listed, I think I like Yoshida the best, I really like his cartoonish style and vibrant colors

[@Ethan_Coble]

over 500 hours in DoS2... Greatest game of all time and made my friends and I get into D&D 5e.... My lord how excited I am for BG3... Words can't describe... We're starting Decent into Avernus tomorrow, wish us luck!

[@Guesh13]

Pathfinder is even better than DOS2

[@Qlicky]

@@Guesh13 Nope, not even close.

[@kahnjamethod]

Coming in almost a year later, and being a newcomer to the CRPG genre, I couldn't be happier to have stumbled upon your channel and this video. I am completely blown away by your passion for not only playing videogames, but aso reviewing and informing a wider audience. That passion comes across so genuinely, that it had me enthralled even whilst you were describing some of the titles that I might, previously, had no interest for. Some of the other comments on here mentioned this already, but I just had to reaffirm just how right they are. Thank you for sharing this, and keep your videos coming, we appreciate them

[@thegombie]

Kingmaker is what I wanted from DA: Inquisition.

[@dektarey4024]

Aye. But a button to remove items, which are no longer needed, from your inventory. I still have like 8 dizzyheads.

[@rafaellago172]

@@dektarey4024 By the time I reached the endgame, I realized the same thing. Fortunately, they don't weigh much on the inventory.

[@Frosty1979]

@@dektarey4024 I just sold them

[@sujeewa8067]

I love how this video is made. Thank you, honestly.

[@pedroluiz8019]

Hi, this is the first video I found of your channel and I would like to spend sometime saying thank you for the effort that you put on it. I really liked how you managed to give a good overview on all these games and still stay entertaining through all the video. Today you won at least a new subscriber

[@RekkabitesThirteen]

Thank you so so much for introducing me to Underrail! It's brought me weeks of enjoyment and I'm so glad I clicked on this video at random.

[@RekkabitesThirteen]

I was actually quarantined for CO-VID19 these past 14 days, and I've played Underrail non-stop with the exception of eating and sleeping.

[@merlechmoose]

Just wanted to say thanks. Appreciate the hard work you put into your videos. A delight to watch

[@VideoGameTours]

One of the best gaming related videos on KZbin without a doubt. You’re an outstanding reviewer and write about games very thoughtfully. So much work put into this. Amazing job. Will be playing a few of these because of your video.

[@Drankeranker]

Disco Elysium and Divinity 2 are easily among my top 10 favorite games ever. I have been playing video games for 34 years, so it is amazing to think games still come out that blow my mind and I enjoy them so much. I still need to play Pathfinder, having even helped kickstart it, I just never got around to playing it, but if NeverKnowsBest fake awards are anything to go by, I need to play it ;) Great vid as always mate, keep up the excellent work!

[@TheCivildecay]

I want to like disco elysium a lot more than I actually do... i just burn out on all the dialogue text after awhile. My favourite CRPGs are planescape:torment and Baldur's Gate 2

[@Draclord35]

TheCivildecay Strange. They are also my favorite cRPGs but I didn't expect much from Disco Elysium... and it was AMAZING! For me the writing is extremely important (hence why IMO, PoE >>> Kingmaker) and Disco Elysium was the closest to a real tabletop RPG session hosted by a competent GM that i have ever experienced in a video game. I did burn out on Tides of Numenera sadly, although i love planescape: torment and the Numenéra tabletop game.

[@danama8932]

its really good!

[@thatscarletmoth]

Divinity: Original Sin 2 was the game which showed me the potential of CRPGs going forward, and is a brilliant reminder that Baldur's Gate is in safe hands with Larian. Disco Elysium is the game I have been yearning for ever since the first time I played Planescape: Torment, and quickly became one of my all-time favourite games

[@bennyjones1502]

Thank you so much for this! I appreciate your very, very insightful conclusion. I think it's fantastic and humble for an online reviewer to acknowledge that every take is biased and it's all about sharing our biases so that we can recommend, share knowledge, but then above all... discover for ourselves what we ourselves feel about these pieces of media. Much love.

[@jericosha2842]

This is an awesome video. Well written and presented. Thanks for doing this! You've convinced me to play Tyranny, Disco, and Pathfinder!

[@sparkatus]

I was a big fan of CRPG back in the golden age of CRPG, can't even remember how much I played BG1-2, NWN1-2, IWD1-2 but if I was to guess, I beat each of them around 20 times. I said "was" because as time goes on, I have less and less time to play games and CRPG is notorious for demanding a good chunk of time. But then I played Pathfinder: Kingmaker recently and I beat it around 200h and for me, it is the best overall CPRG of the decade. I felt so good playing it, so nostalgic of the time I forget the world and only the game exist, but by the end, I was so exhausted that I couldn't do a 2nd run, even though I was theorycrafting new builds during my first run. Having said that, I'm still looking forward for BG3 and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.

[@Kaospyri]

Baldur's Gate 3 is a great beta so far but it's more like another Divinity game while Pathfinder Kingmaker is the real heir to the legacy of Baldur's Gate 1 and 2.

[@sparkatus]

@@Kaospyri I agree. I will probably play BG3, but with the expectations of a Divinity experience, based on what I've seen so far.

[@fitz394]

Years later, this video is still 10/10

[@cloudsweater]

Thank you so much for making this vid. I just started getting interested in CRPGs. Pillars Of Eternity might be my first since it’s on sale

[@benmllr5499]

Go in and then play Pathfinder. 2 awesome games.

[@kalega311]

I just wanna say I do personally appreciate the section that defines CRPG. I've recently began to think "what differentiates a CRPG that uses grid-based, action-points combat from a Tactics RPG?" All the non-combat related features of the game? CRPG (w/ tactics combat) still have that narrative and exploration flow of usual CRPGs where combat transitions sort of seamlessly from the non-combat parts, whereas Tactics RPGs are more rigid in their flow of battle-scene/centralhub-battle-scene/centralhub, etc?

[@Marcusianery]

Isn't a lot of "Tactical RPGs" Just like Vandal Hearts and Final Fantasy Tactics? Bit like JRPGs, often no options what so ever. No dialogues barely of anything but story pushing and so on.

[@kalega311]

@@Marcusianery that is true also. But I think that is more by coincidence (well, intentional coincidence?) rather than something that defines the genre. I think if a tactics RPG had dialog choices and branching paths, it'd still be a tactics RPG if it was structured the traditional way of story/hub -> combat -> story/hub -> combat, etc. "Pushing story" as you said. In fact, I presume tactics RPG's w/ dialog choices or branching paths have to exist somewhere already.

[@Marcusianery]

@@kalega311 Yeah, it probably does exist but is not very common. I also think it might make a muddy water between turnbased CRPG and tactical RPG.

[@frenchgundam9079]

Pillar of eternity introduced me to the crpg genre, as of today i own everything you listed thanks to obsidian

[@curtisnucmed]

DOS 2 was tons of fun. Tho I never finished it. After grinding, leveling and exploring, my excitement to finish the story fizzled out. I will go back to this one day.

[@arthursimsa9005]

The ending is very disappointing and not worth the grinding. Once you leave the Driftwood map everything really goes downhill.

[@_Dingu]

@@arthursimsa9005 Personally the story/narrative was never the driving point for me in DOS2. It was okay through Fort Joy and Reaper's Coast, but as you said after that it went downhill pretty quickly. That being said I put 80hrs into my playthrough and am considering starting a new one because of the companions and the combat. The combat especially gets really satisfying after you finish a build with all of the skills, talents, and items.

[@arthursimsa9005]

@@_Dingu The combat is fantastic, yep. And the plot and setting, quite bad in the end.

[@ElShadowcito]

Nice work! Just thinking about how long it took you to make this video deserves all the support! Hugs from argentina man!

[@KingFiercer_zip]

I would love to see a remake of Arcanum. Very interesting and memorable RPG.

[@martinsoukup562]

Arcanum is such a huge and full world with so many detailed interactions. Good remake would allow many people to try it without some obvious problems but I don't think it would be popular enough to be able to pay for itself.

[@sainsburyshopper]

If the revival of crpgs proves anything, it's that trends don't die, they just take breaks. Here's hoping for a rock and roll revival come 2021.

[@dugonman8360]

I'm just hoping the suikoden spiritual successor also ends up kicking off a classic JRPG revival over in the land of the rising sun.

[@giovannigonzalez6349]

you mean rock in the mainstream? Rock has never “taken a break” it was just overtaken by hip hop. You have hundreds if not thousands of bands reinventing rock for future generations. None of them are popular tho.

[@rafterman5072]

@@giovannigonzalez6349 I wouldn't say that there aren't popular modern rock bands.

[@0ffaI]

@@giovannigonzalez6349 This right here. Rock ain't topping the charts like it used to, but the passion in the underground scene never died

[@gobuns2]

just check out new rock albums before you die waiting for another Beatles or Zeppelin.

[@TimmacTR]

Disco Elysium was really the highlight together with Divinity Original Sin.

[@DedPixels]

Nah Pillars of Eternity RTWP >anything turn based.

[@enterprise9001]

FPS Reborn RTwP always struck me as an odd choice. Why make your combat real-time when your role playing system was explicitly designed for turn based gameplay? Anyway, it’s for this reason that I think PoE is actually one of the more enjoyable RTwP games out there, because it’s RPG mechanics were designed with RTwP in mind. By contrast I find Pathfinder Kingmaker to play horribly without the turn-based mod, even more so than any Infinity Engine game.

[@joedatius]

@@DedPixels what does RTWP and turn based have to do with anything, what a basic bitch take

[@ducky36F]

FPS Reborn man I just hard disagree. DOS1&2 just have so much better and more satisfying combat than POE1&2 imo. I do like all 4 games though.

[@ySpirit1]

@@enterprise9001 The question that RTwP uses rounds and turns gets tossed around a lot, and I don't get why it's that big of a deal. Every round is 6 seconds, in those 6 seconds characters act in order based on their initiative. If a spell has duration of 1 round per level, you could just replace it with 6 seconds per level. I tried Pathfinder with turn based when it came out, but decided against it 4 hours into the game, since the progress was taking forever and most of the encounters weren't that difficult. Switching between RTwP and turn based combat should be fine, but playing through it in turn based combat only makes every battle take much much longer and the player can get bored of it. The game can already take over 100 hours and that's with faster combat.

[@rabbithaze9707]

I appreciate this video for introducing me to Pathfinder: Kingmaker. Pretty much every other game I would have liked to play on this list I already knew about in some capacity, but it did tell me about Kingmaker, which i'm enjoying the hell out of. So thank you

[@Envengerx]

You missed any spiderweb software games. They has been churning out decent quality crpgs every 1-2 years for over 3 decades now. Basically I exactly know what I am getting with it and spend a week engrossed with it.

[@KaiSaeren]

Never heard of them :O gotta check that out.

[@Envengerx]

@@KaiSaeren you should start with the Avernum series. The re-remake released in 2015. It has graphics similar to underrail. But the story, etc and really good.

[@крснзвзд]

Avernum and Geneforge were the first rpgs I played and learned English with, as my parents didn't want to buy me a game like BG at that time. I still remember playing them with a dictionary by my side while translating every single wall of text. I hold their games very dearly. From Avernum to Avadon, they never disappointed me.

[@Envengerx]

@@крснзвзд I played a demo for some avernum when I was like 8-10, I didn't understand a lot and it took me 2-3 months to finish it. I had to search about the game 10 years later and finished the series.

[@ReikuX1]

True, i can't wait for the remaster of Geneforge 1.

[@nuclearlefthook5008]

Age of Decadence is so brilliant. really enjoyed it back when it came out

[@highguymagic9415]

Nothing has a soundtrack quite like dos2. Everytime I hear it, I feel FANTASY. Such a raw amazing feeling.

[@crozraven]

Coincidentally, Shadowrun Complete edition is now free on EPIC Games Store.

[@adamplentl5588]

:O

[@joaomarcoscosta4647]

@@adamplentl5588 Yup, Shadowrun Collection, and Hitman 2016, are both free to claim for the next 12 hours only, So you better hurry! After that, Into the Breach will be available from September 03 to September 10.

[@Bill_Garthright]

Thanks for that! I just picked it up. (I already owned _Shadowrun Returns,_ but not the other two.)

[@Vodoriga]

yep saving this when I have time to watch

[@jbarton8508]

This is the first video of yours, u/NeverKnowsBest, that I've ever had the privilege to experience, and I wish to express my appreciation to you for this piece! It is obvious that you both LOVE the subject matter you chose to cover, but even MORE impressive is how your Integrity is on full display by your consistency in tough-but-fair, without any indication that you (and as a Human you just *must*!) may, by an example, some an unnamed title --you unflinchingly detail the intricate systems used within the tech, story, or lore that a game delivers, with you rationally & gently dissecting all of those pillars holding up a given title... to great effect, or to waste & ruin. Finding informative discourse concerning games & their intricate, layered cultures, well, it in my experience, exceedingly rare! I'm grateful to have had you referred to my queue, and whether by algorithm, the conspiracy of the Gods, or any of the near infinite, nearly guaranteed alternative causes. I'm just chuffed that I crossed paths with your works, and my day is just that much nicer!

[@vincentfox4929]

I always thought crpg meant classic role playing game. XD

[@heyitsscottyo]

I think that the first 12 minutes of the video summed up that CRPG has essentially gone from being computer rpg to classic rpg as a result of format.

[@ides7546]

I really loved the Shadowrun games because the dialogue choices did a good job of feeling natural and part of a real conversation. Too many RPGs make you feel like an interviewer with superpowers. I think games have been getting better at this but I never really see people talk about it. Still need to check out most of the games on this list. Good guide, thank you!

[@speedboiiii2722]

DOS2 is definitely my fav game of the last years. The time me and my best friend spend in this game was priceless. We played it through a few times with different builds and higher difficulty and it was a blast. Each time we found something new we didn't see before or approached a fight in new and fun ways. It was such a great feeling to come up with a strange tactic involving the environment and making it work and even if we didn't win it didn't bother us if we had to try a fight 10 times altering the tactic until we got it

[@TheDemionyx]

true playing coop in tactician mode is dammmmmn goooood

[@MrFiscina]

This has become one of my favorite youtube channel. Keep up the good work and while i am at it could do one video on rain world ? I would love your take on it. Cheers mate!

[@MrKimvidard]

I was sooo hoping you'd cover the Spiderweb games because I've been wanting to see a deep dive on those to get me started. Great video though.

[@zerpblerd5966]

yes I think he'd appreciate those! UnderRail kind of has some Geneforge comparisons as far as lore+complexity+combat a bit

[@chunwilly]

I just wanted to say that I'm thoroughly impressed by how detailed the reviews are, and entertainment I got even though I have not played any CRPG (outside of 2 hours of disco elysium). Now that I felt that I'm a lot more invested, and obligated to try because I've watched your video. I never comment on a youtube video ever as well, but this is so impressive. Thank you for the content!

[@crashcoptr]

Honestly Underrail deserves every bit of its praise. It's a really good game to actively engage with; almost every quest and every combat can be approached how you want. The optional mutagen recombinator quest mentioned in the video is optional because it actually nerfs a major encounter as a reward for exploring the entire endgame area.

[@ricardofernandes4310]

The best video I ever seen about this subject. Amazing work.

[@ciscornBIG]

I've been videogaming for 35 years and have seen it all but vids like this are essential for reminding me where we've been and where we're going. Great Channel my man!!

[@milanhvozdik3379]

I know I am at the right place when I recognize every single soundtrack playing in the background.