I have tried a ton of RPGs, and most just don’t click for me. Here are a few:
Skyrim - enjoyed Morrowind for the side content, Skyrim just felt empty
Chrono Trigger - enjoyed until about halfway through with the battle with Magus; felt very RNG dependent, or maybe I was under leveled; I bailed after 5 or so attempts that all ended the same way (healer got killed and everyone got picked off)
Pillars of Eternity - burned out somewhere in Act 2 (20-25 hours); combat system annoyed me, and I dislike picking new abilities
Banner Saga - story is great, but I hate the combat, so I bailed
Some things about me:
I don’t care about leveling up/character builds, it feels like a chore; abilities also don’t interest me
I hate grinding
using items feels like cheating, so I tend to just use character abilities (I will heal if needed); I’d rather “git gud” than buy and use items
turn based combat (tactics) is generally boring, but I do like puzzles, so that can make it acceptable
I don’t like the feeling of being OP, I want to struggle through the end
I don’t like loot
That said, here are a few that I’ve really enjoyed:
ARPGs like Ys and Zelda - items are rare or are tools in a puzzle-like system; favorites are Ys 1, Ys Origin, Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Zelda: Skyward Sword (probably because I played Skyward Sword recently); I dislike BotW, and Memories of Celceta has been dragging a bit (I’m near the end, but excited to finish)
interesting RPGs like Undertale - short and very unique experience
Souls-like games - challenge involving melee/dodging keeps me going
Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - not a fan of the combat, but the story is interesting somewhat at least; I’m about 2/3 through I think (30 hours), but I’ve taken a multi-month break; likewise, Xenoblade Chronicles is interesting so far, but I’m not super excited about it (may bump down to story mode to get through it, the combat sucks imo)
Nier: Replicant - great story, leveling stayed out of the way, and I never felt like I needed to grind or upgrade gear
I really like the storylines of RPGs, I just don’t like actually playing them. Unfortunately, my preferred ARPG genre is filled with loot nonsense, and I’ve played most of the ones that don’t really on that as a mechanic. Perhaps my favorite RPG-adjacent game not mentioned already is Yakuza 0, I’m not a fan of the combat, but he story is amazing and the side content is fun.
Does anyone feel similarly? Do you have any suggestions for other games to try?
Do you like cool lore? Detailed item descriptions? What about esoteric oddities that you interact with through text? How do you feel about choose-your-own-adventure books? Torment: Tides of Numenera might be the game for you.
Also highly, highly recommend Disco Elysium, but someone already suggested that. I think you would love it.
I do like lore, and I used to love reading through the books in Morrowind and whatnot.
However, I generally don’t like in-game items, and I hate managing inventory. Numbers going up isn’t interesting to me, nor do I much care how my character looks. I’m much more excited about interesting combat encounters, story progression, and lore, and almost everything else just feels like noise.
choose your own adventure
I get anxious about getting a “bad” ending (mostly I don’t want to have “wasted” all that time), so I usually avoid them. I almost always play games once, so I want to see as much of the content as I can the first time through.
So here are some things I love about RPGs:
good story and deep lore
can pick different playstyles (spellcaster, knight, archer, etc)
interesting side quests
And things I actively dislike:
inventory management
not being able to see all content in one playthrough
skill trees - I’d rather the game decide based on my class
grinding - esp in JRPGs
My gold standard here is Ys Origin:
interesting, linear story
three playable characters with different play styles (and stories)
deep lore (esp when you play other games in the series)
no skill tree with new abilities unlocked as you go
minimal grinding
great boss fights
I wish it had interesting side content, though other games in the series have that.
I’ll definitely give Disco Elysium a try, and I’ve been recommended the other as well. Thanks for the help!
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: [email protected]
A gaming community free from the hype and oversaturation of current releases, catering to gamers who wait at least 12 months after release to play a game. Whether it’s price, waiting for bugs/issues to be patched, DLC to be released, don’t meet the system requirements, or just haven’t had the time to keep up with the latest releases.
Do you like cool lore? Detailed item descriptions? What about esoteric oddities that you interact with through text? How do you feel about choose-your-own-adventure books? Torment: Tides of Numenera might be the game for you.
Also highly, highly recommend Disco Elysium, but someone already suggested that. I think you would love it.
I do like lore, and I used to love reading through the books in Morrowind and whatnot.
However, I generally don’t like in-game items, and I hate managing inventory. Numbers going up isn’t interesting to me, nor do I much care how my character looks. I’m much more excited about interesting combat encounters, story progression, and lore, and almost everything else just feels like noise.
I get anxious about getting a “bad” ending (mostly I don’t want to have “wasted” all that time), so I usually avoid them. I almost always play games once, so I want to see as much of the content as I can the first time through.
So here are some things I love about RPGs:
And things I actively dislike:
My gold standard here is Ys Origin:
I wish it had interesting side content, though other games in the series have that.
I’ll definitely give Disco Elysium a try, and I’ve been recommended the other as well. Thanks for the help!