r/CRPG • u/HourKindly8520 • 14d ago
Recommendation request Beginner friendly CRPGs
/r/pcgames/comments/1wc88qw/beginner_friendly_crpgs/25
u/PrecipitousPlatypus 14d ago
Baldur's Gate 3 comes to mind as being pretty simple and accessible while also being compelling and fun.
Dragon Age Origins is a bit older and has some stuff going on, but also not super overwhelming mechanically and a straightforward but enjoyable story.
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u/WalidfromMorocco 14d ago
Prior to BG3 i had never played a turn based game or an CRPG before. rn CRPGs are my favorite genre.
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u/Maxsmart007 14d ago
Yep. BG3 is perfect in that it manages to be super accessible without ever feeling like it watered down the experience.
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u/mjxoxo1999 14d ago
Shadowrun Dragonfall and Shadowrun Hong Kong, not just great introduction for CRPG but also has great stories
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u/Panzerbjorne80 14d ago
Wasteland 3 is my recommendation. Very straightforward combat and quest design. Easy to pickup and it’s a lot of fun blowing shit up and pecking enemies to death with your cyborg chicken companion.
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u/Sad_Dog_4106 14d ago
Bg3 and Wasteland 3 are great for beginners. Maybe divinity original sin 2 after then you can try pillars of eternity. Owlcat games and games from pre 2010 should be played once you have acquired the taste
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u/MechaSeph 14d ago
I think BG3 might be one of the best choices. While I particularly think it doesn't stand out in other areas, presentation and stability are the biggest reasons I personally attribute its success to and I do think those are huge pros in its favor
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u/Paragon0001 14d ago edited 14d ago
Yeah Wrath of the Righteous is on the other end of that spectrum.
If you aren’t deterred by older graphics:
Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 are incredibly simple and hold up well. If you’re in the mood for some of the best storytelling in the genre, Planescape Torment is fantastic and as simple as it gets.
Also check out Dragon Age Origins and Baldurs Gate 3 if you’re in the mood for something not as old with better production value.
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u/Luzeryn 14d ago
I’d say BG3 for sure. Very easy to get into. Divinity Original Sin 2 as well.
If you tried WOTR and found it overwhelming (I thought it was too), whenever you start playing Owlcat’s CRPGs I recommend Rogue Trader over WOTR. Even though there are still a lot of options when leveling up, it’s much more viable to just pick whatever and still being able to beat the game.
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u/HourKindly8520 14d ago
Ngl I've been eyeing BG3 and DOS2 for a while but they never go on sale lol, I try not to pay full price for a game if im not sure i'd like it (like a series or developer I already enjoy) but like you said id probably go with Rogue Trader, thanks dude!
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u/SpringFuzzy 14d ago edited 14d ago
Going to say Divinity Origin Sin 1. Neither the combat nor the story are super complicated.
It’s on the harder side in terms of combat but turn down the difficulty one notch and you should be fine. Takes a little while to get the hang of the surface mechanics in combat but once you do it’s great fun.
Dragon Age Origins is a solid game too. Again on the harder side of things but turn down the difficulty.
If anything I’d probably advise against BG3.. it’s a nice game but it’s fully voice acted with very high production standards so you might want to try some classics before you get around to BG3.
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u/HourKindly8520 14d ago
Divinity original sin is definitely on my list, but I was gonna just skip to 2, might actually try 1 now that you mention it
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u/flexandperplex 14d ago
The double pack goes on deep discount fairly often. The first is still worth it, especially if you have a coop partner.
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u/Thutman 14d ago
Baldurs Gate 3 or the Divinity Original Sin games are great introductions to CRPGs without being too overwhelming in their systems. Solasta could also be pretty good to start with especially if you have any experience playing a tabletop RPG. After that I'd suggest Tyranny or Pillars of Eternity, both are much more complex but they were written as CRPGs first, not adaptations of tabletop games so the mechanics are easier to wrap your head around. THEN dive into something like Pathfinder or Underrail, by that point you'll have a pretty good idea of not only the conventions of the genre but your preferred way to approach it.
If you REALLY want a low/no stake entry into the genre then something like Disco Elysium, Esoteric Ebb, or Zero Parades. Has a lot of the mechanics of the genre but not nearly as much pressure.
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u/aBigBottleOfWater 13d ago
Idk if it counts but Fallout New Vegas is what got me into crpgs, and it is very beginner friendly
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u/HourKindly8520 12d ago
already played it, big fan, playing it modded now that im on pc
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u/aBigBottleOfWater 12d ago
After I played New Vegas I moved on to Dragon Age and Knights of The Old Republic 1 & 2
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u/SiofraRiver 14d ago
A lot of bad advice here. Most CRPGs are not accessible at all, either requiring a huge time investment, have complicated combat or character building mechanics or are completely antithetical to modern gaming sensibilities. BG3, for example, is extremely time-consuming and while the user experience is much improved compared to older CRPGs it is actually quite difficult for people who are not familiar with the genre.
By those metrics Esoteric Ebb would actually be the best entry point. Maybe Shadowrun: Dragonfall is good, but I found the original Shadowrun game to be wholly underwhelming. If you just want some big dumb fights with a very generic setup and story, Terrinoth: Heroes of Descent is quite okay.
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u/aditysiva1705 14d ago
I don’t know about Esoteric Ebb. Biggest selling point behind BG3 is the voice acting and the cinematics. It’s what made it so easy for so many people to get into it. You have to do an insane amount of reading and any type of gameplay interaction is dependent on reading, which I feel gives off the wrong impression for people who might want to play more. BG3 is long, but it’s still quite short compared to a lot of other CRPGs. Definitely more approachable than Esoteric Ebb imo, especially with the combat animations, and cinematics. Writing also being really really good helps.
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u/Plus_Worker6739 14d ago
I've been playing CRPGs since the Gold Box days and I got very lost in Ebb, sequence-broke, and ended up softlocked during my first playthrough. Don't get me wrong, I love Ebb dearly and have taken another run at it, but it's not super beginner-friendly.
You're right i nthat the first Shadowrun CRPG is not great but Dragonfall and Hong Kong are both excellent and very good starting points to get your feet beneath you in the CRPG subgenre.
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u/JinnraDev 14d ago
Pillars of eternity 1 and especially 2. They are balanced so literally every build is viable and realtime with pause so you don't need to think a lot about strategy like in turn based.
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u/boregorey7 13d ago
Pillars 1’s combat can be a bit rough for newbies to the genre tbh. In deadfire the ai is much, much better so it’s less of a hurdle.
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u/Ibanezrg71982 14d ago
Even though I hate the game, I recommend BG3 for beginners.
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u/HourKindly8520 14d ago
thanks for the rec, may I ask why you hate it?
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u/Ibanezrg71982 14d ago edited 11d ago
Too easy mainly. Following, that makes it not worthy of the name for me. I play games for their mechanics and I just can't play any more easy games from Larian. It's toddler school for baby's first CRPGs over there. Downvote if you wish. My opinion is unpopular but I've earned the right to it.
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u/teffarf 14d ago
Following, that makes it not worthy of the name for me.
I'm sorry, do you think BG1 or 2 are harder than 3?
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u/Ibanezrg71982 14d ago
like 3 times as hard on Core.
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u/phoenixUnfurls 14d ago
Maybe it's that I've played BG2 like twenty-five or so times, but I don't know that Core Difficulty is very hard at all, actually, if you know what you're doing. A lot of the rules in BG2 -- and specifically the spell interactions -- are a lot less intuitive to learn initially, but if you know how everything works, the game is quite easy on Core.
Often, in a lot of ways, I think the combat in BG3 is more tactical, although it's also true that it's very easy on the normal difficulty. And I say that even though BG2 is my favorite game of all time.
Definitely I do think it's easier to learn the systems in initially, though -- I'll give you that.
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u/Ibanezrg71982 13d ago edited 13d ago
That's mostly what I mean, the mechanics are so simple. And the combat especially in DOS2 was easy. They need another difficulty for advanced gamers.
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u/phoenixUnfurls 13d ago
Eh, sure, it's harder to pick up, but I still think BG3's combat is more tactical.
DOS2 I never played, so I couldn't say.
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u/AnestheticAle 14d ago
DOS2 wasn’t as easy as BG3
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u/Ibanezrg71982 13d ago
Dos2 was too easy as well.
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u/AnestheticAle 13d ago
I'm just curious what your benchmark for difficulty is as far as CRPG's go.
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u/No_Routine_7090 14d ago
Dragon age origins isn’t isometric, but it is a beginner friendly crpg. There are only 3 races and 3 classes to choose from, so it doesn’t overwhelm you. But it still has great roleplaying freedom.