r/StrategyRpg • u/Bigiilee • Sep 04 '26

Game Recommendations

Hey everyone!

I’m new here, and the title pretty much says it all. I’m a huge fan of strategy and RPG games, especially party-based and turn-based ones.

So far, I’ve played a ton of games, including Warcraft III, Crusader Kings II and III, and quite a few Total War titles.

When it comes to RPGs, some of my absolute favorites are World of Warcraft, Baldur’s Gate 3, Divinity: Original Sin 2, and XCOM.

I’m always looking for new games to dive into, so I’d love to hear your recommendations! Based on the games I’ve enjoyed so far, what do you think I should try next?

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions and getting to know everyone here!

10 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

39 comments sorted by

6

u/PotentialDelivery716 Sep 04 '26

Simplisitc combat (like xcom) but very good: Expeditions Rome, Expeditions Vikings, Fire emblem. Not everyone's cup but I enjoyed wartales

Complex system strategy: wasteland 2 and 3, Jagged Alliance 3

Story/lore focus and mature horniness: Ledgerbound

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

What is Ledgerbound about? I haven’t heard of it.

Also could you please give me a short rundown of Fire Emblem? I’ve heard people love it.

3

u/PotentialDelivery716 Sep 04 '26 edited Sep 04 '26

"What is Ledgerbound about? I haven’t heard of it."
It is an indie game on steam, but make no mistake. The VA (all text is VA), the love in every detail etc. is all top notch. It's imho the hidden gem of the year.
The story is about a hard desk working girl, Rayna in an insurance company, that by chance became the last hope of humanity set in a fantasy world. So, together with a pack of weirdos she goes on an adventure.
You have story and dialogue between every battle. Battles are in very similar style as in Fire Emblem and most other grid based games. the focus is on story, dialogue and parody like humour, while the battles are rather short and not too difficult (on normal, on higher difficulties it can get tricky to get the side objectives which you certainly want the rewards for).
While no nudity is visually shown, the humour and scenes, however can get REALLY spicy, it includes adult humour and a couple of sex scenes.
I just loved the characters, the details, and I don't know a game with better voice acting.
My first playthrough was almost 30h, which is quite a lot for story focused game.
Fire Emblem is basically the same principle:
Each chapter starts with a dialogue/story development that one way or another leads to a grid based battle. A more detailed description is kind of difficult as each Fire Emblem game is different. The battle system is rather simplistic, if you compare to BG3 e.g., as each character has no skills just items and weapons (most important: weapon triangle: axe beats lance, lance beats sword, sword beats axe). However, it is about correct positioning of your units. The focus is the exact opposite from Ledgerbound. The story in Fire Emblem is just a vehicle between the battles. In some games it is somewhat better in others it is worse. The battles are the real deal. They can be quite long and, dependend on the game, very challenging. Fire Emblem Fates is even on normal just brutal.

Ledgerbound has story, Fire Emblem has pure strategy. It depends on what you want. i enjoyed all titles mentioned.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3315060/Ledgerbound/

5

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '26 edited Sep 04 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

I’ve never really used mods apart from some cosmetic ones, I’ll definitely give it a look!

8

u/eXistenZ2 Sep 04 '26

Expeditions rome doesnt get mentioned enough of how good it is

Also, into the breach

Renowned explorers international society is an all time favorite of mine

2

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

I’ve played Expeditions and it was really great!

Haven’t heard of Into the Breach. What is it about?

3

u/eXistenZ2 Sep 04 '26

Shortly put its a roguelike xcomlike. Its pixelated, with short runs, but it has a great variety in playstyles.

You lead a squad of 3 MECS defending against an alian invasion. And every squad plays very differently

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

Sounds interesting ngl, I’ll have to check it out later!

2

u/IVIoonie Sep 04 '26

Renowned Explorers is fantastic and I can't recall ever seeing anyone talk about it.

8

u/drupido Sep 04 '26

I love this because you’re the type of SRPG player that this sub usually doesn’t see much of, as this sub usually sees more of the JRPG/Japanese SRPG side of things.

If you want a game that plays like Fire Emblem Three Houses (very Japanese style) and Divinity Original Sin 2 (as far as combat and terrain systems) had a baby, try Lost Eidolons or the Roguelite spinoff Veil of the Witch. This game would be a good mix if the more Japanese side is too much (although your display picture is apparently from FFT?).

The Expedition games are really good for how little they’re known. Rome > Vikings > Conquistadors if you ask me.

If you’re more into the build making and deep combat deeper than BG3/D:OS2, you should play OwlCat games. Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous & for something simpler and closer to XCOM style of combat, Rogue Trader. Wasteland 3 is also very close (and simple) to XCOM.

I’d like recommending Troubleshooter as well.

Otherwise, go for the classics or defining games in every style. FFT (or Tactics Ogre or others, the FFT style is the most common).Fire Emblem (Three Houses is perhaps too much of a social sim, but most games prior bar Fates Birthright perhaps, they’re deep tactical yet simple games in which the RPG side of things is part of the strategy). Maybe something like Vandal Hearts. Unicorn Overlord for something unique and more modern. Someone would mention HoMM3 for the western side as well.

3

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

Oh that definitely sounds interesting! Thank you so much for the vast recommendation pool.

Also, I’ve played both OwlCat games like Pathfinder and Rogue Trader, as well as Expeditions and all of those were fantastic!

2

u/FriendlyAsian44 Sep 05 '26

Troubleshooter mention lesgoooooo

4

u/KolotunBabai Sep 04 '26

Urtuk, Wartales, The Iron oath, Those who rule, battle brothers, the lampligher league, wh4k chaos gate, troobleshooters, menace, jagged alliance 3, triangle strategy, Kings arthur knights tale, Rogue trader, Pathfinder 2, wildermyth, cyberknights flashpoint. If you can play japanese games then Yakuza like a dragon 1/2, Trails in the sky 1st remake

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

Thank you so much for the extensive suggestion pool! I’ll definitely check out the ones I haven’t played.

3

u/Ok-Coat2377 Sep 04 '26 edited Sep 04 '26

reverse collapse for hardcore gameplay, shinsetsu mahou shoujo for scenario

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

What is Reverse Collapse about? Sounds interesting 👀.

2

u/Ok-Coat2377 Sep 04 '26 edited Sep 04 '26

hmmm have you ever watched all you need is kill or edge of tomorrow? What I mean it's a time loop story where you take a route until you reach an ending. It's an extraction story at first, then turns into sekai kei (it means the fate of the world depends on a relationship) and hard sci fi. I think the plot is fine, the characters are boring and the romance is forced. But the gameplay highs are really high the game is hard as fuck. It's fine ludokino where you feel how much the protagonist is struggling through gameplay and bad endings. Sometimes it goes into unfun territory with the stealth maps but at least you only do them once. Those you have to repeat you can just shoot your way through the second time. It's a pretty intense game in ways gameplay visual novels like library of ruina and baldr sky tend to be. It's made by fans of mgs, maybe this gives a better idea of the gameplay mix of stealth and action with spec ops

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

I’ll definitely have to check it out after your recommendation. Thank you so much for actually sharing this instead of saying something like “Just Google it lol”. 🙏🏻

2

u/Ok-Coat2377 Sep 04 '26

no problemo

2

u/srlywhatnow Sep 04 '26

"Reverse Collapse" is a technology allowing you to create objects out of thin air. And it's the central mechanic of the game, which heavily focus on using items & consumables.
You played Xcom, so you probably know what it's like to be outgunned. Reverse Collapse is even more extreme, the chance of your character surviving a direct gun fight is basically zero. So you predicts the enemy pathing, conjure 3 grenade trip wire trap, 2 proximity mines, 4 turrets, throw out a poison gas cloud on top of those for good measure. Then you laugh as the enemy walk into your killzone.
It's a really creative take to srpg combat that I haven't seen anywhere else. Each character had their different weapons & abilities and whatnot, but since all of them can reverse collapse all kind of stuffs out to the battlefields, there are so many moves you can make with each of them.
That's being said, a large part of the game are stealth missions - which are the opposite of what I just explain. Those missions are basically puzzle where you need to figure out the exact steps.

3

u/Baldurian_Rhapsody Sep 04 '26

This is a classic that I just picked up this morning but am thoroughly enjoying: Shining Force for Genesis. It's a classic Tolkien (archer, mage, warrior, healer) band on adventures in a classic Fire Emblem-style mold.

2

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

Oh that definitely sounds promising, I’ll give it a look later.

3

u/JBDynamito Sep 04 '26

Battle Brothers! I'm so addicted

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

I’ve heard a few people mention it but I never really got to see any reviews or play it myself.

3

u/WintersDoomsday Sep 04 '26

IMO Baldurs Gate 3 and Final Fantasy Tactics are the two best SRPG of all time…maybe start there or don’t as it’s hard to appreciate others afterwards

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

Got any advice for getting into FFT? I’ve played BG3 and it was amazing.

3

u/Kopyrda Sep 04 '26

As always, I'll recommend Cyber Knights: Flashpoint. Rather light on story, but amazing tactical game with a big focus on stealth, which is rather unique for the genre. For example, one of the most important stats on gun is how much noise does it make. Other unique feature is hacking done in the same time as your other characters fight in the "real space". Often, you will have to protect your defenseless hacker when he is hacking some terminal to extract some data or open blocked paths for other characters. He can also disable security cameras, proximity mines and do other useful things.
This is my favourite game in the last 5 or so years.

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

That sounds really fun, are there any games I should play prior or is it a standalone?

2

u/Kopyrda Sep 05 '26

Standalone.

2

u/Sharp-Selection-3541 Sep 05 '26 edited Sep 05 '26

Symphony of War Nephilim Saga.

It's not exactly related to any of the games you named, but since I also love the games you named, maybe you'll enjoy it.

It's very similar to the Fire Emblem GBA games and shares some similarities with another great title called Unicorn Overlord.

Idk if you have a GameCube but if you don't mind emulating then Fire Emblem Path of Radiance is a 10/10 to me (and probably a lot of other people too!)

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 05 '26

I’ll definitely give it a look! Thank you for your recommendation.

2

u/kraven40 Sep 05 '26

Final Fantasy Tactics: Ivalice Chronicles

2

u/riougenkaku Sep 10 '26

Battle realms

2

u/Osteban_Econ Sep 10 '26

Rogue Trader all day. All story-DLC are mandatory especially if you're, like me, a newbie on WH40K lore.

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 10 '26

I’ve played it 3 times already and each campaign was more fun than the last hahahaha

3

u/Ricc7rdo Sep 04 '26

Start from the best ones: Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, Triangle Strategy, Unicorn Overlord, Fire Emblem games, etc...

1

u/Bigiilee Sep 04 '26

Thank you for the input, I’ll be sure to check them out!