Can anyone recommend a top-down RPG?

[regex]

Wondering if anyone can help me find a decent RPG? This may sounds silly but I have some stipulations:

• Not an FPS or heavy in graphics.
  
• At least somewhat open world (NO JRPGS PLZKTHX).
  
• Playable with a single character (no pets or party required to "win"/play, I hate party management/dialogue).
  
• A good selection of noodly mechanics/progression.
  
• Not just endless combat but not just endless dialogue.
  
• Does not have the Steam tag "roguelike" (seriously, everyone thinks their game is "roguelike" nowadays...)

I play Pixel Dungeon, Elder Scrolls franchise, and the Fallout FPSes on the reg, plus Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress, so hopefully the stipulations make some sense.

Thanks in advance!

Edited June 26, 2015 by regex

[r4pt0r]

Obligatory Goatsim MMORPG suggestion

Your stipulations appear to suggest the Witcher series to me. Have you ever looked into those games?

[regex]

Own them, never played them, maybe I'll try but I'm looking for a more top-down kind of on-the-couch game. Invisible Inc was really good in that respect but the campaigns are really short.

[MartGonzo]

Yes I'd agree with r4pt0r, The Witcher 3 is a fantastic game, recently released, open world with a mixture of combat, gameplay mechanics (potions, bombs, sword oils and magical signs) and well written story driven missions.

[Randazzo]

I rather enjoyed Two Worlds gameplay. Not sure about it's sequel.

It is first/third person, but more akin to Elder Scrolls than anything.

Edited June 26, 2015 by Randazzo

[Krosulhah]

I would suggest Mount and Blade:Warband (Especially with the Viking Conquest DLC.), However, as you control an army, aside from your character, that may fall under the "No party" problem.

[Camacha]

It is quite old, but the original Fable is pretty good. Saints Row 4, maybe. It certainly has RPG elements and is a lot of fun.

[r4pt0r]

You mentioned the fallout FPS's, but Fallout 2 might be something you are looking for?

Jade Empire is another gem a lot of people don't remember.

I also think emulating an old zelda game could fit the bill.

Scroll through IGN's top 100 RPG's of all time list perhaps. http://www.ign.com/top/rpgs/100

DAT THREAD TITLE EDIT welp....

Edited June 26, 2015 by r4pt0r

[steve_v]

On the topic of the fallout series, I found Wasteland 2 to be pretty good. Doesn't tick all your requirements though, as you will probably die fairly quickly without a party...

Edited June 26, 2015 by steve_v

[Megan]

Hmm. Grim Dawn hits all your bullet points, but it might be too combat-heavy.

Recettear was great. JRPG, but atypically open-world. (Well, as far as the world went.) You only play one character at a time, although it's possible to (freely) choose from about half a dozen.

Oh, I know. How about Space Rangers 2?

[regex]

You mentioned the fallout FPS's, but Fallout 2 might be something you are looking for?

Jade Empire is another gem a lot of people don't remember.

I also think emulating an old zelda game could fit the bill.

Played both early Fallouts, pretty good. Played Zelda 1 and 3, too simplistic (although Zelda was pretty rad when I owned an NES). I'll check out Jade Empire, thanks.

Scroll through IGN's top 100 RPG's of all time list perhaps. http://www.ign.com/top/rpgs/100

Nice!

DAT THREAD TITLE EDIT welp....

Sorry, people suggesting stuff I own and have played...

- - - Updated - - -

Hmm. Grim Dawn hits all your bullet points, but it might be too combat-heavy.

Recettear was great. JRPG, but atypically open-world. You only play one character at a time, although it's possible to (freely) choose from about half a dozen.

Oh, I know. How about Space Rangers 2?

Awesome, I'll check those out!

[Megan]

Awesome, I'll check those out!

Great! Hope one of them works out for you

A couple of notes though:

Grim Dawn is still in early access, but it's scheduled for release at the end of the year, and it's more polished than most finished games. (Ahem.) Never broke a save for me. Level cap is 50 now and I think at least 75% of the content must be done. Though they're introducing a new system in a couple of months that sounds like it'll allow you to modify your skills - don't know how that'll play it out, but it's one of the things I'm most looking forward to.

Space Rangers 2 has several versions. I'd go with the most recent (A War Apart) personally, but opinion is divided. Some people feel the Reboot version was better in terms of balancing, but the difficulty is as finely adjustable as you want - faction strength, faction aggressiveness, equipment deterioration rate, and so on.

Edited June 26, 2015 by Megan

[Superfluous J]

Everybody on my YouTube page suggests Shadowrun. I've glanced at it and and it may be what you're looking for, except I think it's squad based.

Also, both Fallout 3 and New Vegas' VATS system mean that while you're in 3rd person (and 1st person if you choose) you never ever actually have to fire a shot manually.

[Megan]

Also, Shadowrun has no respawn. (Same as Two Worlds and its sequel, at least in singleplayer, IIRC.) Don't know if that's important to regex, but it's always a deal-breaker for me.

[regex]

Everybody on my YouTube page suggests Shadowrun. I've glanced at it and and it may be what you're looking for, except I think it's squad based.

Shadowrun is pretty much crap, I own it. Also, there's no Seelie Court in my dark future, I'm a Cyberpunk 2020 guy.

Also, Shadowrun has no respawn. (Same as Two Worlds and its sequel, at least in singleplayer, IIRC.) Don't know if that's important to regex, but it's always a deal-breaker for me.

I play permadeath games all the time, not a deal breaker at all.

This thread reminded me of Dark Stone, now that was a gem. Gonna scrape the Steam listings tonight too, thanks for the suggestions so far.

[Megan]

I don't mind permadeath either. I meant no respawning of enemies

Dark Stone wasn't bad, though the controls were a bit floaty for my tastes. And I didn't like the aging mechanic, but meh, around midgame that was easily overcome.

Edited June 26, 2015 by Megan

[regex]

I don't mind permadeath either. I meant no respawning of enemies

Oh! Yeah, that really depends on the game for me.

[Vanamonde]

Darklands. 24-year-old game. Clunky UI and graphics look like they were made in MS Paint. Most of the time, you're looking at static menu screens. But you can't beat the gameplay options for variety, and the game was a big part of the inspiration for Elder Scrolls.

[Megan]

Darklands was (and still is) superb, yes. Very much a party-based game, though.

(Sidenote: have any of you guys tried Serpent in the Staglands? It's on Steam and there's a free demo at the link. The second I saw the screenshots, I said, oh hey, Darklands! Again, party-based, so not what regex wants, but I'm curious - haven't had the time to try it yet myself.)

[pxi]

I would suggest the Baldur's Gate games, although they are party-based.

Ultima 7 might float your boat (http://exult.sourceforge.net/)

Frankly I'm scratching my head trying to think of top-down RPG's that aren't party-based.

(Sidenote: have any of you guys tried Serpent in the Staglands? It's on Steam and there's a free demo at the link. The second I saw the screenshots, I said, oh hey, Darklands! Again, party-based, so not what regex wants, but I'm curious - haven't had the time to try it yet myself.)

Haven't heard of it before now, looks alright tho.

Edited June 26, 2015 by pxi

[Megan]

Frankly I'm scratching my head trying to think of top-down RPG's that aren't party-based.

Yeah. I think it'll be the Diablo subgenre, basically, apart from the occasional oddballs.

I picked up Hand of Fate the other day. Only about 15% of the way in, I think, but it seems like a solid RPG. Sort of a choose-your-own-adventure (all scenarios replayable for moar stuffs though, so "open world" insofar as that goes) with some deck-building mechanics - you can set up the possible encounters and equipment you might come across each run. The animations can be hit or miss, but the graphics are decent, and consistent, overall. And the voice acting is very good, which is unusual. Your - DM, I guess? - is entertainingly sarcastic on occasion. The combat is a bit simplistic, but it works.

[regex]

Darklands.

Played that back in the day, pretty good but hard to get into.

have any of you guys tried Serpent in the Staglands? It's on Steam and there's a free demo at the link. The second I saw the screenshots, I said, oh hey, Darklands! Again, party-based, so not what regex wants, but I'm curious - haven't had the time to try it yet myself.)

Party-based isn't necessarily a huge problem, it's party management, like KOTOR, where you have to baby your people to get special quests and stuff like that. One of the reasons I never even looked at Mass Effect. Plus, that whole genre is so predictable in story and cheezy, very much why I prefer open world games.

Also, that game looks awesomely retro, I might buy it just for because.

Ultima 7 might float your boat (http://exult.sourceforge.net/)

I played that, U7 Part II, and U8 recently, all good games. I think Syndicate and U7 Part II were the first games I installed on my first 386.

Frankly I'm scratching my head trying to think of top-down RPG's that aren't party-based.

Yeah, I suppose no one has really broken into the genre I'm asking after, although U8 is almost it, just needs more detail. But party-based isn't a big deal, it's party-babying. Edited June 26, 2015 by regex

[Megan]

Ah, Ultima. So many great memories. The Black Gate and Serpent Isle were fine games, but for me the series peaked at VI: The False Prophet. Well, FP and BG, really. SI was all right but I had to struggle to stay interested around Shamino's castle. It picked up again towards the end but I thought it was weaker than BG. Did you play the Underworlds too?

But party-based isn't a big deal, it's party-babying.

Fair enough. I loved ME1 (not so much the sequels) but I can see where you're coming from. That does throw the field wide open, though, since this babying is a relatively recent phenomenon, isn't it? At least to a KOTOR extent. Jagged Alliance 2 and the Silent Storm games have no hint of it, for example. And if you don't mind a bit of genre-mixing, try Defender's Quest (link goes to a demo on Kongregate). It's a pretty unique RPG/tower defense combo - your characters are the "towers." You can level up their fire rate, types of attacks, spells, and so on. Also, if you don't mind some added difficulty, you can play it in hero mode by not hiring any mercs, and then it becomes a bit of a puzzle game as well.

Oh, thought of another one, since you don't mind old-school graphics: The Magic Candle. I thought the first game was brilliant, despite the fact that I generally hate time limits.

Also, I presume you've tried the various Spiderweb series?

Going further afield, there's A Dark Room and The Ensign on iOS.

Edited June 26, 2015 by Megan

[regex]

Did you play the Underworlds too?

No, the interface was terrible. The only reason I suffered through System Shock was because of the awesome gameplay and story. And the lighting. I could actually see in System Shock.

Oh, thought of another one, since you don't mind old-school graphics: The Magic Candle. I thought the first game was brilliant, despite the fact that I generally hate time limits.

That's a little ... too old for my tastes.

Also, I presume you've tried the various Spiderweb series?

No, actually, but I'm stuck on Linux for the time being. Suppose I should have mentioned that.

I think I'm going to give this Serpent in the Staglands a try, looks pretty old-school.

[Thiagobs]

Divinity Original Sin?

The first one is quite nice too (Divine Divinity), But Original Sin is a prequel of the series, so no problem with having no idea what's going on...