r/rpg_gamers • u/psychonaut4020 • 1d ago
What games would you all recommend that are like baldurs gate 3
Obviously divinity 1&2 both being absolutely wonderful games I've also played og fallout, pillars of eternity, disco elysium, underrail a lil bit, and I can't think of what else lol.
I've often thought of trying pathfinder but I've heard it can be a big heavy on the reading. All these games can be. But maybe I'm wrong idk.
I'm excited to hear your recommendations bc I'm going through another rpg kick since I started playing avowed. But I'm rly looking for that isometric rpg Thang.
30
u/HyraxAttack 1d ago
Shadowrun Dragonfall is excellent & not terribly long, with a strong story & characters.
2
u/chowler 1d ago
I have a huge soft spot for those games. I've played Returns, Dragonfall, and Hong Kong several times.
1
u/Correct-Ad-1989 18h ago
Which order would you recommend playing them in?
2
u/Ok-Yak3332 16h ago
Release order, which is the way OP listed them. There are QOL improvements in each one and it makes it harder to go back to the older ones IMO
22
u/bbeach88 1d ago
Tyranny is one absolute favorite for world-building and an interesting combat system (not as varied as bg3, but definitely creative). Really enjoyed this one!
Dragon Age Origins definitely plays more like these older game than it's appearance would suggest. Really loved the combat in this one.
Shadowrun dragonfall feels different than these games but the soul is similar. I recommend it.
Disco Elysium for unparalleled narrative delivery. Just incredible!
Planescape Torment (didn't see it mentioned) is one of my most memorable gaming experiences. The world is wild, deep and varied. There are moments of sadness, heroism, and outright silliness all mixed together in a "real" feeling world.
3
u/LucidFir 1d ago
I wish I was clever enough to enjoy disco and planescape. I might literally enjoy them more watching a playthrough.
2
u/downturnbiscuits 23h ago
Me and my wife played the game, she played a well thought through detective game I played a racist bully simulator. Give it another go, go on.
1
u/LeetMultisport 21h ago
Same. I respect them but I just couldn’t do either. Flamed out after a dozen hours in each.
64
35
u/OhHeyItsOuro 1d ago
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is excellent. It's not fully voiced so there is definitely more reading, and it's significantly harder than BG3 and also not as conventionally pretty (not slamming either game, BG3 is just designed to have you looking at things from the characters' perspectives a lot while WotR isn't and the art reflects that), but if you want a crunchy mechanical experience that really rewards you for learning the systems combined with absolutely incredible characters and story you won't find better. Kingmaker is also very good, but it's a lot rougher around the edges (particularly without mods and/or any foreknowledge)
4
u/paxusromanus811 18h ago
I'm playing this right now as well as Warhammer rogue trader and my God. I love these games.
-2
16
u/Jibima 1d ago
Wasteland 3 might scratch that high production value CRPG itch
4
u/multiseven 23h ago
that game was a blast, quite funny but also serious sometimes, and the length was perfect imho
4
u/TransitionalArk 23h ago
I couldn't get past the beginning. Found it kind of cringe and boring. Does it really get better?
2
u/Jibima 21h ago
I mean thought it did. Rounding up the 3 of Patriarch’s children were really good and unique quests. The child, Victory, is super insane and his quest awesome. And I thought the side quests were incredible and very funny, especially the Santa’s workshop one. I thought it was great but enjoyment is going to be different for everyone
2
u/TheThirstyMage 17h ago
Wasteland 3 gets really good, it’s a game I want to go back to again.
I’d argue that Wasteland 2 is pretty fantastic in its own right.
7
u/Algific_Talus 1d ago
Baldur’s Gate 2 and Dragon Age Origins are some of the best RPGs you can play. Origins is more cinematic and feels very similar to BG3 (I like it more than BG3). It was actually inspired by the original Baldur's Gate games. I think BG3 was then inspired by Origins, so it's a full circle haha.
5
u/MajorasShoe 23h ago
It wasn't just inspired by the Baldurs Gate games, it was created by the same company with many of the same people.
2
u/Algific_Talus 22h ago
You’re right. For some reason I thought Obsidian made BG2 but I was thinking of KOTOR 2.
1
16
u/Dry-Dog-8935 1d ago
Baldurs Gate 2
7
u/reevelainen 1d ago
Probably the best RPG ever made and ever will be. Obviously there's no wrong way of having fun but everytime I hear someone been playing BG3 but never bothers to touch BG1 and BG2, I feel a bit disappointed. Eventhough it's not my concern at all. I just wish every had the chance to experience them.
Have to admit I was very young when I played these two for the first time. The immersion might not hit the same way it used to back then.
4
u/Dry-Dog-8935 1d ago
I feel the same way. BG3 is amazing but it has so many clear faults that hurt the game too much. Also BG2 has a deeper main storyline I feel like, with BG3 relegating too much of its story depth on your companions. BG2 is just a perfect game imho.
5
u/LeetMultisport 21h ago
I loved BG2 when it was fresh. Tried playing recently (after BG3) and flamed out. Lot of fussy game mechanics, less interesting combat, navigation,etc. Ironically I played Icewind Dale before BG3 and had no complaints. I think BG3 ruined a lot of otherwise great games for me. Same story for ShadowRun Dragonfall. That game may be great but I’ll never know. I found it completely intolerable. Lasted less than 6 hours before I couldn’t care enough to learn to be proficient.
1
u/scottyLogJobs 19h ago
I mean, it looks like dogshit and has terrible unintuitive UX and gameplay by modern standards, that seems like some pretty big flaws to me. Like you people need to understand that you are looking at it through rose colored glasses. Maybe it was a perfect game when it came out but can you really in good faith recommend those games to a gen Z who just played baldur’s gate 3 in 2025 and wants a game that is similar?
1
u/reevelainen 8h ago edited 7h ago
First person ever I've witnessed saying BG2 looks dogshit. I don't think we'd look it with rose colored glasses, it's just your poor attitude.
Once you'd learn to play it, even a BG3 player realizes that even within one hour, you can achieve a lot due to old BG games lot faster pace. In BG3 you don't get to explore a whole town within one hour while in BG2 you'll complete multiple major missions. If you have like half an hour to play, BG2 takes many major steps while in BG3 there's no point, because even your first dialogue won't get through.
When it comes to battle mechanics, in BG2 they're actually a lot more modern than in BG3. The creators of BG3 has said there's no point of making an expansion because the power curve would extend the fights too long. In BG2 battles feel still smooth eventhough you could reach level 35-40 near the end.
1
u/scottyLogJobs 5h ago edited 5h ago
I think that’s all fair, the rpg mechanics may well be great, I’m not saying they are not. I’m also not saying that it isn’t a masterpiece, because a masterpiece is defined by the context that it was created in.
What I am saying is that the UX is awful and unintuitive, and the graphics and animations are muddy and confusing by modern standards. The combat system (real time with pause) is totally different as well, bg3 is actually much closer to dnd than bg. As someone who loved bg3, I tried to play bg1. It was a really unpleasant experience and I gave up fairly quickly. To recommend it to someone who loves bg3 and wants something similar is laughable. You might as well recommend them dwarf fortress or something. That is not to take away from bg1 and say that it wasn’t even better (for its time).
I love Diablo 2, and believe there is a lot of fun there even for newcomers. Hell, there is even a TRUE remaster with tons of quality of life improvements. But I have come to learn (and be disappointed by) the fact that there is often still too much of a learning curve and dated elements for newcomers to enjoy it. AND BG1 and 2 are FAR more complicated and dated than that.
0
u/reevelainen 4h ago
What I am saying is that the UX is awful and unintuitive, and the graphics and animations are muddy and confusing by modern standards.
That only proves you aren't of the generation that learned to read 2D isometric graphics. Every spell is different, every attack is recognizable and loyal to their turns. Armors and weapons look good, characters doesn't look ridiculous like they often do in 3D worlds.
UX provides all actions on easy access, and all of them can be key-binded. All bars can be hidden if they're not needed.
As someone who loved bg3, I tried to play bg1. It was a really unpleasant experience and I gave up fairly quickly. To recommend it to someone who loves bg3 and wants something similar is laughable.
You realize of how ridiculous that sounds right? The makers of BG3 absolutely loved BG1&2, and tried everything to honor them. According to you, they failed, as you aren't a Baldur's Gate enjoyer, but lover of romance based story RPGs. With massive hours, you could end up in levels 10-12 which could be compared to like first 3-10 hours of Baldur's Gate 2. Baldur's Gate 1&2 aren't trying to imitate D&D actual role-playing game, they provide an excellent power curve and characters development, in which you'd grow from flower-stick into late game powerhouse.
It's not Baldur's Gates fault that you fail to consider them enjoyable to someone who likes BG3. You just aren't a Baldur's Gate enjoyer, and BG3 should've been named completely different.
It was a really unpleasant experience and I gave up fairly quickly
But I have come to learn (and be disappointed by) the fact that there is often still too much of a learning curve and dated elements for newcomers to enjoy it.
This. Why even bother to say you're disappointed in the game if you gave up after a few minutes? Be disappointed at yourself. Back in the day, games were designed to people who'd buy one to few games a year. Or five. If it feels overwhelming at first, you couldn't just pick another game from library of thousands of games. You just had to try again. Baldur's Gates weren't so easy to approach. I hated BG2 at first after so great BG1. Took some time to get into it.
2
1
16
u/BinkyBoy23 1d ago
Solasta
Solasta 2 is coming to EA soon and it looks very good so far.
1
u/psychonaut4020 1d ago
I haven't even heard of that ngl. What's the general story about without spoilers.
7
u/pingwing 1d ago
Story is ok, so the "less reading" might be good for you. Combat and battle is closer to 5e and a lot of people like the combat better, myself included. Models are ugly, combat is great.
7
3
u/ThisAbbreviations241 1d ago
Solasta is pretty fun I've completed the three official campaigns a few times each. Doing last valley on scavenger difficulty at the moment. You can also play user created campaigns by linking your profile to some mod website. "A business for monkeys" was epic, me and my friends enjoyed that so much we were surprised it was user created.
2
u/Ghost-Job 1d ago
General story is about a group of adventurers (4 custom characters) that are tasked by a council to investigate the apparent appearance of a race of evil reptilian shapeshifters and their evil reptile god previously thought to be myth.
It's pretty fun and there are a few plot points that are genuinely well written regarding the prospect of malicious shapeshifters infiltrating your society, but the voice acting is super campy and the characters models are all pretty gross looking.
The dlc's are also pretty good, one is a direct continuation of the main plot and the other is an entirely separate campaign where a different party stumbles though a cave and comes upon a valley that is surrounded on all sides by impassable mountains where they then have to navigate a political war between three factions vying for control of the valley.
2
u/Various-Initial-6872 22h ago
Its came out just before BG3 and so its technically the first 5th edition D&D game, story is ok akd enjoyable, very good combat D&D. It was small studio so less polish and silly voice actors. Its an original world and IP and uses 5th edition source so consider it like a homebrew 5th D&D world. Good fantasy.
9
u/Previous-Squirrel-50 1d ago
Knights of the old republic 1 & 2. Never winter knights 2 dlc : mask of the betrayer Planescape torment
5
u/Inthepurple 23h ago
Kingdom come deliverance 2 is really good, the first is also good but the 2nd is so much more polished
3
3
3
u/MajorasShoe 23h ago
Crpgs is a pretty niche but deep genre.
The best ones are, in my opinion, Planescape Torment, Fallout 1 & 2, Baldurs Gate 1 & 2. The best modern ones are Rogue Trader, Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 3, Disco Elysium, Wrath of the Righteous and Baldurs Gate 3.
Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 are worth checking out. Wasteland 2, Pillars of Eternity 2, Dragon Age Origins, Pathinder Kingmaker, Icewind Dale 1 & 2, all get honorable mentions.
8
2
u/RobZagnut2 1d ago
Wasteland 2 & 3
Cyberpunk
Cyber Knights
And I’m having fun with the early access version of Archaelund. The tasks are super fun and it’s like exploring a Skyrim world, but playing a CRPG.
Oh, and Battletech with the 3 DLC, then the Hyades Rim campaign, then upgrade to super technical BTA 3062. I’m addicted to mechs.
And I second (or third) Solasta with the two DLC. Then play a few of the hundred fun fun fun player made campaigns. Then after playing 2-3 of them add Unfinished Business to add huge amounts of gaming options.
2
5
u/Efficient_Expert7865 1d ago
Divinity 2, I'd say it's harder than bg3 in terms of combat but simpler in terms of character building.
1
u/psychonaut4020 1d ago
Agreed. First playthrough of divinity was super hard for me bc I was kinda new to rpg's at the time so it was hard lol
5
u/DoriOli 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m doing BG3 right now and appreciate the love, care and artistry put into it, but it is such a lootfest. Continuously looting, filling inventory and then selling to make cash and lose carry weight. Then you progress a bit but quickly find yourself in the same dynamic again.
2
u/Molochwalker28 1d ago
It takes some time, but you start to recognize what is actually useful to take and what is there for flavor. On subsequent runs (if that's something you feel like doing), looting and inventory management become pretty minimal.
2
u/cubiclej0ckey 23h ago
I found myself doing exactly this and couldn't progress much past landing on the beach. I was constantly bogged down by loot (vendors, random pickups). I really want to play this game but I need to get over that (personal) hurdle before I feel like I can truly enjoy the game. Any tips on how you've overcame this?
1
u/DoriOli 23h ago edited 23h ago
I haven’t overcome anything yet 😅 lol. Started the game a year ago and had the same issue as you and quit at the first village (Evergrove?). Started again a week and a half ago and got a little further now and grasped all of the game’s technicals to be competent at it, but haven’t touched it in 2-3 days because of this reason. Seems to not end, everytime you progress a little further (like it gets worse in that regard)
2
u/Exotic-Resolution970 1d ago
I don't know, you're the one doing that. I've beaten the game a few times and I don't loot everything all the time and it's fine. If you can't control your compulsion to loot everything that's on you.
1
u/DoriOli 1d ago
Yeah, it probably is just me
1
u/telebasher 1d ago
No it’s not just you. I spend hours opening crates.
1
u/DoriOli 1d ago
Yes, I know many do and are like us. Guess we’re the different type of gamers who have the constant itch to see/retrieve everything while fearing missing out on something good or something… Idk. Tends to make us finish games less often than the other type(s). But yea, BG3 is bad in that aspect
5
1
u/External_Setting_892 1d ago
Definitely Mass Effect and Dragon Age, BG3 takes inspiration from their party-member systems.
1
u/Exotic-Resolution970 1d ago
Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2. Also Tyranny. Same developers and those games have cool worlds, stories and choices. Although I personally don't love the actual combat they were still great fun.
1
1
1
u/LucidFir 1d ago
You've had people that like Pathfinder KM and WotR give their opinion, so just for another perspective:
BG3 is so high quality that I want to listen to literally every line of dialogue. Pathfinder I feel like they bloated it with quantity not quality. Some of the characters (Regill) are amazing representions of what they're trying to portray, whilst others are cartoonish and poorly written. I find the massively variable quality of writing extremely jarring.
In terms of combat, BG3 is a masterclass in combat encounters. The use of terrain height gave me inspiration for irl D&D games. Pathfinder is like a series of giants steps, the difficulty spikes so much you may need to grind a level and respec, and then you do so many fights at that level that they get boring.
I hate the art style in Pathfinder.
I love the character creation in Pathfinder.
...
Did you ever play Mass Effect?
1
u/fellownpc 1d ago
While these two recommends are not the same type of game, I will recommend them because they are fairly isometric, and have interesting gameplay. I found them fun for a while and maybe they can scratch the itch while you look for others. Things to consider: They don't have much story, they are both singleplayer, both early access. A) Zed Zone B) Zero Sievert
1
u/Far_Persimmon_2616 22h ago
Rogue Trader is great. Pulled me away from BG3 in fact. Not as high production value but it has some great characters and some incredible moral quandaries to test you ethically.
1
1
u/One-Platform-2496 22h ago
Warhammer 40000 Rogue Trader. Just picked it up and have fun so far. It's like BG3 but with guns.
1
u/EmuAdministrative728 21h ago
Pathfinder Wraith of the Righteous is probably the next best CRPG. Followed by Pillars of Eternity 2
IGN has Balurs Gate 2 as the 3rd best role-playing game of all time, its one of the few times I agree with them. You can even play it on your Android phone. Starting a level 1 character in Baldur's Gate 1 and then transferring your level 7 character to Baldur's Gate 2 or transferring your character to the game Baldurs Gate Siege at Dragaonspear and then moving your level 9 character to BG2.
Planescape and Disco Elysium are both excellent CRPGs with a ton of reading, but are probably two of the best games ever written.
Tyranny is a shorter game with a branching narrative that really stuck with me.
Wasteland 3 and Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader are two awesome CRPGs if you are cool with non-fantasy settings
1
u/Kaelanna 21h ago
Whenever I'm in the mood for a CRPG, BG3 and Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous are the 2 at the top of my list. Can't recommend WoTR enough
1
1
u/RubikTetris 19h ago
Im absolutely shocked no one recommended fallout 1-2 and arcanum.
You will find the same level of crpg depth if not more.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Notowidjojo 9h ago
do you like the combat or the world building?
if you dont like reading then its Solasta, same game rules with BG3 (DnD5e)
1
u/gorehistorian69 Baldur's Gate 8h ago
if you really made this thread and havent played Baldurs Gate 1 & 2....
who plays the 3rd game in a series and then goes I want more of that. wonder if there's anything similar.
3 means there was 2 before it.
1
u/psychonaut4020 7h ago
For anyone curious I've decided to try baldurs gate 1. And I've also purchased pathfinder wrath of the righteous. So wish me luck see you in 600 hours 😂
1
u/Petering 1d ago
If you played pillars of eternity, don’t worry about pathfinder’s amount of reading. Get kingmaker which goes on sale for 5$ often.
1
u/psychonaut4020 1d ago
I actually own it already but never opened it 😂 I might give it a go. Thank you. Or even the old baldurs gate games.
1
u/Petering 1d ago
Definitely give it a go. If you like it then you can try Wrath of the Righteous then Rogue Trader. Owlcat is pumping out tons of CRPGs so it’s good to get familiar with their engine.
-1
-1
u/majakovskij 1d ago
Bro, there are like 10 games kind of "like BG3" (but much smaller and simpler), and it is all we got. Maybe there are 20 games like that if we also count super old games. But this is it. You are already at the end of the list. Take your time, don't rush them.
Also try Solasta, it is based on DnD too
31
u/eddstannis 23h ago
Im surprised no one has mentioned Rogue Trader yet. As someone who obsessed with BG3 it is my new obsession, and it scratchs a very similar itch.