My first CRPG was Icewind Dale, and let me tell you, what an intro

Dragon Age: Origins really is the best of its series, especially on the role-playing aspect

Wasteland3 is a gem for starter. Great story, easy to start, killer music. It is fun.

I'm currently working through a playthrough of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, I've previously played Pillars of Eternity and Dragon Age Origins, and in my opinion, Pillars of Eternity is the best place to start with Isometric CRPGs, primarily because of its depth in combat. Comparing it to Wrath of Righteous is almost not even fair. In WotR, combat is mostly just auto-attacking and the actual strategy comes from buffing your party and debuffing enemies and your build choices. PoE's character builds have less depth but the combat is so much more deep, one of my favorite examples is that to flank someone in WotR, you just need to have two party members in melee with an enemy. In PoE, you actually need to have one of your two or more characters behind the enemy to get a flank. PoE also gives the player a variety of abilities they can use on each party member with cooldowns you need to manage, this system is entirely absent from WotR. In general, the purpose of me writing all of this is to show that there's actually a lot of variety to be had in CRPGs and that if one of them isn't to your taste, that doesn't mean that others won't be. Give several of them a try!

My own progression, as a star wars kid, was knights of the old republic (kotor) on the original xbox, kotor 2, dragon age origins, and then finally pillars of eternity got me fully submerged into the isometric core of the genre. All fantastic games !!

Really surprised you didn't mention the Shadowrun games. They're arguably the best starter cRPG games out and they're fairly modern. Plus the setting/story is great

One interesting bit of trivia is that the Knights of the Old Republic games use a pen and paper RPG system and you can check the combat log in the menus.

The original baldurs gate games actually had extremely complete explanations of the pertinent rules. They had them in the physical rulebook that accompanied those releases. I think I lost mine about 4 moves ago :(

Good Recommendations. I would add Neverwinter Nights 1 (especially the add-ons) and Neverwinter Nights 2 (plus Mask of the Betrayer Add-on). Shadowrun Dragonfall is another gem, Fallout New Vegas as an entry into the Fallout franchise and one of my all-time favorites: Jagged Alliance 2. If you are into JRPG, I would recommend Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6.

I may not be a beginner in this genre, but it never hurts to go back to the beginning of your journey. Thanks for the video! Definitely going to use it to help my friends enter the CRPG world! Also a beginner’s guide to TRPGs would also be helpful please

Every time Tiranny is mentioned I'm saddened that we won't have a sequel :(

I think my first was Fallout 2, which later led to Fallout 1, Baldur's Gate 1-2 and Planescape: Torment in quick succession. To this day, I find myself replaying them and never getting tired of neither the gameplay nor the story. Truly awesome games.

Baldur's Gate 1 was my first "Old school" CRPG that I played, and I played it for the first time just last year. I had so much difficulty getting used to it - Some encounters were just absolutely brutal, with swarms of powerful enemies, wizards and all sorts of nasty stuff attacking you at the same time. But then I realized something - If the game doesn't play fair, you shouldn't play fair either. You have all those same tools that the enemy has, and you can always leave, or rethink an encounter in such a way that you can trivialize it. After I realized that and I started being able to dismantle encounters I really, really started to love the game.

One series of games that he didn't mention, that I think are good and newbie friendly are the Shadowrun trio of games, Returns, Dragonfall, and Hong Kong. While it definitely helps if you are familiar with the Shadowrun TTRPG, I don't think that is really necessary.

I've been gaming for 30+ years, but only on console. Recently got my first gaming PC and are now exploring some genres I've missed out on. Bought Tyranny, PoE 1 and BG1:EE on various sales after watching your videos but they honestly intimidate me to the point that I'm a bit hesitant to even get started, even though I think they all seem very interesting 🫣 Closest I've played was Disco Elysium which I really loved! I did however manage to (kind of) learn Europa Universalis IV, which at first glance seemed totally impossible, so I guess I just gotta pick one of them and get going!

glad to see Tyranny here. I feel like as far as isometric RPGs go, it's the perfect game for a newcommer to the genre. it's not a "casual" game per se, but it's a lot less complex than Pillars. and it's so much fun, it's short and so fun to come back to once in a while. the world is quite unique, as well as your place in it. probably my second favourite RPG ever (behind New Vegas).

Wasteland 3 was the first crpg that I played and I absolutely loved it. It is still probably my favourite. Currently playing Divinity: OS2 and I am enjoying so far. Really looking forward to W40K: Rogue Trader more than anything in the genre.

Love your channel and finally decided to give these types of games a try. I started with Solasta and just cant stop playing. Keep up the great work my guy.

I've been playing rpgs since I was little, and crpgs are starting to become my preferred gaming genre as a whole; with Larian and Obsidian being my two favorite devs in the space. I'd really love to see either of them do some work in the Dragon Age, Star Wars, or Warhammer Fantasy universes.

Starting with the infinity engine games and KOTOR 1&2 was the best intro for me. Started my CRPG journey a little over 3 months ago after mass buying a whole load of CRPG classics and the modern mainstays inspired by them. This all really started because of Disco Elysium and replaying KOTOR. This channel also helped immensely.

This was a very insightful video! Thanks for making this, definitely going to try out a couple of these games :D

I played DOS2 for my first real CRPG as well, and I loved it. Now for my second CRPG i'm playing pathfinder : wotr, and I don't really think it's that hard to get into. Usually I'm hopelessly restarting games because I feel i missed some crucial steps, or i leveled my characters wrong. But I didn't do this with pathfinder and am now at the end of my first playthrough. I do have to say though, I am still very glad I followed your advice and started on normal, instead of core. I think this saved me form my usual restarting habit. So thanks again Mort!

My very first was Neverwinter Nights 2! Everything else just snowballed from there (fallout, baldur’s gate, kotor, vampire the masquerade, dragon age, wasteland, and so on) But I would definetly recommend Pathfinder: WotR for a more modern flare, if anyone asked me ☺️

Just recently stumbled across your channel (BG3 hype...), really great content you have going on! Kudos on this video in particular, and I'd just like to second the recommendation for "Tyranny" in particular. Great game that often gets overlooked - compelling story, interesting characters and a lot of meaningful choices. And personall I also appreciate that it's not too long, probably around 20 hours for a fresh playthrough. Very nice package!

Good video as per usual! It's funny that I've been playing CRPGs for about 3 years now consistently, but have only have played Wasteland 3 on this list haha. Shadowrun Dragonfall and Hong Kong are also great beginner-friendly CRPGs for anyone who wants to get into the genre.

Would love to see a video along the lines of “The 5 studios I’m most interested in finding out what their next game is” with some speculation sprinkled in. Thanks for the consistently great content!

DOS2 was my first and boy it opened my eyes - I've always loved character progression & strategy so it was a natural fit. I tend to bounce off of real-time pause games, but turn-based is right up my alley. Pillars felt really difficult and I got stuck while super underleveled in a certain undead area in Deadfire that just killed my motivation to keep playing. Pathfinder feels a lot better, but when I saw the customization and story options available in WOTR I just couldn't keep playing Kingmaker. I hope to pick up WOTR soon & try Wasteland 3 as well - seems like another great fit since I love DOS2 & XCOM. Also, BG3 is going to be absolutely revolutionary since I'm a big D&D fan! My only major complaint for games like this is that there's SO many build options that I'm paralyzed with choices & the fear of making either a boring or underpowered build - but following a step by step guide takes all the fun out of making those choices for yourself - and these games typically don't make respecs very accessible.

That looks right up my alley, keen to hear more as it develops!

My experience with Baldur's Gate 1 on Normal was miserable in terms of difficulty. One tip I can give to newcomers is to use potions and scrolls. I was conditioned by 99% of the games I played in my life to see those as optional small boosts but in BG1 its crucial. If you don't chances are you'll get obliterated in a lot of encounters. BG2 was very different for me, I already had a lot of previous knowledge from 1 so I played on Core and it felt amazing.

Dragon Age: Origins (cinematic) & Shadowrun Returns (short & simple) are 2 of the games I will always recommend to newcomers that want to get into the genre. After that, they are free to explore whichever game they find interesting in the space. These 2 games also introduce people to the 2 types of combat systems typically found in these games, real-time with pause (DA:O) & turn-based (Shadowrun). Plus, I think their combat gameplay isn't as confusing or overwhelming to get into for newcomers that want to just pick 1 and jump right in.

Great video and great games all of them. I would strongly recommend Pillars 2 to "beginners" looking to get into (isometric) CRpg genre. Great game that holds a great balance between easy(ier) and a difficult challenge in my opinion, not to mention the world build and the lore which is quite interesting..

Really appreciate these videos thank you. With my steam deck and PC I’m eager to try CRPGs - they’re the most appealing RPGs to me outside of JRPGs

The Pre Fallout Wasteland game was such a fun game! Solasta was a fun basic 5E system game with mostly custom stuff! Baldurs Gate 1 & 2 are so much fun! Planescape Torment is the best of the Baldurs Gate Game system games, imho!

I tried play pathfinder WoTR for my first CRPG and it was pretty hard to get in to, because you said divinity was a good start I got it and it was on sale so I am hoping to become a fan of CRPGs hoping divinity original sin 2 will help me get into them. I really like pathfinder but it was so systems heave I felt way lost. Really good video, I've watched a lot of your reviews and you definitely are one of the best reviewers out there!

I played Solasta following Mortym's suggestion... And I love it! It's a good game for a CRPG noob like myself, no doubt about it. Excellent video!

IMO Solasta is the best beginner crpg out there, if only for it's simplicity. You manage only 4 characters all of which you build yourself from the start. The main campaign is linear with sidequests, a good formula in that it shows the player they are on the right path. It has less "system overload" than other games as well, even the crafting system is nice and clear. The way it presents information is done in a clear, fresh way that I appreciate. Lastly, there are no side management things, its basically a straight up dungeon crawler. After seeing 5e done well in a game I'm excited to play BG3 as my next step!

Thx to you I've tried poe1 as my first crpg since kotor and dragon age origins. I'm finding it a little difficult to learn the mechanics underneath but enjoying it slowly, little bit at a time. Almost done everything in act 1 and I'm excited for the story to get going but enjoying the world building. I think I lean more to action rpgs but happy to have a new genre

I recently assembled my first gaming PC (console gamer all my life) and I watch your videos to get up to speed with PC games. More success to you!

I love this video, you give a very nice breakdown of the different varieties of CRPGs and most of these are definitely worth playing if you have some spare time. I would definitely recommend either of the Original Sin games to anyone looking to dip their toes into this kind of game, it's newbie-friendly enough for most people, and good looking enough to please most gamers.

Very helpful videos. I am mostly new to the genre, played Dragon Age: Inquisition and a few tabletops briefly, and I want to get into BG3. Seems like PoE II and Shadowrun Returns, based on your other video, are ones for me to try. Thanks so much!

Great review thank you, time to update my CRPG games with your recommendations.

Giving CRPGs a shot. Bought DOS1. Almost done with act 1 with 40 hours in lol. It's a nice change from all the open world games I'm used to.

I've been trying to get into CRPGs for some time now. The first one that really clicked with me was Wasteland 3. Enjoyed it a lot and plan on giving Divonity Original Sin 1&2 a second try.

I'd probably swap D:OS2 and Solasta's spots in this list; the dual armor system and damage type splits along with elemental reactions must be understood to make effective builds in D:OS2, while the 5e core ruleset Solasta is built on is so simplified that it's hard to go wrong with. Always great to see your crpg videos.

You should try out Fear & Hunger and especially the new sequel, Termina. They're RPG Maker games, but they're both pretty different than your standard RPG Maker games. While there is an element of RNG to the gameplay, most of the game is actually beaten by knowing what to do. While the game is very punishing with it's save system, you'll get better as you learn from your losses. Dying can be frustrating, but once you learn that frustration turns into a sense of triumph. The exciting gameplay is just one great aspect of the game, as the grimdark setting and deep lore are really well done. The sequel is seriously one of my new favorite games of all time. It improves on some of the shortcomings of the original and it offers so much more variety with the extra skills you can learn and the plethora of unique characters you can play as. The subject matter is quite dark in places and you'd have to do some censoring of certain enemies if you were to use footage of them in a video. It's worth it though as there's really nothing else like it out there.

Love solasta and DOS2, being able to play a crpg in co-op is just next level fun.

I'd love a TRPGs for beginners video. I'm currently terrible at them, and they seem so daunting. On that note, I love when you mention difficulty levels and settings in your videos. Useful!

I've just finished DOS2, and it was a great experience, but boy oh boy, the last area was brutal. The game got super hard, and I struggled a lot. As a guy who always heard about DOS2 the last area was a bit of a bummer. I ended up enjoying Wasteland 3 more.

Not sure if there has been tons of changes but D:OS2 was pretty brutal when it first came out, at least for me. There were some fights that I had to keep saving and reloading in order to beat.

What a time to be a CRPG gamer. The only downside is that I've already played/tried most of these (and have re-played a handful of them too). Can't wait for new stuff to come out later this year!

I’m a console guy so crpgs have always been hard for me to get into. Thanks a lot. You’re a great youtuber Mort :)

Still loving your well-thought out, well-executed deconstructions/reviews/recommendations. Keep on doing what you're doing, sir.

Massive shout out for Planescape: Torment. Probably the best philosophical crpg of all time.

Great video, bought pathfinder wotr and wasteland 3 by your recommendation. Hope that I will finish my master thesis soon to dive into them

Good list, explained with much detail. This is an A+ video

Haven't thought about KOTOR in several years... Installing now on my sidekick rig, for when the games on my main rig get tedious ;-) Thanks for the bump!

I actually started with Pathfinder Kingmaker, so this makes me feel a lot better about most of these games!

I'ma a beginner and have started my journey with Wrath of the Righteous. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, tho there are occasions where i feel so overwhelmed

I started playing Wrath of the Righteous. I'm not familiar with DnD and tabletop RPGs, by the way. Even though, yes, Pathfinder games really are mechanically overwhelming, I find myself deeply immersed in my WotR playthrough. It's the first CRPG that I play properly (as opposed to just messing around for an hour before uninstalling), and I'm having a blast so far!

Great list I have played Wasteland 3, both Pathfinders, Divinity 2, Solasta, pillar of eternity, Baldurs gate,... Your tastes are so similar to mine that i´m gonna buy the Atom RPG.

Mortismal, you deserve way more subs man! Here's to you hitting 500K in 2024. 🍵

I had to edit this because I forgot the most important part: This list and your channel are both great! Its obvious you have a passion for this very special and often underappreciated genre. So, thank you very much for doing videos like these. And now, on to my comment 😀 I am surprised that Planescape: Torment did not end up on your list. [Side note: this explanation is for the other commenters. I would not insult you by implying you did not already know exactly what this game is] Just your intro area of the game (Mortuary) is so chocked full interesting conversation, little morality choices, and puzzles it is mind blowing. It is easy to get into, nothing feels forced and it is in many ways quite forgiving because death is not meant to be punishing. With so much to explore both physically and psychologically I would put it in the top crpgs of all time. It has even been remastered so it runs perfectly on modern hardware. It's so good IMO that its hard to pick the best things about it but if I had to I would say its the fact that encourages you to try ANYTHING and it is designed to make you think about what you believe and why with rewards for have in depth discussions even with your party members that make a huge impact on the game.

This makes me want to replay Kotor. . .I got to the last mission in the game, but encountered a game-breaking bug that locked me in a room, so I never actually finished it. That was one of the first good RPG games I played growing up.

I have rediscovered CRPGs again thanks to the Steam Deck. Can't wait to delve into Pathfinder after I finish DOS2.

I'm not new to the genre, but I really enjoyed this subject. I think I agree with you, nearly game for game. PoE is a very tough introduction to cRPGs, and I don't think anyone should play the second without the first (I think it kinda ruins it, you might discover it in game - but the story is somewhat, um, complicated?). But, it is worth it - and almost makes the Infinity Engine games look easier... I come from a very long, extensive tabletop gaming background - and I grew up with both AD&D 1e and the Gold Box games from SSI. So, in a way, Baldur's Gate came naturally - but PoE made me earn my knowledge... The Pathfinder games are very tough, but they are the tempting point of entry - they are beautiful, AA titles. After years of gaming this style of by the book RPG - they kicked my ass, repeatedly. I do tend to build niche characters and play on hard levels, but... at least it tells you more than PoE does, LOL? I think for ease of use in Sci-Fi that the Shadowrun games are pretty friendly. The graphics are not stellar, but they are used well. They tend to be somewhat, or entirely, cut and dried - but it is a good turn based introduction for anyone. I don't tend to recommend real-time with pause combat to anyone younger than me unless they play ttRPGs or know the genre. Sorry for babbling - thanks for this video, it was a great introduction to your channel for those who don't know it (I've been following along for a few years, I think you were one of my first real subscriptions...)

DarkholowMost of these games (with a few exceptions) are the ones I also recommend when someone asks me for some CRPG's..great video Mort! :D This year has been pretty bleak for CRPG's unfortunately, but I'm still holding strong since we got more than half a year left to go in 2023..Baldur's Gate III seemingly only one that's high profile, since Owlcat is still trucking along on Rogue Trader. As for some extra recommendations I would say Disco Elysium and for the more initiated in the CRPG genre and not completely new I gotta say Arcanum holds a good place in my heart and Neverwints 1&2. If you also want more story than combat similar to Disco Elysium then you can always go back to the amazing Planescape Torment (which does have an Enhanced edition out).

Awesome video. Cheers

Great video to stumble onto having just finished Baldur’s Gate 2

great video and suggestions!

Thanks for the heads up to the OSR folks :)

Great video. As always 😊

I would say that the Pillars of Eternity series are my favorite so far. I love CRPG games and I think the Divinity series is also top notch but somehow I can't bring myself to finish either game more than once. While I've finished POE Dreadfire 4 times.

Planescape should have gotten an honorable mention. It has an enhanced version out and it's story is all time top shelf.

You consistent af brother

nice vid. pretty on point!

Amazing video my brother

Agree wholeheartedly with this list. If, like me, you mostly play console DOS2 and Wasteland 3 are easy to play with controler due to turn based combat. The pathfinder games, not so much and I would recommend PC for them. If you have an iPad, Baldurs Gate works great (though I use the Apple Pencil for more precision).

One game that seems to be passed over, perhaps of its genre is "Battletech" by Harebrained Software. It easily qualifies as a CRPG, because you have character development and quirks that cause little events as time goes by and you travel the galaxy. You run your own mercenary outfit that runs around in battle robots (mods add vehicles, VTOLs and even small battlesuits), and I also found the included main campaign that includes a full plot and voiceovers to be rather engaging. It also has fantastic mods that make the game more complex, and it has a sandbox mode.

The tactics mechanics of DA:O was the best game feature of the DA series.... target and action priorities plus combos and less micromanagement made it 10/10

People really don't give Wasteland 3 enough credit. The actual impact of choice, both in the narrative but MORE importantly in gameplay loops AFFECTING narrative are second only to really hardcore rpgs. A real find

I'm a huge RPG gamer, but I never got into the CRPG genre, so this video is exactly what I think I need! 🙌🏼 Edit: Did not expect DA Origins to be on this list. I played this when it came out and it blew me away. Think I've finished it 3 times in total since.

Dude, I absolutely love your videos.

I know no video is going to include every possible game, but I'm surprised you didn't mention the Shadowrun games!

Morti you should do an audiobook or a podcast, you have such a great voice.

I just got back into computer gaming after 2 decades off. Picking up Wasteland 2 + 3 after 20 years (I played the original Wasteland on MS/DOS) felt like coming home.

Glad you mentioned tyranny. I love that game so much!

Great video!

Neverwinter Nights 1 is for me a good way to start, in terms of system it's like a much less complicated Pathfinder, (a prototype in a way) we only manage one character and the difficulty goes from the easiest to the more challenging in a slow vertical curve along the game's 3 main campaigns. The graphics still have charm despite beign early 2000's 3d and you'll still be able to download a fairly recent update made for PC and NPC models if you really want it. On top of that, there are tons of custom content of varying quality created by the community, some of which is arguably better than the OG campaigns.

Awesome content has always

I'm currently in a bit of a stand still. Finished Baldur's Gate 1 for the first time and, while the obvious thing to do may be going directly into 2 since BG3 is upcoming, Pillars of Eternity has REALLY caught my eye recently so I'm leaning towards that. Not entirely sure I'd be able to play through that game AND BG2 before BG3 though since I also spend a lot of time playing Street Fighter.

Great video. Cheers. Gotta try wasteland 3 some time.

I remember totally enjoying the Dragon Age Origins strategy guidebook as a teen. Which prolly should be a rookie level compared to the old school rpg games. Any suggestions for other great games with rich lores, artbook, and strategy guides.

Wasteland 3 is in my top 3! Love that game!

Ya do great work sir!

I am in the middle of Baldur's Gate 3 and loving it... I am thinking about going to Xcom2 or the Valkyria series... Wasteland 3 looks good as well. This video gave some great suggestions; Thanks! (P. S. I also have KOTOR1 on my Switch, and Divinity Original Sin [Enhanced Edition] on Steam both of which I have never played)

My first CRPG was.... wait for it.... Wizardry 1, from 1984. I was 17 and it was the best darn game you could play on an Apple 2+. Me and my buddies did an all nighter to finish it. After a bunch of pretty crappy games in the 90s, including subsequent Wizardry games, then came BG1, and a new era was born. Since then, I've played many on your list, and the one that I always think about - the characters, the music, the story - is Planescape Torment. It's like a book I've read over and over. One thing you may want to mention to new players of the older games is that there are tons of playthrough guides on the interwebs that for many games, make it both easier and in some case, the only way I could finish the games. Because BG titles were so story heavy, the playthrough don't take away too much from the experience. I wouldn't use them on my first go, unless stuck, but they were great on the second run. Shout out to Icewind Dale, as well.

remember baldur's gate 1 and 2 both were released with an instruction manual :) The idea of reading a short book in order to play a game is very alien to modern gamers I guess, but that is how you would learn the systems back in the day...

Heyo Mortym! I've been playing rpgs for years (I'm an older gamer). The games you suggestion are perfect for newcomers and veterans alike. Underrail is hidden gem imo.

DOS2 was my first game of the genre and I fell in love. Characters, story, music, gameplay all great. Now I just hope that BG3 gets a big fat update rolling to make Act 3 better story wise and add the Upper City they advertised. Not that the story was particularly bad, but I just hate how no matter what you get like... 3 or so real choices.

I would say that Pillars 2 is fantastic for beginners. The system is not very complicated. It has a great encyclopedia and you you can hover your mouse over every keyword in the game to get an explanation of what they mean.