With the Recent Success of Several CRPGs, the Genre Has Seen a Remarkable Resurgence in Popularity
Main image courtesy of Game Rant
The CRPG genre occupies a unique position in gaming. With roots going back all the way to the early 80s, computer role-playing games (or classic role-playing games as some insist) are one of the oldest genres in the medium. They are praised for their interesting characters, their enthralling stories, their replayability, and perhaps most importantly, their dedication to player choice. About what you’d expect from a genre that draws so heavily from tabletop RPGs, where players can be or do just about anything.
In recognition of how important CRPGs are to the medium, we’re counting down the top 12 CRPGs available on Steam (in no particular order). Buckle up, because with all these titles combined, you might spend hundreds if not thousands of hours discovering all their secrets.
Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (13,157)
Before it was an action RPG, a TV show, an MMO, or a mobile game, Fallout began as a CRPG that breathed new life into the whole genre.
Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game places you in a dark and unforgiving future. Build a unique character with the SPECIAL system and set out into the wasteland. Make some friends, make some good (or bad) decisions, and defend yourself against the many bandits, monsters, and oddities that would do you harm. By the end, your choices will decide the fate of the wastes.
Steam Reviews: Very Positive (15,279)
Wasteland 3 carries the torch of old school Fallout games into the 21st century. You and your squad of Desert Rangers venture into a snowy, post-apocalyptic Colorado to aid a warlord in a power struggle between him and his children. Take part in tactical turn-based combat and shape a deep storyline with your choices. And if you don’t want to go it alone, bring a friend along to play the campaign cooperatively.
Steam Reviews: Very Positive (25,579)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) is the first in a duology of Star Wars CRPGs that captured gamers' hearts in the early 2000s. Set thousands of years before the movies, KOTOR lets you adventure with a cast of unique characters, explore familiar worlds, wield a lightsaber, and learn the Force in a galaxy far, far away. Will you turn to the light side or fall to the dark side? Either way, your choices will decide the fate of the Jedi Order.
Steam Reviews: Very Positive (6,556)
Neverwinter Nights is unique in that, in addition to six curated adventures from the developers, it also offers a robust set of tools called Aurora, which allows anyone to create their own custom adventures and make them available to the greater Neverwinter Nights community. Add on top the Enhanced Edition improvements, along with a bevy of mods, and you have a polished experience that will keep you playing for hundreds of hours.
Steam Reviews: Very Positive (25,877)
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous makes great use of the Pathfinder First Edition ruleset to craft an engaging and challenging campaign. Become a hero at the center of a war with the demon hordes of Deskari, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Create a unique character with hundreds of class, archetype, and race combinations. Gather a party of companions and lead a crusade, discovering unfathomable abilities in the various mythic paths along the way. Will you maintain your morals in your fight against the demons? Or will you become a monster in your fight against darkness?
Steam Reviews: Mostly Positive (12,517)
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader takes the best parts of Owlcat’s past games, a rich story, interesting characters, and tactical turn-based gameplay, and applies it to the grim dark Warhammer universe. Play as a Rogue Trader, a premier diplomat of the Imperium, and travel across Koronus Expanse, finding new companions and making new enemies along the way. Make decisions that will shape the world around you. Participate in battles where your positioning, abilities, and knowledge will decide the fate of your party.
Steam Reviews: Very Positive (88,131)
Arguably the most unique game on this list, Disco Elysium forgoes combat entirely to create an experience governed almost entirely by dialogue, whether it be with other characters or yourself.
You play as an eccentric, amnesiac detective as he and his partner try to solve a murder in one of the seediest parts of town. Along the way you’ll interrogate a host of colorful characters and learn more about the unique setting of Revachol, a world both similar and very different to our own. Your character’s skills will be both a blessing and a curse as they talk you through verbal battles or make you indulge in your worst vices. Be prepared to contemplate big questions regarding politics, morality, and the human condition.
Steam Reviews: Very Positive (9,013)
Tyranny starts you off not as some hopeful nobody, but as a leading figure in the army of a brutal tyrant. You are a Fatebinder, tasked by the Overlord with maintaining order in a war-ravaged land. How you go about that is entirely up to you. Will you use your station to exploit the populace and gain power for yourself? Or will you show mercy, bringing change to the empire one step at a time?
Steam Reviews: Very Positive (12,938)
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire lets you captain a ship and set out with your companions on the hunt for a rogue god. Your adventure will take you to Deadfire, an archipelago filled with interesting locations, stories, and creatures. Engage in gameplay inspired by old school D&D, with tons of build variety and deep mechanics. Use the default real time with pause combat system or slow things down and take a more tactical approach with the toggleable turn-based mode.
Steam Reviews: Very Positive (3,894)
If Disco Elysium caught your eye earlier in this list, then Planescape: Torment may be right up your alley.
Originally released in 1999 to critical acclaim, Planescape: Torment puts you in the shoes of the Nameless One, a hulking amnesiac who just awoke in the city of Sigil, a city at the center of the multiverse. Here, your words will serve you better than a sword as you navigate the various races and creatures who inhabit this city. Accrue companions, travel the planes, survive deadly combat encounters, and discover more about your mysterious past.
Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (157,708)
Before their resounding success with the Dungeons and Dragons IP, Larian studios was already putting out top notch CRPGs with the Divinity: Original Sin series.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 (DOS2) sets you up for an epic adventure across the land of Rivellon. Create a custom character or select one of the 6 origin companions, each with their own unique backstory and quests. Enjoy unbridled freedom as you explore vast locations and interact with NPCs as you like, whether that be a casual conversation or a battle to the death.
Speaking of battle, DOS2 has a unique turn-based combat system with an emphasis on elemental damage and strategically striking at your enemy's defenses. Tackle it by yourself or enlist up to three friends to enjoy the campaign cooperatively. And once you’ve racked up a hundred or two hours in the campaign, check out the Game Master Mode to create your own stories or try out community made adventures.
Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (560,775)
There’s not much to say about Baldur’s Gate 3 that hasn’t already been said by a veritable army of fans, independent reviewers, and gaming outlets.
I could tell you about all the major game of the year awards it scooped up last year. I could tell you about how its take on D&D 5e captured the hearts of TTRPG fans and newcomers alike. I could tell you about the amazing companions who have been the subject of player affections since their debut in Early Access years ago. I could tell you about the thousands of mods that enhance a game already considered a masterpiece by many. I could even tell you about how its devotion to player autonomy has set a new standard for what gamers expect from RPGs going forward (regardless of how reasonable such expectations may be).
But instead of all that, I’ll just tell you that Baldur’s Gate 3 is not only my favorite CRPG, but my new favorite game ever. If you’re at all interested in CRPGs, RPGs, or D&D, you owe it to yourself to give Baldur’s Gate 3 a try.
Now that you’ve read our list, give us yours! What CRPGs have you fallen in love with over the years? Let us know down in the comments.
