Baldur’s Gate 3 took 263 hours away from my life since its early access, and after finally beating the game thrice, I am still yearning for more. Excluding a few minor grievances about inventory management and Act III’s performance, BG3 is a near-perfect experience and one of the best games I’ve ever played.
While CRPG fans have been following the game’s development for a while now, BG3 managed to usher in a large audience of players who have never interacted with CRPGs or Dungeons and Dragons. If you are one of the many who are new to CRPGs or the world of the Forgotten Realms, here are some games that we recommend checking out.
Dungeons & Dragons
You’ve checked out Baldur’s Gate 3 and enjoyed it, so why don’t you go check out the RPG that started it all? Dungeons & Dragons can be experienced online using tools like D&D Beyond, Roll20, or even Discord. If you are fortunate enough to have local communities that host D&D sessions, maybe go out and try finding a Dungeon Master who you have fun sessions with. Unlike video games, where you can press a button and play and quit whenever you are bored, Dungeons & Dragons require a time commitment from multiple people, which is possibly the biggest challenge especially if you have a rough schedule.
There are online resources available if you want to get started and a basic starter kit will set you back by around $20 USD. D&D is a great social experience if you have people who you enjoy playing with. I was never interested in tabletop RPGs until I played Disco Elysium, and now my weekends are not complete without Cyberpunk Red, D&D, or Vampire: The Masquerade.
Here are some personal recommendations:
- Dungeons and Dragons
- Call of Cthulhu
- Warhammer Fantasy
- Cyberpunk Red
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
Disco Elysium needs no introduction. It is a critically acclaimed title that was nominated in four categories at The Game Awards in 2019 and it won all four of them. The game takes place in a fictional world where you play the role of an amnesiac detective. Unlike traditional tabletop RPG-inspired games, Disco Elysium strays away from combat as much as possible. It is the thought Cabinet system that impressed me the most. With the protagonist suffering from amnesia, you have to manage your thoughts and shape your mind, which in turn affects your abilities and stats.
All of the game takes place through dialogue trees and skill checks and your ideologies play a major role in shaping your journey. Unlike Baldur’s Gate 3, where I “save scummed” just because I didn’t want to upset my favorite companions, I reveled in failures in Disco Elysium. Trying to do the stupidest things possible successfully can still have severe consequences while some failures may still end up in successes.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a rock-solid RPG experience from start to end. The Enhanced Edition of the game ironed out many of the issues that players had raised at launch and it offers you an unmatched experience when it comes to feeling powerful in an RPG thanks to the spells and skills that you can get in the mid-to-late game. It has its fair share of light-hearted fun and serious themes and is a vastly different experience from Baldur’s Gate 3.
The moral ambiguity of the story is what made it stand out when I first played it. The game avoids painting its world in black and white and you cannot trust any NPC at face value. Everyone has motives behind their actions and it’s fun trying to know more about the game world and its politics. If you have not played any Larian Studios titles before Baldur’s Gate 3, we strongly recommend checking this one out.
Shadowrun: Hong Kong
Often, we are met with projects that fail to deliver expectations, but that is not the case with Shadowrun: Hong Kong. Harebrained Studios needed funds for additional features and content that the developers had envisioned, but budget constraints halted them. A funding goal of $100,000 USD was met in a matter of hours, and it received a total of $2 Million USD by the end of the campaign.
The developers ended up using an improved version of the game engine that its predecessors used, and the end product was very impressive. It might not have the accolades that other titles on this list share, but it’s the futuristic setting that takes it home. Very few games have been able to merge technology and magic, as well as Shadowrun: Hong Kong. If the idea of a cyberpunk city with spell-slinging characters is appealing to you, we recommend giving the game a try.
More Baldur’s Gate? Why Not
There are updated/enhanced versions of the classic Baldur’s Gate games by Bioware and you should absolutely try them. Baldur’s Gate I: Enhanced Edition and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition are great pickups. Don’t expect the same level of polish and detail as Baldur’s Gate 3, but they are still definitely worth playing if you want to know more about the world and characters like Bhaal, Jaheira, and Minsc.
The best part is you can pick up Baldur’s Gate I and II’s enhanced editions on the Nintendo Switch or your phone and they play fairly well with touch controls. There are some other titles in the series that I have not played, like Siege of Dragonspear and Dark Alliance, which might also be worth considering but I’d recommend checking out reviews and player reception before delving into those.
Moving to the Classics
If you are too far down the CRPG rabbit hole, you might want to consider more hardcore options like Pillars of Eternity of Pathfinder. If you don’t mind playing old-school classics, you can check out the Neverwinter Nights franchise, Planetscape, and Icewind Dale. Here’s a reading list in case you want to know more about the Forgotten Realms at large.
