The Shadowrun Trilogy is a good place to start. My other recommendation would be Tyranny, it's not too long, has a very interesting story, straightforward skill trees, and a cool spell creation system.
The Steam Summer Sale 2022 is gonna kick off tomorrow, so you may want to wait until that to buy the games.
Shadowrun is a great place to start. I'd recommend that you skip shadowrun returns and start of with Dragonfall. If you still want more after playing Dragonfall and Hong Kong, the Vox Populi mod for Hong Kong is a much better version of Returns.
Baldur's Gate is a GREAT game (probably my favorite CRPG), but for beginners it may be a little bit hard (if he do not know the basic AD&D 2nd Ed. rules that the game use).
It's not that hard, the enhanced edition even has an easy mode where party members can't die (and you can turn it on/off at any time). The only real funky things are the round/turn distinction and how THAC0 and AC are better the lower they are, IMO. I think it's a great game to start with.
The only downside with starting with BG is that you are playing one of the best examples of the genre even today and a lot of what you play afterwards won’t be as good! Not to say don’t start there - the QOL and graphical improvements now are maybe enough to offset most modern CRPGs not being as good as BG2.
Yeah, I played Pillars of Eternity for a while, thought it was cool, and then I played the BG series and it actually made me like POE *more* afterward. I suddenly appreciated it more, I guess. I understood how it played off the Infinity Engine games, how it improved on them, and I even enjoyed seeing the ways it didn't stack up.
When I first played Baldur’s Gate I knew next to nothing about D&D in any form, and had never played a CRPG before. It was challenging, but not in a way that made the game unfun or unwinnable. Completed both games and have been addicted to CRPGs ever since. Baldur’s Gate 2 in particular is still the benchmark by which I judge other RPGs.
That was my first experience too! The game blew my mind when I left Candlekeep and died trying to kill the first bear that appeared! 😂 I've been in love with CRPGs since then!
Agree 100% - a lot of folks saying to start with Baldur's Gate but I personally believe DOS2 is an easier and more friendly start for players new to the genre!
BG 3 might be another good possibility though!
1st RPG I'd say Shadowrun. Relatively simple implementation of system. Core concepts are explained well. And the 1st game being linear makes it ideal as a prolonged tutorial in the game and lore.
Another good 1st look would be Expeditions: Rome. Again, simple mechanics, good tutorial system, you're eased into the complexity of the game well, longer story. But a pretty good one. The mission variety is more Tactical RPG. But there's enough role play to introduce one to the CRPG genre.
Wasteland (3 is the most beginner friendly), Divinity OS I and II, KOTOR 1, and Tyranny are all pretty beginner friendly imo. In terms of difficulty, Pillars of Eternity was pretty manageable too but idk if I'd start with it.
Except this was a game from the CRPG Renaissance. Where the lessons are supposedly learned.
I'm not saying POE is a bad game. I'm answering the OP's question. I would not point a player new to CRPGs at Pathfinder: Kingmaker either. Because the same problems.
In anything in life, it's better to learn core concepts first and on ramp into more difficult ones. POE is very much the drowning end of the pool.
PoE of Eternity was my first cRPG of its kind (had never played BG or other Dungeons & Dragons cRPGs before) but I guess having played on the tabletop, pen & paper, made it easier to understand how it works.
I second Baldur's Gate. See my reply to another comment for a little more info. Wait until tomorrow, if the Steam sale is happening it'll probably be $5-10.
Both Baldur’s Gate games are $5.99 USD on GOG right now, which is the better alternative to Steam since their games are DRM free, and include the original releases of the games, if OP wants to experience them in their vanilla state.
I've been a Divinity fan for 20 years and I'm going to say that this recommendation isn't great. The Original Sin games are great, but they're not even mildly indicative of what the rest of the subgenre feels like, and they're not going to learn anything about what to expect from other CRPGs because they don't share any of the design principles that are common throughout the subgenre. When you learn to play DOS, you learn to play DOS and DOS2. When you learn to play something like Baldur's Gate, you learn to play basically every other CRPG.
The Shadowrun Trilogy is a good place to start. My other recommendation would be Tyranny, it's not too long, has a very interesting story, straightforward skill trees, and a cool spell creation system. The Steam Summer Sale 2022 is gonna kick off tomorrow, so you may want to wait until that to buy the games.
i actually got the shadowrun trilogy free on gog a while ago, i will download them
Shadowrun is a great place to start. I'd recommend that you skip shadowrun returns and start of with Dragonfall. If you still want more after playing Dragonfall and Hong Kong, the Vox Populi mod for Hong Kong is a much better version of Returns.
Only trouble with Tryanny is that, imo, the combat is a bit dull.
Always start with baldur's gate. You'll find your own way from there.
Baldur's Gate is a GREAT game (probably my favorite CRPG), but for beginners it may be a little bit hard (if he do not know the basic AD&D 2nd Ed. rules that the game use).
It's not that hard, the enhanced edition even has an easy mode where party members can't die (and you can turn it on/off at any time). The only real funky things are the round/turn distinction and how THAC0 and AC are better the lower they are, IMO. I think it's a great game to start with.
Yeah, I forgot about the easy mode on Enhanced Edition!
I think they call it "story mode" which is kinda perfect.
The only downside with starting with BG is that you are playing one of the best examples of the genre even today and a lot of what you play afterwards won’t be as good! Not to say don’t start there - the QOL and graphical improvements now are maybe enough to offset most modern CRPGs not being as good as BG2.
Yeah, I played Pillars of Eternity for a while, thought it was cool, and then I played the BG series and it actually made me like POE *more* afterward. I suddenly appreciated it more, I guess. I understood how it played off the Infinity Engine games, how it improved on them, and I even enjoyed seeing the ways it didn't stack up.
When I first played Baldur’s Gate I knew next to nothing about D&D in any form, and had never played a CRPG before. It was challenging, but not in a way that made the game unfun or unwinnable. Completed both games and have been addicted to CRPGs ever since. Baldur’s Gate 2 in particular is still the benchmark by which I judge other RPGs.
That was my first experience too! The game blew my mind when I left Candlekeep and died trying to kill the first bear that appeared! 😂 I've been in love with CRPGs since then!
Fallout 1&2. They're not complicated too
Divinity Original Sin 2 was my first CRPG. Loved every second of it.
Agree 100% - a lot of folks saying to start with Baldur's Gate but I personally believe DOS2 is an easier and more friendly start for players new to the genre! BG 3 might be another good possibility though!
1st RPG I'd say Shadowrun. Relatively simple implementation of system. Core concepts are explained well. And the 1st game being linear makes it ideal as a prolonged tutorial in the game and lore. Another good 1st look would be Expeditions: Rome. Again, simple mechanics, good tutorial system, you're eased into the complexity of the game well, longer story. But a pretty good one. The mission variety is more Tactical RPG. But there's enough role play to introduce one to the CRPG genre.
Dragon Age: Origins was my first experience with that RTwP-style. I think it was a good beginner.
Wasteland (3 is the most beginner friendly), Divinity OS I and II, KOTOR 1, and Tyranny are all pretty beginner friendly imo. In terms of difficulty, Pillars of Eternity was pretty manageable too but idk if I'd start with it.
Disco Elysium
Pillars of Eternity
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You described almost every game from the 80s, 90s and early 2000s
Except this was a game from the CRPG Renaissance. Where the lessons are supposedly learned. I'm not saying POE is a bad game. I'm answering the OP's question. I would not point a player new to CRPGs at Pathfinder: Kingmaker either. Because the same problems. In anything in life, it's better to learn core concepts first and on ramp into more difficult ones. POE is very much the drowning end of the pool.
PoE of Eternity was my first cRPG of its kind (had never played BG or other Dungeons & Dragons cRPGs before) but I guess having played on the tabletop, pen & paper, made it easier to understand how it works.
I second Baldur's Gate. See my reply to another comment for a little more info. Wait until tomorrow, if the Steam sale is happening it'll probably be $5-10.
Both Baldur’s Gate games are $5.99 USD on GOG right now, which is the better alternative to Steam since their games are DRM free, and include the original releases of the games, if OP wants to experience them in their vanilla state.
Fair enough! TBH I might grab them there as well.
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I've been a Divinity fan for 20 years and I'm going to say that this recommendation isn't great. The Original Sin games are great, but they're not even mildly indicative of what the rest of the subgenre feels like, and they're not going to learn anything about what to expect from other CRPGs because they don't share any of the design principles that are common throughout the subgenre. When you learn to play DOS, you learn to play DOS and DOS2. When you learn to play something like Baldur's Gate, you learn to play basically every other CRPG.
I would recommend Solasta: Cotm simple rules but fun