I've had this on my mind for a few days and I decided it's best to make a topic and just ask about it.

I started playing games at home in the mid 1990s with stuff like Doom, Quake, later Half-Life, SC/Brood War, Diablo and so on. Since then I've branched out and tried a bit of everything, but my favorite genres remain RPG and strategy, and in particular deep, story- and exploration-heavy cRPGs (or open-world exploration like New Vegas, etc) and city/empire-builders. I have a bunch of these in my wishlist, especially on the RPG front, and was wondering if there are any dedicated Steam groups both for fans of either type of games, or also especially for Steamgifts GAs?

Also since it's an option, here is a poll about your favorite cRPG of all time - I've included what I thought would fit best in 20 entries, had to miss out on a few things and merge a few others, but we can discuss those in the comments. Among the missing are Dragon Age: Origins, Revenant, Darkstone, Gorasul, The Fall: Last Days of Gaia, and a few other titles.

Since NOX got in there by mistake, you can pick it as the Other option and share your favorite game in the comments below, if you don't see it on the list. Action-oriented RPGs are not included - stuff like Diablo, Path of Exile, Titan Quest, Grim Dawn, Torchlight. Also not included are non-isometric titles, which explains why fan-favorites like New Vegas and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines are also missing ;)

EDIT - a separate poll on your favorite city-building games of all time is now available :)

7 years ago*

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What is your favorite isometric CRPG game of all time?

View Results
Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Planescape Torment
Icewind Dale
Icewind Dale II
Fallout
Fallout 2
Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura
The Temple of Elemental Evil
Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader
Divinity: Original Sin
Wasteland 2
Shadowrun Returns / Dragonfall / Hong Kong
Nox
Neverwinter Nights I / II
Age of Decadence
Pillars of Eternity
Tyranny
Expeditions: Conquistador
Torment: Tides of Numenera

Fallout 2

7 years ago
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Hmm, Nox kinda does not fit as it's more of a Diablo like hack'n'slash [well maybe way more varied, but closer to Dungeon Siege series than the rest of this list] heh, I haven't though about it in such a long time

I'd give it's slot to Revenant maybe.

7 years ago
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Ah, you are absolutely right and I confused the games, Nox was the Westwood hack and slash surprise, Revenant was what I meant to include :)

ALL NOX VOTES WILL COUNT FOR REVENANT

There we go. Sorry Nox fans :))

7 years ago
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Reserved

7 years ago
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Baldurs Gate 1 & 2 are gaming perfection.

7 years ago
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Fallout 2 or Neverwinter nights 1 i think.

7 years ago
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I'd have voted for Diablo / Diablo II but not III.
Since I can't vote for them, I voted for NWN.

7 years ago
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I didn't include any action RPGs, just NOX by mistake - that's why you don't see Diablo, Path of Exile, Titan Quest, Grim Dawn, Torchlight, etc

7 years ago
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To be fair, Grim Dawn is fun and all, but story-wise it's a dwarf next to some of the classics

7 years ago
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Path of Exile would be great if fully offline, otherwise it's "meh".
Titan Quest I still haven't beaten, the pacing & difficulty just seem weird to me.
Grim Dawn was plagued with bugs when I attempted that, I had to promptly refund it.
Torchlight was great (at the time), but II is definitely better.

Diablo 1 & 2 are still the kings.

7 years ago
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Planescape: Torment is not only my favoritue crpg, it's my most beloved video game of all time :>

7 years ago
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It's on my to play list! have you played the new enhanced version? for a first timer is it better to play that intead?

7 years ago
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I haven't - I played GOG version with mods they provide, but from what I read Enhanced would bew better for 1sttimer, you can have modern res and problems of modern PCs fixed without modding ;)

7 years ago
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Not at all surprised at the two leads:)

I will say that I think NWN 1 and 2 should be separate options since the first game radically altered the perception of online roleplaying games, especially for communities of rpers.

7 years ago
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I'd agree. 2 was good but 1 was a gamechanger - a lot of AD&D players were getting online and using the tools to make new adventures and people were getting involved that hadn't been previously.

7 years ago
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I had to limit it to 20 poll entries, and mistakenly put Nox instead of Revenant. Decided to merge some games so that I can include more, and this one of the 'sacrifices' I willingly made, apologies :)

7 years ago
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It's not a major issue - just thought I'd throw in with my opinion!

7 years ago
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I would not have included some of the newer games like POE and Torment since they have not, imho, stood the test of time yet. I think one reason the Infinity Engine games are so well-regarded is nostalgia. A lot of the enhanced editions are played by those of us who grew up with the originals and not as much by people new to isometric rpgs,going by reviews and critical responses.

Also you mentioned steamgifts groups:

RPG Treasury

7 years ago
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Thank you :)

7 years ago
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Indeed my friend, there are still active roleplaying servers and groups playing NWN today, and modders still making modules. NWN2 by comparison has a much smaller community.

7 years ago
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Yay, Arcanum is listed! My favourite. <3

7 years ago
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great game with tons of bugs^^

7 years ago
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Mine, too. More replayability than most other titles. Plus, utterly it's own game. Had problems, but it's successes far outshine the failures.

7 years ago
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Arcanum got my vote too, with Fallout 2 and BG2 a close joint second :) I'm a huge fan of Troika, very happy to see 2 of the 3 reunited at Obsidian, and curious to see what they are working on, eventually...

7 years ago
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Was ready to ignore the topic completely if it was not listed. Found it in the last moment.

7 years ago
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+1 :DD

7 years ago
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Mass effect trilogy (does it qualify as isometric CRPG?)
Dragon Age: Origins

7 years ago*
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DA:O is my love too. :)

7 years ago
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DA:O is unfortunately missing from the list, though it does qualify, unlike the ME series. Tough to fit them all in one poll, should have included Other option :)

7 years ago
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It's a pity it could have lots of votes.

7 years ago
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+1 to DA:O

7 years ago
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7 years ago
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Divinity: Original Sin EE because of its combat system. :)

7 years ago
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its hard to choose between fallout 2 and planescape but today i am feeling fallout

7 years ago
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Baldurs gate 2 is probably one of my top 3 games of all time especially with all the mods as well. Fallout 2 and planescape would be my second and third respectively from that list. 🗡

7 years ago*
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My first rpg is Oblivion
and I am very interested Planescape Torment

7 years ago
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Planescape: Torment is still really hard to beat, due to its excellent story & writing. Tyranny is in a similar-ish vein and does an admirable job though.
I feel that Baldur's Gate was surpassed in their own fields with Pillars of Eternity, which fixes some of the issues that comes with using the AD&D ruleset. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's, nostalgia aside, a stronger game than BG2, in my opinion.

Honourable mention goes to Ultima 7, which does the whole open world thing really well, with plenty of secrets to find, and with NPCs that feel far more alive than in the Bethesda games (they're scripted though, but they've got schedules that make it look natural)

7 years ago
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I'm happy to see "Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader" among the options, it had an interesting setting and it captivated my younger self.

Having said that, my vote goes to "Planescape Torment", it's an amazing game and to me it's very close to perfection.

7 years ago
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lionheart was intresting, but had more bugs even than arcanum
i was unable to continue game because one npc didn't show...
that was after many hours of playing and i never tried game again

7 years ago
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Some of those are great but for me, the best one ever is Fallout 2. I still play it to this day, every once in a while :)

7 years ago
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im suprised seeing here Expeditions: Conquistador
it is kinda defferent rpg:)
by the way, devs just relased Expeditions: Viking

7 years ago
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Honorable mention goes to Septerra Core. I played through it 3 or 4 times over the years.

7 years ago
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1 . Planescape Torment
2 . Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura
3 . Fallout 2
4 . Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
5 . Pillars of Eternity
6 . Torment: Tides of Numenera
7 . The Temple of Elemental Evil

7 years ago
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Fallout 2. Still an amazing game to this day.

7 years ago
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In terms of the single player campaign, definitely Baldur's Gate II. If we're including online play on fan made servers, Neverwinter Nights may still be my favorite online experience of all time.

7 years ago
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For me, it was Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics as well as Wasteland 2 though Fallout 2 was the most fun to me.

7 years ago
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In order of most enjoyed by me...

  1. Baldurs Gate 1
  2. Fallout 1
  3. Baldurs Gate 2
  4. Icewind Dale
  5. Divinity Original Sin

I spent so many hours reading the BG Manual as a kid, trying to learn the spells I could learn and carry over to BG2.

Both Van Buerren and BG3 never truly happening upset me greatly, but 3D Fallout ended being great and Hack and Slash BG on the PS2 was a blast.

7 years ago
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Have you played Planescape Torment?

I am curious about the two Baldurs Gate games, I wonder how they compare

7 years ago
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Unfortunately I missed it as a kid, I was probably busy playing one of the 6/7 PC games I had that weren't Champ Man.

What I can say is Baldurs Gate is gaming perfection, especially if you have any interest in D&D. Packed with content, packed with replayability amd the story follows on incredibly well with the option of exporting your character. I believe Black Isle did both Fallout and Baldurs Gate and they eventually became Obsidian(I THINK!) or some form of huge publisher/Dev. Or at the very least they got bought up by them, hence the death of things like Van Buren.

On the plus side, kickstarter resurrected them(ish) with Shadowrun and Wasteland.

If you like isometric RPG's, Baldurs Gate is probably the posterboy and has retained its quality a decade later.

7 years ago
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Planescape Torment is still very enjoyable today, maybe even more so since an adult can probably better appreciate its depth ;-)

I am saving the two Baldurs Gate for a special occasion, that is to say for a period when I can devote some attention to them. I am pretty sure I will enjoy them a lot. 😁

7 years ago
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Ultima VI: The false prophet.

I have a notebook filled with clues and notes. maps drawn out of the various dungeons and lists of keywords for dialogues.

The game was huge, so much to figure out, Little hidden tidbits to find if you took the time.

7 years ago
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Ultima 6... the one Ultima game after 3 that I did not like. Heck I even liked 9, but not 6.
(Alright, so I did not like the two Worlds of Ultima games either. Those used the same engine as 6)

7 years ago
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