10) Pillars of Eternity

 
 

POE Trailer here

Kickstarter has created a masterpiece. 

Pillars of Eternity is one of the deepest most detailed fantasy RPGs made yet. It has a really interesting style, in the way that it’s a game made in 2015 but looks and plays like a game made in 1999. It’s bursting at the seams with detail and charm. The game world is beautiful and colorful, in the crazy fantasy world of Eora. 

Babies that live in Dyrwood in Eora are becoming plagued and infected by a recent occurrence in which they are turned into ‘hollowborn’ when they are born.  This means that the babies are born as soulless shells. The player comes in and discovers they are a ‘watcher’. A person gifted with the power of being able to interact with souls and see into past lives. 

In Pillars of Eternity, it’s your goal to discover why you were Gifted these powers and how to save the hollowborn infants.

Pillars of Eternity is a party-based real-time tactical RPG with a fixed isometric user interface and actually features 2D rendered backdrops in the game world. This gives it that late 90s appearance. This is a really cool feature and it gives the whole game a certain level of charm.

The charming 2D textures are a great element to the games overall feel

POE Gameplay

11) Bard's Tale

Get ready to save the world... or not
 

Bards Tale Trailer

Don’t let this game’s age or appearance fool you, for it is certainly full of fun. 

Take control of the sarcastic musician, opportunist, and adventurer, ‘The Bard’. He’s never actually ever addressed by any kind of name and is just kind of known as ‘The Bard’. He’s not interested in saving the world and is rather motivated by more noble pursuits, like coins… and cleavage…

TASTE MY BLADE AND MY MUSIC

An interesting feature of The Bard’s Tale is that the entire adventure is narrated by a rather mocking voice, who cannot stand Bard, and honestly, Bard can’t stand him. This is revealed many times as the two of them have short arguments during gameplay. 

Speaking of gameplay, Bard has plenty of weapons and magic spells that he can use to dish out loads of damage to monsters and enemies.  This game features a type of level-up system. Bard,  through his accomplishments, can get stronger and increase his skill level. The combat system is fun and satisfying, playing with all loads of ridiculous spells and physical attacks.

A screenshot with Bard showing off his skills

The Bard’s Tale also features a type of ‘choice’ system in dialogue events, known as ‘snarky’ or ‘nice’, meaning that you can choose to reply to someone with a snarky or rude comment or a nice one.

Bards Tale Gameplay

12) Baldurs Gate: Enhanced Edition

 

 

Baldurs Gate Cinematic

Set in the mysterious forgotten Realms on the continent Faerun. The characters travel the countryside of this continent and can explore various towns, forests, dungeons, dilapidated castles and even mines. 

The centering goal, besides running around, eager to explore every nook and cranny of the Baldur’s gate world is to find out the character’s own ancestry and history, which until playing has been unknown. Along with tracking down and defeating the evil chaotic fighter known as Sarevok, the main antagonist.

Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition is a remake of the RPG Baldur’s gate in 2012. It’s actually more than just a remake and there are quite large and clear differences between the Enhanced Edition and the Original game.  Major improvements in the game include higher resolutions than the original along with new viewing modes to enhance the gameplay, Along with a higher level cap and more challenging enemies. 

The game features character creation elements such as races, different classes, alignment, abilities, and skills. The combat is strategic and intelligent, forcing the player to really take thought and care with every move they make. As the game progresses, the player discovers new and more powerful equipment and magic, and can recruit a party of up to six characters.

Screenshot taken from the Baldurs Gate: Enhanced Edition
 

13) Baldurs Gate 2: Enhanced Edition

Travel to the land of the Baldurs Gate

Baldurs Gate II trailer

Of course another Baldur’s gate had to be added to the list, this is a list of the best PC RPGs isn’t it?

Baldur’s gate II: Enhanced edition is a direct sequel to Baldur’s Gate 1. The story follows on shortly after the events of the last game and then continues the story with the same protagonist: Gorion’s Ward.

The gameplay is quite similar to that of the original Baldur’s gate game and is, of course, loads of fun. The main quest chain takes over 60 hours! Then, the full game, including all side quests and DLCs consists of over 300 hours- worth of gameplay. If you have a huge amount of time on your hands and love RPGs like Baldur’s gate, you have to give this a try.

This remake was developed by Overhaul games and was published by Atari. The Enhanced edition has the entirety of the original game plus tons of extra content and expansions, plus it’s running on a new graphics engine; the Infinity Engine.

Hey jim, jump!

Baldurs Gate II Gameplay

14) Torment: Tides of Numenera

What dies one life matter?

Tides of Numenera Trailer

Torment: Tides of Numenera is set in the distant future. The constant rise and fall and war between civilizations have set the Earth back several years, leaving it in an almost medieval-like state and time. Humanity is scattered, living in small towns and settlements.

Magic is said to be a science that humanity has not yet fully understood. The world of Numenera  is filled with magic and mystery, beyond that of human comprehension, magic helped create the world that humanity stands upon.

This game is a wonderful hybrid of games comprised of elements from Pillars of Eternity and Planescape: Torment.

 

Please let me in, sir

The player, the Last Castoff is being hunted down by a vengeful angel. This threat of personal oblivion sets you on a path to survive. You will find many enemies and allies along the way to help you on your quest. 

The gameplay has many creative elements to it and is actually very pretty to look at. The world is rendered in an isometric 2.5d environment, making for a pleasant viewing experience.

15) Planescape: Torment

The cover for Planescape Torment

A hero that does not want to save the world. A hero that wants to die. Yes, this is unusual for any game so far. The story takes place in Sigil, a mystical city in the middle of an infinite multiverse. This setting contains various planes of existence. This can result in strange events, odd creatures that change all the time and even deities are said to inhabit these planes.

Planescape: Torment is primarily story-driven and combat is interestingly not prominent. The game rather relies on its excellent mechanics and really good story writing than combat elements.

A screenshot taken from Planescape: Torment

You take on the role as the ‘Nameless One’. This character is an immortal entity that has lived through many lives but has unfortunately forgotten all about them. This memory loss includes his own name and identity. Hence ‘the Nameless One’. The game's story focuses on the Nameless One’s exploration through the city of ‘Sigil’ and other lands to try and recover his precious memories.

Planescape Gameplay