Your year in RPGs so far

[lackblogger]

Oh wow, thanks for remembering this thread, it's turned out to be surprisingly historical. Back in June 2019 it looked in all likelihood like the next year in RPGs would be chocka block with major releases again, starting with The Outer Worlds and culminating in Cyberpunk 2077. It turns out The Outer Worlds has been pretty much the 'biggest' release in the whole last year.

Meaning that at this moment I could repeat the OP almost word for word and it would be pretty much exactly as relevant

Anyway, thanks for listing what you've been doing in gaming the past 6 months, it's been a very enjoyable read.

So far in 2020 I've been doing:

Anno 1404 (2009), abandoned but after about 100 hours. These kind of games, RTSes/city builders/economic sims, don't really have an end to abandon but let's just say I didn't bother completing any campaigns and the free-build bored me relatively quickly by this genre's standards.

Eschalon Book III (2014), the final part in the quirky but extremely fun series of 'One Man Production' Eschalon RPGs. Unfortunately the weakest of the series by quite a margin, more like a DLC to Book II, but I suppose a suitable end to the saga that neatly weans one off the Eschalon crack.

The Temple of Elemental Evil (2003), a long-overdue replay of the quasi-classic RPG that attempted to convert an existing D&D Pen and Paper module into a computer game, this time actually defeating the end-boss and this time actually trying to find all the game's content. Still as lacklustre and disappointing as the first time I played it, but I now feel duty bound to try it again at some point with all the 'recommended' mods that 'make it enjoyable'.

Tower of Time (2018), touted as a fun dungeon crawling isometric RPG romp but turned out to be a fairly tedious literal corridor walk where combat was both dull and repetitive in the extreme and the loot was about as rewarding as minimum wage slavery with added heavy taxes. I gave it a good 10 hours or so but even bloody-minded completionism couldn't keep me playing this one.

Avadon 3: The Warborn (2016) was the 'grand' finale to Jeff Vogel's 'One Man Productions' Avadon series. It was ok. For the first half of the game I was actually enjoying it a whole lot more than the first two games. Then a portal took me to Avadon Castle and then all the companions wanted their quests done and it got slightly more boring than the first two games. Upon completion there was no sense of having completed a gigantic epic trilogy, but at the same time there was a nice cosy feeling that it was nice to play in this nice cosy world just one more time and it is a kind of a shame it has to end, but not to the extent that I'd ever want to play a part 4.

The only RPG in my 'waiting to play' list at this point was Avernum 5, however, I'd just completed a Vogel game so this wasn't really an option for me.

So I returned to my great 'nothing to play game':

Civilisation 3 (2001) and ran through a few victories and a very amusing loss.

Then I determined to find a new game to play and found the following on a GoG sale:

Stronghold HD (2001) which is another RTS/city builder/economic sim. Only this one I'm really enjoying. Am currently at mission 15 out of 21 of the first campaign and am still highly motivated to play on. Ah man, it's good to have some true classics in the 'As Yet Unplayed' locker in times of trouble!

I'll probably have a stab at Pathfinder Kingmaker later in the year, when I'm working less and when the rain clouds come back over. Other than PK, Avernum 5/6, and the self-imposed ToEE challenge, I'm really struggling to see where my next RPG is going to come from. Other than eternal replays of games I've already played before, of course. Not to worry yet though.

 

[forgottenlor]

Oh wow, thanks for remembering this thread, it's turned out to be surprisingly historical. Back in June 2019 it looked in all likelihood like the next year in RPGs would be chocka block with major releases again, starting with The Outer Worlds and culminating in Cyberpunk 2077. It turns out The Outer Worlds has been pretty much the 'biggest' release in the whole last year.

Meaning that at this moment I could repeat the OP almost word for word and it would be pretty much exactly as relevant

Anyway, thanks for listing what you've been doing in gaming the past 6 months, it's been a very enjoyable read.

So far in 2020 I've been doing:

Anno 1404 (2009), abandoned but after about 100 hours. These kind of games, RTSes/city builders/economic sims, don't really have an end to abandon but let's just say I didn't bother completing any campaigns and the free-build bored me relatively quickly by this genre's standards.

Eschalon Book III (2014), the final part in the quirky but extremely fun series of 'One Man Production' Eschalon RPGs. Unfortunately the weakest of the series by quite a margin, more like a DLC to Book II, but I suppose a suitable end to the saga that neatly weans one off the Eschalon crack.

The Temple of Elemental Evil (2003), a long-overdue replay of the quasi-classic RPG that attempted to convert an existing D&D Pen and Paper module into a computer game, this time actually defeating the end-boss and this time actually trying to find all the game's content. Still as lacklustre and disappointing as the first time I played it, but I now feel duty bound to try it again at some point with all the 'recommended' mods that 'make it enjoyable'.

Tower of Time (2018), touted as a fun dungeon crawling isometric RPG romp but turned out to be a fairly tedious literal corridor walk where combat was both dull and repetitive in the extreme and the loot was about as rewarding as minimum wage slavery with added heavy taxes. I gave it a good 10 hours or so but even bloody-minded completionism couldn't keep me playing this one.

Avadon 3: The Warborn (2016) was the 'grand' finale to Jeff Vogel's 'One Man Productions' Avadon series. It was ok. For the first half of the game I was actually enjoying it a whole lot more than the first two games. Then a portal took me to Avadon Castle and then all the companions wanted their quests done and it got slightly more boring than the first two games. Upon completion there was no sense of having completed a gigantic epic trilogy, but at the same time there was a nice cosy feeling that it was nice to play in this nice cosy world just one more time and it is a kind of a shame it has to end, but not to the extent that I'd ever want to play a part 4.

The only RPG in my 'waiting to play' list at this point was Avernum 5, however, I'd just completed a Vogel game so this wasn't really an option for me.

So I returned to my great 'nothing to play game':

Civilisation 3 (2001) and ran through a few victories and a very amusing loss.

Then I determined to find a new game to play and found the following on a GoG sale:

Stronghold HD (2001) which is another RTS/city builder/economic sim. Only this one I'm really enjoying. Am currently at mission 15 out of 21 of the first campaign and am still highly motivated to play on. Ah man, it's good to have some true classics in the 'As Yet Unplayed' locker in times of trouble!

I'll probably have a stab at Pathfinder Kingmaker later in the year, when I'm working less and when the rain clouds come back over. Other than PK, Avernum 5/6, and the self-imposed ToEE challenge, I'm really struggling to see where my next RPG is going to come from. Other than eternal replays of games I've already played before, of course. Not to worry yet though.

We obviously have fairly different tastes in games, but have you played the original Knights of the Chalice? It seems that is similar to other games you like.

 

[lackblogger]

Yup.

.

 

[purpleblob]

For me, it's always a quiet year as I have very particular taste in gaming.

Mostly been playing Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous alpha.

Also spent some time on Outward in co-op mode with my hubby and just started playing Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children.

Been spending more time with non-RPG games like Animal Crossing: New Horizon, Monster Hunter: World, and Ori and the Blind Forest.

A few RPGs I'm looking forward to are Solasta: Crown of the Magister, Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness, and Realms Beyond although I don't think any of them will be out this year.

 

[Silver]

I started the year mostly playing survival sims like Oxygen Not Included and Rimworld, with over 100 hours in both. I'm finding these games way more engaging and appealing than the recently released RPGs to play. I just love that aspect of building bases and levelling up characters while dealing with their crazy behaviour. The tech aspect and overcoming of challenges is pretty cool also.

I flirted with Pathfinder: Kingmaker and flyed through until I got to the Kingdom building and then I put the game down. It was great fun but I got a bit daunted about what to do and how to do it. The game was asking me to make choices about building while also saying to go questing, while also putting a time limit on things. I like to try and optimise what I do but it was too unclear how to proceed without alot of loading and saving to find out. At that point I might want to go back to the earlier chapter and level up some more. In short, I got a bit flumoxed and put the game down. I will definitely go back to it through, maybe after reading a guide or something, not sure.

Anyways, so I went and looked at my backlog to see what looked good. I played about 15 hours of Bards Tale IV and enjoyed it well enough but got distracted by 2020 and put it down. I then played through some classic games I didn't get round to back in the day. Starting with Star Wars: Dark Forces. Initially it was annoying having no mouselook but it was still fun to play. I had forgotten how much I like old school level design. Then I decided to give Star Wars: Battlefront from 2004 a go and enjoyed that also. Playing the game as a weak as droid was surprisingly interesting and often frustrating. I then had a go at Lego Star Wars because why not. It was silly but amusing. So for some reason I felt like playing classic Star Wars games, go figure.

In between I played some civilization games, some of 3 and some of 6. Three can be bastard hard even on the easier difficulty levels. I used to be able to playthrough 3 relatively easily so I stuck with it a bit and got back to being okay at it again. I think modern civ games are quite charitable by comparison in terms of difficulty and it shows how much I haven't had to use the brain for gaming much lately. I much prefer 3.

I have recently started Divinity 2: Ego Draconis and put in 24 hours so far. I am liking the mind reading mechanic, even if I feel it is not being used to its potential, and am at the stage where you can transform into a dragon. The map is a little unclear at this point and I am flying around trying to find a mine entrance but it seems I have to do a bunch of other things first. The game has some familiar elements to it and you can see that some things were re-used for divinity: original sin like the narrator, music, puzzles etc. Fun game so far.

 

[JFarrell71]

I've played some good games this year, but none of them were RPGs. It's been a disaster on that front so far. I expected to have played Cyberpunk 2077, Vampire: Bloodlines 2, and Wasteland 3 so far and I'm 0 for 3.

Well, one was an RPG. I did play Underrail for the first time in 2020 and I did enjoy that, though I petered out at around 40 hours.

 

[Hurls]

As others have intimated, this is a year of waiting for me with the two biggies being Cyberpunk 2077 and Vampire: Bloodlines 2.

So lots of replays, Witcher 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4. Also playing and continuing to enjoy Civ 6, they keep, to me, making it fresh, I find that amazing and very much appreciated.

 

[duerer]

Well, for me, 2020 so far is a underwhelming at worst, and puzzling at best.

Low point:
The Outer Worlds.
On paper, this should have been THE game of the year for me, yet technical issues and weird design inconsistencies ruined the experience.

High point:
Saga Scarlet Grace: Ambitions.
An unknown game from an uneven series, so my expectations weren't that high for this one… well, surprise! This small gem easily my greatest RPG experience this year so far.

Whatever:
Cyberpunk 2077.
I still don't know what to expect from this game, so I'll just wait and see.

 

[FizzyShellfish]

I finally played through Witcher 3. Great game. Characters and side stories were the best parts. Geralt was the best protagonist in a game ever. Just enough cynicism and attitude to help me immerse into the high fantasy stuff. Just a perfect character to use as an avatar. Geralt's seen all this stuff before, but I have, too. He steps right up to the Fourth Wall and doesn't break it. Exploration could have been better, as it's mostly tied directly to the story. I'd tell new players to play it as a story game and not try to clear the maps before doing the quests. Combat was just OK. I played on Normal and turned it down a few times to easy for some annoying boss fights. I didn't like that they threw you into some battles a certain way, but overall I was fine with it. Overall, the game plus expansions was way too long. The Ciri "chosen one" stuff dragged on. But a delightful game, one of my all-time favorites.

Top notch voice acting. For some reason, Ciri's voice actor really stood out to me. Just quirky enough to be a high point. And again: Geralt was perfect. He really helped me "swallow" a lot of the fantasy nonsense and made it feel more real. If it had been a customizable, voiceless lead character, I don't think I'd have even LIKED the game.

Played through Red Dead Redemption 2 (not an RPG, but worth mentioning). I'd say it's more of an astonishing achievement than it is a great game. I got tired of the shooting gallery fights and waves of enemies by the end. Turned up snap-to-target aiming and just used Dead Eye a lot. Overall, the game is too long and bloated and repeats the same themes and stories over and over. Still, I liked many of the characters and on a technical level the game is astounding. Worth playing. Wish it had been shorter.