Monsters' Den: Book of Dread
I absolutely love this game. Back in highschool when this was a web browser game, I would sign up for computer classes just to play this game secretly in a corner.
What I love most about the remastered version of the game is that not a single thing changed. There is so much loot to be had, so many boss fights, and bad ass legendary monsters to hunt. To my knowledge, the game has no end. You can beat the campaign, but it lets you keep playing anyway for the sake of things.
It’s simple enough to play casually, but challenging enough to make you think. The most fun part is its Diablo 2 skill tree mechanics that you try some really unique parties.
– Real player with 142.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best CRPG Turn-Based Tactics Games.
This game simple mechanics are solid, with no apparent bugs or fails. It works and is fairly entertaining at first. UNFORTUNATELY, it has no story worth telling about. It has this weakest of story lines that repeats itself over and over again at each level, which becomes old very, very fast. You are going down in the dungeon at each level defeating the same opponent types at each turn. You collect gear, and become stronger because of it, but the monsters also get stronger in proportion to your dungeon level, which means, well, you get the same dynamics in combat also.
– Real player with 123.8 hrs in game
Lakeview Valley
The Elevator Pitch:
It’s like “8-bit Horror Groundhog Day: The Game.”
Only, it’s really more like “Groundhog Week”, and you’ve traded the meteorology for murder.
The Meat & Potatoes (& Amy’s Cookies):
I absolutely LOVED Lakeview Cabin Collection, so when I found out that the sole developer of LVC, Roope Tamminen, had just recently released his latest game, I couldn’t wait to give it a try.
It quickly and effortlessly surpassed my already-rather-lofty expectations…
-There is a staggering amount of content in this game.
– Real player with 58.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best CRPG Survival Horror Games.
Lakeview Valley is a refreshing take on the genre of Small Town RPG games that I have thorougly been enjoying. After playing more than 45 hours of it I haven’t even brushed the surface of what this game offers and am still getting a handle on what I’m doing.
You play some guy who moved to a new town where nothing is as it seems and you can choose to be whatever you want. I think this game is amazing and I can’t believe I didn’t pick it up from day one.
Want to be a normal guy living a normal life and get to know people and be helpful in your community while remodeling your home? Do it!
– Real player with 51.8 hrs in game
Zoria: Age of Shattering
STORY
Zoria. Home. Mother of all her inhabitants. She provides her children with food to grow, shelter to rest in and also, the harsh lessons of life, so her offspring may learn to fight and protect her gifts to them.
But men, men wanted more.
Zoria’s finest sons and daughters: intelligent, resourceful… violent. Men turned her ores into sword and daggers, and her roots into vile concoctions of poison.
Men wanted more. They craved more land and more food. So they built their homes of stone and wood, driving out the wildlife of its woods and caves. And in those caves they found their instrument of defiance: zerrium.
GAMEPLAY
Zoria’s Gameplay is a unique mix of action-adventure RPG and tactical management. Explore the beautiful lands of Zoria, from mountains to the ocean, towns and dungeons, follow the story or discover its secrets.
Your outpost is your base, by expanding it you get access to better facilities and the ability to influence more of the world around you while leveling your followers gives you the ability to explore deeper, further into the unknown.
ADVENTURES
All the adventures in the game are hand-crafted, with multiple paths and various options for exploration, depending on the setup of your party and their environment abilities. You can always revisit a dungeon with another party to see previously inaccessible places and finish all the side quests.
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Adventures need to be planned out carefully, and supplies stocked accordingly. Without supplies, the team cannot restore their vital resources, making any dungeon that much more dangerous. Bringing enough supplies for the journey or upgrading your cooking skills to make better use of all the land has to offer, that’s a choice for everyone to make.
TURN-BASED COMBAT
Zoria’s combat is a Tactical, Turn-based confrontation, designed around the special characteristics of each class, abilities, resistances, deadly ranged attacks or strong AOE defenses, healing and much more. But turn based doesn’t mean static, so choose your battlegrounds wisely, as any wandering creature or enemy that gets too close, might join in and ruin your best laid plans.
CHARACTERS
You can choose your party from eight different classes, each with a unique skill set both in combat and exploring the world. Magic, ranged attacks, shear power, blocks and stuns, bleed and poisons, magic resistances - all there to explore, use and upgrade.
FEATURES:
• Explore a rich, immersive and diverse world: beautifully crafted environments, featuring dense forests, haunting dungeons, golden deserts and many more.
• An epic story driving your experience, with rich and expansive lore. Discover the hidden tales and stories that live on through the people of Zoria and your own companions;
• Plan your moves or just enjoy the ride - a game experience suited both for players eager to just explore and adventure, as well as for those who want a challenging combat with a strong emphasis on strategic thinking and planning.
• Easy to learn crafting system with dozens of unique potions, epic weapons and other curious recipes that can be found throughout the world.
• Elaborate character management: class and character upgrade system, unique skills both in combat, and during exploration. A wide array of character builds for each class will allow you to approach an encounter in your own way.
• Complex base management: build new facilities, upgrade buildings, manage resources and expand your base;
Read More: Best CRPG Character Customization Games.
Dark Dragonkin
Dark Dragonkin is a RPG adventure in which the player alternates control a party of characters, guiding each of them one at a time (though control may be swapped from character to character at any point) to the portal to exit the level. Every level is designed such that each party member must contribute unique skills to help the party through to the portal. All three characters must reach the exit portal to complete the level. Each party member has hit points which they can lose by getting hurt by enemies or obstacles in the dungeon. Should any party member run out of hit points, they die; game-play will then continue with any remaining members, if the member can not be resurrected, the level will have to be restarted and try again. However, the game offers unlimited continues.
Each party member offers a unique set of skills:
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Rose: The tank of the party. By far the most durable. She has more health and takes less damage than the others. When using her shield she becomes nearly invincible. When charging forward she can stun enemies and move heavy objects.
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Dante: He is melee DPS. He can dispatch most enemies when he can attack from behind. Stealth is his ally. He also specializes in jumping great distances to avoid obstacles and get in the right position for the kill.
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Nova: He is a ranged caster. He can dispatch many foes with a fireball at range. He also can dispel magical wards as they descend into the depths of the dungeon.
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Evelina: No party is complete without a healer. If a party member falls to the dangers of the dungeon, no worries, because Evelina can bring them back. She can also changes into a fairy to sneak through all the tiny cracks in the dungeon.
Features
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You control each character separately.
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Each character has their own unique skills to get past obstacles.
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Every Level is like an old school RPG puzzle.
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Even the enemies are puzzles of how to avoid or destroy them.
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You must figure out how to gather the party at the exit portal to advance.
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Powerful bosses that are a challenging puzzle to defeat to gain passage through their realm.
Golden Fall 2
Fun game!
Plays a little like roguelikes with its simultaneous turns but has nice, handcrafted levels.
Positioning in combat is important as you usually have to use choke points or corners to avoid enemies overwhelming you.
You have rudimentary ways to build your character.
There are 3 different attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence) and 8 different spells
(4 combat and 4 magic ones).
Also weapons scale with certain attributes.
Sadly there is no explanation how the system works in-game but the developer explains it in the community hub.
– Real player with 8.9 hrs in game
First impressions : Great game! Well done game - love that it makes you think! This is turn based - can upgrade your gear (the levels have same lovable vendors but with different goods). Currently, I’m in the catacombs and got ambushed by some skeletons. Fun and quite challenging!! Looking forward to playing this game more and will update the review as I do!
– Real player with 1.5 hrs in game
Raiders! Forsaken Earth
IN A WORD: MAYBE
IN A NUTSHELL:
WHAT TO EXPECT: Be the villain. Sandbox generated world. Mixes strategy with management. Turn-based, side-on combat with many tactical options. Post-apocalyptic setting. Lots of raider and some base customisation. Large array of inventory. Item crafting. Artillery, siege engine and landsail craft. Slaves and cannibal options. Seed generated world maps. Alot of micro-management. Optional endgame scenarios or endless mode. Singleplayer only. Currently supported by dev.
– Real player with 63.2 hrs in game
Can I recommend this game? Boy, that’s a doozey. If the game was $60, hell no. At its current price? Totally.
Basics of the game is, you start off with pretty much nothing. You got some raiders with you and they are bottom of the barrel. Its ok though because the way you level up is by fighting. There are, I believe, respawning caravans with really low level mobs that at first is a little bit of a challenge but after some levels and better armor, maybe weapons too, you can pretty much take on the whole wasteland. Your raiders quickly receive a message saying that Wasteland’s Rangers are coming in 120 days. I’m not kidding, they are pretty much the Wasteland game franchises Rangers. For some reason, after playing w2 and just devastating all the raiders, my head-canon really enjoyed being that ONE GROUP that won lol.
– Real player with 24.8 hrs in game
Shores Unknown
One of the best early access games on Steam!
The gameplay is fantastic, the dialogue is witty and funny, the lore of the game is pretty deep and it has super charming graphics. Very very few bugs, super smooth experience overall and most of the the little upgrades I thought the game could benefit from have been confirmed by the devs to be on their to-do list.
Game currently has 5-7 hours of gameplay with a final 20-30h planned. I should add that I’m 10hrs in and still have not finished the current Early Access content.
– Real player with 26.4 hrs in game
This is hopefully only a tempoary rating. I do like this game but right now I can’t recommend it.
Its suppose to be a strategy game. Yet it actively works against stretegy.
1. Why do my RANGED attackers, move almost to melee range. The enemies have abilities like Cleave and even my ranged characters like to perfectly group up, and you have 0 control over positioning. They should be getting some distance, not Move closer.
2. Characters change their targets. One of the most common strategies is to focus fire down one enemy. Sometimes they attack the enemy nearby, This might be about engagment, but I have 0 control of where the enemey moves, and I can’tposition my own characters.
– Real player with 21.0 hrs in game
Brigand: Oaxaca
Brigand Oaxaca is one of my favorite games of all time. Rough around the edges, buggy, brutal, and incredibly frustrating, it’s a treasure the likes of which you’ll rarely play. It’s creator, Brian Lancaster, is something of a tortured genius who, in between intense ayahuasca trips, and Mcaffee’esque stints in the jungles of Latin America, sought to share this powerful premonition of the plight of humanity in the upcoming apocalypse.
In all seriousness, this game scratches a niche that probably only a certain crowd will enjoy. If you like the original Deus Ex, but want it a little shittier, this is for you. If you like rollenspiele classics like gothic and og fallout, but feel that their unity of design and assets wasn’t tenuous and wild enough, this might be for you. If you like Stalker, but could do without all of those fan patches and bugfixes, then this is absolutely for you.
– Real player with 122.2 hrs in game
I think this is one of the best games I’ve ever played. I found it on the steam store page during the summer sale, and one glance at the preview video cemented it as something I had to buy, dlcs and all. I don’t regret getting it, in fact, I’m still in shock I hadn’t heard of this game sooner. Deus Ex-like gunplay? Open-ended gameplay, with (mostly) complete freedom of choice in how you want to complete the story? Voodoo (!) and cybernetics? A save system that lets you save scum but also gives you the thrill of permadeath by starving you of beds at times?
– Real player with 107.8 hrs in game
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
TL;DR - I loved it, but it is rough in some areas. The people complaining about it being a d20 game are dumb for buying a pathfinder game and expecting it not to be. I love it.
Good -
Fun gameplay, decently implemented from pnp.
There’s a ton to do (for most part, more under bad).
The VA’s are great, when the lines are voiced.
The replayability is off the chart, I am on my 3rd playthrough and not bored of it at all.
SO many choices that can make one playthrough completely different than the first.
– Real player with 628.4 hrs in game
A Quick Summary:
Wrath of the Righteous, in a nut-shell, is an excellent party based RPG. It uses the pathfinder system which allows for very complex character builds. The overall story is quite good, and the graphics are definitely up to date with modern RPGs.
It does have bugs, but the developer has been fixing them. While the worst bugs have been fixed, there are still quite a few minor ones. I am sure given time that they too will be fixed.
The Good:
The Pathfinder RPG system. In most CRPGs I have played in recent years, the character building is fairly simple. You pick a druid or a fighter which comes with a few basic skills or abilities, then every few levels you may pick a few more. With the Pathfinder system you have a plethora of choices and other classes to mix and match in. Even basic classes have 4 variations, not to mention feats and mythic powers.
– Real player with 464.9 hrs in game
Agarest: Generations of War
Since this is currently my longest played games on Steam and maybe you won’t find a person with a longer hours count in the review section, I think I am kind of obligated to give this game a bit of review. The recommend vs not recommended system on Steam is fundamentally flawed. I would only point out what kind of games this is, and you decide for yourself whether you like it or not.
1. This is the type of “Wikia for the win” game. Don’t let my hours count fool you. I spent at least 50+ hours on researching for all the tricks, crafting and story route on Wikia. And this is very typical of your old-school RPG or JRPG in general. You need to do homework, you need to do research. The hours you spent outside the game is MUCH MUCH more important than your gaming hours. If you are the kind of person who just go and immerse yourself in the game world and you don’t care much about research game mechanics, this is bad for you.
– Real player with 688.7 hrs in game
After 213 hours and reaching the “normal” ending, it’s time for a review. To start with, it wasn’t a perfect experience. The game is rough around the edges and you should only buy it if you enjoy grinding a lot. There’s plenty of it. Endless hours of mandatory leveling and gathering materials. But Agarest has enough redeeming traits to make up for this.
Short version
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fully voiced
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lots of fan service
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huge selection of characters
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nice character animations and good music
– Real player with 371.3 hrs in game