Looking for a good RPG
 

For lack of a serious gaming-ready machine, I have not really played a good role-playing game for some time. Like, Titan Quest and Neverwinter Nights, that;s really how long. I have remedied the technical setback, and have some interest in getting into a higher end RPG... D&D sort of setting preferred, but I suppose not required.

Anyone have suggestions? I suppose I'm open to either single-character or party-based... have good memories of both styles over many years.

I am a huge fan of Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin 2. Both are party-based, turn-based RPGs. The turn-based combat is my favorite. The battles are very tactical and you can use about anything in the game to your advantage (disadvantage). You could do a fight, get absolutely wiped out, and then re-do it with some different tactics and win handily.

Each game is a good 80 or so hours, if you do side quests and the like.

I found the story of each to be fine and the progression for the characters to be good.

I tried Pillars of Eternity, Wastelands, the Pathfinder game, and others, and none were as enjoyable as the Divinity games for me.

Based on what you've described I'd start with Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel OS2 (the superior of the 2). Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2 are also solid choices. Pathfinder: Kingmaker is a flawed, but solid game that mixes board game feel with PC gameplay.

If a 3D world is your thing then Witcher 3 and the expansions is arguably the best RPG of the decade.

If you enjoyed Titan Quest I'd suggest checking out Grim Dawn and the expansions. Path of Exile is worth checking out as well but it skews more toward Diablo 2 feel than Titan Quest.

If hard-core-ish medieval simulator/RPG interests you then take a look at Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

Wait. You've never played Skyrim?

Oh yeah, I fiddled with Skyrim, which was at the frontier of my old CPU's capacity. Never got immersed, though. So, that would be a candidate to pick back up, I guess.

For JRPGs I heartily recommended Dragon Quest XI

Add Pathfinder: Kingmaker to the list of suggestions?

Also, the Dragon Age series is a good candidate for party-based IMO.

I will second Grim Dawn. I have over 950 hours in it, all of it hardcore. The game is difficult, but fair. Also, the story, especially on the first play through is pretty riveting. It's typical end of the world fantasy fair, but the way it was told I thought was very good. I still run new character ideas through the game, and never finished it on the highest setting because of getting attached to some characters.

Path of Exile did not do it for me. Having come to the game after Grim Dawn, much of the difficulty stemmed from the skill tree. If you understood it, there was no real issue with running through the game. I played through the first part of the game through the original end game boss with no issues. I felt that fight was a bit unfair. Once you knew the gimmicks it was easy.

Divinity Original Sin was good. I liked the story, but I never finished it. I like games that can reasonably be played in a hardcore manner. Too many of the fights in the game were difficult because they were a puzzle, but not presented as a puzzle. The fight that led me to quit was one where there was a mage that cast a spell that essentially one shot my party on the second round of the battle. There was no reason for me to expect this (like my enemies doing nothing but protecting the mage, no evil speech about his power, etc.). If you have no issue with that, it is a good game, reminded me quite a bit of Baldur's Gate in the play style.

I agree with the top three mentioned, GD, Original Sin 1&2.

I second "Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" for the PC. The best game I've played in years. And with the available DLCs (all included in the GOTY edition on Steam or GOG.com) and all of the mods available on Nexus, you can end up with a gorgeous game that is as easy or difficult as you want it.

Oh man, reading the thread title I thought you were talking about actual in-person RPGs. That's how I get my RPG fix these days. I DM an AD&D group and thinking of starting another general RPG group.

I could echo much of what has been said here, but I’ll add that if you have the time, The Witcher 2 is excellent as well, and may be worth going through before you get to the third installment.

And oldie but a Top 5 game for me. Space Rangers HD: A War Apart.

The early game is fantastic as I can explore, fight baddies, explore planets (but I don't do the optional land battles), rank up to a famous Ranger, build up my reputation etc. I like the battle mechanics and how I can improve my ship (or trade up).

The mid/end game can be somewhat of a slog. It forces you to play a certain way. Its written by a Russian company and its still supported with new stuff, unfortunately they don't support the English version near as much. $15 bucks now but well worth it to me.

Thanks. Grim Dawn is scratching my itch pretty nicely. Definitely same branch of the tree as Titan Quest, and that's comforting. Bought the 2nd Divinity Original Sin due to the sale price, and maybe I'll get there at some point.

Grim Dawn is excellent but I think Diablo 3 is even better, especially if you have a Switch and can take it anywhere (I know you said PC).

Witcher 3 is a great game. Fallout 4 is a fun game as well, I always get sidetracked from the main story line so I haven't finished it yet.

Interesting twist... I may be revealing my character a little more than I might like with Grim Dawn. I didn't do any research into proper builds, etc (not my style) but I seem to have stumbled into an overpowered character. And, I think, the younger me would have upped the difficulty level to create a better balance. Now, at my age and life situation, I apparently have no interest in doing so... so I'm just breezing through whole sections with one overpowered strategy. And I'm totally ok with that.

Not sure what level you are playing on, but some of the enemies, especially bosses have additional attacks on the higher levels. But, yes, you will breeze through certain areas until you stumble upon someone who is immune to the damage type you are prioritizing as well.

Though it's quite a pace change from something like Grim Dawn, another option that I enjoyed was Sunless Sea - it's a narrative-driven, extremely heavy on the word count, exploration heavy RPG with some roguelike elements. It's set in a Victorian setting, with some Lovecraftian themes.

You're going to die. Often. But you get to carry over some of your spoils, and more importantly you'll carry over the personal knowledge you picked up as a player in your previous trip.

Phenomenally well-written, it's a very fun game. Can be a little slow-paced, but I really enjoyed it.

I found the first three acts pretty easy, but the expansions are harder and the second run-through is much more challenging.

Might I recommend