Turn-based Tactical Role Playing / Strategy Games

[johnporter29]

I've been playing Shadowrun Returns and XCOM Enemy Unkown. Whilst I enjoy these, I was wondering if there are any similar kind of games where there is no base-management to take care of or any "chat-style" interface like there is in Shadowrun.

Can anyone recommend me a game or two?

[+Asmodai MVC]

Massive Chalice is kind of XCOMish in it's combat.

I'd recommend both Wastelands 2 and Divinity: Original Sin as both are great RPGs with turn based combat however both are also about to release Enhanced Editions so if you don't have them yet I'd wait and get the Enhanced versions.  Divinity: Original Sin is also currently kickstarting a sequel.

I kickstarted all of those games.  If you're playing Shadowrun Returns and like it I strongly recommend Shadowrun: Dragonfall as it's the best of the three (Return, Dragonfall, and Hong Kong) in my opinion.

Along a different line Age of Wonders III gives you the option for turn based tactical combat and if you don't want to manage a base or do "chat-style" interfaces you may like it but it's got a lot more to it than battles, more along the line of the Civ games with tactical combat if you're not familiar with the series.

You may also like The Banner Saga and Skyshine's Bedlam that licensed The Banner Saga engine.  Both have turn based combat and The Banner Saga at least has a great story (Bedlam just came out today so I haven't played it yet).  Some people are put off by it's flash-like graphics though.  I enjoyed The Banner Saga and am looking forward to the sequel and I kickstarted both The Banner Saga and Bedlam as well. (I may have a Kickstarter problem...)

[johnporter29]

Thanks Asmodai, I'll look into those that you recommended.

[+Asmodai MVC]

Thanks Asmodai, I'll look into those that you recommended.

Any of those look interesting to you?

[johnporter29]

Any of those look interesting to you?

 

Divinity: Original Sin looks very interesting, been watching game play videos on Youtube and looks very much like what I'm looking for, now it's a question do I buy this now or wait for the Enhanced Edition, or get both?

[+Asmodai MVC]

 

Divinity: Original Sin looks very interesting, been watching game play videos on Youtube and looks very much like what I'm looking for, now it's a question do I buy this now or wait for the Enhanced Edition, or get both?

I would say you'd definitely want the Enhanced Edition.  I backed it on kickstarter and us backers get the upgrade for free but I don't know if that applies to a non-backer who buys the game now.  If I were you I'd check into that and if the upgrade is free for non-backers as well then go ahead and grab it... just understand also that the changes are enough that you won't be able to transfer your saves so that may factor into your decision as well.  Also if you're confident you'll like it they're currently kickstarting the sequel:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/larianstudios/divinity-original-sin-2

You can get the game for as little and $30 there (cheaper if one of the early backer slots open up) and I'm pretty sure that's cheaper than it's going to be when it launches.  There's also a $50 tier that gets you both Divinity Original Sin Enhanced Edition and Divinity Original Sin 2 which is probably cheaper than buying them individually.

I don't believe they've announced the release date for the Enhanced Edition yet but it's coming soon.  If Wastelands 2 looked interesting to you as well the Director's Cut has a release date of October 13th in North America and October 16th for the rest of the world.  I'd say those two plus Pillars of Eternity (which doesn't have turn-based combat, it's real-time with pause so I didn't mention it earlier) as my most successful kickstarters to date by far (with the Shadowrun games coming in just behind).

[johnporter29]

According to this page, http://www.divinityoriginalsin.com/news.php (Blog entry dated 29/06/2015, Titled Divinity Original Sin Enhanced Edition FAQ) anyone who buys Divinity Original Sin through Steam or GOG, or anyone who got a Steam/GOG key from a retail box of Humble Bundle will get the Enhanced edition for free. I may just bite the bullet and grab this tomorrow and take it from there.

I'm undecidied on Wastelands 2, but will look into it a bit more before deciding.

[spaceelf]

I'm undecidied on Wastelands 2, but will look into it a bit more before deciding.

Personally I couldn't even get past the beginning of Wasteland 2, but Divinity: Original Sin was awesome.  Especially played with a weird friend.

[johnporter29]

Should have my hands on Divinity Original Sin today or tomorrow, decided to order it from www.game.co.uk for £14.99 rather than £29.99 direct from Steam, plus it wasn't available at my local Game store either.

So looking forward to getting into it.....

[+Zagadka Subscriber²]

I've been looking for similar games. Also, things in the vein of Civ 5/BE, Endless Legend, etc. I'm tired of all of those, and Europa Universalis is just too much micromanagement.

[johnporter29]

I have Civ IV, and Civ 5 and Endless Legends and can't seem to get the hang of them.

[Melfster]

PIllars of Eternity is also not bad game.

 

[+Asmodai MVC]

I've been looking for similar games. Also, things in the vein of Civ 5/BE, Endless Legend, etc. I'm tired of all of those, and Europa Universalis is just too much micromanagement.

If you're looking for things in the Civ 5/BE and Endless Legends vein then I'd suggest Age of Wonders III.  For me it comes in between those two as I found Endless Legends to be better but Civ5/BE worse.  Of course the BE expansion 'Rising Tide' is coming out soon too which will hopefully make that one better.  For me though the Civ series peaked at 4 (not that 5 or BE are bad games, just not as good as 4).  Both Endless Space and Endless Legend were refreshingly new (couldn't really get into Dungeon of Endless though).

[+Asmodai MVC]

PIllars of Eternity is also not bad game.

 

It's not, but it's also not turn based which is what the OP asked for but I managed to sneak in a reference anyway.

[LaP]

Endless Legend is another option. I've not tried it but i heard good things about it.

Fallen Enchantress Legendary Heroes is a good game too.

Of course Heroes of Might and Magic 6 (the reason i have uplay installed on my computer).

King's Bounty is an okay series if you don't expect too much. When there's a sales on GoG you can get the games for a few bucks. Avoid the last game but Legend and Crossworlds are nice.

If you don't mind old games in 4:3 Disciple 2 is still a classic.

If you are looking strictly for turn based rpg without the strategy part then Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Planescape Torment and the first two Fallout games are still classic that must absolutely be played imo.

[TheLaughingMan]

Divinity original sing is good, also I think theres a beta for D:OS2

[johnporter29]

It's not, but it's also not turn based which is what the OP asked for but I managed to sneak in a reference anyway.

 

Actually Asmodai, I've been looking at Pillars of Eternity and it does look interesting and I may look into purchasing it a bit later on.

[+Asmodai MVC]

 

If you are looking strictly for turn based rpg without the strategy part then Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Planescape Torment and the first two Fallout games are still classic that must absolutely be played imo.

Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and Planescape Torment are not turn based.  Those games are all real-time with pause like Pillars of Eternity (which is a "spiritual successor" to Baldur's Gate.)

I agree they're all great games though, some of the best RPGs on PC ever.  There are enhanced editions for Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 as well as Icewind Dale which is a similar game.  Planescape Torment has a "spiritual successor" coming out called "Torment: Tides of Numenera" that I kickstarted as well and I think they're still taking pledges on their website.  Again though, none of there are turn based.

Wasteland 2 is the "Spiritual Successor" to Fallout 1 and 2.  So if you don't like Wasteland 2 you probably won't like Fallout 1 or 2.  It's funny because the first Wasteland came out before Fallout.  Fallout 1 was the "spiritual successor" to Wasteland 1.  Then after Fallout 2 Bethesda bought the Fallout rights and converted it to Elder Scrolls in the Fallout world (which I love also but it's definitely a different kind of game, can't wait for Fallout 4.)  So they made Wasteland 2 to be the successor to Fallout 2 keeping the same kind of game.  So things have come full circle.

[johnporter29]

Well, have had my first taste of Divinity Original Sin, and enjoying so far ......

[TheLaughingMan]

Well, have had my first taste of Divinity Original Sin, and enjoying so far ......

Glad u like you, I had 120 hrs in Divinity beta before the game even came out. After you are done with that check out Divinity original sin 2 kickstarter.

[+Asmodai MVC]

Glad u like you, I had 120 hrs in Divinity beta before the game even came out. After you are done with that check out Divinity original sin 2 kickstarter.

If the timestamp on your post is correct the Divinity Original Sin 2 kickstarter ended before you made this post.  It reached all of it's funding goals, including the $2 million Game Master Mode Stretch goal.

If you're looking for a Turn-Based Tactical Role Playing game to back on kickstarter though, might I suggest BattleTech:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech

From the same people who did the Shadowrun games (Returns, Dragonfall, and Hong Kong).  It was funded in under an hour and just recently hit it's Phase 2 Story Campaign stretch goal.

[+Asmodai MVC]

Wasteland 2 Director's Cut has launched now.  So if you like the Fallout 1 and 2 type games that's an option as well.  I just started so I can't go into great detail of how the game is overall but I'm generally liking it.  Character creation was a bit rough for me as there aren't a lot of portrait and outfit types to make your characters and the attributes/skills are a bit intimidating... you can always just grab a squad of pre-made characters though so it was a self inflicted wound.  I may regret my choices later since I'm pretty much picking everything blind but I tend to replay these types of games many times so I'll just chalk it up to a learning experience if I've screwed things up and do a better party next time.  So far so good though but I'm still at the very beginning of the game (just got to the AG center).

[johnporter29]

Been having issues with Divinity Original Sin, won't let me start a new game, gets to the character creation screen and then goes dim and I can't do a thing and it just sits there, have to Ctril-Alt_Delete and Sign Out or Restart the PC. Still un-resolved have posted on the forums but so far no reply.

The Enhanced Edition is now available and as I bought a copy of the original, I now have a free copy of the Enhanced Edition, this appears to work fine.

[LaP]

BTW anyone played The Legend of Xulima. The reviews are mixed but it looks interesting. Would like some input from Neowinians before deciding if I'm buying it or not.

[+Asmodai MVC]

BTW anyone played The Legend of Xulima. The reviews are mixed but it looks interesting. Would like some input from Neowinians before deciding if I'm buying it or not.

If you mean "Lords of Xulima" and not "The Legend..." I picked it up on GoG.com during a sale but haven't gotten around to playing it.  The Gog.com reviews are quite good though.  If there's a "The Legend..." series as well though I've not heard of it.