Help me decide which RPG to play next.

Some really wild variety there. I'd not even call Transistor (tactical ARPG), Wasteland 2/DA: Origins (Infinity-engine derived WRPG), Legend of Grimrock (3D grid dungeon crawler), or New Vegas (immersive open-world RPG) the same genre. Hell, Child of Light (action platformer) isn't any of those above genres. I like my genres to be pretty narrow, even if they all derive from a common family (Doom, Fallout 4, Uncharted 4, Dishonored 2, and GTA V are all recent shooters, but they're not all the same genre). I definitely think about what sort of game I want to play before diving into the pile of shame but make that far narrower than just anything RPG-y/shooty.

I'd think about what kind of game you want to play. What previous games you're pining for that are RPGs that you want to try a new spin on. Lots of good games in that list so I'd say you'd be best served by picking what sort of game (how does it feel, what does it evoke, where does it seek inspiration) you want to play next and then go for picking from that shorter list. Really looking back fondly on Baldur's Gate or Fallout 1? DA: Origins or Wasteland 2 have you covered.

@shivoa: I used to go hard into the narrow genres but that made my steam library way too long. Genres as a thing is just so hard to do anymore that it's easier for me to consider games like Child of Light, Fallout 4, and Deus Ex all RPGs. Child of Light is on this list since it is labeled as an RPG in Steam and I don't know much about it. I got it for my daughter but I'll be willing to give it a go.

Also, I don't consider DOOM to be a shooter, it's an FPS. A shooter is a game like R-Type, Ikaruga. Genres are fun.

Edit: It's not letting me edit the first post, but I'll give this poll a week before playing the chosen game on Friday.

I would say Legend of Grimrock. Mostly because it isn't super super long. But if time commitment isn't a factor...Wasteland 2.

@jasonmasters: stupid question. Does Wasteland 2 have controller support? I have my TV as my sole PC monitor, so gaming with a M+K is a no go for me.

I'd say undertale. It is short like you wanted and it also is the game the suffers the most if it gets spoiled for you. Its also a game that has high risk of encountering spoilers online, so the sooner you play it the better

@daiphyer: It says so on the Steam page. Either way I have a Steam Controller so I'm good to go with all of this.

Dragon Age: Origins is really good if you haven't played it. By far the best Dragon Age game. Grimrock is also pretty good if you're looking for something more old-school and I actually really liked Child of Light.

I'd stay away from both Transistor and Tales of Zestiria. Transistor suffered from one or two really bad design choices and I found it particularly disappointing as a follow-up to Bastion. Zestiria is just . . . not very good. It has too many system that are never explained, terrible characters, a story that is simultaneously boringly simple and yet also makes zero sense and a battle system that amounts to "mash all the buttons". Dig up a copy of Vesperia if you want to play a good Tales game.

Good to see Child of Light on that list. Despite it feeling a little rushed towards the end, I found it to be a delightful little game, with a beautiful water-colour storybook graphic style and great music. Since you mention preferring something shorter, this is my pick. I think it took me roughly 10 hours or so to complete. The writing is all in rhyme though, which sometimes feels forced and can be a little grating.

@shivoa: I am assuming you never played it, since it's certainly no action platformer. While navigating the overworld may look like a platformer, you actually get the ability to straight up fly pretty early on, and there's no tricky jumping involed. Also, in combat you control a party of 3 characters (each with giant skill trees, unlocked with XP), and it is essentially turnbased, with only a very minor realtime element to it. I'd definately call it an RPG.

[edit] @tekzero: You mention getting it for your daughter. I don't know how old she is, but I thought Child of Light is perfect material for younger kids. The combat may be a little tricky to grasp at first, but I didn't think it ever became too complex for kids. Also, in case it matters to you, the combat is depicted very tamely and shows no explicit violence or blood & gore.

@colony024: She's 9 going on 10 and is no stranger to Pokemon games. Child of Light might just be perfect for her. If I don't play it I'll try to get her to do so.

@colony024: I have played it, although I didn't find much depth in the turn-based combat and just because you're flying doesn't make it not about traversal in the same way a platformer/action title is. Engaging in (story driven) light puzzle elements and getting advantageous encounters with enemies to get the bonus for the combat plus traversing around to find the collectables feels like the core of that game. Which is why I'd say you want to be looking for something in that action/adventure and platforming side of an RPG before considering it.

Everything on the list in an RPG, my point is that isn't a singular cohesive description of a genre but rather many different genres and mechanical systems which often have almost entirely non-touching lineages. So when looking at the other elements then both being tactical action RPGs doesn't make Transistor and Child of Light the same type of game.

@shivoa: Ah right, I hear ya. The word action threw me off though. For me, I'd say the core of the game was the turnbased tactical battles.

Transistor is my favorite game, of the ones I actually played, that's on your list. Although it isn't that much of an RPG. You unlock different types of attacks and you move around in a tactical way, but if you are looking for skill points, character attributes, equipment, and so on, Transistor doesn't have that. I still think it is a really good game though.

@daiphyer: The director's cut does for sure. I guess I'm not even sure if you can get the non-director's cut anymore. I remember the controller UI being/working half-way decent as well.

Are we talking The Witcher as in the first Witcher game? I always found that game to have a real steep learning curve, and if I walked away from it for even a day, it was always tough getting back into the combat.

Dragon Age Origins on the PC was my favorite Dragon Age game. Or perhaps any Bioware game since Mass Effect 2. It satisfied my Baldur's Gate itch.

But if I were to play something today? New Vegas. I have an obscene number of hours in that game. I think I beat it under every possible faction. Joined every single group. Even went through all the DLC AND this bounty hunter's mod that I ended up really enjoying.

New Vegas is kind of game that is always inviting to go back to. Dunno why, but the world aesthetic there is just fitting with the 'lone traveler wandering' theme. But it is a long, long game.

I think Undertale might be up your alley, since it is short and sweet. Isn't Transistor more an action game with RPG elements? Shadowrun: Dragonfall could be a good choice too.

Out of those I'd pick Dragon Age: Origins quite easily.

@rinexelica said:

Absolutely.

DA: Origins is a masterpiece. Love the Witcher series, but 1 is pretty flawed. Series made a huge leap in quality with 2. Do not care for any of the other games so much.

Wasteland 2 is fantastic. I'm about half way through my 3rd playthrough now. That should keep you busy for a solid 50 hours or so, maybe more.

As much as I love the witcher series, the first one is a bit rough to go back to. I'd still say it's worth playing for the story though. My pick would be either Dragon Age or Fallout. They are both great but I probably prefer Dragon Age.

If I had to pick one game on that list today, It'd probably be New Vegas. It's ugly, janky, and has boring combat, but it has some great writing and is definitely a much better Fallout game than either of Bethesda's modern offerings. I guess the runner up would be Dragon Age Origins? Though, I'm honestly not sure how well that game holds up in the light of other RPGs doing the "old-school throwback" thing much more earnestly.

Dragon Age Origins. The Ultimate Edition has a ridiculous amount of stuff in it. I played like 120 hours of that game and eventually burned out without finishing it, but I really enjoyed those hours. I'd recommend going into it with a definite class archetype in mind (tank, DPS, mage, etc.), as that game doesn't seem suited to a jack of all trades build to me.

And I just want to mention Divinity: Original Sin, if you haven't already played it. The Enhanced Edition is on consoles now, and on PC, the controller support is solid.

Undertale is short and fairly lightweight. Just start playing it, even if you stop midway through it's easy to pick back up later. (edit: By the way, it's also a good family-friendly RPG with only a few scary bits in it.)

I would say Pillars of Eternity.

Because it's not there I will say Dragon Age: Origins. Start with Noble Dwarf.

I am also writing in my own answer with Pillars of Eternity. New Vegas and Wasteland 2 are both excellent also though

I voted for Dragon Age: Origins because everybody should play that game.

That being said, if you want to stick to a shorter game then definitely go for Transistor or Undertale. Can't go wrong with either of those.

Fallout New Vegas is so good!

Transistor is great and is not overly long so you could knock that one out and then move to another game on the list. Dragon Age will take you awhile though it is pretty good.

This is true. Also, I would, as I did on a recent replay, find this mod that allows you to be a mage with any origin. I'm not usually one to play a mage in any RPG but they only give you two in this game and without saying more you really are helped being a mage to balance that out. The mage origin is boring though and the Dwarf Noble is excellent.

To me it is way, way better than any of those games. Not sure why you think it hasn't held up. I replayed it pretty recently and it's still amazing.

@artisanbreads: Thanks to the likes of Inquisition, I've kinda turned on parts of Bioware's writing style and Thedas as a setting, so that certainly might be part of it. It might also have to do with my memories of Origins disproportionately relating to the parts of that game that are long and tedious, namely Ostagar, the Fade and the Deep Roads. I might be due for a replay in the near future, honestly, though I'll still stand by saying other games have done the "Hey guys, remember Baldur's Gate?" thing a lot better.

@arbitrarywater: I never have even found DA's setting that good in any of their games because I turned on generic High Fantasy a while back. I even think the art style mostly sucks. The only part of those mentioned that bugs me is the Fade but there is also a handy "skip the fade" mod too! It was great for my recent playthrough.

There are great characters and interactions in there for me, the Origins system is still ridiculous as far as the amount of work that went into it and how several of the origins weave back into the game, and I love the choices in the story and think they are about as good as any RPG out there. Combat is quite good too, better than they managed with any DA since.

Helps for me that, as we discussed in another thread i think, all those new kickstarted type cRPGs you are I'm sure referring to I find very disappointing, especially from writing and story standpoints. For me DA:O is still quite a bit better. But to each their own of course, when it comes to story. I find I don't align with a lot of hardcore RPG fans as far as writing goes with modern RPGs.

Not much love for Grimrock :) I'm biased since I grew up playing games like Eye of the Beholder and Black Crypt.

Grim dawn, im up to almost 400hrs its the best arpg ive played.

Edit 500hrs

If you have time and enjoy a good plough, then Witcha is for you.

I voted for Fallout New Vegas. It's still somewhat janky but the world is packed with really interesting characters and situations. Also it has a good sense of humor that I find absent from the Bethesda helmed Fallout games.

Dragon Age: Origins is definitely a good game. It's long and I'm honestly not sure if it has quite the same impact it did when it first released to a new player but it's well-crafted.

It's hard for me to recommend the first Witcher game. I loved it at the time but it's clunky and feels REALLY dated after playing The Witcher 2 and 3. It can definitely be enjoyable but you have to have a taste for weird systems and be willing to overlook a lot of missing polish. The world and lore is spectacular.

If you do Undertale, you might actally have time to play another one of them afterwards before the year is up, so I voted for that. It's gonna take maybe 8 hours if you really take your time? It's not long at all. Additionally, if you prefer to play games with a controller, stay away from Dragon Age Origins. I've heard it's actually fun to play on PC, but that combat system was the worst crap on 360, and it's a game with a ton of combat(there is famously a mod to remove one of the longer dungeons). I ended up liking the story and characters just fine but was very frustrated any time I had to actually play it. If combat systems where you first have to hit something yourself and THEN they roll dice to see if you actually hit something don't annoy you, maybe you'll be okay.

On a related note: Don't play Tales of Zestiria. It's got both kind of a boring plot and the combat is weird. Tales of Vesperia is neat, though, if you want some of that Tales. It's even fun to play. Takes about 80 hours.

If you haven't played Witcher 3, then Witcher 3 and all the DLC.

Or I'll just throw in Valkyrie Profile 2 since not enough people cared about that one.

The Witcher! Putting that on the top of the list meant I didn't even look at any of the other options.

It's my all time favorite game, and I had a better time with it than even the Witcher 3. Other than that, I'd say dragon age origins.

The way this poll is going, I might start Undertale first only to pick up either The Witcher, Dragon Age, or Fallout New Vegas right after. If it is that good and that short, I might as well give it a go.

And then, get myself ready for an epic adventure.