Playing the modern CRPG's on a console

Hey duders :)

I've noticed lately that a lot of the newer bigger CRPGS (PoE etc) have made it to consoles. I'm wondering if anyone's played them, and if so, what they're like?

I kickstarted the new Pathfinder and I'm absolutely desperate to play it, but I just don't have the PC to run it anymore, after having to sell my gaming PC a few months ago to pay my bills (I know, it sucks, but it's how it is)

I've read that it's coming to modern consoles however, and I'm eager to play it there, if modern CRPG's translate well to the controller.

Thanks gang :D

It's not ideal but most of the big ones are about as good as can be on console. I prefer Pillars 2, because not only is it a better game, but the turn based combat option they provide you with for 2 works much better with a controller. Other than that one small distinction (and to be honest Pillars 1 is fine too with a controller), the majority that I've tried have been totally fine. Wasteland 2 and 3, Divinity OS 1 and 2, even stuff like Tides of Numenera and Blackguard 2 utilize the controller totally fine, although YMMV on the stories and systems obviously.

Another potential option is if there is keyboard and mouse support you could always plug one of those in. I didn't have a PC when Hypnospace Outlaw came out and that game allegedly has controller support, but that was the first time I realized a keyboard and mouse were necessary and thus learned they could just be plugged in and used.

I played all of Divinity OS2 with a controller, I expect it would function fine on a console. I don't think the experience would've been outright improved with a different control scheme.

Personally I'm not too sure about "Real time with pause" games working well without mouse and keyboard, due to the pace at which the action can take place, but I haven't tried one first-hand to find out.

I intend to play Baldur's Gate 3 with a controller for what it's worth, and will have to find out how badly the style works after I've already paid the entry fee.

Seeing SethMode's comment that PoE2 has a turn based option means I can actually go play that game now, thanks SethMode!

@broshmosh: Glad to help! It's great, I prefer Pillars 2 to the original in literally every way, but that was probably the biggest.

I can only say Divinity Original Sin 2 and Diablo 3 work well with a controller. Haven't tried any others.

I beat Baldur's Gate 1 and played a significant chunk of 2 on the Switch. That game plays pretty well with a controller, though I think you should go into the AI settings and turn off everything except the script that makes thieves automatically check for traps when you're not moving. Otherwise you have to just switch to the thief and turn that on manually and run around with the thief for a bit.

I also played a chunk of Pillars of Eternity on Xbox Game Pass at some point. Again, I think that game is solid proof that RTWP can work on a controller quite well. The only caveat with this one is that you should click the right analog stick whenever combat starts so that you unlock the camera from the character - this way, the camera doesn't swing all over the place whenever you switch characters. Also sadly, you cannot import your POE1 save into POE2 on console, and the console versions of both games run very poorly on last gen hardware. If you must play on last gen hardware, rotate three saves and nothing more - having a lot of saves slows down the game even more (side note - when I played POE1 on PC and made a new save every time, the game also started experiencing weird issues much later on, so that's not a console exclusive bit of advice). Current gen hardware works fine for both. As someone who played a few dozen hours of POE2 in turn-based mode, I think the turn-based works fine but I eventually came to dislike its insistence on making casters wait a turn or two before their spell goes off.

Both of the above games assign R1 to switching to the next character and L1 to go to the previous one and push them both at the same time to pick all of them. This is intuitive and fast. Unfortunately, Pathfinder: Kingmaker makes you hold a button to pull up a menu to switch characters, which is just clunky in a way I didn't like. Fortunately, that game has a dedicated turn-based mode that I think works very well with a controller, and everything else about Kingmaker's controller UI is great as well, and there's no reason to think Wrath of the Righteous will change things up all that much.

Divinity: Original Sin 1 and 2 and Wasteland 3 are the real winners of the "CRPG with a controller" question, though. They were designed from the ground up as turn-based games, which are by nature easier to play with a controller. Wasteland 3 and DOS 2 launched with controller support so they were designed with a controller in mind as well.