GRcade

Avoiding the obvious series…

Heroes of Might & Magic III – Long gone are the days where me and three friends would crowd around a PC and play through a multiplayer scenario which would last close to an entire day before the final battle was done, but damn, did we have fun doing it. Another game which I must have sunk 100+ hours into.

Listing out my favourite western ARPGs:

Mount and Blade: Warband (PC/PS4)

True sandbox strategy RPG, I've already waxed lyrical about it. One of my favourite games ever made.

Fallout: New Vegas

Again this has already been covered. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic worlds and the one in New Vegas is excellent. Superb branching quest design and meaningful player agency, with multiple factions and numerous endings. One of the all time greats, the other games in the series have nothing on it.

TES IV: Oblivion (PS3)

I never gave enough time to Daggerfall or Morrowind, and while the latter is probably mechanically the better game, Oblivion has the more standard high fantasy setting. Yes that makes it more generic, but sometimes that's exactly what I want when I'm looking for pure escapism. Skyrim can be just as absorbing, but it continues to simplify itself and limit the player in a way I don't enjoy as much.

Might & Magic VII: For Blood & Honor (PC)

I played this when I was very young so I have heavy nostalgia goggles for it. The first game of its kind I played and incredibly immersive.


Behind them would be the other Bethesda Fallouts and the other TES games from Daggerfall onwards, but I thought I'd single out the best in their respective series. There aren't actually many games I've properly played in the western tradition, and I think that's because they are primarily on PC while I tend towards consoles, and specifically handhelds. Skyrim coming to Switch was such a big thing for me because it's pretty much the first full western ARPG on a handheld.

OrangeRKN wrote:
Might & Magic VII: For Blood & Honor (PC)

I played this when I was very young so I have heavy nostalgia goggles for it. The first game of its kind I played and incredibly immersive.

OrangeRKN wrote:Listing out my favourite western ARPGs:

Mount and Blade: Warband (PC/PS4)

True sandbox strategy RPG, I've already waxed lyrical about it. One of my favourite games ever made.

Started this yesterday evening. It's quite ropey, (plays like an early access title), but utterly compelling. There's a lot to take in and it doesn't hold your hand. I've only a dozen hired hands so far but I'm making headway and have upgraded a handful. Oh, and I decided to opt for a female character which has made things 'interesting' given the politics of the time line.

Well that's my last post for a while, just wanted to pop by and say thanks for the recommendation. Laters.

Gemini73 wrote:It's quite ropey, (plays like an early access title), but utterly compelling.

Sounds about right! What kingdom did you start in? You'll probably learn pretty quick but each region's units have their own unique stats and loadouts, so some have better archers while others have better horsemen for example. Can make a big difference in battle!

Otherwise, I look forward to hearing more once you're a way in

Gemini73 wrote:

Ironhide wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:
Anyway, I'm also putting forward Grim Dawn. Must get back to it as it's a fabulous ARPG and has had some new areas/expansions added since I last played the game.

Grim Dawn is brilliant, not quite as polished as Diablo III but I think I prefer the setting and bleakness.

It was made by some of the Titan Quest devs and actually uses the same game engine, speaking of which, Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition is also really good.

Titan Quest is also a great game. Did they port it to console but it turned out a bit janky?

Quick heads up: there's a new expansion for Grim Dawn due for release on the 27th March'