Game of the Year Awards 2016 - Most Promising RPG

Im' a bit surprised about Elex, ok the dream is great, but when I check its description, I wonder how Risen series could fund that. Science and Fantasy? It looks like hunting two hares at same time.

And great close combats, plus great Fantasy combats, and the cherry on top of the cake, great shooting combats. At this point it looks like trying to hunt a pack of hares at same time. But that's perhaps the point, with luck they could hit one.

Dasale said:

Im' a bit surprised about Elex, ok the dream is great, but when I check its description, I wonder how Risen series could fund that. Science and Fantasy? It looks like hunting two hares at same time.

And great close combats, plus great Fantasy combats, and the cherry on top of the cake, great shooting combats. At this point it looks like trying to hunt a pack of hares at same time. But that's perhaps the point, with luck they could hit one.

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Agreed it's not a guaranteed recipe for success. But at least it's something new, and to me new settings are always more fun. There's a reason Arcanum, Wizardy, Fallout and PS:T are high on my list of best games ever. Original settings where you don't know what to expect is intriguing. Steampunk, Cyberpunk, Post Apocalyptic, Space Fantasy…it's all good. And it's not like it hasn't been done in some ways before, just look at Warhammer 40k. Or for a classic example, Buck Rogers.

tomasp3n said:

Agreed it's not a guaranteed recipe for success. But at least it's something new, and to me new settings are always more fun. There's a reason Arcanum, Wizardy, Fallout and PS:T are high on my list of best games ever. Original settings where you don't know what to expect is intriguing. Steampunk, Cyberpunk, Post Apocalyptic, Space Fantasy…it's all good. And it's not like it hasn't been done in some ways before, just look at Warhammer 40k. Or for a classic example, Buck Rogers.

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Perhaps im' too much cynical about the mixed thematic. But everything else seems target huge goals. It looks like The Witcher 3 + Bioware companions + Elder Scroll freedom + full modern weaponry + full science fiction weaponry + full magic system + full close combat system.

Alas I wonder where CRPG players are going and where they lead this team.

But ok it's not with pessimism that you build ambition, I won't go further on the positivism.

Nah, I think it's more along the lines of 10% of each of those. That's how they are going to pull it off, IMO. That's how any studio pulls off a game that mixes a bunch of various elements. They only have so many resources to go around.

BrianOConnell said:

On Mass Effect I enjoyed the games a lot but don't consider the franchise an RPG franchise at all. I don't get too excited about any of the big AAA releases anymore for some reason

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Same here. Also agree on Bethesda games, or I should say, Elder Scrolls games. I haven't played Fallout 4 yet but might in a year or two, but TES I will check out as soon as it releases.

For me, it comes down to how I want to spend my time. I can play a Mass Effect game, or I can play some other RPG that I know is going to have more RPG elements that I enjoy. So nowadays I just play the RPGs that attract me most. I end up asking, "Which RPG would I really rather play?". The AAA games lose out almost every time, usually to some obscure, indie RPG or some ancient RPG, and usually that obscure/ancient RPG has a ton more RPG elements that I like.

Doing this and I still have a bajillion RPGs to play. Still working my way through my console backlog.

Looks like a mediocre year for RPGs.

I'm excited for Battletech but I'd hardly consider it a serious RPG, more like a tactical combat game with RPG elements. Definitely my top game on this list though. Battle Brothers is kind of the same to me, not really an RPG.

I'm interested in State of Decay 2 as well and it's at least as much or more RPG than Battletech or Battle Brothers - but sadly since they're going win10 only and are more into console dev I may not get to even sniff it (since I'm perfectly happy with Win7 and don't like being coerced into an unnecessary OS upgrade by MS).

Seems like my game purchasing in general has slowed considerable the past several months as there just hasn't been anything I'm remotely interested in coming out.

D:OS is overrated to me - I quickly get tired of the elemental goo combat and how every battle is huge, and repetitive. I also find the skill/leveling to be simplistic and it doesn't look different or improved in 2. The game actually doesn't look improved in any way I care about since I don't co-op it, don't care about fluffy races or the other fluff they've added. I've tried to play thru 1 several times and by level 7ish I can't take any more (of fighting 20 mobs at once in a sea of fire/goo).

I'm not sure I'll even buy Tides and it seems like a more limited appeal kind of game. Not my kind of game but I'm sure many are very excited for it, and that's cool.

I've tried several times but just can't get into ME - just way too console for me. The combat feels horrid for FPS, the RPG elements are generally weak, don't care about being able to romance gay tree frogs, and the good story bits don't help overcome the overall weak gameplay. Will wait to see what they actually release before deciding since the flow of info sucks equal to how terrible the female hero looks. Very much doubt I'll like it since console first game design makes me want to hurl.

Elex sounds interesting but that kind of game can be amazing or amazingly bad. Haven't read/seen anything about it.

Voqar said:

Looks like a mediocre year for RPGs.

I'm excited for Battletech but I'd hardly consider it a serious RPG, more like a tactical combat game with RPG elements. Definitely my top game on this list though. Battle Brothers is kind of the same to me, not really an RPG.

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Since you seem to like turn-based tactical combat I'd suggest keeping an eye on Copper Dreams. It's going to focused mainly on a combination of tactical combat / stealth so unless the "low poly 3D" graphics turn you it is shaping up to be a good CRPG. Expeditions: Viking and Vigilantes are two other turn-based RPGs to look out for.

After playing Battle Brothers the last two weeks I should have placed that game #1. I kickstarted Torment for a fair amount of money but have not even downloaded it because of Battle Brothers. I upgraded my copy to the supporter edition and got my brother a copy because I am hoping BB does well enough for an expansion and release of modding tools.

Wish I would have given the $500 I gave to Pillars of Eternity to Battle Brothers. Only played Pillars for 20 hours. Grrrrrrrr

After playing through ToN, I'd be rather surprised if it ended up as RPG of the year. It's good, even great at times, but I would be surprised if none of the upcoming RPGs are better (D: OS2, ELEX etc). Just my gut feeling of course.

I'm looking at Elex. There's snow on the hills behind them and some of the characters aren't even wearing regular t-shirts. Minor oversights like this really stand out to me and make me skeptical. If just one screenshot is this bad, what is the rest of the game going to be like?

I played Battle Brothers to day ~140. It's fun at first, but becomes soooooo repetitive and same-y. I doubt I'll ever play it again since I think I've already experienced all that the game has to offer AFAIK.

I'm sort of looking forward to Stellar Tactics. What's playable right now in Early Access isn't really that great. Everything is so slooooooow and clunky. I hope it improves over the next year, because the basic premise (i.e. tactical roguelike in space, with a central narrative) is really appealing.

When is the last time you played Battle Brothers posfan12? They added late game crisis about 2 weeks ago and have added a lot of events. It is still a sandbox game though and you try and survive and get your mercenaries more powerful. They also added quests for your leader a few weeks ago like getting your band to 12 mercenaries.

I am playing a recent build. The game just has nothing to offer after a certain point. Compare to JA2 where you get to kill the bitch, and meet interesting people along the way.

posfan12 said:

I'm looking at Elex. There's snow on the hills behind them and some of the characters aren't even wearing regular t-shirts. Minor oversights like this really stand out to me and make me skeptical. If just one screenshot is this bad, what is the rest of the game going to be like?

I played Battle Brothers to day ~140. It's fun at first, but becomes soooooo repetitive and same-y. I doubt I'll ever play it again since I think I've already experienced all that the game has to offer AFAIK.

I'm sort of looking forward to Stellar Tactics. What's playable right now in Early Access isn't really that great. Everything is so slooooooow and clunky. I hope it improves over the next year, because the basic premise (i.e. tactical roguelike in space, with a central narrative) is really appealing.

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If I can enjoy a game 140 hours, then I'd say that's pretty good. There aren't many games I've sunk that much time into. Morrowind, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Wizardry 6, Wizardry 8, Heroes of Might and Magic 5, and maybe Blood Bowl and Might and Magic 6, and that's probably it. I only have two games I've invested more than a 100 hours in since I created my steam account in 2013, and those are Skyrim and Pillars of Eternity.(according to Steam)

140 days in-game time, not 140 hours.

posfan12 said:

140 days in-game time, not 140 hours.

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So, how many hours is that?