Best RPG with NO real time aspects

Zloth

Community Contributor
Bard's Tale 4

Might & Magic X

Pillars of Eternity is real time with pause, though Pillars of Eternity 2 has a turn based option.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker has a very well done mod that makes its combat turn based.

I think it's kinda pushing it to call it a JRPG but the Valkyria Chronicles games have excellent, turn-based combat.
 
Jan 19, 2020
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I'll second Bard's Tale 4: Director's Cut. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1091980/The_Bards_Tale_IV_Directors_Cut/. It's part of this months Humble Choice too. BT4 offers different challenge levels as well and storymode option to move past puzzles that would block the narrative.

Several Real-Time RPGs offer a turn-based option like Pillars or Pathfinder. Neverwinter Nights and Divinity:OS offer pause options. Tower of Time is a tactical real-time squad-based RPG with a turn-based combat option. The normal mode for Tower of Time is a mode that slows down time to a crawl giving the player a lot of time to make decisions and adjust tactics.

Most strategy games offer turn-based combat.

Turn-based games on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Turn-Based/

You can filter by different tags and genres to narrow your results.
 
Hi Playing Legends of Grimrock but getting killed on real time combat.

I'd totally forgotten that game was in real time. It seems odd that there's no turn-based option for it.

I don't know what your definition of "recent" is, so I will use Legend of Grimrock as a base.

West of Loathing is an RPG of sorts; very simplistic in style, with a Wild West theme and a quirky sense of humor. If you've ever played Kingdom of Loathing online, then you'll know generally what to expect. Character interactions are not real-time, and combat is all turned-based. I enjoyed it, but YMMV.

Wasteland 2 is another fairly recent title that is also turn-based. It's been a while since I played it so I don't recall a lot of the character interaction, but I don't remember it being real-time in any way that mattered. If you've played the first two Fallout games (or the original Wasteland) then you have some idea of the theme, but it's a post-apocalyptic game and you play a team of Desert Rangers, all of whom you create yourself (or pick pre-fabs.)

If I think of any others, I'll let you know.
 

OsaX Nymloth

Community Contributor
From the titles that have not been mentioned, I would add Operencia: The Stolen Sun to the list. It's turn/grid based and quite fun with a little indie project, especially if you dig different folklore than the typical western fantasy tropes.

Wasteland 2 in Director's Cut is much better experience than the version upon release, but it have some nasty difficulty spikes. Or I am just bad.

Disciples II or III and Age of Wonders III are more strategies, but they have some RPG elements if you fancy this combination.

The Banner Saga, Ash of Gods, Dead in Vinland are turn based RPG/adventure titles I can recommend, each with it's own merits.

There's also Blackguards, Expedition: Conquistadors (or Vikings) if you want something even less known.
 
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Maybe take a look at the dnd games, like Baldur's Gate. Even though they are realtime, they have a pause mechanic where you can issue commands and play it like a turn based game. It may take a bit of getting used to, but those games have such a deep story that they are worth a try.

I also really enjoyed Dead State: Reanimated. Turn based zombie game, where you have to manage a safe house as well, go out and find food etc https://store.steampowered.com/app/239840/Dead_State_Reanimated/