9 amazing RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 to try next
The best RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3 belong to the wider CRPG genre, games which take after the tabletop board game scene but in digital form.
The best CRPGs are ones which use similar mechanics to those found in tabletop games, such as featuring skill checks and dice rolls, a large party of unique characters, and a heavy emphasis on player freedom within the narrative.
If you’ve just rinsed through Baldur’s Gate 3 and are looking for a new game to check out while you wait for Larian Studios’ next release, then these best CRPGs might be worth playing.
1. Disco Elysium
- Release Date: October 15, 2019
- Steam Rating: 92% positive
Prior to Baldur’s Gate 3’s release, Disco Elysium was perhaps the most well-known example of how to do a modern CRPG well.
Set in the coastal city of Revachol, you play as an amnesiac detective who must investigate a murder, all while piecing together facts of his identity and the world around him. Disco Elysium goes hard on emphasising player choice, allowing you to slip into the role of this detective and blunder, stumble, and fail your way through to solving the case.
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2. Baldur’s Gate
- Release Date: December 21, 1998
- Steam Rating: 92% positive
You can’t talk about Baldur’s Gate 3 without going back to the one that kicked it all off, bringing us back to the golden age of CRPGs in the 1990s.
If you play the game via the Enhanced Edition on Steam, you get access to the original game and expansion pack, plus modern improvements to resolution and assets. There’s even a new expansion developed specifically for this version, called Siege of Dragonspear.
3. Fallout 2
- Release Date: December 1, 1998
- Steam Rating: 93% positive
Ever since the Fallout series’ pivot to the action RPG format in 2008, fans have missed the mix of real-time exploration and turn-based combat that the earlier games were known for.
Although the first Fallout game was great, we’d recommend Fallout 2 as the best CRPG that you can play in the series. It does away with the stressful time limit of the first game, while also expanding the mechanics to be more user-friendly. We also prefer the story, but that’s more subjective.
4. Icewind Dale
- Release Date: June 29, 2000
- Steam Rating: 91% positive
Icewind Dale is another CRPG from the world of Baldur’s Gate, this time taking place in the region of the same name. Just like Baldur’s Gate, you assemble a team of party members and take them through a campaign set in the frozen north.
Although the game’s isometric visuals and diverse roster of party members didn’t set it apart too much, we feel that it still works effectively as a decent game like Baldur’s Gate to check out once you’re done.
5. Planescape Torment
- Release Date: December 10, 1999
- Steam Rating: 94% positive
Another game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, Planescape Torment is often cited as the game that directly inspired Disco Elysium, itself also utilising the traditional CRPG style.
What sets it apart from the other games of its ilk is that it is a lot more story focused, with combat taking more of a backseat in favour of interactions with NPCs, and storytelling through the environment and your activities with these characters.
6. Divinity: Original Sin 2
- Release Date: September 14, 2017
- Steam Rating: 95% positive
Before Larian did Baldur’s Gate 3, it became known for developing the Divinity series. Its most popular entry was Original Sin 2, released just a few years earlier.
If anything, Divinity: Original Sin 2 raised the bar for Baldur’s Gate 3 to later exist, bringing in lots of design principles that Larian would later re-use for its magnum opus. What we particularly loved about it was the Game Master mode, allowing players to create their own fan-made campaigns for use in the game to get an endless cycle of new content to play.
7. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
- Release Date: September 2, 2021
- Steam Rating: 83% positive
While Owlcat Games works on its upcoming RPG based on The Expanse, now’s a great time to check out its 2021 CRPG, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.
Owlcat’s RPGs have proven that this is another powerhouse within the genre, boasting an incredible story to play through as well as some excellent combat and management aspects.
8. Dragon Age: Origins
- Release Date: October 27, 2010
- Steam Rating: 85% positive
The Dragon Age series is developed by BioWare, a developer which has made a name for itself in the action and computer RPG space. Dragon Age: Origins is the first of the series, and is the closest to a CRPG out of the lot.
What we love about Dragon Age: Origins are the different origin stories you can play through at the beginning of the game, which set your character on a path that is totally unique to the rest of the backstories. While the graphics seem a little dated, we reckon this is close enough to the Baldur’s Gate 3 experience that makes it worthwhile.
9. Esoteric Ebb
- Release Date: March 3, 2026
- Steam Rating: 95% positive
Esoteric Ebb is like a mix of Disco Elysium and Baldur’s Gate, taking place in a fantasy world and featuring the political intrigue and freedom of choice that a CRPG usually allows.
Not only is the art style incredibly fun, but the game’s story is one that is really worth becoming invested in. It’s the one game on this list we reckon is good to go in without knowing anything about it either, as there are a lot of surprises in the story which take you off guard.
Topics: Baldur's Gate 3, List, Features