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What are the best Action RPG games on Steam?

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The 2 must play gamesWhy?

30 Options ConsideredPriceSteam RatingGenre
Must Play
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Overwhelmingly PositiveAction RPG
Must Play
Torchlight II
Very PositiveDungeon Crawler RPG
Bastion
–Action RPG
Path of Exile
Very PositiveDungeon Crawler RPG
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
–Action Role-Playing
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Must Play

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Slant Bot
Top Pro

Gigantic openworld

•••
Deviating from the previous two games Wild Hunt now has open world environments that are so large and detailed it can be intimidating. In comparison to other open-world games such as Skyrim the open World in The Witcher 3 is 3.5 time larger, in comparison the GTA5 The Witcher 3 is 1.5 times larger.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Immersive story

•••
The dialogue of the game is very intriguing as well as voiced superbly making for a very immersive experience as far as story is concerned. It is through the care the developers took to implement such realistic writing and voice work that makes the game so intriguing and an experience to play.
LovelyNike
Top Pro

Side quests are as good as the main quests

•••
There are almost no lazy "go get me 12 turtle shells" quests in the Witcher 3 and you get to experience some amazing writing even in the most obscure side quests.
LovelyNike
Top Pro

Lots of random side quests

•••
You can just walk around for hours, find abandoned structures, caves, etc and find interesting side quests to do.
LovelyNike
Top Pro

Attention to detail in almost every facet of the game

•••
The Witcher 3 is how an AAA title should play, sound, and feel like. Its deep combat, beautiful graphics, amazing sound, interesting quests, immersive story, and almost every other aspect of the game has a surprising amount of polish.
LovelyNike
Top Pro

Convenient ways to get around the massive world

•••
The world is intimidatingly massive but thankfully there are ways to cut down on travel time. You can ride a horse, use a boat, or just simply fast travel to explored locations. This makes the experience more accessible and enjoyable as a whole.
LovelyNike
Top Pro

Choices matter

•••
The Witcher 3 has three completely different endings. The decisions during main quests and side-quests affect how the endings play out, adding up 36 possible outcomes. It feels refreshing to actually impact your character's fate and not just trot along a path to an inevitable conclusion.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Story feels like a chore

•••
Most quests feel like a chore in that it is basically fetch quests in exchange for information to advance the story. While this is often a mechanic found in games to keep the gameplay long it does get tiresome.
Specs
Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive
Genre:Action RPG
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Must Play

Torchlight II

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Slant Bot
Top Pro

Works on different OS's: Linux/Mac/Win

•••
Torchlight II is a multi-platform game that works on OSX, Linux and Windows. Which is great for users who dual-boot as the game can be played no matter what OS is booted at the time.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Elaborate loot system

•••
Loot in Torchlight II is varied and dependent on a wide array of circumstances. There are so many variables that come into play as to what a player will find that makes searching out better and better items a game in and of itself.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Well implemented and fun action-RPG combat

•••
Torchlight 2 has all the typical RPG mechanics such as classes, loot, skill trees etc. However all the little touches and details come together to make playing the game really fun and a great balance between depth/complexity and being able to get started killing hordes of monsters. Killing monsters...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Varied level design

•••
Unlike the first title there are many areas to see in the game that all have different looks. Plus there are large open ares as well as close quarter caverns.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Well implemented co-op

•••
You can team up with up to 5 other plays to take on the hordes together. There is also a PvP mode if you'd rather kill your friends instead of team up with them.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Incentive to replay due to limited respec system

•••
Much of leveling up is permanent, which not only gives a sense of connection to ones built characters but also means there is a large incentive to replay to make different builds.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Lacking in story

•••
The characters are flat and the overall story is pretty boring/standard. While not unexpected for such a game it would have been nice to have something other than loot driving advancement in the game.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Limited respec system

•••
Much like an old school dungeon crawler, there is little to no useful respec system here. You can respec the last three skill points used on a character, but that is it. This tends to lead towards plenty of skills in the skilltree that ended up going nowhere, which are just wasted points. Unless y...
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
Genre:Dungeon Crawler RPG
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28 Other Games Considered

Bastion

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Slant Bot
Top Pro

Beautiful art style

•••
Bastion has a hand-painted art style that is very colorful and unique.
Paolo
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Innovative narration

•••
The game's narration is dynamic based on what you're currently doing.
Paolo
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Incredible soundtrack

•••
Bastion's soundtrack sets the atmosphere perfectly. It's so good that although supergiant games had no intention of releasing the soundtrack, demand from fans resulted in it being released and some tracks having over a million plays on Spotify.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Fun varied gameplay

•••
The RPG elements combined with the battle mechanics make the core gameplay fun and varied as the weapons/items/abilities/upgrades play out very differently from each other.
Madame Écureuil
Top Pro

A unique way of storytelling

•••
While the central plot is pretty simple, Bastion has a narrator that comments on everything that you do. This includes things like falling of a ledge, obtaining a weapon, or even destroying a massive monster. Because of this, it feels as if you're playing through a story book, where your journ...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Great story

•••
The game uses an interesting way of telling the story through a narrator, which has an exceptional effect. Has an odd universe, something like a post-apocalyptic "Alice In Wonderland" during the cowboy era.
Madame Écureuil
Top Con

Too short, replay value is lacking

•••
One of the shortest action RPGs played, with around 7 hours of playtime in total, and very little reason to return once beaten.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Combat is mundane

•••
Like a lot of hack and slash titles the combat itself can be pretty repetitive and bastion is no different here. There is a lot of button mashing going on in this game, which can get boring pretty quick.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Story could be better

•••
The story feels a bit lacking and does not really make great use of making the player care.
Specs
Genre:Action RPG
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Path of Exile

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Kristaps
Top Pro

Great setting

•••
Path of Exile is set in a dark fantasy world where everything is gradually becoming worse. At the foreground, you have the massive continent of Wraeclast that once was the home to a flourishing empire, but now is a place filled with the undead, evil spirits, ruins, and echoes of the past. To make m...
AmiableEkkeko
Top Pro

Regularly updated

•••
Every 4 months or so, Path of Exile has major updates, adding new interesting mechanics, skills, items, and various other content. As a result, every time you come back to Path of Exile after taking a break, it feels like a new game.
AmiableEkkeko
Top Pro

Feels exhilarating to play

•••
While the gameplay might feel a little slow and clunky in the beginning, it gradually picks up speed as you progress, allowing you to swiftly destroy large groups of monsters with any skills you choose. Whether you're shooting ice arrows with your bow, freezing and shattering every enemy on-scr...
AmiableEkkeko
Top Pro

Hundreds of possible character builds

•••
There's a staggering amount of builds and skills you can try out in Path of Exile. There are 7 classes, 19 subclasses, 194 active skill gems, 107 support gems, and over 1000 skill nodes on the expansive skill tree. As a result, there are hundreds of possible combinations, allowing you to spend...
AmiableEkkeko
Top Pro

Completely free without pay to win mechanics

•••
You can just download and install the game without any purchases. On top of that, there are no pay-to-win mechanics and the only things locked behind paywalls are cosmetic effects, pets, and additional storage space. You can easily play the game for hundreds of hours without spending a dime.
Kristaps
Top Con

Endgame can get really repetitive

•••
It takes an exceptionally long time to get any wealth, useful items, or access to endgame bosses in this game. You endlessly farm the same maps, hoping you'll get lucky with a few good items, but that usually won't be the case, which can be really discouraging to keep playing. This is made...
Kristaps
Top Con

Clunky trading system

•••
The western PC version of Path of Exile currently requires using an external site to find deals or sifting through scam attempts in the trade chat. After you find an item you want to buy, you need to message the seller, and if they respond, enter the same area as them to make a direct trade. There...
Kristaps
Top Con

Some aspects of the graphics look dated

•••
While the graphics have received updates over time, a lot of the visuals still lack polish you'd see in most AAA games. Some textures are fairly low res, certain character models look weird when they have armor on, and the animations feel somewhat stiff and clunky. You probably won't notice...
AmiableEkkeko
Top Con

Very high learning curve

•••
There's quite a lot to learn when starting to play Path of Exile. There are the mechanics, the crafting system, and the skill gem system. However, the most intimidating factor is the massive skill tree with over 1000 skill nodes, 6 classes and 19 subclasses, allowing you to create hundreds of u...
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
Genre:Dungeon Crawler RPG
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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

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Slant Bot
Top Pro

Huge variety of mods

•••
Bethesda Softworks has upheld a tradition of releasing their internal content-creation tools to the public since Morrowind (2002). Many modders transition to new Bethesda games as they are released, bringing their experience with them and helping newcomers through forums and wikis. As a result, Sky...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

The longest-running RPG-FPS franchise, with world lore rivaling classic fantasy literature

•••
The Elder Scrolls series stretches back 20 years and has always focused on providing a rich world to explore. Skyrim inherits the stories and world-building of over half a dozen previous games.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Unrestrictive skill-based RPG system

•••
Skyrim has no concept of character classes, and there are no restrictions on what equipment or magic a given character can use or learn. A character's capabilities are defined by skills (e.g. heavy armor, marksman, enchantment) which automatically improve as they are used. Levels are gained by...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Moral choices that can affect gameplay

•••
Things like stealing (and getting caught), fighting or killing in towns will change how the game plays as now those people or towns will be angry with the player, which makes things much more difficult. There are also many moral choices in game such as if one should betray the person who gave then...
Slant Bot
Top Con

Buggy and crash prone

•••
Skyrim, like all Bethesda in house game engines (GameBryo) is buggy and prone to crashing. Non modded games have plenty of issues, but to then add mods on top is just asking for a crash or corrupt game save. There are still many community mods for Skyrim that try to make the game more stable by ad...
Slant Bot
Top Con

Immersion can be broken due to game limitations

•••
While the game offers players many choices some of these choices are not reflected in the game accurately. There are instances where NPCs should know who your character is or what classes they belong to but due to the limitations of the tech used in the game it is unable to "remember" the...
Slant Bot
Top Con

Combat is too simple

•••
Fights within the game don't have very many options. "Headshots" don't matter, and most combat options in the game are poorly balanced. Few examples: Doesn't really matter if you go mace, sword or axe, fire, ice or lightning, or even two handed vs dual wielding. The opti...
Specs
Genre:Action Role-Playing
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Grim Dawn

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Madame Écureuil
Top Pro

Complex leveling system with thousands of possible builds

•••
Basically you choose 1 class and select skills as you level up. At level 10 you can select a second class, which already gives you 5x5=25 character type possibilities. Each character has dozens of skills, plus you have this additional passive skill tree that you unlock through cleansing shrines....
Chloe Montanez
Madame Écureuil
Top Pro

Great homage to old school ARPGs

•••
This game is very dark and grim. It harkens back to games like Diablo 2 or Titans Quest. While other ARPGs have come out since then, none have hit all the marks of what fans of the genre have been asking for. For those that wish for an updated version of Diablo 2, Grim Dawn is the game for them.
Madame Écureuil
Top Pro

Exploration

•••
Tons of side quests, dungeons and rewards await those who are adventurous enough to explore off the beaten path.
Chloe Montanez
Madame Écureuil
Top Pro

Story rich

•••
You'll see in the game lots of lore bits that add to the world of Cairn and how it got to the dystopian state.
Madame Écureuil
Top Pro

Drop-in co-op (online and local)

•••
Co-op is pretty convenient as players can drop in and out of your gaming session at any time. This way there is no wasted time jumping out of ones game in order to find players to play with.
Madame Écureuil
Top Con

Reading lore breaks gameplay flow

•••
The bits of lore you collect in the world of Cairn will require you to stop what you're doing, use the lore item from your inventory, and then read them in order for it to be added to your journal. This can be flow breaking to a lot of players who are low in patience.
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
Genre:Action / RPG / Hack n' Slash
Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 Player LAN
Controller Support:Full
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Titan Quest

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Paolo
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Replayability through different classes

•••
There are a plethora of classes that open up upon leveling to the second level, once one is chosen the others will be gone for that game session. This means that a different playthrough will be needed to explore what all the different classes offer, making for quite a lot of playtime.
Paolo
Eric May
Top Pro

Very Diablo 2-like

•••
Each class journey makes traversing familiar territory with a different class feel like a new game.
Paolo
Eric May
Top Pro

Robust dual class system

•••
Unlike Diablo and most action RPG's the dual class system adds a great variety of play styles and builds.
Paolo
Eric May
Top Pro

Engaging story as the game is inspired by Greek mythology

•••
Greek myth is just the start as you traverse the entire world and underworld. Myth has a lot of fantastic beasts to confront.
FunnyNjordr
Top Pro

Holds up incredibly well

•••
Titan's Quest is over 10 years old now, and it is still widely played. It even saw a remastered "Anniversary Edition" in August of 2016, which served to draw more players, new and old, to it.
FunnyNjordr
Top Pro

You can choose the speed you want to play at

•••
Titan's Quest is unique among ARPGs in that you get to choose the game speed. You can be a leisurely player and take things slowly, or you can go hard and play the game on very fast settings. The fact that you get to choose adds another level of enjoyment to the game.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Save anywhere does not save character placement

•••
This means that there will be some retreading of areas once a save is loaded as the character will not be in the same place as where they were left off. This will waste time and can be frustrating having to do this every time a game is loaded.
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
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Hyper Light Drifter

Slant Bot
Top Pro

Fantastic pixel graphics

•••
While pixel graphics have seen a revival of late being that they are cheap to make, which lends itself well to the indie scene, Hyper Light Drifter is a step above any of the best offered in this style before. Everything is hand drawn and beautifully detailed. The color pallets used stand out on ju...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Good combat

•••
The combat in the game is action based in real time. Each enemy has a different attack pattern that can be learned meaning that with time the player knows when and where to hit an enemy. While the combat can be tough at time when multiple enemies are on screen, the challenge can be worth it for the...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Dynamic dungeons

•••
The layout of each dungeon will change dynamically as you kill enemies contained within. So walls will move or disappear, making for a new path, depending on who you have killed. This makes for an enthralling experience that constantly asks the player to shift their strategy, making for gameplay th...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Level design full of choices

•••
Much like older Zelda games, there are different paths that can be taken in each level, there are hidden areas as well. This allows for a good bit of exploration in the game, giving a sense that you are the one exploring and discovering this world.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Great sound

•••
The game actually has no dialog, meaning that the music and sound effects emote what the player should be feeling. Luckily they do their job and then some, the music is easy to listen to and works with the game well, same with the sound effects. Everything feels as though it belongs, which is quite...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Tells the story through pictures

•••
With no dialog in the game (including text), the game is told through the use of pictures. When talking to an NPC, they will tell their story through a series of pictures. This goes for all interaction in the game. Which is an interesting way to go about telling a story and is pretty unique. Lucki...
Slant Bot
Top Con

Can be difficult to figure out what to do

•••
With no dialog it can be difficult to figure out what to do and where to go. There is no hand holding here, which is a bit of a throwback to games back in the 90s, but still can be frustrating when stuck and having no idea what to do next. This can be exacerbated by the fact that certain basses ne...
Slant Bot
Top Con

Gameplay can be tough

•••
The game can get difficult, causing a good deal of frustration due to the difficulty of enemies in the game. While no impossible, many may feel it is too tough in the later portion of the game.
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
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The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

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Top Pro

A well-told, dark story based on a book series of the same name

•••
The whole series is based of off a book series of the same name, so there is a lot of good influence to be found, in particular The Witcher 2 is a deep story that has much to do with politics and moral choices. Definitely one of the better stories found in a modern RPG.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Ambiguous moral choices

•••
The choices made in game are not always easy and may stick with the player for some time, which is quite a feet for a game to accomplish as many do not have such good writing.
Slant Bot
Top Con

User interface can be confusing

•••
While some ares of the UI make sense a lot of it is pretty convoluted which makes playing the game frustrating at times. Basically it is one of those games that if you put it down for any gap in time you will forget a lot of the controls.
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
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Middle-earth: Shadow of War

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Kristaps
Top Pro

Character connections make for a compelling experience

•••
Shadow of War uses the Nemesis system to create a more immersive and alive-feeling world. Thanks to it, orc leaders have names, ranks, titles, tribes they belong to, and most importantly, connections to other orc leaders. For example, an orc leader might be at war with another orc leader. This co...
Kristaps
Top Pro

You can lead an orc army and expand your own dominion

•••
As part of the Nemesis system, you can recruit orc leaders after you've bested them in combat. Each one has his own unique strengths and weaknesses, so making the best possible army for conquering enemy territories might take a while. For example, an orc leader can be completely immune to ran...
Kristaps
Top Pro

Satisfying combat

•••
Shadow of War gives one of the better feeling combat systems in recent times, allowing you to be either stealthy or go for direct confrontations. If you choose to be stealthy, you can skewer unsuspecting orcs from behind with your dagger, drop onto them from a building while impaling them with yo...
Kristaps
Top Pro

Addictive gear collection fuels your thirst for orc blood

•••
As you kill orc leaders, they'll drop random quality gear items, ranging from common rarity every-orc weapons/armor to legendary rarity artifacts with unique names. Each item serves to improve your character, providing various stat increases and damage bonuses. You can also upgrade gear with ge...
Kristaps
Top Con

Can get repetitive

•••
The overall gameplay formula doesn't change much over the course of the game. You fight orcs, take over strongholds, upgrade your character, and collect blips on the world map. After a while it can start feeling like a grind, especially during long play sessions. This is made worse in the final...
Kristaps
Top Con

Unskippable cutscenes disrupt the flow of the gameplay

•••
Every time an orc leader enters the screen, there is an unskippable cutscene where he rambles a bit, focusing the camera on him and halting combat until the cutscene ends. This usually happens as you're fighting another enemy, potentially disrupting your rhythm, which can be really frustrating,...
Specs
Steam Rating:Mixed
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Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

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Monika
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Awesome combat/hunting gameplay

•••
The combat in Dragon's Dogma is very fast and intense. You can string together combos with swords, axes, and daggers, launch/throw enemies, shoot arrows with a bow in quick succession, and even dodge/block enemy attacks. Even the spells look absolutely amazing and feel really powerful. For exa...
Monika
Top Pro

Character size/weight affects gameplay

•••
A lot of video games focus just on the stats, classes, and weapons as the key difference, but Dragon's Dogma throws in height and weight into the mix. For example, a tall and bulky character jumps higher, carries more equipment, and has a longer reach with their weapon. The downside is that t...
Monika
Top Pro

Interesting companion system

•••
Throughout the game, you'll be accompanied by up to 3 NPCs called "Pawns." One of them will be a Pawn you created, and the other two will usually be summoned from other player's worlds. What's interesting about this is that Pawns will grow alongside players, but not just in te...
Monika
Slant Bot
Top Con

Limited fast travel options can be tedious

•••
Dragon's Dogma has a very large but sparsely populated world, which means that a lot of time is spent traveling between quest objectives. There are no horses, forcing you to simply walk everywhere and the only method of getting somewhere quickly is through very costly teleports available only m...
Monika
Top Con

Forgettable story

•••
The story starts out interesting but loses its steam shortly after. Hardly anything happens during the middle part of the story, the side characters feel bland, there are lots of plot holes, and the narrative starts feeling like a mess. Even the conclusion is somewhat confusing, trying too hard to...
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
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Transistor

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Top Pro

Engrossing atmosphere

•••
The plot, art-style & the soundtrack come together to make a very atmospheric game that does a great job at drawing you into the world. From the design each stage an its beautiful cyberpunk sprawl to the intricate look of the enemies it is difficult to no be enveloped by the atmosphere of the...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Awesome turn based + real time gameplay

•••
Transistor is primarily a hack & slash style action RPG, but has an interesting twist in that you can pause time to plan out your next moves. This ability gives Transistor an element of strategy to the core battle mechanics as well as fluid gameplay.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Deep storyline

•••
Fantastic story line that is heavily cyberpunk themed. When beginning the game the player is dropped right into the action finding that their voice has been stolen to then slowly learn through gameplay and storytelling who exactly stole it.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Unique gameplay

•••
No tutorial, you are dropped into the game, guided through it by an unseen narrator and intuition.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Beautiful soundtrack

•••
This game features a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack. It fits right in to the world the player inhabits. It ties in very well with the gameplay and art-style to create a very immersive atmosphere.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Complex, but simple, customization gives much to imagination and strategy

•••
Throughout the game, you get these abilities, called Functions(), that are modular in design. They can be used in one of three ways: Active(): The activated version, or the base version. You use the Slash function, you slash. You can have up to four of these. Upgrade(): Use the current Func...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Good Cyberpunk

•••
Good cyberpunk is better than bad cyberpunk.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Not as engaging as previous title

•••
The story in Transistor often seems unclear which results in the player feeling less engaged.
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DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin

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Expansive fantasy settings

•••
Dark Souls II offers a wide variety of locales to explore, all within a fantasy setting. The amount of differing locations does give a feeling of lack of cohesion though but does have the benefit of locations that are wildly different from each other, which can be refreshing at times.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

New lighting system

•••
Before the original Dark Souls II was released the developer had shown off a lighting system where areas were pitch black and a torch was necessary to see. This was eventually removed before the release. Now with the release of the DX11 version, DARK SOULS II: Scholar of the First Sin is able to ac...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Slow and deliberate fighting with reward/risk mechanics

•••
Each enemy encounter needs to be calculated and precisely timed, as any mistake will most likely mean death. An added level of complexity to this equation is enemies that can be ignored but will then gang up on the player once a boss is beaten. This creates a risk/reward scenario that the player ne...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Branching gameplay with plenty of choices

•••
The branching gameplay within Dark Souls II makes for not only a great way to tailor each adventure to each player keeping everyones experiences unique, but also a reprieve from many difficult points in the game. If one area has become to tough or something has the payer stuck from advancing furthe...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Excellent boss battles

•••
There are many iconic boss battles throughout the game that make for some of the most difficult moments to be played. But once finally defeating a boss the feeling of accomplishment is well worth it.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Difficulty that requires a lot of time and patience

•••
To be honest, difficult is a nice way of putting it, this game can destroy ones will to live. It is not even worth counting how many times one dies, as it will be in the hundreds if not thousands. Only through patience and sure determination will many reach the ending of the game. So much time is n...
Specs
Steam Rating:Mostly Positive
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Nioh

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Kristaps
Top Pro

Rewarding exploration

•••
Exploring in Nioh feels worthwhile since it helps you find new equipment and rare materials. This will help progress your character, allowing you to defeat enemies in fewer hits and giving you a smoother playthrough overall. It's also very exciting to accidentally stumble upon secret areas.
Kristaps
Top Pro

Fast-paced, intense combat

•••
Nioh is a very fast-paced game, which also rewards awareness and patience. The combat in it is all about dodging, countering enemy attacks, and looking for openings. You will quickly regret any hasty decisions (like fighting three demon Samurai out in the open) since they'll most likely lead to...
Kristaps
Top Con

The story isn't particularly good or meaningful

•••
Nioh has kind of a throwaway story. You won't fall in love with any characters, and nothing that happens will shock or awe you.
Kristaps
Top Con

Punishing difficulty for beginners of the genre

•••
Nioh, like any other Souls-like title, has a very brutal entry difficulty. If you're new to the Souls-like genre, you'll have to get used to a lot of the mechanics, dodging, and, most importantly, dying. This can be the source of extreme frustration for the first ten hours or so, which caus...
Specs
Steam Rating:Mostly Positive
Genre:Action-RPG
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Dark Souls III

Slant Bot
Top Pro

Can give a great feeling of accomplishment

•••
The Dark Souls series is known for how difficult it is and Dark Souls 3 is no slouch in this area. The game is difficult and the player will die a lot. This of course can give a feeling of aggravation, but once a difficult boss is finally defeated, there is a sense of achievement that is not often...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Customizable HUD

•••
The heads up display in the game can be turned on or off as well as set to a new third setting where the HUD adjusts itself automatically to only show what is important at the particular time of play.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Unpredictable boss fights

•••
The boss battles will see the boss shift their strategies and attacks often, making for a battle that will react to how the player is fighting as well as constantly change in order to keep the player on their toes, which makes for challenging battles.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Vast variety of equipment and spells

•••
The equipment found in this game is quite numerous. There are many different swords, bows, spells as well as a huge selection of different armors. Weapons such as swords can each have unique abilities such as different strikes. So while one sword may have a long reaching sideways swipe, another m...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Unique experiences through exploration

•••
The game focuses less on linearity which means that the player can go their own direction in large environments, in order to explore what appeals as the best path to them. It sees the player constantly winding around different paths that interconnect, all while holding secret passages and hidden it...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Fast load times

•••
The load times in the game can vary, depending on if the user has an HDD or an SSD, but even when using an HHD the games load times are under 10 seconds, with the majority taking under 6.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Great combat system

•••
The combat in Dark Souls 3 asks you to understand how each enemy moves, what are the weak spots in those movements and exploit them. To exploit enemy moves, you'll have to know how your equipped weapon behaves as they have wildly different behaviors and timings. There are different kinds of mel...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Fast and precise gameplay

•••
Dark Souls 3 adds a bit of speed over its previous releases. This makes for an exciting new experience for players of the franchise as well as an overall exciting experience for new players, as it requires impeccable timing of how one can react to counter, dodge or hit an enemy.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Good selection of classes

•••
There are 10 total classes the player can choose from during character creation. This makes for a quite a few options for the player to pick from, giving them a sense of originality as well as a character that can fit just about anyone's playstyle.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Worthwhile equipment combinability

•••
Any and all equipment in the game can be useful at some point of gameplay. The players is not penalized for wanting to use particular equipment for looks over usefulness, as all equipment is useful in some way. This greatly opens up how one can combine the equipment they find as the player is not h...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Fixed issues found in previous titles

•••
The first game in the series had some issues with roll direction, the second had issues with a boring layout and forgettable bosses. This being the third game in the series takes the best out of the previous two and combines them into a cohesive experience. Everything is polished to improve the gam...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Appealing graphics that illustrate a dark and interesting world

•••
The design of said graphics makes for a world so in depth it is quite a site to behold. Everything in the game feels and looks like it belongs and only serves to further flesh out this dark mystery of a world. The game definitely takes advantage of better hardware over the previous titles and it sh...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Solid controls

•••
No matter if using a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad (or Steam controller), the controls work well and can be customized easily in the settings. This makes the controls versatile as they can be customized to fit any type of player and their preferred control scheme.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Save points in the game are easy to find

•••
There are a lot of bonfires (where the player can save) scattered around the game. This makes it easy to save before death, which is a big help for many, due to how difficult the game can be.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Open atmosphere makes for confusing paths

•••
With the game having more of an open world feel it can be difficult to know what direction to go in. While much can be explored, there is a certain feeling of being lost that can make for a frustrating experience.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Some areas have slowdown

•••
No matter the equipment being used, there are portions of the game (even when using the best equipment) that will see a dropped framerate.
Slant Bot
Top Con

May be too depressing and dark for some

•••
This game can feel like a weight on ones shoulders. Everything about it is dark, gloomy and depressing. Some people may not enjoy this atmosphere at all.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Designed to work better with Intel CPU

•••
The game can only take advantage of up to 4 cores of a CPU, meaning those using AMD CPUs (which tend to have 8 cores) will only be able to use half of their cores for the game. This will make for a poorer experience if using an AMD CPU.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Some graphical pop in

•••
No matter ones graphical settings or rig being used, the game does suffer from some pop-in when turning fast. This can be distracting when noticed, which detracts from the feeling of polish and immersion in the game.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Poor support for mouse+keyboard control

•••
The default DS3 key/button bindings actually prevent full use of certain weapons by requiring the shift key to be pressed and not-pressed simultaneously. Rebinding is possible, but limited by issues like the left mouse button overriding all others and certain bindings not actually working in game (...
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
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Salt and Sanctuary

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Slant Bot
Top Pro

Good use of metroidvania level design

•••
Metroidvania genre games tend to lock portions of the game behind elements that can not be traversed until a certain item or skill is earned. This makes for a world that requires a lot of backtracking and familiarity, meaning the player needs to keep track of all the areas they have already explore...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Interesting perk mechanic

•••
There is a feature in the game called "creeds" that allows on to sign up for one creed at a time. These creeds will give you access to certain specific perks such as building out their sanctuary (of which each creed has one) where you can customize vendors of items, find new quest givers...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Risk reward gameplay

•••
The player throughout the game is always earning salt when defeating enemies. This salt is used to purchase upgrades and items in the game, so the more you have the more you can purchase. The thing is though that you can lose all of the salt you have collected if you die, and being that this is a d...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Huge selection of upgrades

•••
The player earns salt by killing enemies in the game. This salt can then be used to purchase upgrades and new abilities for their character on a large spherical grid. This grid has many branching paths that cover just about any skill or ability one can think of for a dark fantasy game. Want to bran...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Deep combat

•••
While this is a 2D platforming game, the combat is actually quite diverse, depending on what equipment one is using (and there is quite a lot of equipment). Players have a light and hard attack that each can be charged. They can also be combined to create combos, with some that may even result in s...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Exploration based gameplay

•••
The player does not start with much in items or story. It is up to the player to explore and figure out little by little what is going on in the game. This makes for an adventure that the player can be immersed in by filling in any gaps with their own imagination, which in turn allows the player to...
Slant Bot
Top Con

Difficult to know where you are

•••
There is no map in the game, which is exacerbated by the fact that this is a 2D title. In 2D there is basically no way to tell where you are in relation to where you want to go other than from memory. This can be troublesome if it has been a few days since you last played, as you now need to rememb...
Slant Bot
Top Con

May be too niche

•••
The setting of the game is quite dark and may be draining to spend any significant amount of time in the world. The gameplay itself can be quite difficult as well, which means this may not be the game for everyone.
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Ys Origin

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Madame Écureuil
Top Pro

Good aesthetics

•••
The art style of this game is fantastic.
Madame Écureuil
Top Pro

Quite a bit of replayability

•••
At the beginning of the game, you pick a character to play as. However, each character has their own, unique storyline which allows you to replay the game several times and never relive it.
Madame Écureuil
Top Pro

Really resembles older JRPGs

•••
In Ys Origin, there's no map, no list of quests, and definitely no auto-save. You're required to rely on your own intuition and skill in order to progress, which really makes it meaningful when you clear a level on your own.
Madame Écureuil
Top Pro

The controls are great, particularly in battle

•••
Ys Origin really nailed the controls. There's no sitting around, wondering where your attacks are going to land which has been a matter of contention for this style of game for quite some time.
Madame Écureuil
Top Con

Unskippable cutscenes

•••
You cannot skip most cut-scenes, which can make repeat play-throughs a little bit tedious.
Madame Écureuil
Top Con

Dated graphics

•••
The game is a port of a PSP game, and while graphically enhanced and beautifully translated to English, still shows its age.
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Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines

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FunnyNjordr
Top Pro

Immersive storytelling

•••
FunnyNjordr
Top Pro

Great respect for the WoD universe

•••
Slant Bot
Top Con

Has to be modded heavily, otherwise buggy

•••
Specs
Steam Rating:Very Positive
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Fallout 4

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Top Pro

Weapons and armor can be improved by adding mods

•••
Add a scope, change the barrel or ammo clip, add a stock to turn it into a rifle or remove it to turn it into a pistol. A lot of awesome weapons are to be made. Same goes for armor. Leather lining or metal painting, padding or extra pockets. Then there's all sorts of menacing melee weapons too.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Solid gunplay

•••
Fallout has typically used a slowed down time based gun mechanic called VATS, which works as an assisted shooting and aiming mechanic that allows one to pick the body parts of an enemy to target in slowed down time. This system is present in Fallout 4, but the first/third person gunplay has been im...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Heavily moddable

•••
Users can find all sorts of mods at Nexus Mods, which will help expand and change the gameplay making for an infinitely playable game due to the vast amount of options available.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Challenging and diverse enemy types

•••
There are quite a lot of different enemies found in the game, ranging from Super Mutants to Feral Zombies to Blood Bugs. Each has their own weakness and strength, which asks the player to constantly adjust their fighting style due to what is being thrown at them at the time.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Huge world with a lot to discover

•••
The Fallout world is massive and even outside of the main campaign there are so many things going on that the world feels real and alive. Lots of the buildings are actually enter-able and usually have something unique and interesting to discover.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Deep perk/skill system

•••
The perk/skill system is presented as a large grid of perks the player can pick from. As the player levels up, they earn skill points which can then be used to gain perks in this large grid. The choices are pretty vast with seven different areas that perks can be picked from. This is called the S.P...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Great storyline that is expanded by sidequests

•••
The main storyline is well written featuring the main character looking for redemption and their lost son. Expanding on that is the many side quests available that flush out the world that is Boston in this post apocalyptic future.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Unique loot

•••
There is quite a lot of loot to be found in the game. Weapons and armor are scattered all over the wasteland map as well as contained in many dungeons. Unique and legendary loot can be found by defeating certain types of enemies as well. Overall this gives a good incentive to keep exploring and def...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Companions can help make the game a little easier

•••
There are a bunch of companions to find in the game, starting with a dog. Each companion has their own skills that can help the player in the game, such as the dog can find hidden items in the world and retrieve them. As the player progresses in the game, more companions can be found, though only o...
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Base building mechanic that makes for a solid distraction to the main story

•••
Base building is a way that the player can collect components in the world to then use them to make their own base for equipment and supplies. There is also an interesting aspect where the player can attract NPCs in the game to their base in order to create a settlement (basically a small town of p...
Slant Bot
Top Con

The dialogue choices are limited and non-meaningful

•••
In a lot of the cases the choices you make when talking to people don't actually impact what happens. There are some exceptions, but Fallout 4 is more about telling a story to the player than being able to do things your own way.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Pipboy UI is hard to use

•••
The default UI does not make it easy to manage your items and there are a lot of inconsistencies such as escape and tab both being used inconsistently to exit in-game features.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Buggy gameplay

•••
There are bugs in the game that users will run into. While most are not game breaking, it can detract from the experience.
Specs
Genre:Action RPG
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Gauntlet

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Slant Bot
Top Pro

Easily played on a sofa

•••
Gauntlet offers full controller support that actually works quite well for an action RPG. This makes for a good game to play on a Steam Machine or other living room gaming PC.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

4 player local and online co-op

•••
Gauntlet has support for local and online 4 player co-op.
Slant Bot
Top Pro

Boss's offer good bit of diversity to the gameplay

•••
Different bosses means different tactics need to be used to defeat them. This creates a good change of pace from the regular hack and slash type gameplay.
Slant Bot
Top Con

Very repetitive gameplay

•••
With a few exceptions, the gameplay and strategy is the same for the entire game. Very little progression or new abilities. "Potions" don't do anything until you can buy abilities. Game gets easier, not harder. (New colosseum mode adds some end game challenge.)
Slant Bot
Top Con

Wizard is complicated to use

•••
The wizard character is complicated to use as he has nine spells but only two button combinations available to use them. This makes the character difficult to use which results in not may people wanting to play with the character. For online matches this means there are quite a few three player gam...
Slant Bot
Top Con

Locked camera

•••
The camera is locked in a single position, something that creates confusion while playing a busy area as the camera does not stay focused on the players character. While a locked camera made sense back in the Arcade or on home consoles where one screen was used, for online multiplayer it really do...
Specs
Genre:Dungeon Crawler RPG, Hack n' Slash
Co-Op:4 Player Online / 4 Player Couch
Controller Support:Full
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Kingdom Come: Deliverance

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Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

NPCs react differently to you under certain circumstances

•••
With the many organic and grounded systems in Kingdom Come: Deliverance that mirror real life, how you present yourself to the world has an impact on how people react to you. If you haven't bathed in a few days and you smell badly, some female NPCs might find your manly odor attractive, while o...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Vastly different ways to play the game

•••
Depending on which skills you choose to master, your playthrough can be incredibly different from other players who chose to specialize in other abilities instead. There isn't much of a limit to how strong or proficient you can become in any one specialty, giving you the opportunity to be the b...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Rising up in society from a peasant is a unique experience

•••
Kingdom Come: Deliverance puts you in the shoes of an unremarkable commoner named Henry with few skills or specialties, giving you the opportunity to enrich his life and abilities however you see fit. You don't start off as a powerful fighter like in so many other games, and you don't even...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

You learn and level up skills in organic, realistic ways

•••
Instead of leveling up in traditional ways with the usual experience points, Kingdom Come: Deliverance has a much more organic approach to the ways you can grow your character. Playing as the protagonist Henry, you'll need to practice your skills in areas such as sword play, fist fighting, alch...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Optimization issues on consoles and lower-end PCs

•••
For those playing on a launch PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, as well as an older PC, you might have issues with the game's framerate. Framerate drops are common throughout the game, possibly ruining your experience from time to time. If you're on PlayStation 4 Pro or Xbox One X, or you have a m...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Brutal learning curve at the beginning of the game

•••
Since you start the game at rock bottom as a peasant, you have to learn your skills the hard way, including with combat. You'll have to earn your skills by learning as you go along, but because you start with nothing, it's all too easy to fail at even the most basic encounters you come acro...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

The game feels unpolished overall with smaller bugs and story pacing issues

•••
Despite Kingdom Come: Deliverance's immersive and innovative systems, there are a bunch of other, smaller bugs throughout the game, as well as some pacing issues that ruin the flow of the gameplay. You're likely to come across invisible walls in places such as stairs that you have to jump o...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Game-breaking bugs can corrupt your save file

•••
The game is filled with bugs that could potentially cost you hours of playtime. Your save file could get corrupted, forcing you to start the game over from scratch. It's incredibly frustrating and has been an ongoing problem since release, keeping quite a few players from progressing. Thankfull...
Specs
Steam Rating:Mixed
Genre:Role-Playing
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Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

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Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Powerful soundtrack

•••
The soundtrack in this game is grand and inspiring, going the extra mile to help plenty of moments stick out in your memory alongside the music. The prologue alone gives a great preview of a fiery level you'll reach later in the story, playing the song "Hellfire" with an energized cho...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Impressive visuals

•••
Final Fantasy XV is an epic game that knows how to put on a show with its visuals. Some of its best moments are visually awe-inspiring, standing out from other games through sheer ambition and huge proportions, like fighting boss battles against enormous foes. Even during regular battles, if you...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Solid companionship between the main characters

•••
Playing as the main character Prince Noctis, journeying across the world with his friends is the most authentic part of the game because of their realistic bonds. Other than the main story scenarios, you'll get to see the smaller ways that Noctis interacts with Prompto, his upbeat best friend,...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Excellent combat that runs smoothly

•••
The flashy active combat system looks amazing and runs well. It's full of spectacle, with Noctis dashing from enemy to enemy with his warp strikes, and his magic spells that scorch the earth or freeze the winds nearby. With the freedom to switch between Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio whenev...
Yoshiyuki
Top Pro

Amazing performance and textures on high-end PCs

•••
For players with top-of-the line PCs, Final Fantasy XV looks incredible in 4K and HDR, with hardly any dips in the framerate. If you want to see every little detail, you'll need to install the HD textures. The textures will take up about 155GB of space, but it's worth it to flesh out the ga...
Yoshiyuki
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Con

Weak story

•••
Because the Final Fantasy series is known for its great stories, it's frustrating that the one here is badly executed. There are a lot of payoffs in the plot that the writers intended to be dramatic and emotional, and yet you probably won't feel the full impact of them since the buildup to...
Yoshiyuki
Top Con

Core character development for Noctis' companions isn't in the main story

•••
The weak story in Final Fantasy XV links back to Noctis' companions--Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto--and how you won't get to know the guys all that well unless you exit to the main menu to play through optional DLC. You have to reach certain points in the story before these DLC stories are ava...
Specs
Steam Rating:Mostly Positive
Genre:Action Role-Playing
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149 Community Recommendations

Madame Écureuil
Eric May
menace97
Steve
Vinny
Alex Starc
Иван Бачило
Ryan
Stuart Kearney
Yoshiyuki
Kristaps
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menace97
menace97
Contributor for 4 months
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740
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Grim Dawn
Recommended 4 months ago
Grim Dawn is a fantastic game, crafted lovingly by the developers at Crate Entertainment. They have put out a truly epic game that contains so much detail and ability to customize the way you play (builds) - it reminds me of the kind of fun I had playing Diablo 2. In fact, it feels a bit like a spiritual suc...
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Madame Écureuil
Madame
Contributor for 4 months
17
Total 
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Grim Dawn
Recommended 4 months ago
One of the best action RPGs released in recent memory, which managed to recapture the same dark and oppressive feelings experienced from Diablo II
Pro
 Drop-in co-op (online and local)
Pro
 Complex leveling system with thousands of possible builds
Pro
 Great homage to old school ARPGs
Pro
 Story rich
Pro
 Exploration
Con
 Reading lore breaks gameplay flow
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Currently displaying 2 out of 149 total recommendations.
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