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What are the best Tactical RPG games on Steam?

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Feb 18, 2023

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15 Games Considered

Best Tactical RPG games on Steam	Price	Steam Rating	Genre
-- XCOM 2	$49.99	Very Positive	Turn-based Tactical RPG
-- Dragon Age: Origins	$29.99	Mostly Positive	Tactical Role-Playing
-- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic	-	Very Positive	Sandbox
-- Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition	15,99€	Very Positive	-
-- The Banner Saga	-	Very Positive	Turn-based RPG

XCOM 2

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Top Pro

It's fun to manage your squad

One of the main aspects of XCOM 2 is preparing your squad for each mission. You need to consider the terrain, objective, and enemy types. Based on these you'll select the appropriate soldiers, weapons, and gadgets. A lot of the missions have some leeway, so you'll be able to form a squad that fits your playstyle. It can either be a group of stealthy rangers, running in with machetes to surprise the enemy. Or it can be a group sharpshooters, allowing you to systematically clear the area from afar with sniper rifles. After each successful mission/kill your soldiers will earn experience. With enough experience you'll be able to promote them and earn learn new skills. You can also research new weapons and build them. A lot of it comes down to looting alien technology and reverse engineering it back at the base. All these things add up and it's really exciting watching your soldiers grow into unstoppable killing machines. See More

Top Con

Demanding on hardware

Will not run on low-end graphics cards like the GeForce GT 740M or the HD Graphics 4600 / 5600. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

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Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Turn-based Tactical RPG

Top Pro

Makes you feel more for your characters than most character driven games

One of the more fun parts about this game is managing your squad. You can customize the looks, voices, and even names of your soldiers. As you take your soldiers on missions you'll get attached to them. This will create a lot of tense moments when your soldiers are about to die and you desperately try to save them. If you decide to input the names of your friends or family, multiply the tension by ten. See More

Top Con

Complaints about the new launcher

Sadly the Steam rating has dropped because of the new launcher, problems can be solved however: XCOM 2 How to Bypass the 2k Launcher without External Files or Configuration Guide. See More

Top Pro

Excellent suspense

Throughout the campaign you'll always be running against the clock. You have a limited window of time to save humanity before the aliens take over completely. Successful missions only set them back slightly. Unsuccessful missions set you back significantly. It always feels like you're in an uphill struggle and failing means the end. It always feels like you're not gaining an advantage and the aliens have something else in store. This is reinforced in the missions. You never know what type of aliens there will be or what their reinforcements will bring. Encountering new species makes you fear for the well-being of your squad. It's rare for a game to keep you feeling like this. See More

Top Con

Steep learning curve

XCOM 2 is not just about managing a squad of soldiers, you also have to manage your base and operations on a global scale. This includes managing your resources, identifying which missions you should prioritize, and allocating research for new technologies. It might take a while to learn everything needed to fully enjoy this game, especially on higher difficulties. See More

Dragon Age: Origins

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Top Pro

Game characters are fully rounded

NPC's have believable characters with fleshed out background stories. Many are able to be used as companions of which will have tons of text interactions that are well written and believable. See More

Top Con

Too easy to fix wronged companion relationships

While this is done most likely to avoid breaking the game it is way too easy to fix relationships with companions who the player has made angry by purchasing and giving them gifts. basically the player can treat them however they want to then give a gift to ficxany problems. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing

Top Pro

Player decisions actually matter

The choices you make affect the gameplay and plot as well as the interactions one will have with their NPCs. Decisions that are made can change how in game characters react with you which makes for an individualistic experience that changes on each playthrough when different choices are made. See More

Top Pro

Easily controllable tactical gameplay

Good tactical UI interface which is easily controlled through pausing the gameplay. Once the gameplay is paused a radial menu and be used in order to make decisions on how to attack or maneuver. See More

Top Pro

Mods are available to suit any gameplay style

nexusmods contains many mods to change just about any aspect of the game such as ways to make time consuming parts less so like the auto loot mod. See More

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

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Top Pro

Gameplay holds up well

For what is now an eleven year old game, the classic Bioware RPG game mechanics such as branching dialog and turn based battles similar to a CRPG (where the player must pause the gameplay in order to choose their commands to then un-pause in order to watch their chosen strategy play out) hold up well. See More

Top Con

Somewhat buggy

Crashes can happen while playing, while not a huge deal they can be annoying. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Controller Support:HID (IOS), Yes (PC)

Top Pro

Handles Star Wars license well

Seeing things like Jedi vs Sith and politics in the game that are now staples of the newer movies helps to feel as though the game fits into the cannon quite well. With so many movie license games in the past being quick cash-ins it is great to see the Star Wars license used in a manner that fits with the cannon and of high quality development. See More

Top Pro

Longevity through multiple playthroughs

The games story is pretty deep and the text that can be found withing that tells it will take multiple playthroughs to see it all, making for not only a good reason to play many times but creates the feel of a very deep universe. See More

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

Top Pro

Plays like original with more portraits available for PCs and the Black Pits arena combat module

Plays just like the original game with the same hidden treasures. When creating PCs, you have more available portraits to choose from. Black Pits Arena combat module is awesome, but gets really deadly in the later rounds. See More

Top Con

Modded original can offer better experience

Depending on if one want to go through the trouble, but modding the original game can offer a better experience over this enhanced edition. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Now on offer on Steam for only 3,19€ See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Online and LAN co-op

Users can connect over LAN or TCP/IP for up to 6 player co-op. See More

Top Pro

New NPCs to choose from

There are two or three new NPCs your PC encounters, and can add one or more to your adventuring party. See More

The Banner Saga

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Top Pro

Great hand drawn graphics

The all hand drawn graphics are animated smoothly and are extremely detailed which makes for one heck of a good looking game. See More

Top Con

Pretty difficult and uneven

The difficulty is sometime uneven with some battles being not to hard after one that was extremely difficult. Couple this with how difficult the game can be even on the easy setting and it is very apparent that the game will take some patience to complete. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Turn-based RPG

Controller Support:No

Top Pro

Bleak yet beautiful music score

Composed by Austin Wintory, the musical score is quite beautiful and haunting. See More

Shadowrun Returns

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Top Pro

Fleshed out interesting world

There has obviously been painstaking care taken in crafting the world and story of Shadowrun Returns. A noir cyberpunk story that sees the main character trying to solve a murder-mystery intertwined with a conspiracy. Throughout the game are characters who the main protagonist crosses paths with that have a tin of great dialogue written for them that is entertaining to read and also flesh out his cyberpunk world. See More

Top Con

Limited RPG paths

The story gets played out basically the same way on every play-through. Player choice only has moderate impact on the flow of the game. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Shadowrun Returns is a cross platform isometric RPG, now on offer on Steam for only 3,74€ See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Intuitive battle system

With a set amount of moves and action points it is fairly easy to understand how the battle system works. Everything is tun based and tactics are the main component to gameplay. Users must judge where they want to move, what attacks they want to use while taking into account the environment, if anything in it could shield them and then base all of these decisions off of their allotted action points. See More

Top Con

Grammar errors

Needed a proofreader as their is tons of grammar errors which gives a rushed unfinished feeling. See More

Tyranny

Top Pro

Has a different approach to a story with you playing as the villain

Top Con

The ending may not be satisfying

The ending is abrupt and dissatisfying, as it ends on a cliffhanger. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Consequences that go way beyond typical lip service to your actions.

Typical of Obsidian Entertainment to be the only RPG developer that truly understands how to use video games as storytelling medium. See More

Top Pro

Robust magic system that gives freedom of choice to the player

The magic system allows any character to use magic as long as they have enough of the correct attribute. In addition to this, all of the magic is made up of different elements allowing you to customize spells and discover new ways of destroying your enemy. See More

The Banner Saga 2

Top Pro

Great hand drawn graphics

The all hand drawn graphics are animated smoothly and are extremely detailed which makes for one heck of a good looking game. See More

Top Con

Story feels a bit weak compared to the previous game

Much like the sophomore album syndrome (where the second album from a break out band falls flat) the story in this release feels a bit weak. While not horrible, it will have trouble connecting to players who are not already familiar with the series. There is also a sense that many of the story elements are setting up events to be found in the third game, meaning that players will be left unknowing what the conclusions are. See More

Specs

Genre:Turn-based RPG

Top Pro

Helps the player learn the gameplay

The first title in the series had a bit of trouble explaining all the aspects of play of the game. Luckily this has changed in the second release as there is now a camp where a trainer will give challenges to the player that explain the game a lot more in-depth. This is great for new players as they can learn the ins and outs a lot easier. See More

Top Con

HP damage based attacks leave little room for expanding ones tactics

Due to the design of the gameplay, the amount of hit points a players unit has is the exact amount of damage they will inflict on an enemy. This makes for the winning strategy to always hit all enemy units on the playing field to ensure they inflict as little damage as possible. While players can go about it many other ways, this strategy tends to do the best, which is a bit limiting. See More

Top Pro

Allows for imports of gamesaves from first game

Players of the series can import their game saves from the previous title, giving them the option to start as one of two different characters. This ensures that choices made in the previous game are not lost when starting this game and experiencing the story it has to tell. See More

Top Pro

Great combat

Much of the mechanics found in the original title remain the same, which is a good thing as the turn based tactical grid based combat is the strongest thing about this game series. There have been some slight improvements though making for a more balanced rhythm to the game by adding new units to both the players choices and the enemies, which mixes up the gameplay quite often to keep it feeling fresh. See More

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

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True freedom of choice in how you handle quests

Quests can be completed in multiple ways, depending on how you want to approach them. You're able to tackle quests in a multitude of interesting ways such as sheer brute force, stealth, diplomacy, and more. For example, if you need to get a key off an NPC you can either fight them, try to steal the key, or even talk them into giving to you. Depending on how you build the skills of each member of your party, the possibilities for completing quests are almost endless. See More

Top Con

Unfocused storytelling

Rather than focusing on stopping the god you set out to destroy, much of your time will be spent helping side characters and running errands for the three main factions. Most of the game is devoted to these side quests/objectives and only a handful of these have any noticeable effect on the main storyline progression. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

Strategic combat

Pausing the combat action between every swing of your sword or winding up of a spell can lead to really some really strategic play as you plan each and every move. Positioning your party or deciding what actions to take can be handled with a lot of thought behind it. Additionally, all of your units can be scripted individually to do things like attack, heal, or use a spell when certain conditions are met. This means your healers will only cast their healing spells when actually needed, or your mages will only use a devastating spell at just the right time. From start to finish, this full control over the combat helps it to feel more like an intricate puzzle beaten with brains and awareness, rather than a button mashing frenzy. See More

Top Con

Questing becomes unrewarding

It's easy to become level capped about 75% into the game, making quests somewhat meaningless as you'll get no experience reward for completing them. See More

Top Pro

Dynamic roleplaying opportunities

Your skills and character stats influence every dialogue choice, interaction, and even how NPCs react to you. The world around you dynamically adjusts and changes based on how you're building your character and who you choose to recruit to your party. When interacting with NPCs, you're presented with unique dialogue options or opportunities based on your skills and reputation. Perhaps one NPC that would have given you a quest doesn't trust you anymore based on an action you took previously in the game. Or maybe you're good at stealth, so you are asked to carry out a sneaky operation. If your diplomacy is high, you can even talk your way out fights or help NPCs resolve their problems without violence. Sometimes, something as simple as being a certain race or hailing from a certain place will change the way you are treated or the quests you are asked to complete. You or your party's background might even mean the difference between an NPC being a friend or foe. All of this opens to the door to some really immersive role playing opportunities where you can really feel the weight of your decisions and how you choose to flesh out your stats. See More

Top Con

Combat is too easy

Most common enemies pose little to no challenge. It's very easy to become overpowered and simply steamroll through packs of mobs. There is an option to pause the live action and ponder your next move in combat, but it's rarely ever needed or utilized, except on the highest difficulty setting. Note: At the time of this writing, the devs have promised a future patch to rebalance the combat difficulty. See More

Top Pro

It's exciting to commandeer your own pirate ship

While your ship is mainly used to explore and hop from island to island, it goes well beyond that. Seeing another ship on the seas and attacking it (or being attacked by it) in naval combat gets you to you fight to make sure your boat stays afloat. Being out on the ocean can spark a whole bunch of different random encounters with hostile forces. You can also assign your party members to various positions such as navigation, cannons, and more depending on their unique skillsets. Depending on their skills, different party members will have various benefits when assigned to different positions such as better accuracy or steering capabilities. You never know what situations you'll find yourself in or what islands you'll discover when you're traveling the high seas, making it a pretty fun and exciting experience. See More

Top Con

Crafting is useless

Crafted potions, traps, and bombs are very weak and ineffective in combat. It's possible to succeed in combat without them, so there's really no point in crafting or using them to begin with. See More

Top Pro

Open, hand-crafted world

Unlike the first Pillars game, which was a linear set of explorable regions, Deadfire offers up the whole world for your adventures. You'll be exploring anywhere you want right from the beginning. The best part is, nothing is procedurally generated or random. Every map, enemy placement, and interaction is carefully hand-crafted and intentional. This allows for a more organic adventure that doesn't feel forced or suffer from bad placement. See More

Armello

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Original Mechanics

Equipment, spells, and traps are all played by expending cards, which can also be spent on favorable dice rolls in combat. The King, at the center of the board, simultaneously loses health and becomes stronger with corruption each turn. The win conditions depend on either killing the king, curing the king with spirit stones, becoming more corrupt than the king, or having the most prestige from quests and combat when he dies. See More

Top Con

Games can be too short

The King has a limited amount of health and loses 1 HP every two turns, putting a hard limit on game length and limiting the amount you can achieve in a single game. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mixed

Top Pro

Beautiful graphics

Tilt-shifted visuals look like a real board game. Beautiful particle effects and environments. Artwork is great and has a Redwall feel to it. See More

Tactics Ogre: Reborn

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Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

South Park: The Fractured but Whole

Top Pro

Quite funny

While there are plenty of fart jokes in this game, it primarily focuses on satire. At the forefront you have a parody of superhero movie franchises, which allows you to create your own ridiculous superhero origin story, managing to mix in commentary on modern culture, political correctness, and even our unhealthy obsession with social media. There are quite a few laughs to be had in this world seen through a grade schooler's eyes. See More

Top Con

Somewhat buggy

There are quite a few bugs that you might encounter during a playthrough. This includes quests getting stuck, not getting credit when picking up collectibles, and various other bugs, so it's best to have multiple saves in case something goes wrong. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Role-Playing

Top Pro

Fun turn-based combat

Over the course of the game, you and your superhero friends will take on various enemies. During fights, both sides are placed on a tactical grid and take turns in moving, attacking, and using special moves such as fireballs, explosions, and even fart bombs that stop time. Some abilities even have button prompts to make the combat slightly more engaging. You also have to consider positioning, weaknesses, combos, and when to use your superpowers, giving the combat a fair amount of depth. As a result, whether you're beating up 6th graders, exterminating crab people, or challenging Morgan Freeman to a duel, the combat is really entertaining. See More

Top Con

Not a game for kids

Even though this game is about grade schoolers playing as superheroes, there's tons of mature content and messed up moments you wouldn't want your kids to see. See More

Top Pro

Unique visual style

Playing South Park: The Fractured but Whole feels like watching an episode of the South Park TV show. It's very colorful, detailed, and interesting to look at, especially because everything seems like a cardboard cutout laid out in 2D view. This includes the environments, the houses, the occasional car that passes you by, and even the many characters. There's also very little in terms of animations with characters having jittery, stop motion-esque movements. All of this gives South Park: The Fractured but Whole a very interesting and enjoyable feel. See More

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