Copycats are all over the place in the media, and video games have their healthy helping of it as well. While initially they can be a little bit side-eyed, what counts is whether the game in question is fun or not.
RPGs have been one genre that has had plenty of copycats throughout the years, and while many have failed in their tributes, others have managed to go above and beyond the call, improving upon their previous inspiration and becoming something to marvel at on their own.
We’re going to take a look at a handful of games that did it better than their inspiration.
10 Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
A World Upon Ruin
While it’s pretty clear from the jump that Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is doing its best impression of Baldur’s Gate 2, it quickly goes above and beyond that IP to create something that deserves attention in its own right.
The world here is a fascinating one that is clearly inspired by DND in everything from enemy design to the way combat works, but the depth is almost unmatched. The myriad of ways you can take the story depending on your choices is overwhelming, and there are tons of fascinating bits of lore throughout the game along with some amazingly well-written characters and villains to interact with.
It’s also got great voice acting, which Baldur’s Gate 2 can’t possibly compete with, and the perspective used here is a much more intimate one, giving the player a more immersive look into a dark fantasy world. You’ve also got army-building elements and endless ways to build your party. Overall, it’s just the better RPG through and through. It was Baldur’s Gate 3 before Baldur’s Gate 3.
9 Darksiders 2
A Different Kind of Legend
Darksiders 2 is an amazing RPG adventure that heavily borrows from The Legend of Zelda series. All due respect to Link and company, they’ve never had combat on this level. This feels like an old-school God of War combat system in a lengthy RPG, and it’s a fantastic mixture as the fights here are big, loud, and as over the top as you’d expect for a game where you play as Death.
But it’s not just the combat, the dungeon design, the puzzles, and the world itself feel like a dark version of the Zelda games. Honestly, it’s in the style that many wish modern Zelda games to be in. There are plenty of dungeons to explore, abilities to unlock, and tools to use, and with that comes a very interesting story that somehow doesn’t feel all that ridiculous despite the obviously absurd subject matter.
8 Pillars of Eternity
The Resurrection of the CRPG
Pillars of Eternity is another game inspired by Baldur’s Gate 2 that manages to outdo it in pretty much every way. Despite being a low-budget project, this game creates a world unlike any other out there. It immediately hits that strange and fascinating feel of old school CRPGs with its mysterious opening and proceeds to fuse sci-fi and fantasy into a genre of its own.
The combat is classic CRPG greatness with some modern tweaks, but the real highlight here is the writing and dialogue. It’s incredibly well written, and the RPG dynamics at play here are premium, allowing you to build a party in a variety of ways and take your character to some very interesting places in the process.
It was such a breath of fresh air when it came out because it felt like an old era was being revitalized, and sure enough, it was, as a hailstorm of great CRPGs started coming year after year from this point on, leading the genre to become more popular than it ever had been before in the late 1990s.
7 Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
The Fable Came True
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a game that has often been compared to the Elder Scrolls series, but for me, I think another series is far more obvious as the inspiration. The zone-like areas, the visuals, hell, even the combat animations look familiar. This is heavily inspired by Fable. It’s even there in the whimsical music and style of speaking for many of the characters.
Thankfully, where Fable promised a lot and delivered on maybe half of it, Kingdoms of Amalur is a fantastic, full package of a game that deserves so much more love than it got. You’ve got fantastic combat, which makes combat feel good in a massive fantasy RPG, which is a rarity to say the least, and it’s got an interesting story, amazing lore done by R.A. Salvatore, and some great boss fights.
It’s the type of game that might’ve shot into the stratosphere with a chance for a sequel, but unfortunately, the company was shut down over a myriad of sketchy instances, so we don’t know if we’ll be seeing another from this series. It’s a shame, because it already had one special game and was clearly capable of another.
6 Disco Elysium
A New Kind of Torment
When it comes to RPGs that involve barely any combat, the list is actually quite small, so it was pretty clear that Disco Elysium was looking to be this generation’s Planescape: Torment. It achieved just that while improving on the classic even further.
The tale here has you as a detective trying to piece his life back together after a drunken evening sapped his memory completely. The world is similar to Torment’s with a variety of shady characters trying to pull you to one side or another, and just like Torment, the writing shines here in a big way. There are multiple ways for each conversation to go, character relationships can turn on a dime, and there are countless things to explore in the world as both you and the main character try to figure out what happened here.
The game is just as dark, but arguably far wittier in the writing department, and while the lore may be briefer here, it says just as much without overbearing dialogue for the player to sit through.
5 Undertale
Hellbound
Undertale is a clear tribute to the past with the game Earthbound, with everything from its main character’s clothes to not seeing your character in battle. It’s as loving a tribute as possible. However, Earthbound didn’t approach the ambition that Undertale did. Undertale has such a wildly weird and complex world that it’s still, to this day, one of the true RPG achievements.
From the multiple playstyles you can have, which affect everything from character relationships to the endings, you can get to the amazing ways you can actually win the battles themselves. Undertale is a consistent surprise no matter how many times you’ve played it. The narrative constantly shifts and turns, and characters that appear to be friends turn on a dime and become your enemies, and figuring out how to solve the puzzles of each encounter is always a great time.
The exploration in Undertale is what blows Earthbound away, specifically. Despite being created by one man, the game has constant secrets to find, alternate boss fights to take on, or even characters to interact with. It’s a world that feels like nothing else, which says a lot for a genre that has been in action for over 40 years.
4 Unicorn Overlord
A Tribute to the Past
Unicorn Overlord is a tribute to the Ogre Battle series and tries to reinvent that formula in a handful of ways. The way the battles feel is a direct copy of Ogre Battle, as you just watch things play out after setting up the AI to fight on its own, but it’s done with such amazing detail and character design that it doesn’t bother me one bit.
The story is rather barebones, but the flexibility of the amazing squad system has you endlessly coming up with new strategies, new unit combos, and finding new items and equipment to make your characters as best suited for battle as possible.
The extra things Unicorn Overlord adds, though, are what makes it really special. The relationship system changes playthroughs depending on what you do, as does the choice system that determines who lives or dies and who joins you or turns against you. It’s got so much to do and see in what feels like a small package, and it outdoes the inspiration in the process.
3 Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
2000s Vampire Cool
When it comes to immersive RPGs in the early days of new millennium gaming, I think of two names: Deus Ex and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. Deus Ex came first, but it was the latter game that really took that concept to a whole new level. It’s trying to up the ante on the type of world and tone that Deus Ex created, and it does so with fangs out.
You play as a newly bitten vampire trying to figure things out in the world where the masquerade is the most important thing to keeping you alive. That is, you can’t just use your vampiric abilities whenever you want; you have to be careful and secretive and cannot let humans know that you exist. Along your journey, you’ll find a myriad of amazingly written side quests and main content, where your choices shape how the story plays out.
It’s got some shockingly great voice acting and facial animation for its time, too, making it one of those older games that is very easy to jump into these days. As far as immersive RPGs go, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines stands at the front of the line, right in front of the game that inspired it.
2 Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
Morrowind’s Got Nothin’ On Arthur
Morrowind may be everyone’s favorite hardcore RPG, but Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon improves upon it in several ways. First, the combat is great here, resembling something closer to a BioShock or Dishonored game rather than your classic, stiff RPG combat. The variety is great, from the magic to the melee, and the impact against enemies is incredible as well.
But the real juice here is in the quest design. It’s so intricate, and they pop up very organically and lead you down some wild paths, much like Morrowind once did. It’s also the world that feels pretty similar, with dark and mysterious locations with constant new enemies to discover and fight.
It’s a game that is a tribute to many others and has successfully spawned a genre of its own known as the Scrollslike. And the conversation about Scrollslikes that matter conversation starts with Tainted Grail.
1 Dragon Age: Origins
A New Dark Fantasy World
Dragon Age: Origins is a clear tribute to the CRPGs of old like Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and Neverwinter Knights, but it manages to surpass all of them with ease.
From a storytelling standpoint, I’m not sure if a game has topped what Dragon Age: Origins has done to this day. It really is that good, from the character writing to the plot pacing and the villains. Everything is as good as you can find in any novel or movie. You can be good, bad, or something in between here, and there are some wild ways quests can go depending on what you decide to do during them.
The gameplay feels like old school CRPGs all grown up, and it still requires smart tactics and preparation, but allows you to have a level of customization with your party’s tactics that was never really seen prior.
It’s got some amazing boss fights, cinematic moments, and environments to explore, and you’ll be pining for more when the credits roll. Unfortunately, this game is easily the best one in the series, even if there are some highs in the titles that came after.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
