The Best CRPGs With Turn-Based Combat

The CRPG genre has enjoyed a long and rich history of titles that are a blast to play through, channeling the tabletop role-playing energy that many fans desperately want to experience in more titles. The advent of crowdfunding and indie gaming has allowed this genre to enjoy a resurgence, with many modern publishers releasing amazing games in the genre that are a joy to play around with.

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CRPGs can have fairly diverse combat systems, with turn-based battles being pretty commonplace in this genre. The best CRPGs around find ways to use a turn-based combat system to great effect. Players should expect a lot of elemental synergy, tactical combat, and a wealth of options when it comes to tackling combat in the following titles.

Updated on June 21, 2024 by Ritwik Mitra: The CRPG genre has been through its fair share of ups and downs, but most people can agree that the rampant success of Baldur's Gate 3 has helped the genre stand out once again in the eyes of many. More and more people want to check out this genre, with games either featuring real-time combat (usually accompanied by a pause mechanic) or turn-based mechanics that let players think out their strategies before executing their moves. The latter is quite popular, and it's easy to see why a lot of beloved CRPGs are praised for their turn-based combat systems that are a joy to engage with.

12 Pillars Of Eternity 2: Deadfire

An Update Let Players Choose Either Real-Time Or Turn-Based Combat, With The Latter Being Pretty Engaging

Pillars of Eternity is one of the first games that kickstarted the modern resurgence of the CRPG genre, with players loving the epic storyline and real-time combat that let players pause and take a breather before deciding their next course of action. While the same system was improved for the second game, Obsidian Entertainment decided to take things a step further with a turn-based combat system that was added later on in a major update.

The stats that governed a party member's recovery time now decide their Initiative in battle, with higher values making the first move in combat. Status afflictions and stat bonuses last rounds instead of seconds for obvious reasons, and combat is slowed down considerably. This mode is perfect for players who don't mind taking their time and prefer making calculated moves to ensure that things don't go completely out of hand, which is something that happens in the game's real-time combat a lot if players don't have time to react to a sudden development in battle.

11 Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous

An Excellent Game Set In The Pathfinder Universe With Great Turn-Based Combat

Players who loved the first Pathfinder game despite its flaws will be left floored by the many improvements brought about by Path of the Righteous. It's a downright must-play for fans of the first game who want to check out an engaging CRPG with tactical turn-based combat where both luck and strategy play an equal role in deciding how combat plays out.

Even if players prepare as much as possible before an encounter, they must be ready to switch up their strategies on the fly in the event that a dice roll works against them. This may sound frustrating, but the inherent unpredictability of combat is what makes Wrath of the Righteous such a blast to play through, even if some combat scenarios can overstay their welcome after a point.

10 Temple Of Elemental Evil

Compelling Turn-Based Combat Based On The D&D 3.5E System

• Platform: PC
• Release: September 16, 2003
• Developer: Troika Games
• Genre: RPG

Temple of Elemental Evil is a great example of a CRPG that became popular simply because of its great combat. The story of the title is nothing special, with the characters also being largely forgettable, for the most part.

However, it's the excellent combat of this title that really makes it such a fun CRPG to play through. Based on the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5E system, the combat is quite deep and a ton of fun to mess around with.

9 Solasta: Crown Of The Magister

A Turn-Based Combat System With Immense Tactical Depth

Speaking of games where the combat is the biggest gem of the bunch, another game that comes to mind is Solasta: Crown of the Magister. The sheer tactical depth of these turn-based systems is quite immense and makes for a great time.

Crown of the Magister can be a pretty tough game, with its writing working against the title at times. However, players who manage to grasp the in-depth mechanics of the combat system will have a great time with this game.

8 Atom RPG

Hardcore Turn-Based Combat Where Strategizing Every Encounter Is Necessary

• Platform: Android, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
• Release: November 28, 2017
• Developer: Atom Team
• Genre: RPG

Atom RPG is a love letter to the CRPGs of the past, especially when it comes to the Fallout series. In an attempt to emulate these classic titles, Atom RPG may feel rather dated compared to other modern CRPGs.

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However, the sheer heart that went into this game makes every puzzling design decision feel oddly justified in the grand scheme of things. Atom RPG may not be the mind-blowing classic CRPG experience people wanted it to be, but it's still a pretty fun game in its own right.

7 Wasteland 3

Players Must Use Cover And Flank Enemies In A Compelling Turn-Based Combat System

Speaking of games that players should check out if they like the classic Fallout games, another title that comes to mind is Wasteland 3. This game touches upon some pretty mature concepts and can be a nightmare to get through for players who don't adjust to the combat system.

Wasteland 3 is devilishly hard, which makes conquering its combat systems feel all the more satisfying. The learning curve for this game is immense but well worth it for fans of deep and tactical CRPGs with turn-based combat.

6 The Age Of Decadence

Classic Turn-Based Combat That's Hard To Learn But Infinitely Rewarding Once Players Crack This Formula

The Age of Decadence may seem deceptively old-school with its uninteresting color palette and a massive barrier to entry. However, there's more to this amazingly deep and engaging CRPG than first meets the eye.

The Age of Decadence is a great ode to classic CRPGs while also integrating many modern advancements to make for a brilliant experience. The combat is challenging yet rewarding, and the story is also quite fun in its own right.

5 Shadowrun: Hong Kong

A Cyberpunk CRPG With Tactical Turn-Based Combat

The revival of the Shadowrun series was a pretty slow affair, with Shadowrun Returns feeling like more of a test demo than anything else. However, both Dragonfall and Hong Kong did a great job of showing the true potential of a modern Shadowrun game.

The titles are a ton of fun to play through, featuring great characters, an engaging story, and combat that is quite tactical and a blast to learn. Exploiting enemy positions and using the wealth of options the game offers makes for a great time.

4 Fallout 2

A Classic CRPG With Turn-Based Combat That's Hard Without Being Too Unfair

Fallout 2 is one of the most revered classic CRPGs of all time, improving on the sequel in many ways and adding a ton of character to the narrative. The classic dark humor of the Fallout series owes it to the second entry for making this style popular in the first place, even if some people felt that the comedic tones were a bit too overdone at times.

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Of course, none of this took away from the hard-as-nails combat system of these games. Players needed to use every tool in their arsenal early on if they wanted to survive some of the tougher encounters they were forced into.

3 UnderRail

An Underrated Modern CRPG Where Players Must Pay Attention To The Turn-Based Combat Scenarios Every Time

• Platform: PC
• Release: September 24, 2013
• Developer: Stygian Software
• Genre: RPG

Out of all the modern CRPGs that have come out in recent times, UnderRail is easily the most underrated of the lot. The game can be extremely challenging if a player is unfamiliar with its systems and is a ton of fun once players understand just how deep and engaging the combat mechanics really are.

The sheer wealth of possibilities in combat makes UnderRail's battles a twisted experiment of sorts. Players should definitely invest in the right build if they don't want to be screwed over in the game's more challenging battles.