Turns out I've bought and played at least a chunk of just about everything on that list that isn't early access.
Banner Saga - I like that they tried to do something new with the combat system, my only real complaint is that the the outcomes of the randomized story encounters are so hard to predict that you don't really feel like you're playing a game so much as spinning a lottery wheel. Some people like the real life immersion that offers, but I dislike feeling as if I'm being presented with a challenge that I don't have a fair opportunity of winning. Quality game on the whole, worth picking up at about 10 bucks or less.
Blackguards - Had its moments, particularly with Chapter 3 being a standout, but holy lord does it overstay its welcome. Others have a higher threshold for tedium than I do, but personally I can't stand when a game feels like it just doesn't respect my time. Maps where every single unit has to paaaaaaainfully drag it's slow ass around make me want to pull my hair out. You can sometimes see a truly great game in there struggling to get out, and when it shines it really shines, but they just didn't polish it enough and it sounds like they blew their chance at an improved sequel.
Dark Souls 2 - Fine enough game in its own right but it lives in the shadow of its superior predecessors. The bright color palette really hurt the best part of the Souls series, which is that encroaching sense of dread. Still, "not quite as good as Dark/Demons Souls" is still a fine game.
Dragon Age Inquisition - The absolute bewilderment I felt at seeing the praise this was getting, after so many sterling reviews led me to buy the game on one of its many discounts, is what led me to the Codex. To this day I struggle to answer one crucial question ....where is the game? If you can just faceroll your way through every counter and make better gear simply by crafting random shit you find ....if there's no challenge whatsoever .....again, where is the game?
Divinity Original Sin - Too flawed to quite reach classic status but happy to see it win the GOTY. I can't tell you how delighted I was once I reached the boss of the first area, just as I was starting to wonder if it was all getting a little too easy, only to see him wipe my party out with one single move. Receives tons of credit if only for being one of the few titles in the Incline to move the genre forward in a meaningful way.
Diablo 3 - Picked it up with the Reaper of Souls expansion. Was never hugely into the Diablos (played the first, skipped the second) so I guess this does the trick. I wouldn't say I loved it, but it's an acceptably shallow way to pass the time. It fills a niche, just not a terribly rich one.
Lords of Xulima - Like Divinity, it starts strong but starts to lose a bit of momentum once your party strength levels off and the game stops upping the novelty and challenge. Still an admirable effort from a small, indie team.
Might and Magic X - My love for this game exceeds all reason and so I do not pretend to objectivity. This was the game that reminded me why, after barely playing any RPGs for years, I loved the genre so much in the first place - in fact, nearly every game on this list I played because Might and Magic X reminded me of how fun they could be. Being balls deep into a game with nearly 20 hours on the clock, having no idea if you're anywhere close to finishing and not caring is an experience that precious few can match. Sure the game is ugly as hell in places, janky even on beastly systems and the voice acting is perfunctory at best, but it's through and through a Might and Magic game and that makes me happier than I can possibly describe.
Shadowrun - Only played the original campaign. Wasn't blown away, the whole experience was kind of perfunctory, but I hear the expansion is miles ahead and so I'm waiting for a nice discount to come along.
Wasteland 2 - Just a couple hours into this one. Nothing really blowing me away and there seems to be a lot of clicking. The part where any RPG takes off is when they just let me go off into the world on my own and WL2 still seems a ways away from this. I heard that a great big'ol patch was in the works, so I'm holding off on this one a while and seeing if any news develops on that front.
A few other capsule reviews....
Paper Sorcerer - Barebones as fuck but it has a certain charm to it. I admire indie games that just pick one thing and do it well and Paper Sorcerer passes that test. No GOTY but it's not trying to be, and what it's trying to be, which is a lightweight Wizardry clone, it succeeds at.
Frayed Knights - Just couldn't do it. Dialog was trying way too hard to be funny and the damn thing just moved too slow. I'm restless, I get frustrated by tedium and slow walking characters absolutely do me in. I may go back to it if I grow desperate but the quirk annoys me, the movement speed annoys me and so the game had better be fucking awesome to make up for it.
Aarklash: Legacy - This must have come out in the wrong year or something because I'm surprised that there's not more fondness on the Codex for it, particularly given the warmth that surrounds Blackguards. It's not as deep as Blackguards by any means but it's still a meaty, challenging tactical RPG. I'm surprised that it didn't get at least a shoutout on the RPG Codex Steam Curator list, especially since Frayed Knights made the cut.
Inquisitor - Again, there might be a game there but it's too goddamn slow and the reviews are so mixed that I'm not inspired to give it any more than I already have.
Valkyira Chronicles - This game might get good eventually but I'm about 90 minutes in and the "game to anime cutscene" ratio is fucking killing me. FFS a woman just delivered a baby during this tank ride and apparently I, the driver, had no idea. Any more cutesy-wootsy and I want to put a gun in my mouth.
Xenonauts - Loved it. Loved it to pieces. It's Xcom with a facelift. How much better could something be?
Gothic 2 - Never played this one back in the day. I can see why it's so beloved and I probably would have loved it more had I played it when it came out, but it's fun to poke around in, even if it's looks positively skeletal by modern standards. Holy hell, did that interface ever take some getting used to.
Unrest - Don't know if I'll press on with this. I don't like the sensation that I'm being tricked, when every conversation seems to be so clearly "gamed" in a way that almost certainly will not matter.
Avernum: Escape From the Pit - Boy, I'm glad I wasn't paying attention back when the Exiles and Genefoges came out because you guys seem to hate poor ol'Jeff Vogel. What a weird discovery that was - you'd think that the one guy out there still churning out ugly-ass old school RPGs all through the dark days of the decline would be heralded as a saint, but nope, because he's not making Geneforge 14 and has the audacity to complain about piracy he's Gaider 2. Avernum EFTP only rises above generic occasionally but you've got your towns, you've got your quests, you've got your overworld exploration, you've got your turn-based tactical combat. If we were up to our eyeballs in games like that sure it'd probably suck by comparison, but the fact of the matter is we're not - hell, how many of the games on this already long list even offer that much?
Looking over this list, all I can say is ....it's been a very cold winter.