Incline RPG Codex's Best RPGs - 2024 - VOTING IS CLOSED

[Late Bloomer]

70 / 25 As I feel that give more credence to the best games as well as offering a robust list of hidden gems for those that aren't regulars here.

 

[Konjad]

52 + 10 to 15 would be sufficient imo, but I've already shared my opinion.

Sometimes less is more.

 

[Abu Antar]

Do a "smaller" list of 50+15, but offer the files for people to check out.

 

[Butter]

Do a "smaller" list of 50+15, but offer the files for people to check out.

Yeah, the full data would be linked regardless. It's just about which titles are highlighted/get reviews included.

52 + 10 looks like this, for anyone interested:

Spoiler

Fallout
Planescape Torment
Arcanum
Deus Ex
Fallout 2
Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines
Baldur's Gate 2
Morrowind
Baldur's Gate
Fallout New Vegas
Gothic 2
Underrail
Gothic
Jagged Alliance 2
Age of Decadence
Kingdom Come Deliverance
Ultima Underworld
Wizardry 8
Disco Elysium
Icewind Dale
Dark Souls
Temple of Elemental Evil
The Witcher
Pathfinder Kingmaker
The Witcher 3
Neverwinter Nights 2
KotOR 2
Wizardry 7
Archolos
System Shock 2
Dark Sun Shattered Lands
Knights of the Chalice
Knights of the Chalice 2
Baldur's Gate 3
Betrayal at Krondor
Darklands
Diablo
Grimoire
Might and Magic 6
Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous
Daggerfall
Dragon's Dogma
Mount & Blade Warband
Dragon Age Origins
Pool of Radiance
Shadowrun Dragonfall
KotOR
Wizardry 6
Kenshi
Mass Effect
Might and Magic World of Xeen
Ultima 5

Arx Fatalis
Alpha Protocol
ATOM RPG
Brigand: Oaxaca
Caves of Lore
Wizards & Warriors
Divine Divinity
Dungeon Rats
Albion
Prelude to Darkness

 

[Abu Antar]

Hidden needs to have more entries! Anything to get Troubleshooter included.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Alpha Protocol, Divine Divinity & ATOM in the hidden gems list is just people who made their top 20 with no effort put into actual hidden gems.

 

[agris]

I don't think this decision should be entirely mine. I'm interested in different takes.

Not knocking your efforts, but this is difficult in part because I believe many people used the hidden gems list merely for listing their top 11th - 20th choices.

It would be interesting to see these lists:

1. Top X RPGs, where "top" is defined by cumulative votes tallied by adding up both top 10 and hidden gems votes. Games listed in both top and hidden gems categories by the same poster only count as a single vote. For example, 15 votes for AoD as a top 10 and 5 for a hidden gem give AoD a rating of 20 - before accounting for someone voting for AoD in both categories.

2. Hidden gems - wherein the top X games only voted for as hidden gems. This is a bit harder, because it's reasonable to call games that did make the final top 10 or top 20 but exist in that 21 - 50ish region hidden gems as well, although they their votes were collected in the top 10 bucket.

 

[Butter]

Not knocking your efforts, but this is difficult in part because I believe many people used the hidden gems list merely for listing their top 11th - 20th choices.

I'm sure some people did that. I considered a more elaborate scoring system wherein votes for Hidden Gems could count towards Top RPGs (as it sits right now, Deadifre has some votes in each category but might not make the cutoff for either list), but I didn't want it to be too convoluted or confusing.

Looking at some of these possible combinations of lists, I'm only really bothered by a few titles showing up in Hidden Gems that are more appropriate in Top RPGs (Alpha Protocol for example). Part of why I prefer 62 instead of 52 for Top RPGs is that it eliminates this problem.

 

[Hydro]

Mixed feelings. On the one hand my gorgeous boy Fallout got the well deserved prize, on the other Baldur’s Gate has only ninth place wtf?

Also having such decline as Transfinder, Shits Effect, Dragon Shit Origins and Twitcher together with cult games is pure heresy.

 

[KafkaBot]

Not knocking your efforts, but this is difficult in part because I believe many people used the hidden gems list merely for listing their top 11th - 20th choices.

I'm sure some people did that. I considered a more elaborate scoring system wherein votes for Hidden Gems could count towards Top RPGs (as it sits right now, Deadifre has some votes in each category but might not make the cutoff for either list), but I didn't want it to be too convoluted or confusing.

Looking at some of these possible combinations of lists, I'm only really bothered by a few titles showing up in Hidden Gems that are more appropriate in Top RPGs (Alpha Protocol for example). Part of why I prefer 62 instead of 52 for Top RPGs is that it eliminates this problem.

I think it might be a good idea to remove any titles that made it into the "main" list from Hidden Gems. The Codex does like a bunch of obscure games, but having the same title show up on both lists feels redundant; one could argue a game it isn't all that hidden if it was popular enough here to show up in a "Best RPGs" list.

As for the main list: PST in second place (and not the first) and Disco Elysium out of the top 10 is pure decline, but Deus Ex at #4 and Bloodlines at #6 sort of compensate for that.

The first Baldur's Gate doesn't really deserve a spot in the top 10 (the previous list had it at #19, a far more reasonable position), but eeeh, at least it is not BG3.

 

[felipepepe]

I like the first list of hidden gems, it just feels weird to list Arx Fatalis, Alpha Brotocol and Divine Divinity as hidden gems.

Then again, Knights of the Chalice 2 somehow is not a hidden gem, despite not even getting 100 reviews on Steam... like agris said, I think people gamed the system too hard.

As a curiosity, this is how it looks if you combine the votes from both lists:

Top 76

#	TITLE	VOTES
1	Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game	107
2	Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura	86
3	Planescape: Torment	85
4	Deus Ex	77
5	Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines	71
6	Fallout 2	69
7	Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn	66
8	Underrail	55
9	Age of Decadence	54
10	The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind	51
11	Fallout: New Vegas	48
12	Baldur's Gate	47
13	Gothic II	44
14	Gothic	38
15	Arx Fatalis	33
16	Jagged Alliance 2	31
17	Kingdom Come: Deliverance	30
18	Darklands	29
19	Knights of the Chalice	28
20	The Chronicles of Myrtana: Archolos	27
20	Knights of the Chalice 2	27
20	Alpha Protocol	27
23	Wizardry 8	26
23	Disco Elysium	26
25	Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss	25
26	Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar	24
26	Dark Sun: Shattered Lands	24
28	The Temple of Elemental Evil	23
28	Shadowrun: Dragonfall	23
28	Icewind Dale	23
31	The Witcher III: Wild Hunt	22
31	The Witcher	22
31	Pathfinder: Kingmaker	22
31	Neverwinter Nights 2	22
31	ATOM RPG	22
36	Kenshi	21
36	Dark Souls	21
38	Wizards & Warriors	20
39	Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant	19
40	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords	18
41	Prelude to Darkness	17
41	Dungeon Rats	17
41	Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen	17
41	Betrayal at Krondor	17
45	System Shock 2	16
45	Brigand: Oaxaca	16
47	The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall	15
47	Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous	15
47	Divine Divinity	15
47	Caves of Lore	15
47	Albion	15
52	Tales of Maj'Eyal	14
52	NEO Scavenger	14
52	Mount & Blade: Warband	14
52	Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven	14
52	Geneforge	14
52	Baldur's Gate III	14
58	Diablo	13
59	Titan Outpost	12
59	Pool of Radiance	12
59	Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor	12
59	Battle Brothers	12
59	Avernum: Escape from the Pit	12
64	Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny	11
64	Space Rangers 2	11
64	Mass Effect	11
64	Dragon Age: Origins	11
64	Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game	11
64	Blackguards	11
70	Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge	10
70	Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children	10
70	The Dark Heart of Uukrul	10
70	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic	10
70	Might and Magic IV-V: World of Xeen	10
70	Expeditions: Conquistador	10
70	Anachronox	10

Personally, I like this more. Arx Fatalis at #15 on the main list is good and proper

 

[Reality]

Only 6 games new to list + all time low attendance = it was just too soon since the last poll

 

[agris]

Personally, I like this more

It’s a good list. Knocks PST down, and W1 is tied for W3 which is is about a 100 musd slice of polish humble pie

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

A hidden gems vote should not count the same as a Top RPG vote. If the game was good enough for the voter, they could've added it into their top 10, just like I did. You also have retards like Beans with no knowledge of games (and many others) who put very mainstream games in their "hidden gems".

 

[Zoo]

A hidden gems vote should not count the same as a Top RPG vote. If the game was good enough for the voter, they could've added it into their top 10, just like I did. You also have retards like Beans with no knowledge of games (and many others) who put very mainstream games in their "hidden gems".

I presume, Wizards & Warriors ranks only blhigher than Wizardry 7, because most voters only considered the first as hidden gem.

 

[Konjad]

As a curiosity, this is how it looks if you combine the votes from both lists:

Top 76

#	TITLE	VOTES
1	Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game	107
2	Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura	86
3	Planescape: Torment	85
4	Deus Ex	77
5	Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines	71
6	Fallout 2	69
7	Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn	66
8	Underrail	55
9	Age of Decadence	54
10	The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind	51
11	Fallout: New Vegas	48
12	Baldur's Gate	47
13	Gothic II	44
14	Gothic	38
15	Arx Fatalis	33
16	Jagged Alliance 2	31
17	Kingdom Come: Deliverance	30
18	Darklands	29
19	Knights of the Chalice	28
20	The Chronicles of Myrtana: Archolos	27
20	Knights of the Chalice 2	27
20	Alpha Protocol	27
23	Wizardry 8	26
23	Disco Elysium	26
25	Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss	25
26	Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar	24
26	Dark Sun: Shattered Lands	24
28	The Temple of Elemental Evil	23
28	Shadowrun: Dragonfall	23
28	Icewind Dale	23
31	The Witcher III: Wild Hunt	22
31	The Witcher	22
31	Pathfinder: Kingmaker	22
31	Neverwinter Nights 2	22
31	ATOM RPG	22
36	Kenshi	21
36	Dark Souls	21
38	Wizards & Warriors	20
39	Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant	19
40	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords	18
41	Prelude to Darkness	17
41	Dungeon Rats	17
41	Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen	17
41	Betrayal at Krondor	17
45	System Shock 2	16
45	Brigand: Oaxaca	16
47	The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall	15
47	Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous	15
47	Divine Divinity	15
47	Caves of Lore	15
47	Albion	15
52	Tales of Maj'Eyal	14
52	NEO Scavenger	14
52	Mount & Blade: Warband	14
52	Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven	14
52	Geneforge	14
52	Baldur's Gate III	14
58	Diablo	13
59	Titan Outpost	12
59	Pool of Radiance	12
59	Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor	12
59	Battle Brothers	12
59	Avernum: Escape from the Pit	12
64	Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny	11
64	Space Rangers 2	11
64	Mass Effect	11
64	Dragon Age: Origins	11
64	Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game	11
64	Blackguards	11
70	Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge	10
70	Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children	10
70	The Dark Heart of Uukrul	10
70	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic	10
70	Might and Magic IV-V: World of Xeen	10
70	Expeditions: Conquistador	10
70	Anachronox	10

Wow, this list is a pure incline!

That said, it would be disingenuous to change counting after voting.

 

[Red Hexapus]

As a curiosity, this is how it looks if you combine the votes from both lists:

Top 76

#	TITLE	VOTES
1	Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game	107
2	Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura	86
3	Planescape: Torment	85
4	Deus Ex	77
5	Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines	71
6	Fallout 2	69
7	Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn	66
8	Underrail	55
9	Age of Decadence	54
10	The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind	51
11	Fallout: New Vegas	48
12	Baldur's Gate	47
13	Gothic II	44
14	Gothic	38
15	Arx Fatalis	33
16	Jagged Alliance 2	31
17	Kingdom Come: Deliverance	30
18	Darklands	29
19	Knights of the Chalice	28
20	The Chronicles of Myrtana: Archolos	27
20	Knights of the Chalice 2	27
20	Alpha Protocol	27
23	Wizardry 8	26
23	Disco Elysium	26
25	Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss	25
26	Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar	24
26	Dark Sun: Shattered Lands	24
28	The Temple of Elemental Evil	23
28	Shadowrun: Dragonfall	23
28	Icewind Dale	23
31	The Witcher III: Wild Hunt	22
31	The Witcher	22
31	Pathfinder: Kingmaker	22
31	Neverwinter Nights 2	22
31	ATOM RPG	22
36	Kenshi	21
36	Dark Souls	21
38	Wizards & Warriors	20
39	Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant	19
40	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords	18
41	Prelude to Darkness	17
41	Dungeon Rats	17
41	Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen	17
41	Betrayal at Krondor	17
45	System Shock 2	16
45	Brigand: Oaxaca	16
47	The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall	15
47	Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous	15
47	Divine Divinity	15
47	Caves of Lore	15
47	Albion	15
52	Tales of Maj'Eyal	14
52	NEO Scavenger	14
52	Mount & Blade: Warband	14
52	Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven	14
52	Geneforge	14
52	Baldur's Gate III	14
58	Diablo	13
59	Titan Outpost	12
59	Pool of Radiance	12
59	Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor	12
59	Battle Brothers	12
59	Avernum: Escape from the Pit	12
64	Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny	11
64	Space Rangers 2	11
64	Mass Effect	11
64	Dragon Age: Origins	11
64	Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game	11
64	Blackguards	11
70	Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge	10
70	Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children	10
70	The Dark Heart of Uukrul	10
70	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic	10
70	Might and Magic IV-V: World of Xeen	10
70	Expeditions: Conquistador	10
70	Anachronox	10

Wow, this list is a pure incline!

That said, it would be disingenuous to change counting after voting.

It's quite good, why not keep it as an alternative list?

As for the complete list I would personally go for 70 + 25, nice selection of both top and hidden gem games.

 

[NotSweeper]

>PFKM up to 24 from 13
You guys are such shitters.

A pity Cyberpunk 2077 didn't make it.

See, I'm not even gonna touch this. Way too obvious.

 

[lukaszek]

That said, it would be disingenuous to change counting after voting.

fiddling with results is best codex tradition

 

[502]

Fallout 2 is always so insanely overrated in these lists.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Just keep the top 50+15 list but cut Alpha Brotocol, Arx Fatalis & Divine Divinity from the hidden gems list. Problem solved.

 

[Shaki]

I like the first list of hidden gems, it just feels weird to list Arx Fatalis, Alpha Brotocol and Divine Divinity as hidden gems.

Then again, Knights of the Chalice 2 somehow is not a hidden gem, despite not even getting 100 reviews on Steam... like agris said, I think people gamed the system too hard.

As a curiosity, this is how it looks if you combine the votes from both lists:

Top 76

#	TITLE	VOTES
1	Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game	107
2	Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura	86
3	Planescape: Torment	85
4	Deus Ex	77
5	Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines	71
6	Fallout 2	69
7	Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn	66
8	Underrail	55
9	Age of Decadence	54
10	The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind	51
11	Fallout: New Vegas	48
12	Baldur's Gate	47
13	Gothic II	44
14	Gothic	38
15	Arx Fatalis	33
16	Jagged Alliance 2	31
17	Kingdom Come: Deliverance	30
18	Darklands	29
19	Knights of the Chalice	28
20	The Chronicles of Myrtana: Archolos	27
20	Knights of the Chalice 2	27
20	Alpha Protocol	27
23	Wizardry 8	26
23	Disco Elysium	26
25	Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss	25
26	Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar	24
26	Dark Sun: Shattered Lands	24
28	The Temple of Elemental Evil	23
28	Shadowrun: Dragonfall	23
28	Icewind Dale	23
31	The Witcher III: Wild Hunt	22
31	The Witcher	22
31	Pathfinder: Kingmaker	22
31	Neverwinter Nights 2	22
31	ATOM RPG	22
36	Kenshi	21
36	Dark Souls	21
38	Wizards & Warriors	20
39	Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant	19
40	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords	18
41	Prelude to Darkness	17
41	Dungeon Rats	17
41	Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen	17
41	Betrayal at Krondor	17
45	System Shock 2	16
45	Brigand: Oaxaca	16
47	The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall	15
47	Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous	15
47	Divine Divinity	15
47	Caves of Lore	15
47	Albion	15
52	Tales of Maj'Eyal	14
52	NEO Scavenger	14
52	Mount & Blade: Warband	14
52	Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven	14
52	Geneforge	14
52	Baldur's Gate III	14
58	Diablo	13
59	Titan Outpost	12
59	Pool of Radiance	12
59	Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor	12
59	Battle Brothers	12
59	Avernum: Escape from the Pit	12
64	Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny	11
64	Space Rangers 2	11
64	Mass Effect	11
64	Dragon Age: Origins	11
64	Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game	11
64	Blackguards	11
70	Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge	10
70	Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children	10
70	The Dark Heart of Uukrul	10
70	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic	10
70	Might and Magic IV-V: World of Xeen	10
70	Expeditions: Conquistador	10
70	Anachronox	10

Personally, I like this more. Arx Fatalis at #15 on the main list is good and proper

The best list, tbh. Arcanum above PST, Troubleshooter and Battle brothers are in

 

[Butter]

OK, the numbers I'm leaning towards now are 70+14. I think that's a good balance of exclusivity + showcasing more good games. I like that it mirrors 2014's top 70, that it has fewer total games than 2019 (which dipped into some shit-tier stuff for the sake of a meme), and my autism is satisfied by 70 being evenly divisible by 14.

Here's a crude mockup I made to show what the collage might look like (inspired by 2019's collage here: https://rpgcodex.net/gallery/16928.jpg).

 

[Shaki]

OK, the numbers I'm leaning towards now are 70+14. I think that's a good balance of exclusivity + showcasing more good games. I like that it mirrors 2014's top 70, that it has fewer total games than 2019 (which dipped into some shit-tier stuff for the sake of a meme), and my autism is satisfied by 70 being evenly divisible by 14.

Here's a crude mockup I made to show what the collage might look like (inspired by 2019's collage here: https://rpgcodex.net/gallery/16928.jpg).

View attachment 49338

Not the perfect top list for my taste, but eh, looks decent enough.

Hidden gems list tho, looks actually really good here. Approved.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

At at glance, this list looks off. Quite a significant shift from the last one. For example, in a list of 101, D:OS and D:OS 2 placed #30 and #31 for greatest all time CRPGs. Now they're not even ranked. I would expect far more consistency out of a GOAT list. This one isn't awful, but it seems a bit off. I'm not just projecting biases either. Consider Pillars of Eternity. I have a pretty low opinion of that game, but it previously ranked #45 out of 101 GOAT. Now it's just gone. That's a massive shift. Then consider Diablo & Diablo 2. Previously D2 was 6 ranks above D1, but is now 16 ranks behind D1. Very inconsistent. I don't like it. We've got a problem with our sample pool, I think.