CRPG News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Developer Tiny Trinket Games hasjust released its new CRPG, Zoria: Age of Shattering. Having played many CRPGs and, more recently, the phenomenal games released in this genre over the past few years, I was looking forward to dipping into another similar title. Unfortunately, many may have preconceptions similar to mine when initially looking at picking up Zoria: Age of Shattering. This may be setting the expectations for the game at an unfair level. Let’s look at what works, what’s lacking, and what is fun.     

Unforetold: Witchstone entered Early Access in January, and developer Spearhead Games is now ending production “indefinitely” this week on the CRPG after “difficult” financial circumstances that also see the studio laying off most of its staff.

Don't worry, you don't need to know anything about Obsidian's massive CRPGs before you dive headlong into Avowed.

In the grim darkness of the far future, you're not rewarded for being good, and many think that should be the case in games, too.

Game developer veterans from RPG companies like Obsidian and Bioware say that the temporary death of the CRPG in the early 2000s was down to retailer meddling, as outlined in a series of tweets made just before the holidays.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is crammed full of memorable, moving stories. At least one of those stories extends far beyond the Forgotten Realms into the real world too, as a fan has revealed the heartfelt tribute that developers Larian included to their father - a long-time CRPG player - diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Despite being an independent studio, Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian has such a robust background in RPG development that it can afford to take risks other, less established studios simply can't. At least, that's the perspective of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader creative director Alexander Mishulin.

Industry and CRPG veteran Josh Sawyer has weighed in on Baldur's Gate 3's gameplay and mechanics, highlighting the challenges of adapting from D&D's fifth edition.

Unforetold: Witchstone is an upcoming CRPG from Spearhead Games. Revealed at the PC Gamng Show today. Previously known as Project Witchstone, the game draws from sandbox features in letting you shape the world around you. 

Obsidian Entertainment is the developer behind some of gaming's most notable role-playing games, including Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds, and the critically-acclaimed Pentiment. However, there's one game in particular that Obsidian's key creative holds dear, and it was initially one of the developer's biggest bombs.Shared on X (formerly Twitter), veteran RPG developer Josh Sawyer shared a photo of a specially engraved watch with a note about the underrated Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, a game that the dev holds in high regard.

Pour out a, uh, Fosters? Because this arvo has been proper buggered by the surprise delay of Broken Roads, the upcoming Ozzie CRPG that was one of our most anticipated games of November until it suddenly became one of our most anticipated games of 2024, and that's, um, fair dinkum. Or maybe it's not. God, I wish one of our Australian writers was online.

Baldur’s Gate 3 shouldn’t really be considered a CRPG, according to one developer.

Ghost - a newly announced MMO from veteran Blizzard and Riot developers - is apparently taking big inspiration from the 1994 D&D setting Planescape, which already got the video game treatment in classic CRPG Planescape: Torment. 

Steam Next Fest is well underway, but one of the digital event’s must-play demos is an unexpectedly great horror CRPG.

Post-apocalyptic Australian CRPG Broken Roads is a title that's been percolating for a while now, and we got a release date trailer, but one that's sadly lacking regarding PlayStation information. The good news is that the title is still planned for the platform; the bad is that we'll have to wait a little longer to get our grasping hands on it.

A BioWare veteran recently revealed that up-and-coming developers would first cut their teeth by modding the studio’s classic Dungeons & Dragons RPG, Neverwinter Nights. 

Broken Roads has looked promising since its Australian take on a Fallout-style post-apocalypse CRPG first appeared on our radar way back in 2019. Four years later, after multiple delays, Drop Bear Bytes’ fascinating throwback is finally almost here - close enough to get a proper full release date.

Yesterday, publisher Fulqrum and developer Dreamate Games unveiled New Arc Line, an upcoming single player cRPG set in a world at a crossroads between magic and steampunk, inspired by the technological revolution of the early 20th century USA.

Baldur's Gate veteran and Dragon Age creator David Gaider has outlined their experience with cut content, after Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian addressed the issue in a recent update. 

Ukrainian development studio Dreamate has announced New Arc Line, a fantasy steampunk CRPG due out in 2024 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Check out the reveal trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.

Why did Baldur's Gate 3 blow up the way it did? We put the question to lead Larian writer Adam Smith at Gamescom, and he reckons it's partly down to the fact that it doesn't just look like Larian's traditional brand of CRPG – it's a full-fledged cinematic RPG, too.

Good combat is not everything in role-playing games, but it sure doesn’t hurt. And in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, combat is looking pretty damn good.

Baldur's Gate 3 has continued setting new records on Steam in the wake of its massively successful launch, with its latest peak concurrent player count beating that of every other CRPG and turn-based game by a large margin.

Upcoming tactical CRPG Dark Envoy caught my attention when it was announced last year, mainly because it has the undeniably cool combo of high fantasy magic and steampunk firearms. Casting you as a refugee adventurer, you’ll be shooting and/or spell-flinging across the war-ravaged world of Jäan, and you can even bring a friend along for the ride in co-op. We already knew all that good stuff, but the developers have now released a new video that delves deeper into the game’s classes and specialisations. Take a look below.

Humble Bundle’s latest collection of good games for a good price and a good cause is a whopping instant library of classic Dungeons & Dragons CRPGs, including both original Baldur’s Gate games, some similarly legendary classics and some more modern additions to the genre. It’s quite the deal.

By Antonio G. Di Benedetto, a writer covering tech deals and The Verge’s Deals newsletter, buying guides, and gift guides. Previously, he spent 15 years in the photography industry.