What games would you guys recommend for a guy near 50, who doesn’t have a gaming pc (my laptop is an i7, 16gb RAM and using onboard graphics) which tend to have an older community? I used to play RPG’s and my least favorite games are those first person war games.
Something that doesn’t require synchronous gaming and doesn’t have a lot of stress would be even nicer.
Thanks for any input!
The Shadowrun video games I think are really good “starter” rpgs. They’re a lot of fun, plus the setting of Shadowrun is fascinating, and wanting to explore it and learn more really gets you invested. Although the third game in the trilogy is the best, I would actually start with the second game. Its still an excellent game, but playing it before the third game showcases how much they improved almost every aspect. Also although its a “trilogy”, each game is its own story. The only connection is the shared setting/world. In summary, play Shadowrun: Dragonfall, then Shadowrun: Hong Kong. Have fun!
As a shadowrun GM, I really like those games. Rules-wise, they have very little in common with the tabletop RPG apart from using a few of the same words, but they capture the lore and the feel of the world really well.
Yeah its definitely a far simpler version of the tabletop ruleset, which I think might be its strongest feature. Not to rag on it, but the Shadowrun system is an absolute mess, and incredibly difficult to run.
Will check it. Thanks!!
How about: Stardew Valley, Dwarf Fortress, Legends of Grimrock or Rift Wizard? Vastly different genres though.
Also dead cells, Rim world, into the breach, slay the spire. Ran fine on my old i5.
I’ve played Stardew Valley and loved it until the part where it’s only about getting that perfection score. Dwarf Fortress seems very complex. Can you play it casually? I saw that it involves a lot of reading which doesn’t threatens me but if by playing it casually I would be missing most of the stuff maybe it’s too demanding. Legend of Grimrock look very old-school, remembers me of Elvira!! Does it have any sort of a community?
Dwarf fortress is very complex but it’s also very chill. You can spend a lot of time reading, but you don’t have to read every single little detail. Grimrock is old school style dungeon crawl which is a lot of fun, I haven’t played it very much myself! There is two in the series iirc.
Rimworld is a great game and will run on your laptop.
Have you heard of stardew valley? Its a calm 2d farming sim that has some combat and a lot of interpersonal relationships with the villagers pf your town.
@d3fc0n1 I’ll never not recommend Dwarf Fortress
I didn’t knew the game and a couple of replies mentioned it. Must say that it looks like something extremely fun and addicting but also very daunting!
If you want to get your feet wet in the genre without diving into the bottomless pit of possibilities that is DF, I’d heavily recommend RimWorld. It’s basically a simplified, streamlined DF with a futuristic space theme.
Thanks. Do people play Dwarf Fortress Classic or the Steam version more?
I think a lot more play the Steam one, as it looks better
Cool. Probably because of saving also, right? Since it’s a game you can play for a long time…
You can save in the ASCII version too though, but yeah I’d recommend the steam version.
Stardew Valley is a stress-free game and runs on anything. Maybe look into Terraria as well.
Love it! Already finished it (not exactly 100% perfection, but… the story is complete)
Slay the Spire!! It’s all single player but it’s a ton of fun. It’s a single player deck building card battle game. I’ve got nearly 2000 hours in it. Very light weight to run, and that computer can definitely run it.
As an RPG game I think Neverwinter Nights is worth taking a look (you might have even played it when it was brand new) There is an enhanced edition that was first published a few years back that among other things, brought back online gaming without having to mess around. I think the community fits the bill nicely and in some groups you might not even be among the oldest.
Although you can play it solo, it’s at multiplayer where it shines. Also, apart from official content, there’s a ton of community content, some of it far better than official one.
Factorio has been also mentioned. Think of puzzle / problem solving / logistics / base building kind of game. There’s a playable demo (probably >10 hours worth of content but I can’t say for sure, I didn’t need so long to decide it was my thing) so you can check it out before purchasing.
Additional info :
- First game, try to go in as blind as possible (no tutorial/videos, walkthroughs, …) You can only beat the game for the first time /without prior knowledge once
- You can find the game referred as cracktorio. For many, the main cost of the game is not the purchase, but the electricity needed to run it for so long
- You can play it without bitters (enemies) so there’s no rush in completing it. You just build as you see fit
I would also add Minecraft, Terraria, Stardew Valley for the chill factor.
You shouldn’t have problems with any of these games on your laptop.
Minecraft is not my type of game but Stardew Valley is and I finished it :) (not 100% perfection though)
I have Neverwinter Nights in my Steam library I now feel very tempted to finally start playing it! Do you happen to know where the community gathers?
Thank you very much for your input.
(the following applies to enhanced edition)
Playerwise, the main servers (main as in where most players connect, not necessarily the best) are Arelith and Ravenloft, but you can check status and playercount here: https://nwn.beamdog.net/
Both of them are role-playing servers, you act/speak as your character at all times (it’s far less daunting than what it might seem)
Ravenloft is gothic horror themed, think Curse of Strahd from pen and paper. https://www.nwnravenloft.com/
Arelith is based on Forgotten Realms, in/around an island far in the west. https://nwnarelith.com/
Both of them have a lot of custom mechanics, classes, … not found on the base game. Also, both of them are big. They are probably over 1000 different areas (as a reference, the full base campaign, The Wailing Death has less than 100 areas (from the top of my head))
In case you want to try Arelith, it’s split between a few (interconnected) servers. You probably want to check the Distant Shores one. It’s designed for new players / low level characters.
There are also some action oriented, no RP required, just kill & loot if that’s more of your thing. There’s one I personally liked but it’s been offline for a while, hometown diablo. I also tried one based on middle earth for a while.
Just check a few (smaller servers might seem “less lively” but DM run events might be more custom tailored) and see which one you like most.
To connect, just click on multiplayer and connect to a server. It might take a while as the game will download all the custom content used in the server.
Just saved your comment and will use it as a guide. Like your say seems a bit daunting to role play in servers but honestly, in these times, it might as well be what I’m needing in my life. Thanks once again.
Terraria!
Terraria!
That’s my second most played
Into The Breach is turn based, so if you like old RPG turn based combat, you’ll feel comfortable. The graphics are very retro as well.
You control mechs fighting against giant bug enemies. The game can be more of a puzzle, as your mechs have different abilities that aren’t always obvious how they’d be beneficial.
The game is very short and encourages replays. You can mix and match different mechs to form different squads.
I’m assuming by first person war games, you mean the well-known first person shooters, such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, Arma, etc.
Have you already played the Bethesda Games: Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4? These should most likely run on your system, als the last one came out 8 years ago, however they do feature real-time combat.
Other than that, the older Final Fantasy games are now on Steam and should run on your system, such as Final Fantasy X. Depending on the game, they feature turn-based combat, so you can leave at any time, if that is what you meant by synchronous gaming.
There are also the classic more sandbox games, such as Minecraft or Stardew Valley.
Then there is the narrative driven games, such as To the moon.
Most 2d RPGs, such as Bastion, Binding of Isaac, Transistor, etc. should also work on you system, but they almost always feature fast paced combat, which might be too stressful, depending on your definition of too much stress.
For better recommendations on what your system can run, it’s probably best to post your Laptop model, or at least the CPU Model, as the first i7s do date back quite a few years ago. Also, as there exists a lot of games, it’s helpful to specify a bit more what you’re into, such as Open World, Turn-based Combat, etc.
Thanks for your time in answering me.
Yeah, that’s exactly what I meant, just didn’t know that they were called “shooters” but it makes sense! I’ve played FF VII on PSx and definitely is the kind of game I like (maybe because it’s turn based, so no stress is involved). Also, Stardew Valley was the last game I’ve played. So, you’re right on spot.
I was searching for something more story driven and with a more mature community, so I think I’ll check the Fallout series. My CPU is a i7-10510U. I don’t know if there are open world games with turn-based combat, but that would be like the soft-spot for me. Also, community is very important, because I feel that, at my age, I just want to connect with nice people who casually have a same hobby. World is too fucked up to let ourselves vanish in the foam of the tide.
A have a couple of friends who played WoW for many years and although I never got into it, their community sense was really cool. If I could find something not so tight in terms of scheduling your gameplay and with a nice community, I guess I would dedicate my time to it.
MMORPGs like WoW will always have a strong sense of community, but they do require dedicating a lot of time, as they’re multiplayer only. Other than that it’s the long running single player games, which have remained fan favorites (Mass Effect, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, The Witcher, Dragon Age, etc.)
If community is your main focus, I’d recommend checking out the board game community (maybe at your local game shop, if you’ve got one close by). Some of the board games rival video games in complexity. Then you can join or grow your local community and meet people in real life.
There exists the genre of narrative focused, open world, turn-based combat RPGs, often called isometric RPGs, which is basically D&D as a video game. Notable entries are Divinity: Original Sin (I & II), Baldur’s Gate, Pathfinder: Kingmaker / Wrath of the righteous.
I’d also suggest you quickly google your Graphics Card (Intel UHD 620) and the name of the video game, before buying something. Often there are some videos of people playing them on either the previous Generation (Intel UHD 520) or your graphics card. Then you can get an impression on how it’ll run on your system.
Thank you very much. I think isometric RPGs will be the sort of thing I’ll definitely try.
Sorry for not being to focused but yeah, after this brainstorm with your help I think I’m searching for something that mimics board games (which I love and play) more than anything else. Maybe it’s this year that I finally get into D&D playing, since I have the books for 5ed and enjoyed reading them very much but never played.
That genre of “isometric” RPGs are sometimes also called “CRPGs” (where the C stands for either “Classic” or “Computer” depending on who you ask)
I recommend Dragon Age Origins, Divinity Original Sin, Pathfinder Kingmaker, and Pillars of Eternity
No worries, video games are a huge market, so it’ll always take some time to find the niche which fits you best.
There exist a few online and PC versions of well-known board games, such as Dominion, Codenames or Scythe. And there is the general purpose Tabletop Simulator. I haven’t looked at those, but you might want to look into them.
- Baldur’s Gate: A classic and relatively chill game, with a more or less functional multiplayer. Be an old timey DnD adventuring party going on a quest, kill gnolls by the dozen, and careful you don’t blow up your own party with a poorly aimed spell!
- Morrowind: I’ll pitch this to everyone because I’m one of those fangirls who can’t get through the day without mentioning it at least once. It is first person but it doesn’t play like a shooter at all. One of the best RPGs ever made imo with incredible lore and one of the best magic systems ever made, just have to get past some of the dated mechanics.
- Planet Crafter: It is still a bit clunky (really small dev team I think just 2 people) but getting to watch the world change as you terraform it is really rewarding. Pacing is fairly slow it is a good calm game.
- Loop Hero: Fascinating story. Solid roguelike with a quick gameplay loop.
- Contraption Maker: Rube Goldberg machines the game! You’re given partially completed machines and a box of parts to try and complete them. There is a custom level creator and you can share levels with people.
- Vampire Survivor: Bullet hell style game but you’re the murder machine fighting hordes of monsters. Very minimalist controls makes for good brain-off gameplay (pretty much all you do is use joystick to place yourself and the weapons auto-attack). Lots and lots of references to other games especially yesteryear classics in the Castlevania genre.
- Don’t Starve / Don’t Starve Together: Single / multiplayer. Servers can be run with asynchronous gameplay. I don’t have a lot of experience with the public servers but playing with friends is great fun. It is a survival horror crafter type game with a cutesy art style. It can be both relaxing and incredibly manic at times.
Things that are a bit outside of your usual zone but are my personal chill favorites and might be enjoyable to look into (they’re all on Steam): RimWorld, Banished, Above Snakes, Factorio, Age of Wonders, Pillars of Eternity
Project Zomboid! Easily one of the most feature rich zombie games I have ever played. It’s basically “the Sims” on steroids with zombies.
Your laptop should be able to handle it easily. It takes a while to figure things out, but you can tweak the zombie settings to your preference. It also has a multiplayer option if you’re looking for a community while playing.
I’ll tell you one thing, I just lost The Game…
