8 RPGs That Felt Like the End of an Era Before Modern Games Changed the Genre Forever

Old school RPGs can be janky, and it can be very hard to get into if you’re used to playing games made from 2015 and later. There is a clear leap in technology, graphics, and storytelling when it comes to RPGs made before and after 2015, and some elements that were very common in RPGs will likely never be seen again, for better or worse.

Some studios and game series reached their peak before 2015, and became a symbol of the era. Its decline marked the end of this era of RPGs, and studios either adapted to the new format, or they couldn’t keep up and failed. Either way, these last of their kind games are still worth playing, with any junk or complicated graphics.

8

Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn

The End of the BioWare Era

One of the few BioWare games on this list, Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn was the last isometric CRPG they made before moving on to games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and their IPs.

Isometric CRPGs have had something of a renaissance thanks to Larian’s efforts, but the isometric CRPGs of the 2000s were very different from what we see today. Baldur’s Gate 2 required a lot of reading, a seemingly boring task, but it went a long way in establishing the lore, creating immersion, and giving the characters and party members engaging dialogue.

7

Neverwinter Nights 2

Players Can Create Custom Campaigns

Photo by Aspyr

Models like Skyblivion are an interesting way for players to create their own campaigns within their favorite games, but it was very easy to do. Neverwinter Nights 2 was one of the last games to be able to do this. I remember the LAN parties where we played our custom campaign in Neverwinter Nights 2, which was something that co-op mode in modern RPGs hardly emulates.

Homebrew campaigns are the bread and butter of TTRPGs, and having them in a published CRPG was something that was unlikely to happen again anytime soon. Either way, we haven’t seen anything like custom campaigns for Neverwinter Nights 2 since.

6

Star Wars: The Old Republic

A Disappointing End to the Story

This may seem strange, but for those who remember waiting for the sequel to Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords, the news that there is no sequel and will not be a sequel was a bitter pill to swallow. Instead, we got Star Wars: The Old Republic, an MMO set centuries after the last KotOR game and every character we knew and loved would be dead, while the conflict would be so removed from the two original games that it would be a completely different story.

This wasn’t the last time a video game publisher decided to go the MMO route instead of a single-player game that hurt the story. SWTOR wasn’t a bad game by any means, and it actually had some deep storytelling, but it was a far cry from the two Knights of the Old Republic games it was based on. Before its release, there was always hope that there would be a third KotOR game.

5

The Witcher 2: Slayer of Kings

Height of Hub

The Witcher 2 is often overlooked due to its strong following, but it’s a great example of what RPGs were like before studios got hit with open world mania. It is organized around hubs rather than the open worlds with cities typical of modern RPGs.

This game design is one of the ways that makes The Witcher 2 feel like a game from another time. It’s completely removed from The Witcher 3 in terms of its game design, and it’s a product of its time. Having such a gap between two games is rare, and The Witcher franchise is one to bring home how quickly games change.

4

Dragon Age: Origins

The ultimate CRPG of the 2000s

Dragon Age: Origins was another BioWare IP, one that wasn’t as popular as Mass Effect, but had a very dedicated fan base. I remember very well when Dragon Age Origins was released, and it was actually my favorite BioWare game for years since I didn’t play Mass Effect until the controversy that ended ME3 was resolved.

The 2000s was the era of great CRPGs, and Dragon Age Origins was the last of them. It gave us a new world, amazing history and characters, and a story that could be told in many different ways. Thinking about how Dragon Age ultimately ended makes me sad, especially when I think about where it started, and the hope we all had for its abilities.

3

Fall: New Vegas

A Very Different Game From Modern Fallout Games

The only Fallout RPGs released since Fallout: New Vegas are Fallout 76, an MMO, and Fallout 4, a game so different from its predecessors that it falls firmly into the modern RPG category. Fallout: New Vegas emphasizes character, choice, and consequence, something Fallout 4 arguably falls short in many areas.

Fallout 4 introduced many of the mechanics of what would become a staple of Bethesda’s other games, which is residential building. Fallout: New Vegas is the last Fallout game that prioritized its story and characters and continued the stories until the end, making it a game from another era of RPGs.

2

Main Result 3

The True End of Miss Effect

Mass Effect 3 was essentially the end of an era. Shepard’s story, which we have been following all three games, has come to an end. Because we couldn’t transfer our saves, Mass Effect 3 took into account all of our decisions over the course of two games, including Shepard’s appearance, relationships, and small decisions that could have a big impact.

It was the last Mass Effect game that would feature decisions like this, a plan that BioWare would eventually abandon. Modern RPGs generally don’t use the save transfer system anymore, which is a disappointing fact, especially since it used to be effective for story progression and character selection.

Where RPGs Don’t Give Clues

It’s common now for games to feature maps and fast travel, but that wasn’t always the case. Morrowind is perhaps the most famous example of a game that doesn’t hold your hand, which can be a huge learning curve if your only experience is modern games. It can also be very frustrating – you’re moving slowly, there’s no way to know if you’re going in the right direction, and there’s a lot to do.

Once you get used to it, though, this style of play has an immersion like no other. Checking your journal to confirm locations and directions, consulting your map, and being swept away by everything you encounter is the kind of magic that only comes with these games. Morrowind was the last Elder Scrolls game to do this, and it’s unlikely we’ll ever see games like it again.