As a fan of classic RPG games like Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, while not particularly enjoying Baldur's Gate 3, you have a diverse range of options available to you on both Mac and PS5. These games offer rich storytelling, strategic gameplay, and immersive world's many RPG enthusiasts cherish. Below is a comprehensive list of recommended RPG games that should cater to your tastes and preferences:
For Mac Users:
1. Divinity: Original Sin 2
This game is available on Mac and comes highly praised for its depth in story and gameplay, akin to Baldur’s Gate for its complex storytelling and rich mechanics.
- Gameplay Mechanics: It emphasizes turn-based combat with significant environmental interaction. Players can manipulate their surroundings to gain advantages in combat, such as electrifying water or creating smoke cover.
- Storyline: Set in a richly detailed fantasy world, players are 'Sourcerers' pursued due to their magical abilities. The narrative is compelling and alters based on your interactions and choices.
- Unique Features: The game offers a co-op mode where friends can join and leave the campaign freely. Each player's choices can affect the game's progression and conclusion.
2. Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition
This classic CRPG is available on Mac and known for its narrative depth rather than conventional combat mechanics.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Emphasizes story and decision-making over combat, focusing on player choices which significantly impact the narrative outcome.
- Storyline: You play as the Nameless One, an immortal character exploring themes of identity and mortality in a unique world. Each decision influences player alignment and interaction outcomes.
- Unique Features: Renowned for its writing quality and philosophical themes, exploring humanity and self-perception.
3. Disco Elysium
This game is available on Mac and offers an isometric RPG experience focused heavily on narrative and dialogue.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Dialogue-driven gameplay where choices develop your character's personality and skills, with a lack of traditional combat.
- Storyline: You play as a detective in a city full of secrets and ruins, solving a murder case while navigating your character’s personal struggles.
- Unique Features: The game boasts a unique thought system where your insights and speculations evolve your character's psyche.
4. Stardew Valley
Available on Mac, this game provides a relaxing yet engaging experience outside typical RPG scopes.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Focuses on farming simulation combined with open-world exploration and light RPG elements.
- Storyline: You manage a farm inherited from your grandfather, engaging with village life and uncovering secrets of the town.
- Unique Features: Engage deeply with the local community through cooperative play, offering a rich and calming gameplay experience.
For PS5 Users:
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
This acclaimed RPG is available on PS5 and offers players a vast, open world teeming with life and rich stories.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Blends real-time combat with tactical elements through signs (magical abilities) and an alchemy system for potions.
- Storyline: Players step into the boots of Geralt of Rivia on a quest to find his missing adopted daughter against the backdrop of a world on the brink of turmoil.
- Unique Features: Known for its compelling story, the world reacts to player decisions, with multiple endings based on your choices.
2. Dragon Age: Inquisition
Available on PS5, this game is set in a vast and detailed world filled with engaging narratives and battles.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Combines action RPG dynamics with pausing strategies for commanding party members during combat. Encourages exploring a richly designed world.
- Storyline: Players become the Inquisitor, leading a group to close the Breach—a mysterious rift unleashing demons across the land.
- Unique Features: Multiple regions offer unique environments and creatures, and choices impact your companions and storyline dramatically.
3. Tales of Arise
This action RPG is available on PS5, offering stunning graphics and engaging combat.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Real-time combat system that’s highly tactical, with an emphasis on combos and character abilities.
- Storyline: Set in a vibrant world, the story follows two protagonists from different social statuses working together to change their societies.
- Unique Features: Offers a deep story filled with emotional storytelling and picturesque visuals.
4. Hades
Available on PS5, Hades provides an intense and satisfying rogue-like experience with deeply narrative elements.
- Gameplay Mechanics: A rogue-like dungeon crawler where death sets you back, but unveils more story and improvements with each attempt.
- Storyline: You play as Zagreus, the son of Hades, attempting to escape the Underworld. The story is revealed through interactions and repeated game runs.
- Unique Features: Dynamic story progression with engaging voice acting and art style, receiving widespread critical acclaim.
Cross-Platform Considerations:
1. Pillars of Eternity & Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
These games can capture the Baldur's Gate spirit with their depth and attention to story and character choice.
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Gameplay Mechanics: Isometric RPG with pause real-time combat, emphasizing party tactics and narrative.
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Storyline: Explore complex themes of fate and gods, with intertwining storylines pivoted by player decisions.
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Unique Features: Detailed world-building with reactive environments and significant consequence-focused stories.
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Widely regarded as one of the best open-world games ever made, this action-RPG is both immersive and vast.
- Gameplay Mechanics: Seamless open-world exploration with real-time combat, magic, and stealth systems coalesce into a unique gameplay experience.
- Storyline: Players explore the vast province of Skyrim, fighting dragons and participating in diverse faction quests.
- Unique Features: An immense open world that allows for a multitude of play styles and in-depth character creation options.
These mentioned games offer varying elements that should resonate with fans of classic RPGs like Baldur's Gate series. The variety in mechanics, story, and mood means you can find exactly what appeals to your gaming preferences. Whether it’s deep tactical combat, engrossing narratives, or a combination of both, these games represent some of the finest choices available across Mac and PS5 platforms.