Ranking The 23 TRPG's I've Reviewed 

We're honored to be a part of your top ranked TRPGs! So happy to hear that you enjoyed and game and hope you're looking forward to the spin-off - Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch!

I have to recommend Battle Brothers if it's not already on your list of future reviews, it's just a terrific and wonderful take on the genre.

Some more TRPG recommendations: King's Bounty: The Legend, Blackguards, Aarklash: Legacy, The Banner Saga, Silent Storm,The Iron Oath, Legends of Eisenwald, Expeditions: Conquistador, Freedom Force, Disciples: Liberation, Mordheim: City of the Damned, Stirring Abyss, Tainted Grail: Conquest, Deep Sky Derelicts, Star Renegades, Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga, Fort Triumph, Vagrus: The Riven Realms, Ash of Gods: Redemption, Iratus: Lord of the Dead, Rogue Lords, Urtuk: The Desolation, Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones Druidstone: Secret of the Menhir Forest, Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia, Banner of the Maid.

I would add about WH40K Mechanicus, the audio atmosphere and soundtrack are a marvel, I really recommend it 😉

Troubleshooter is on sale currently. I guess time to watch that review. Great videos, keep it up with these list ones, the summarized review can help a lot when deciding to watch a review youve originally skipped on.

I love seeing these lists because it gives me a sense of what you actually like. I've watched all of your reviews and I don't think I could have come close to putting the games in order based on what you said about them in their videos. Would love to hear more about your feelings and impressions in reviews that go beyond just the bare facts!

Thank you for putting good time stamps! I mostly listen to your videos and then go back to watch the parts I have more interest in.

Troubleshooter is one of my favorite games of any genre, it is even the one that got me to use the steam profile to sort and show my favorite games on steam after a decade of not using it at all, I was just that happy with it.

I hope you add Invisible Inc. to your TRPG playlist. Never heard of Troubleshooter, gonna go and grab it! Showgunners seems like fun as well.

Troubleshooter is awesome! Great video, Mortym!

I'd recommend Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark as well. Very similar to FFT or Tactics Ogre, both mechanically and graphically. Loved the list! Lots of games I'd never even heard of, gave me a lot of different games to check out, so thank you for making this video.

Watching this back-to-back with the CRPGs video was wild. In that one I think you might have omitted maybe a single one of my faves. One this one, of my top five only BattleTech even got a mention and that was only as an aside on the Lamplighter's League entry! Of those not mentioned in the comments yet, other than all the Xcoms (Xenonauts 2 in particular is shaping up really well), Fell Seal and the Banner Saga trilogy are really worth a look. This is also not a genre short of Games Workshop entries, and even if you don't count Blood Bowl (you should!) it's definitely worth checking out the original Warhammer Quest (sadly now yanked from Steam). Dead State also probably lives here, though it's yet another in the genre of "indie that ends halfway through where it should have" common to the CRPG genre.

❤ Troubleshooters. Also recommend Dungeons of naheulbeuk, Fell seal: arbiters mark and urtuk the desolation. Troubleshooters is my second most played on steam over 700 hrs. Just behind pathfinder wotr.

This helped me find more good looking trpg, and also put more confidence in some titles that I was on the fence about. Thanks! I still have to watch the CRPG video, it has been on my watch later list.

King Arthur is really fantastic after the recent update and balancing pass.

I finally got around to Midnight Suns + all the DLC and I couldn't put it down. Many late nights telling myself "just one more mission". The social side of the game definitely needs a bit of streamlining but there were some good systems and exploratory elements in there. It makes me wonder if it would've worked better like XCOM where you can quickly zoom in and out of rooms to do your socializing and research instead of having to run around everywhere. A sequel where you have to expand Avengers tower like that could fix a lot of issues.

Thanks for the video. I was surprised, but pleased by your number 1 spot. Onward to 300k. All glory to the algorithm.

Troubleshooter is an incredible feat of character building and among the best tactical rpgs ever made, happy to see it get some recognition

Getting really invested in your content man! We have really similar taste in games and you're one of the most consistent gaming RU-vidrs.

Troubleshooters is on sale right now, just got the basegame+dlc for like $13. You've never steered me wrong with TRPGs. Showgunners was my best friend on an 8 hour flight. Cant wait! Thank you.

Love this video and appreciate the detail and longer format! Just wanted to mention that The Last Train is a spectacular TRPG based on a unique historical event and with excellent plot, aesthetic and gameplay

TRPG my favorite genre till this day, since I first time played Vandal Hearts I and II, FF Tactics.

Good recommendations! I definitely need to check some of these out.

Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga was a lot of fun. I'd give that my recommendation! A bit of a mix between Fire Emblem and Advance Wars.

Good list! You inspired me to pick up Troubleshooter again, which I haven't played in over a year after only 10% 😄

Picked up Troubleshooter when I came across your review for it. Based on the Steam Year in Review, it basically sucked me in for a solid two months of play nearing about 300 hours. It genuinely is a fantastic TRPG and the Mastery system really set the bar high for the genre.

Bro I love these videos I think one game that will go up this list if it qualifies is Unicorn Overlord that demo is awesome! Anyway awesome video as always! 👏

Hehe my first played trpg was x-com, the very first one DOS game, long time ago. Along the way I have enjoyed FFtactics and I enjoyed the first game in the Disgea series. I have purchased a lot of the games you reviewed mid list, and have yet to play them, so your insight may help inform my upcoming decision. Also thanks to you I will try to pick up Troubleshooter, showgunners, and wartales as soon as I can! I am looking forward to your Gears Tactics review, as I picked it up on sale and haven’t got around to it yet.

I see that you did an early look at it, but the TRPG Im most looking forward to right now is Cyber Knights. Looking forward to seeing where it eventually fits into this list.

Have you tried Disciples: Liberation? I personally liked that one quite a lot, although it was way different experience than older Disciples titles. And thanks for all your videos, as a huge fan of all kinds of RPG I really enjoy them.

Excellent list. Would add that I am of course still looking forward to having you review the Xcom games. Good vid

Decided to check out Troubleshooters: abandoned children after watching this video and seeing it as your favorite title along with it being on sale at the time. (As well as being interested in quite a few others to compare, since quite a few games I really enjoy are on the list.) Really liking it so far, already have over 40 hrs into it and am genuienly engaged in the characters and story, even though it definitely sometimes feels a bit limited, mainly by budget constraints and the like. You can really feel the insane amount of passion and drive the devs had for the game and the genre as a whole. I really do hope it picks up in popularity, maybe with the sequel/ second season.

I know it's not on PC (rumors say next year) but I would love a review of final fantasy tactics. The OG as well as the various sequels. I loved those games and while confusing as hell the story was also incredible.

All the way through I was thinking where is Troubleshooter. As well got into the top 4 I thought you must have forgotten you reviewed it. Colour me surprised to see it at number one. For me this one possibly pips Showgunners to the post. Although I finished that and this one is a bit of a long term project. So happy to see a game I enjoy so much and thought nobody really knew appear so high

Super interested in seeing what you think of Phoenix Point. I had a riot during beta and early in release but I get a bit lost with the latest version I played. Possibly too many systems - I didn't see many of the little weird fiction text vignettes which I loved it being based on Call of Cthulhu ideas.

You should add Septerra Core to that list of trpg's to review . That's a cool blast from the past .

Great vid! I enjoyed a lot Gloomhaven. Should definitively be in such list imo!

Thanks for the list! Really looking forward to your thoughts on Xcom 2 and Phoenix Point (plus any thoughts on the DLCs).

you are a man of fine taste. troubleshooter is amazing. I own and have played all these games. The order is pretty much spot on. arbiter's mark the fell seal and the x com games are probably the only games that are missing that I can think of at the moment. as for as x-com 2 which is great no doubt. i would probably have listed it 2nd after troubleshooter. for context I have 519 hrs. in X-Com 2 and 822 hours in trouble shooter. Honorable mention I would add Gears tactics it's an interesting take with high production values on the genres but the replay value I don't think holds up very well.

This was a great video morty thanks ❤

This list is a gold mine. Thanks so much man.

I haven't played a single game on this list. I'll have to try out some of these. Maybe after 40K Rogue Trader I'll try those two 40k titles. Thanks for the great video as always!

I would be interested in your thoughts on TRPG game mechanics and the way they can be used: Action Point vs Move-Attack, factions take turns or individual initiative, set heroes or a group of mercenaries that you use, grid vs gridless etc. I have personal favorites, D:OS2 is perfect in every way while I dislike grids and move/action. It's weird how seemingly small things make such a huge impact in the genre

Was about to ask if you'd be looking at Unicorn Overlord from Vanillaware when it releases next month but then realized it's not coming on PC so you probably aren't going to cover it. Seems really interesting. Combination of tactics RPG + the gambits from FFXII.

love how you define TRPG to CRPG. really prefer games that focus on customizing and tactical fights than storyline. 100000% agree with your number 1 pick.

I have said it a few times, but I think it would be awesome to get reviews of the Spellforce series - lots of RTS games and generally all them good or better, otherwise thank you for your videos!

You should check out the Disgaea series I'm surprised its not more well known in the gaming community. Considering your love for the mechanics of games like WOTR, Disgaea is a min-maxers dream.

Troubleshooter was not on my radar; I'm going to have to watch your full review and look further into it. As someone who waited over 20 years for Jagged Alliance 3, I'm really happy to see it rated so highly. Honestly, while I'd have only rated it a B or B- at launch, the subsequent patches have really been both numerous and spectacular and bring it all the way up to an A-. It's still not quite as good as JA2, but it's (finally) a worthy successor to the franchise and I was genuinely shocked to realize that I've put over 500 hours into the game.

I was waiting and waiting for Troubleshooter to appear, and after #2 I was like "wait where is it?", and it's #1! I've been thinking of getting it for a while now and this is the push I needed.

Totally agree with the list. Marked a lot of games I've skipped somehow. Thanks!

Awesome, thank you!

I know your library is not that much yet, but maybe you can do this with jrpgs and arpgs too? I'm really enjoying it so far.

no way i'm this early, always fantastic content, great for schleep! :)

Jagged Alliance 2 was one of my fav games as a kid. Never played Jagged Alliance 3. Think ill try it. Also thank you for all of your videos. You are the reson iv played so many crpgs.

I really liked the Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children. The customization is crazy, and how much heart they put into constant updates was really impressive

I am surprised no one has mentioned Valkyria Chronicles yet. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the series.

I recommend checking out "7,62 High Calibre" , its has very unique gameplay and uses real time with pause but actions take bit longer then you'd expect so can feel like a turn based game. Studio(Apeiron) also made two more games in same engine but first one Brigade E5: New Jagged Union feels more like a tech-demo for High Calibre. And the 3rd game Maruader is a full blown RPG but sadly it never got a proper English translation.

I somehow completely missed the release of Circus Electrique. Looks fun, gonna check it out on a sale.

I would love to see you review a few of the older fire emblem games, specifically 7,8,9,10. Those are some of the GOAT TRPGs afaic

Another option for a game like Fire Emblem on Steam is "Dark Deity". It's pretty much Fire Emblem. There is also "Symphony of War" if you are looking for more of an Ogre Battle style game. I recommend both to anyone into those games.

Funny, I just finally wrapped up my Tactics Ogre playthrough and got around to starting Trouble Shooter.

Glad you recognized the gem that Troubleshooter is !

From the list my favorite is the Showgunners, it was fun with cool characters!

If you haven't you can try Disgaea, it can be super grindy when leveling up equipment but has a lot of class depth to it. The quirky tone and some rather unique mechanics make it stand out.

Had no idea you liked the game that much; but was watching and was wondering if you forgot about Troubleshooters until I saw it rank 1. Definitely a game that I keep going back to even though I still haven't finished it. Still wondering how much I have left to go considering it looks like their second game (out in 2 years) will be a mostly different cast, since there are still so many questions I have on the story.

Troubleshooter looks like a combo of XCOM and Fire Emblem. I will look into it when I get the time. It has been on my wishlist for a while after seeing your review a while back.

I have loved both XCOM games, so thank you for this, it gives me some new ones to check out. I also really enjoyed Phoenix Point, despite some problems with it.

King arthur got a big patch recently so i gotta replay it again. Keep doing what you do Mortym!

Showgunners surprised me so much. The demo was really confusing, but the full game just blew me away. It's not very deep or long, but everything that's in there feels very polished. And I do love the whole style and presentation.

One title I’d recommend, especially since you mentioned a love of deep, rewarding systems is Library of Ruina. Its combat system is unlike nearly any other RPG. Filled to the brim with complex systems, stronger enemies have pages of passives and effects, tons of customization, etc. It also has a pretty good (and in my opinion great) story. It’s an indie game, and can be pretty rough around the edges, especially in terms of UI and the difficulty curve, but it’s absolutely worth it.

Im so happy to see Troubleshooter at #1. As someone who loves this genre the game simply amazing. It offers so much in the uniqueness of the characters and the way it gives you the ability to build them in so many ways. Plus the developers themselves are awesome. The community manager is really nice and happily talks with the fanbase. Its simply a game where you can feel the passion from the staff just overflowing in the game.

Hope the studio behind lost eidolons makes another game like it and polishes the story + gameplay depth a bit (especially on classes/jobs)

@mortisimalgaming will you ever be reviewing fell seal arbiters mark?

You should try Massive Chalice. It's small and relatively weird sometimes but worth a try.

I am curious about what you will think of Vanillaware's Unicorn Overlord.

More RPGs to add to my wishlist and eventually get a chance to play one day.

No Shadow Gambit The Cursed Crev? I did saw a review from you for this one if not mistaken

This is out of the scope of the channel but from a gameplay purist angle, I think Battletech with mods is absolutely a tremendous TRPG experience.

Damn Mort, I've got to respect the work rate!

Troubleshooter so high up? I was on the fence but yeah. Now I got to buy it!

100% agree re Midnight Suns. The combat was just so good. Hopefully Firaxis next game takes the best of this and Xcom. I'd even enjoy another IP TPRG like Midnight Suns. Shame it didnt sell too well though.

I'm surprised about your love of Trouble Shooter. I really enjoyed it. Maybe not as much as you did, but definitely in my top half. I would have liked to see Battletech, since that is still one of my favorite TRPGs of all time.

-Disgaea 2 and 4 / The best of the Disgaea series imo -The Last Spell / Very intense and great -Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark / Very much Final Fantasy Tactics -Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga / Great story and fun challenging Battles -X-Piratez / Crazy and yes (a bit lewd) mod for the original Xcom -Open Xcom Extended / the original Xcom with many improvements and mods

Not sure if you have "Cyber Knights: Flashpoint" on your list of games to take a look at already but it's a game developed by a small indie team set in a cyberpunk setting and has some interesting systems.

Would love to see the other HBS game's reviewed. Battletech and all the Shadowrun games.

You may like the switch game Valkyrie Chronicles 4. Like the fire emblem game on your list it’s got more conversation going on than would be ideal. But, mechanically, it does some interesting things. It plays a little like a cross between an action game and a tactical role playing game.

Any chance of you doing any more of the card based TRPG's like Children of the Zodiarc or Gloomhaven?

Have you tried Songs of Conquest? It's a bit different to these, but still really cool!

I clicked the video just to see where you'd put Troubleshooter. Was not disappointed. The game is simply phenomenal.

Are you playing Unicorn Overlord?! I'll want to watch that!

I was expecting Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew on yesterday's video (or did I miss it?). What genre does that fit into? Addendum: that also begs me to ask where some of the "JRPG-like" games fit too. I'm thinking mostly of Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 and a few others.

I really liked this list. 23 games may not be that much compared to 55 crpgs, but I won't say that anything is missing, just not added yet :). I wonder what older games will be added when Mort revisits this list in like year or two. Fallout Tactics ? Banner Saga trilogy ? Septerra Core ? Silent Storm :D ?

Have you played Expeditions: Conquistador? It's the first game in the Expeditions series but I'd say it's more like Wartales (thus a TRPG) than Expeditions: Rome (thus a cRPG). I presume your future list also includes The Banner Saga? I know many folk have requested the series and they're TRPGs.

How many more weeks until there will be a video about you reviewing your review lists and ranking them, Mortismal?

Have you checked out The Banner Saga trilogy? Pretty great too!

Have you ever played any of the Heroes of Might and Magic games? For an older franchise it has still got a bit of a following, especially number 3. Even as far as fan made expansions.

Troubleshooters sounds fun, but also quite intimidating. ^^ Most of these games I didnt play, but of those I did I would order quite a bit differently: 1. King Arthur Knights Tale: My opinion is pretty much the opposite of what was said here. The main campaign is actually raher well balanced, character progression is fine. The good thing is that every couple of levels there is a "jump", which I guess was perceived as balancing issue, but I would rather see as balancing readjustment. So that the balancing worked well till the end. However: What was mentioned here is somewhat true regarding the Season Endgame content. That one was quite some broken balancing. I am at 300 hours now. Still finishing the second seasonal content. It's ok, but it's not great. The mini campaign was worse and the challenges are terrible. But just playing the main campaign you will be busy for 100h. 2. Jagged Alliance 3: By far the best Jagged Alliance since Sirtech was forced to give up the license. The combat mechanics itself are great and the game is a lot of fun. But the challenge is seriously lacking. In tactical combat (as was mentioned: Sniper rifles), but also the strategic part. And with too much money from the strategic part it also bleeds over into the tactical part. So it's a curse and a blessing that it also is more of a CRPG than a tactics/strategy focused games as previous games were. If you disregard challenge and money, and just enjoy the characters, thats fun. The quests are not super satisfying either though. 3. Lamplighters League: Decent game, but lacks a lot of polished to be really good. As was mentioned. Still ok for 10-20€ or so. But not a friggin 58€ game, which is still its price to date (if you include the additional character, which was available right at launch). I dont regret having spent time on it, but I do regret having bought it for that price. 4. Hard West 2: It was mentionedn how Puzzle Heavy it is. When I realized it was a Puzzle game, with Puzzles where you don't just need to find the solution, but also need to be lucky to execute it, which on hard difficulty would lead to a massive savescum-fest, I had the game refunded. I prefer Hard West 1 by a lot.

I hope Fire Emblem: Three Houses is on that TRPG list of yours I also suggest Front Mission 3 once that remake finally drops.

You got a shout out from Timothy Cain! >.> that's cool.

Love the content, sir! Have you already played/reviewed Banner Saga?