LF a good single player RPG with lots of NPC interaction

[DarthFalcon]

Just like the title says, i want RPGs that have a lot of interaction between your character and other NPCs beyond just smashing their faces in or shooting them. A few examples of what I'm looking for based on what I've played:

Mass Effect trilogy

Any TES game

Fallout 3 & New Vegas

The Witcher (have only just begun but am already in love with it)

Deus Ex series

KOTOR series

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

Gothic franchise

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Divinity 2 (both parts)

 

These are all examples of what I'm looking for, and what I can think of so far that I own/have played. Also, PLEASE don't start a debate here about what's classified as an RPG and what isn't, if you think you know a game that fits what I'm looking for, please do post it, but don't tear people apart for their recommendations or respond with "ZOMG dis gamez is nots an RPGses!", I'd like to keep this a clean discussion :)

[Shadiva]

My first thought was the Old republic 2 but i see you already played that :biggrin: dont see Dragon Age: Origins, if you havent played that, its wonderfull! give it a try if you want :laugh:

[Vindekarr]

There's a The Witcher 2, which was bada$$, and there's also Dragon's Dogma,

 

It's a superb RPG, but lacks some of the NPC stuff. There is a funny little glitch in DD though, it's sublime game, but there's a bug where the more you talk to an NPC, the more they like you. protip: don't always reuse the same merchant, or you'll end up kissing/hugging them on the counter, in public, with passion. It's innocent enough to be sidesplittingly hilarious, but also a little embarrising the first time it happens and catches you off-guard. This game also absolutely NAILS class and character design, and combat aswell; you can play it nearly any way and as you level up your character really transforms from a helpless little grot into a kick ass... whatever. You can be ANYTHING, I made a four foot tall, 90 KG bald bodybuilder slab called "mini-diesel" who was a stealthy wizard with a gigantic greatsword sword(weapons don't scale). ANYTHING goes here. ANYTHING. Plus there's NG+ and like, 90 hours of gameplay. You'll love it; it's a proper old fashioned RPG.

 

You'd love Dark Souls, it's IMO one of the finest RPGs in the world today, but then again you might hate it for the same reason I love it. People either love it to the point of saying "good morning, sexy" to their disk in the morning, or hate it to the point of throwing their disk out the window while screaming and setting their hair on fire. The reason being it's uhh, I don't know how to put it. "unkind" development style. It's not badly designed, it's just... cruelly designed. Dark Souls is a very dark game designed to push your skills to the very limit, I LOVE it for that, but hell, some people can't stand dying... a lot. It doesn't bother me, my character's undead anyway, but it's not for everyone. Hell just the name of the special edition should warn you: "prepare to die" edition? The real strength is the swordplay, which is almost unmatched by any modern sword game except maybe War Of The Roses. It's epic steel clangin' dragon' slaying good times. Or agony, horror, and unending torturous frustration. Depends on you; if you're an automasochist who likes their games to spank them a few times with a proverbial tennis racquet, you'll love it. If you're a short fused cannonball, you might want to take anger management classes beforehand.

 

Kingom Of Amalur. Some people love it, I thought it was a little dull. Give it a spin and see what you think.

 

I hate to say it though, but you've played through almost all the good SP RPGs of this generation.

[hoofhearted4]

There's a The Witcher 2, which was bada$$, and there's also Dragon's Dogma,

 

It's a superb RPG, but lacks some of the NPC stuff. There is a funny little glitch in DD though, it's sublime game, but there's a bug where the more you talk to an NPC, the more they like you. protip: don't always reuse the same merchant, or you'll end up kissing/hugging them on the counter, in public, with passion. It's innocent enough to be sidesplittingly hilarious, but also a little embarrising the first time it happens and catches you off-guard. This game also absolutely NAILS class and character design, and combat aswell; you can play it nearly any way and as you level up your character really transforms from a helpless little grot into a kick ass... whatever. You can be ANYTHING, I made a four foot tall, 90 KG bald bodybuilder slab called "mini-diesel" who was a stealthy wizard with a gigantic greatsword sword(weapons don't scale). ANYTHING goes here. ANYTHING. Plus there's NG+ and like, 90 hours of gameplay. You'll love it; it's a proper old fashioned RPG.

 

You'd love Dark Souls, it's IMO one of the finest RPGs in the world today, but then again you might hate it for the same reason I love it. People either love it to the point of saying "good morning, sexy" to their disk in the morning, or hate it to the point of throwing their disk out the window while screaming and setting their hair on fire. The reason being it's uhh, I don't know how to put it. "unkind" development style. It's not badly designed, it's just... cruelly designed. Dark Souls is a very dark game designed to push your skills to the very limit, I LOVE it for that, but hell, some people can't stand dying... a lot. It doesn't bother me, my character's undead anyway, but it's not for everyone. Hell just the name of the special edition should warn you: "prepare to die" edition? The real strength is the swordplay, which is almost unmatched by any modern sword game except maybe War Of The Roses. It's epic steel clangin' dragon' slaying good times. Or agony, horror, and unending torturous frustration. Depends on you; if you're an automasochist who likes their games to spank them a few times with a proverbial tennis racquet, you'll love it. If you're a short fused cannonball, you might want to take anger management classes beforehand.

 

Kingom Of Amalur. Some people love it, I thought it was a little dull. Give it a spin and see what you think.

 

I hate to say it though, but you've played through almost all the good SP RPGs of this generation.

 

based on the OP wanting NPC interaction, both games you mentioned (DD and DS) are probably the worst examples for that. DD had like 0 iteration with NPCs. your Pawns are mindless drones. i barelyu scratched the game and idr anyone memorable about it. all i remember is lots of running the same path over and over. Dark Souls is almost as bad with NPC interaction. there are NPCs to interact with, and some have cool little histories but they are still kind of boring. none of them have emotions or feelings or anything. talking to an NPC doesnt really change anything from the game, just might unlock a thing or two. but you can go through the whole game without talking to one and you wont see much of a change.

 

as far as best RPG ever, im biased. i think Dark Souls is far overrated. especially compared to its predecessor Demons Souls. its just more people have played Dark Souls because its multiplatform. and it got WAY WAY more hype from the start and then again with the petition. its a great game, but Best RPG of all time? no.

[bruniss]

Yes, defintely try Dragon Age (both of them).

[hoofhearted4]

i agree on Dragon Age. 1st was better then the 2nd (pretty much general opinion) if in large part due to the first one being moddable, but both are good, especially in respect to NPCs.

[DarthFalcon]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! The games don't have to be from this generation, and I completely forgot about Dragon Age, i've completely demolished both of those games, looking to pick up Kingdoms when the holiday sale hits Steam. Also i forgot to mention, the games have to be on PC, the only console i still have is a PS2 and it's hard to find those games anywhere but ebay these days, and something that old i want to look at in person to inspect it for scratches and the like. Dark Souls i want to play badly, but i hear the mouse control is horrid on that, and I just don't see the point of playing something on PC if you have to use a gamepad for it to be playable lol. As for Dragon's Dogma, here's hoping Capcom releases it to the PC soon!

Edit: Also I already have The Witcher 2, just haven't got around to it as i haven't completed the first one.

Edited November 29, 2012 by DarthFalcon

[Rennn]

Well, there's Neverwinter Nights. NWN 1 is very dated looking, but NWN2 still looks good and both are deep rpgs with a lot more depth and interaction than most. It's extremely similar to Dragon Age, though I think Dragon Age was somewhat better all around. Edited December 3, 2012 by Rennn

[DarthFalcon]

I'll definitely check out those games, i actually think i bought them once on impulse, so many things to keep track of i'm forgetting some lol, i believe i bought NWN complete and the D&D Anthology (the thing with Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 + Planescape Torment + Icewind Dale series)

[Firemans]

You should really play Baldur's Gate (2: Shadows of Amn). It has the best NPC interaction I've ever seen in a game and it's considered the pinnacle of RPGs.

 

I played that game so many times, includes character creation, D&D combat system and Forgotten Realms setting.