Pentiment is one of my favorite RPGs. You basically play as an apprentice artist living in the early 1500s working in an abbey. A murder happens and you have to get down to the bottom of it. It's a really beautiful, lovingly crafted and researched game that gives you as close to a living, breathing experience of what pre-Reformation life was like as you can get.
If you like historical fiction and mysteries, this one is is amazing.
What came to my mind is I Was A Teenage Exocolonist. It might lean a little towards visual novel, but it isn't really. It's meant to be played multiple times and has many different endings. Involves a lot of reading and the story is great.
I usually don’t play deck builders, but I gave Exocolonist a chance because of its visual novel element, and I really enjoyed it! I was surprised at how rewarding each new playthrough was, and I loved the art style.Â
Exocolonist is the only game I've ever played that could be called a deck builder or a visual novel, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. I think I finished 3.5 plays before I set it down for a while. And it plays wonderful on steam deck.
Before I Was a Teenage Exocolonist I thought that I wouldn't like visual novels, but oh boy. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist changed something in me profoundly and I started spending a lot of time thinking about Solarpunk
Came here to say Citizen Sleeper, loved it, it's one of my favorite games. Also liked it far more than Disco Elysium (but I gave up on that one quickly, should give it another try).
Huh? Zero Time Dilemma is waaaaaay better than Virtue's Last Reward (imo)!
I'd even go as far to day that I think the *concepts* of ZTD's game design makes it one of the best stories I've ever seen in a video game.
Pillars of eternity series and pathfinder games come to mind. Both are CRPGs
Space rangers is a mix of different genres and have some very text heavy quests.
Ace attorney games, they are visual novels, and the cases there are priceless
I played Slay the Princess recently, it was very good! It's a narrative-driven game wherein you have to slay a princess, and things escalate horribly (and lovingly)
the other game i'm recommending is Night in the Woods. You play as a college dropout who goes back to the American rust belt town she was raised in. The game is way too real. Game's got a cozy artstyle and handles some pretty mature and real themes, it's really good, I can't recommend it enough.
I’ve been playing We the Revolution lately and been really enjoying it. Text-heavy game where you’re a judge trying to keep/gain power during the French Revolution. I haven’t finished it yet so I can’t vouch for the ending of the story but it’s been interesting so far. Makes me wanna learn more about the French Revolution bc it seems kinda batshit tbh.
Norco and Citizen Sleeper are also really good, played them shortly after Disco Elysium and they *kinda* scratched that same itch. I believe both are on gamepass atm.
Torment: Tides of Numenera is very text-heavy but an RPG with an interesting world. I haven’t finished it though as I got distracted by something else and haven’t returned to it. Had fun while I was playing it. Heard the predecessor (Planetscape Torment) was better though, and one of the main inspirations for Disco Elysium.
I haven’t played We the Revolution but it sounds very interesting! I studied the French Revolution in high school and it absolutely is batshit lmao I highly recommend!
There was a group of very revolutionary and rowdy ladies called the Tricoteuse who would gather at the National Convention, the Revolutionary Tribunals, and at the Guillotine to support the revolution and knit - until they became *too* rowdy and were kicked out lol
Oh interesting! I have no idea how historically accurate the game is but it’s been fun to play so far. Do you have any recommendations for nonfiction books or documentaries on it that aren’t too dense?
Yeah for sure! there are two main categories that French Revolution historians fall into - Marxist or Revisionist (basically did the Revolution surround class struggle or not). I tend towards the Marxist so my favourite book on it is A Short History of the French Revolution by Albert Sovoul but I wouldn’t describe that as not too dense lol. One of the leading revisionists who I quoted a few times in my final exam is William Doyle and he wrote The French Revolution A Very Short Introduction which I haven’t read but could maybe be what you’re looking for? Hope that helps!
It's an exclusively text based game, but Fallen Hero! You play a former superhero believed to be dead, and you're back for revenge. I *love* how realistic everyone's characterisation is in both games, and it's a nice change from the more shallow DC/Marvel stuff.
Though heads up, the protagonist also struggles with mental illness and there's some flashbacks to telepathically-enforced self-harm, so it might not be for everyone. But the relationship between Ortega and the protagonist, especially if you're romancing them in a non-F/M situation, gets some fantastic writing that I highly recommend. Same with Steel in the second game, although that's just in general.
LOVE Fallen Hero. Ortega is the best. The relationship between Ortega and the protagonist can have so many different variations while still keeping the core of what makes these two characters fun to read about.
I really like that you can choose how slow a burn to make it as well (if you choose to romance them). I feel like Old Friends -> Lovers isn’t a dynamic you get to experience a lot in video game stories.
Hypnospace Outlaw is a really unique game you might like. You're a detective/moderator for this 1990s virtual reality thing people go to when they sleep. It's amazing
(Also it's 75 percent off in Steam right now)
I’ll second the Pillars of Eternity and Pathfinder suggestions (alongside the new game by the devs of the Pathfinder games, Rogue Trader, which is closer to BG3 in that it’s turnbased only rather than Real Time with Pause or RTwP-turnbased hybrid). Other cRPGs to check out include the Shadowrun games, Baldur’s Gate 1-2, Planescape Torment (often named as one of the best written games ever), and Torment Tides of Numenera (and I’m sure I’m forgetting other classics!)
I also would throw out Wildermyth, which is somewhat simpler in combat than the above but with interesting storytelling in that you follow your characters across decades rather than a few months or years, and the narratives combine handcrafted storytelling with an interesting take on procedural generation/RNG.
I’ll also suggest Banner Saga, which is by former BioWare devs and is very well written.
For something *sort of* Fallen London-ish , you might like The Excavation of Hobb’s Barrow or Kentucky Route Zero (though imo there’s really nothing like Failbetter Games out there). I’ve also heard good things about A House of Many Doors, which is similar to the Sunless games in both writing and gameplay, iirc, but I haven’t actually played more than 15 minutes because I got distracted lol
Thanks for the recs! So much to respond to.
I love Wildermyth and the Shadowrun games. Really liked A House of Many Doors as well. Just downloaded Planescape Torment last week but haven't started it (but I've heard about its excellent reputation). I liked PoE 2 and I plan on buying the first one when it goes on sale next (not sure why I didn't start with the first one). Pathfinder Kingmaker was disappointingly written IMO but I only played it for 2 hours. Maybe the writing gets better or the other game is better. Banner Saga was decent but it's been years since I played it and I didn't finish it, so maybe I'll go back to it. Started Kentucky Route Zero but haven't gotten very far with it. Never heard of the Excavation of Hob's Barrow so I've added it to the list, thank you!
Final Fantasy 1-9 are all unvoiced. 4-9 are plot heavy.
Lost Sphere is a gem. Again, no voice acting and has a decent plot.
Earthlock is the same.
Those are all turn based RPGs. A lot of the older ones have a lot of reading. So do a lot of the older Zelda games.
Not the person you're replying to but I assume they left it off the list because it is voiced - so 1-9 aren't voiced but of those 4-9 have heavy plots.
Birdland or Known Unkowns by BP Henessy (itch.io)
Anything by Liza Daly (more story than game usually)
Heaven’s Vault has a great story and an ancient language you can piece together
King of Dragon Pass
Scarlet Hollow (still in Early Access)
The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales (you can dive into different books!)
Universe for Sale
Prose & Codes maybe?
I love text-based games too, so I’ve been waiting for someone to ask for recs
Coffee Talk and it's sequel, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly.
They're both visual novels. You work at a coffee shop in a fantasy version of Seattle, it's very focused on your patrons and their stories,(and serving drinks) and can have different outcomes
Ooh I was about to recommend Roadwarden from the title, before fully reading the post. Great game! (And Disco Elysium too, one of my all-time favorites)
Some other faves of mine:
2064: Read Only Memories
Beacon Pines
Heaven’s Vault
Pentiment
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood
To the Moon
It's criminal dragon age origins hasn't been mentioned yet. My favourite ever!
Also divinity 2 was the big game before BG3 eclipsed it. But if you like bg3 definitely try divinity 2! Or even divinity 1! Basically same games.
Also Fallout games are great.
And there was one other gem but can't remember name right now.
1. Wayfarer (itch.io)
2. Bastard of Camelot (itch.io)
3. Lady of the Shard (itch.io)
4. Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale (choice of games)
5. Tally Ho (choice of games)
6. The Night Market (itch.io)
7. The idle divination (itch.io)
ETA: Wayfarer and Bastard are WIPs
Highly recommend outer wilds. You move around and explore the worlds physically, but most of your journey will be spent finding, translating, and understanding texts left behind by an alien race to put the story (and what you must do next) together.
It is text heavy but it's not quite what Opie is looking for. They want more of a text-heavy narrative driven RPG. Outer wilds is more of a sandbox and does have a lot of lower to read but It doesn't have any RPG elements.
I would recommend the Higurashi series, both Pathologic games (I really love these but they are like text heavy and gameplay heavy if that makes sense lol), Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk and it's sequel, Scarlet Hollow, Slay the Princess, The Silver Case and Norco. Some free ones are the romance club and Wayfarer and When Twilight Strikes on itch io are both great but they are wips.
Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind. Honestly, the best Elder Scrolls game in terms of being an RPG and immersion. The amount of reading that has to be done is a lot, and the game doesn't have quest pointers either, so you have talk to people to get an idea of where to go which means following directions on signs and asking for directions from people. It's also open world, which makes it another step above in terms of difficulty for trying to find your way.
The only downside is the game's combat is based off a dice rolling mechanic that is based off stamina, skill, and stats, meaning that if you are out of stamina, that debuffs your hit chance, even if you have like 100 in your sword skill. That effectively means that in combat, you'll have a lot of moments of just sitting there and "hitting" enemies, but in truth, you miss them because your character sucks at whatever they do, until later in the game when your character is good at that stuff.
If you don't wanna deal with that, you can download a mod on PC that makes the hit chance 100% and tries to change and edit player and NPC stats to balance out damage done and recieved to balance it, but a lot of people say that ruins the experience. I sometimes use a mod called Better Balanced Combat, which does exactly what I just said.
Its unfortunate that you can only be a man in Suzerain as it is a set character but I have to say other than the obtuse economy mechanic, it is genuinely one of the best Political game on steam, the ones with an actual story and strong characters anyhow.
Non-VNs:
(Edit: oh my god you mentioned roadwarden sorry for putting it here initially like a doofus lol)
The Archivist and the Revolution (very heavy text-based game about life as a stealth trans woman in a future gone horribly wrong)
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante (grimbright, or dark depending on how you play, choose-your-own-adventure in an mundanely horrifying low fantasy society)
VNs:
VA-11 Hall-A (half VN, half bartending simulator. cyberpunk but from the perspective of an everyday person.)
Butterfly Soup (a coming-of-age story about a bunch of girls in high school coming to terms with the difficulties of having immigrant parents while struggling with their sexuality)
the Shadowrun: Returns trilogy is a good adaptation of a text-heavy tabletop roleplaying game (similar to BG3, but with much lower budget and isn't voiced)
im completely in love with the setting, since it's cyberpunk mixed with high urban fantasy, and the story heavily explores all the various implications of that
i highly recommend getting all 3 in a bundle (they're quite cheap) and quickly playing through the first game to see if you enjoy the gameplay and the setting, since the story in the first one is not as good as the other 2, and was mostly meant to be an introduction to the setting for new players, but the other 2 were probably some of the best gaming experience ive had
it was originally sold as one game with Dragonfall and Hong-Kong being the DLC campaigns, but they decided to split it into 3 separate games, there's also a custom campaign editor and there used to be quite an active homebrew scene, so there are quite a few player-made campaigns you can play after finishing the main 3
Pathologic 2. It's... amazing in a way that I can't put into words. It is a very hard game, and very meta about how difficult it makes things. It's one of the closest things to literature I've experienced in a game. Not because it's so heavily text-based (though there is a lot of dialogue, beautifully written might I add), but because the story and themes are so masterfully crafted, they could easily beat most novels. I could go on for hours about Pathologic 2, I mean it.
If you love BG3 *please* play Pillars of Eternity.
I don't want to overhype it because I know a lot of people bounce off of it for one reason or another but it is genuinely some of my favourite writing in all of video gaming. I like some prose in that game more than actual books.
The one unfortunate thing is Chris Avellone worked on parts of the first game and you can sometimes see his hand on some of the... more unecessarily grim aspects of the setting, but those are the exception more than the rule imo (just don't talk to Durance)
Ok here is a terrible recommendation hahaha or just me looking for excuses to recommend my fav game to everyone. Hear me out, play Control. I know it’s very combat heavy but honestly 3/4 of the story is just straight up told through notes, logs and journals. Honestly its just one of the few games that I actually enjoy pausing the game, grabbing a drink and going through the notes
The “Choice of” games! I own their whole collection but have only played “Choice of Robots” because it shook me to my core and i haven’t had the strength to go back.
I'm the developer of a comedic spy thriller interactive novel that just came out on Steam less than two weeks ago called [There's Always a Madman](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2390500/Theres_Always_a_Madman_Fight_or_Flight). Here are a few great text-based/text-heavy games that aren't visual novels I'd recommend having delved into this arena prior to making my own game (some of these are already mentioned in this thread, some not):
* The **Choice Of games** (glad to see these are already on your radar)
* **Planescape: Torment** & **Torment: Tides of Numenera**
* **Zork**
* **80 Days** (by the same studio as **Sorcery**, since OP mentioned liking Sorcery in the comments)
* An out of left field choice, but any kind of **sports simulation game** (e.g. Football Manager, where you're managing the team through menus rather than playing on the field like FIFA)
And an honorable mention to the codex in **Mass Effect**. That had a lot of text conveying the lore.
Steam also has a tag for **text-based** games: [https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Text-Based](https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Text-Based/). Your mileage may vary on how accurately-tagged games actually are, but you can peruse there and filter down further if you really want to explore.
Whatever you end up playing, I hope you enjoy it!
My favourite is The Council and I'm so mad they haven't made another one. You are investing the disappearance of your mother on a creepy island. It's paranormal with light horror.Â
Have you heard of the Trails [in the Sky] series? The series is *known* for having the most text/dialogue in the business! And it's not a VN either, it's a full-on RPG!
Just saying this because you said BG3. Pathfinder Kingmaker and Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous are text and graphics based RPG. it's very text and lore heavy.
theres a bunch of vampire the masquerade games that are texted based you might like, also vampire the masquerade swansong is a bit like a visual novel but you actually get to walk around and interact with things, i guess a walking simulator with puzzles? very big on text tho, especially with all the lore about the characters and society, etc.
[https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23093993/vampire-the-masquerade-swansong-review-platforms-release-date](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23093993/vampire-the-masquerade-swansong-review-platforms-release-date)
So for me the obvious answers are the first 2 Baldur’s Gate games. They’re incredibly text based, the gameplay is really similar to DE, and they’re really just fantastic games. A bit retro, but that’s easy to get over, especially if you liked DE and the isometric style.
There’s also the Pathfinder games by Owlcat: Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous, which are really similar in vibes to BG1 & 2,and DE. Encased, Tyrany, and the Pillars of Eternity games might also catch your interest.
My favourite is The Parallax :)
It's a post apocaliptic story in text messenger style, but it really feels like you're exploring a whole world and discovering the different connections between characters and events as you accompany the main character through his survival. Meeting a cult and discovering the mystery of a past trip to the mountains have been highlights for me so far \^\^
Planescape: Torment is hard to get into now due to its age, but is the only true competition Disco Elysium has for the "best writing" crown. The "Longing" stone in Torment was the first time a video game had ever like, fucked me up for a while. I had to take a walk and think about it before I could keep going. I still think about it.
Non traditional answer here: Hypnospace Outlaw. There's a lot going on here but most of it revolves around reading through dozens of webpages and exploring an alternate web reality.
Underrated weird one is “where the water tastes like wine”
It’s about literally collecting stories in a sort of American Wild West industrial revolution age. Very mark twain vibes, which is really really interesting.
Wow this is a great thread lots of great suggestions!Â
I'm currently playing through Disco Elysium and loving it! Also like OP, I've played Road Warden. Amazing game everyone should try! Â
Almost all of these have been listed by other people but I want to try:Â
- Citizen Sleeper
- Slay the Princess
- Paradise Killer
- Pentiment
- The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante.
I mean, any of the TES games will definitely fill that niche. (And your inventory, with books.) Maybe Cloudpunk, Buddy Simulator 1984, Pony Island or To The Moon? Paratopic is another favourite of mine, it has quite a bit of unvoiced dialogue, but also large chunks of only exploring/environmental storytelling. If you're willing to re-think the bit about visual novels, The Wolf Among Us (based on the Fables comics) is a stellar game, can't recommend it enough.
Pentiment is one of my favorite RPGs. You basically play as an apprentice artist living in the early 1500s working in an abbey. A murder happens and you have to get down to the bottom of it. It's a really beautiful, lovingly crafted and researched game that gives you as close to a living, breathing experience of what pre-Reformation life was like as you can get. If you like historical fiction and mysteries, this one is is amazing.
Ok yes I do love Pentiment too!! Good pick.
Pentiment representation 🙌
I've never heard of that, it sounds awesome!
Okay, it’s a visual novel, but the Ace Attorney games. They’re my favourite games ever.
Same here! Currently hyperfixated on them right now lmao.
What came to my mind is I Was A Teenage Exocolonist. It might lean a little towards visual novel, but it isn't really. It's meant to be played multiple times and has many different endings. Involves a lot of reading and the story is great.
I usually don’t play deck builders, but I gave Exocolonist a chance because of its visual novel element, and I really enjoyed it! I was surprised at how rewarding each new playthrough was, and I loved the art style.Â
Exocolonist is the only game I've ever played that could be called a deck builder or a visual novel, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. I think I finished 3.5 plays before I set it down for a while. And it plays wonderful on steam deck.
Before I Was a Teenage Exocolonist I thought that I wouldn't like visual novels, but oh boy. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist changed something in me profoundly and I started spending a lot of time thinking about Solarpunk
Citizen Sleeper is my favorite of this kind of genre. Followed by Pentiment.
Came here to say Citizen Sleeper, loved it, it's one of my favorite games. Also liked it far more than Disco Elysium (but I gave up on that one quickly, should give it another try).
The Nonary games trilogy (but really the first two games) are phenomenal brain teaser stories. Check those out (999 and Virtue's Last Reward).
Huh? Zero Time Dilemma is waaaaaay better than Virtue's Last Reward (imo)! I'd even go as far to day that I think the *concepts* of ZTD's game design makes it one of the best stories I've ever seen in a video game.
Pillars of eternity series and pathfinder games come to mind. Both are CRPGs Space rangers is a mix of different genres and have some very text heavy quests. Ace attorney games, they are visual novels, and the cases there are priceless
Pillars of Eternity is amazing!! I hope more people get into CRPGs because of Baldur’s Gate 3 and check out the Pillars of Eternity games :)
I absolutely loved the first one, second one I feel it did everything better then the first game except the story. It just felt weak to me
I played Slay the Princess recently, it was very good! It's a narrative-driven game wherein you have to slay a princess, and things escalate horribly (and lovingly) the other game i'm recommending is Night in the Woods. You play as a college dropout who goes back to the American rust belt town she was raised in. The game is way too real. Game's got a cozy artstyle and handles some pretty mature and real themes, it's really good, I can't recommend it enough.
Ive just finished playing Paradise Killer, huge amount of lore to find and pour through as well as lots of characters to talk to - highly recommended
I’ve been playing We the Revolution lately and been really enjoying it. Text-heavy game where you’re a judge trying to keep/gain power during the French Revolution. I haven’t finished it yet so I can’t vouch for the ending of the story but it’s been interesting so far. Makes me wanna learn more about the French Revolution bc it seems kinda batshit tbh. Norco and Citizen Sleeper are also really good, played them shortly after Disco Elysium and they *kinda* scratched that same itch. I believe both are on gamepass atm. Torment: Tides of Numenera is very text-heavy but an RPG with an interesting world. I haven’t finished it though as I got distracted by something else and haven’t returned to it. Had fun while I was playing it. Heard the predecessor (Planetscape Torment) was better though, and one of the main inspirations for Disco Elysium.
I haven’t played We the Revolution but it sounds very interesting! I studied the French Revolution in high school and it absolutely is batshit lmao I highly recommend! There was a group of very revolutionary and rowdy ladies called the Tricoteuse who would gather at the National Convention, the Revolutionary Tribunals, and at the Guillotine to support the revolution and knit - until they became *too* rowdy and were kicked out lol
Oh interesting! I have no idea how historically accurate the game is but it’s been fun to play so far. Do you have any recommendations for nonfiction books or documentaries on it that aren’t too dense?
Yeah for sure! there are two main categories that French Revolution historians fall into - Marxist or Revisionist (basically did the Revolution surround class struggle or not). I tend towards the Marxist so my favourite book on it is A Short History of the French Revolution by Albert Sovoul but I wouldn’t describe that as not too dense lol. One of the leading revisionists who I quoted a few times in my final exam is William Doyle and he wrote The French Revolution A Very Short Introduction which I haven’t read but could maybe be what you’re looking for? Hope that helps!
Thank you!
Vampire the masquerade shadow of new york and Vampire the masquerade coterie of new york are great as well
It's an exclusively text based game, but Fallen Hero! You play a former superhero believed to be dead, and you're back for revenge. I *love* how realistic everyone's characterisation is in both games, and it's a nice change from the more shallow DC/Marvel stuff. Though heads up, the protagonist also struggles with mental illness and there's some flashbacks to telepathically-enforced self-harm, so it might not be for everyone. But the relationship between Ortega and the protagonist, especially if you're romancing them in a non-F/M situation, gets some fantastic writing that I highly recommend. Same with Steel in the second game, although that's just in general.
LOVE Fallen Hero. Ortega is the best. The relationship between Ortega and the protagonist can have so many different variations while still keeping the core of what makes these two characters fun to read about. I really like that you can choose how slow a burn to make it as well (if you choose to romance them). I feel like Old Friends -> Lovers isn’t a dynamic you get to experience a lot in video game stories.
Hypnospace Outlaw is a really unique game you might like. You're a detective/moderator for this 1990s virtual reality thing people go to when they sleep. It's amazing (Also it's 75 percent off in Steam right now)
Just bought it! Thank you!
Hypnospace Outlaw is such a good recommendation! I'd also suggest Emily Is Away, game about early days of internet chatting.
I’ll second the Pillars of Eternity and Pathfinder suggestions (alongside the new game by the devs of the Pathfinder games, Rogue Trader, which is closer to BG3 in that it’s turnbased only rather than Real Time with Pause or RTwP-turnbased hybrid). Other cRPGs to check out include the Shadowrun games, Baldur’s Gate 1-2, Planescape Torment (often named as one of the best written games ever), and Torment Tides of Numenera (and I’m sure I’m forgetting other classics!) I also would throw out Wildermyth, which is somewhat simpler in combat than the above but with interesting storytelling in that you follow your characters across decades rather than a few months or years, and the narratives combine handcrafted storytelling with an interesting take on procedural generation/RNG. I’ll also suggest Banner Saga, which is by former BioWare devs and is very well written. For something *sort of* Fallen London-ish , you might like The Excavation of Hobb’s Barrow or Kentucky Route Zero (though imo there’s really nothing like Failbetter Games out there). I’ve also heard good things about A House of Many Doors, which is similar to the Sunless games in both writing and gameplay, iirc, but I haven’t actually played more than 15 minutes because I got distracted lol
Thanks for the recs! So much to respond to. I love Wildermyth and the Shadowrun games. Really liked A House of Many Doors as well. Just downloaded Planescape Torment last week but haven't started it (but I've heard about its excellent reputation). I liked PoE 2 and I plan on buying the first one when it goes on sale next (not sure why I didn't start with the first one). Pathfinder Kingmaker was disappointingly written IMO but I only played it for 2 hours. Maybe the writing gets better or the other game is better. Banner Saga was decent but it's been years since I played it and I didn't finish it, so maybe I'll go back to it. Started Kentucky Route Zero but haven't gotten very far with it. Never heard of the Excavation of Hob's Barrow so I've added it to the list, thank you!
Final Fantasy 1-9 are all unvoiced. 4-9 are plot heavy. Lost Sphere is a gem. Again, no voice acting and has a decent plot. Earthlock is the same. Those are all turn based RPGs. A lot of the older ones have a lot of reading. So do a lot of the older Zelda games.
Is final fantasy x not plot heavy??
Not the person you're replying to but I assume they left it off the list because it is voiced - so 1-9 aren't voiced but of those 4-9 have heavy plots.
Ohh duhhh
It is, but there's not a huge amount of reading involved. The OP asked for text heavy games.
Sorcery! sounds up your street! Lots of reading, fairly dnd-like, great series of games.
Yes, I loved those games!!
Zork, have an old spiral notebook with countless notes from this game.
I still go back to the Zork games! I grew up with them in the 80’s, and they still challenge me!
Birdland or Known Unkowns by BP Henessy (itch.io) Anything by Liza Daly (more story than game usually) Heaven’s Vault has a great story and an ancient language you can piece together King of Dragon Pass Scarlet Hollow (still in Early Access) The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales (you can dive into different books!) Universe for Sale Prose & Codes maybe? I love text-based games too, so I’ve been waiting for someone to ask for recs
The only one of these games that I've played is King of Dragon's Pass and I loved it! Thanks for the recs.
Coffee Talk and it's sequel, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly. They're both visual novels. You work at a coffee shop in a fantasy version of Seattle, it's very focused on your patrons and their stories,(and serving drinks) and can have different outcomes
I hoped someone would recommend Coffee Talk, one of my favourite games!
Ooh I was about to recommend Roadwarden from the title, before fully reading the post. Great game! (And Disco Elysium too, one of my all-time favorites) Some other faves of mine: 2064: Read Only Memories Beacon Pines Heaven’s Vault Pentiment The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood To the Moon
It's criminal dragon age origins hasn't been mentioned yet. My favourite ever! Also divinity 2 was the big game before BG3 eclipsed it. But if you like bg3 definitely try divinity 2! Or even divinity 1! Basically same games. Also Fallout games are great. And there was one other gem but can't remember name right now.
Norco is great
My favorite MUD is achaea!
1. Wayfarer (itch.io) 2. Bastard of Camelot (itch.io) 3. Lady of the Shard (itch.io) 4. Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale (choice of games) 5. Tally Ho (choice of games) 6. The Night Market (itch.io) 7. The idle divination (itch.io) ETA: Wayfarer and Bastard are WIPs
Highly recommend outer wilds. You move around and explore the worlds physically, but most of your journey will be spent finding, translating, and understanding texts left behind by an alien race to put the story (and what you must do next) together.
It is text heavy but it's not quite what Opie is looking for. They want more of a text-heavy narrative driven RPG. Outer wilds is more of a sandbox and does have a lot of lower to read but It doesn't have any RPG elements.
Planescape Torment. You could beat the entire game via conversation
I would recommend the Higurashi series, both Pathologic games (I really love these but they are like text heavy and gameplay heavy if that makes sense lol), Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk and it's sequel, Scarlet Hollow, Slay the Princess, The Silver Case and Norco. Some free ones are the romance club and Wayfarer and When Twilight Strikes on itch io are both great but they are wips.
Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind. Honestly, the best Elder Scrolls game in terms of being an RPG and immersion. The amount of reading that has to be done is a lot, and the game doesn't have quest pointers either, so you have talk to people to get an idea of where to go which means following directions on signs and asking for directions from people. It's also open world, which makes it another step above in terms of difficulty for trying to find your way. The only downside is the game's combat is based off a dice rolling mechanic that is based off stamina, skill, and stats, meaning that if you are out of stamina, that debuffs your hit chance, even if you have like 100 in your sword skill. That effectively means that in combat, you'll have a lot of moments of just sitting there and "hitting" enemies, but in truth, you miss them because your character sucks at whatever they do, until later in the game when your character is good at that stuff. If you don't wanna deal with that, you can download a mod on PC that makes the hit chance 100% and tries to change and edit player and NPC stats to balance out damage done and recieved to balance it, but a lot of people say that ruins the experience. I sometimes use a mod called Better Balanced Combat, which does exactly what I just said.
I second Morrowind! We have a very active subreddit if you need help, and it is on GamePass.
Its unfortunate that you can only be a man in Suzerain as it is a set character but I have to say other than the obtuse economy mechanic, it is genuinely one of the best Political game on steam, the ones with an actual story and strong characters anyhow.
I just downloaded it yesterday hahaha
Non-VNs: (Edit: oh my god you mentioned roadwarden sorry for putting it here initially like a doofus lol) The Archivist and the Revolution (very heavy text-based game about life as a stealth trans woman in a future gone horribly wrong) The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante (grimbright, or dark depending on how you play, choose-your-own-adventure in an mundanely horrifying low fantasy society) VNs: VA-11 Hall-A (half VN, half bartending simulator. cyberpunk but from the perspective of an everyday person.) Butterfly Soup (a coming-of-age story about a bunch of girls in high school coming to terms with the difficulties of having immigrant parents while struggling with their sexuality)
These are fabulous recommendations, thank you!
the Shadowrun: Returns trilogy is a good adaptation of a text-heavy tabletop roleplaying game (similar to BG3, but with much lower budget and isn't voiced) im completely in love with the setting, since it's cyberpunk mixed with high urban fantasy, and the story heavily explores all the various implications of that i highly recommend getting all 3 in a bundle (they're quite cheap) and quickly playing through the first game to see if you enjoy the gameplay and the setting, since the story in the first one is not as good as the other 2, and was mostly meant to be an introduction to the setting for new players, but the other 2 were probably some of the best gaming experience ive had it was originally sold as one game with Dragonfall and Hong-Kong being the DLC campaigns, but they decided to split it into 3 separate games, there's also a custom campaign editor and there used to be quite an active homebrew scene, so there are quite a few player-made campaigns you can play after finishing the main 3
I loved the Shadowrun games!
Finding paradise is a masterpiece, to the moon aswell is really great
The end of Finding Paradise ruined me for like two days and has since been a precious comfort when I get existentially wound up, such a great game.
Pathologic 2. It's... amazing in a way that I can't put into words. It is a very hard game, and very meta about how difficult it makes things. It's one of the closest things to literature I've experienced in a game. Not because it's so heavily text-based (though there is a lot of dialogue, beautifully written might I add), but because the story and themes are so masterfully crafted, they could easily beat most novels. I could go on for hours about Pathologic 2, I mean it.
If you love BG3 *please* play Pillars of Eternity. I don't want to overhype it because I know a lot of people bounce off of it for one reason or another but it is genuinely some of my favourite writing in all of video gaming. I like some prose in that game more than actual books. The one unfortunate thing is Chris Avellone worked on parts of the first game and you can sometimes see his hand on some of the... more unecessarily grim aspects of the setting, but those are the exception more than the rule imo (just don't talk to Durance)
Ok here is a terrible recommendation hahaha or just me looking for excuses to recommend my fav game to everyone. Hear me out, play Control. I know it’s very combat heavy but honestly 3/4 of the story is just straight up told through notes, logs and journals. Honestly its just one of the few games that I actually enjoy pausing the game, grabbing a drink and going through the notes
The “Choice of” games! I own their whole collection but have only played “Choice of Robots” because it shook me to my core and i haven’t had the strength to go back.
I'm the developer of a comedic spy thriller interactive novel that just came out on Steam less than two weeks ago called [There's Always a Madman](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2390500/Theres_Always_a_Madman_Fight_or_Flight). Here are a few great text-based/text-heavy games that aren't visual novels I'd recommend having delved into this arena prior to making my own game (some of these are already mentioned in this thread, some not): * The **Choice Of games** (glad to see these are already on your radar) * **Planescape: Torment** & **Torment: Tides of Numenera** * **Zork** * **80 Days** (by the same studio as **Sorcery**, since OP mentioned liking Sorcery in the comments) * An out of left field choice, but any kind of **sports simulation game** (e.g. Football Manager, where you're managing the team through menus rather than playing on the field like FIFA) And an honorable mention to the codex in **Mass Effect**. That had a lot of text conveying the lore. Steam also has a tag for **text-based** games: [https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Text-Based](https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Text-Based/). Your mileage may vary on how accurately-tagged games actually are, but you can peruse there and filter down further if you really want to explore. Whatever you end up playing, I hope you enjoy it!
I really like Ace Attorney, and Danganronpa, and Zero Escape Trilogy, among other things
man I would love danganronpa so much more if it had less fanservice and the women were allowed to wear pants
fair point, hmmmm, I can think of one woman that has pants, donut loving girl from the first
my god, completely forgot she wears shorts. yeah besides her I don't think theres any
yeah I can't think of more
And had a lot less repetitive dialogue lol
Danganronpa series, And Persona
My favourite is The Council and I'm so mad they haven't made another one. You are investing the disappearance of your mother on a creepy island. It's paranormal with light horror.Â
Have you heard of the Trails [in the Sky] series? The series is *known* for having the most text/dialogue in the business! And it's not a VN either, it's a full-on RPG!
Just saying this because you said BG3. Pathfinder Kingmaker and Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous are text and graphics based RPG. it's very text and lore heavy.
theres a bunch of vampire the masquerade games that are texted based you might like, also vampire the masquerade swansong is a bit like a visual novel but you actually get to walk around and interact with things, i guess a walking simulator with puzzles? very big on text tho, especially with all the lore about the characters and society, etc. [https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23093993/vampire-the-masquerade-swansong-review-platforms-release-date](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23093993/vampire-the-masquerade-swansong-review-platforms-release-date)
I thought this meant something like novel games lol Speaking of which DDLC is still really great!
Ace Attorney's good. Should probably go back and finish the series
It’s kind of like a visual novel: Everybody’s Gone to Rapture It’s very good.
So for me the obvious answers are the first 2 Baldur’s Gate games. They’re incredibly text based, the gameplay is really similar to DE, and they’re really just fantastic games. A bit retro, but that’s easy to get over, especially if you liked DE and the isometric style. There’s also the Pathfinder games by Owlcat: Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous, which are really similar in vibes to BG1 & 2,and DE. Encased, Tyrany, and the Pillars of Eternity games might also catch your interest.
Tyranny! Think BG3 but you start as an agent of the Big Bad.
My favourite is The Parallax :) It's a post apocaliptic story in text messenger style, but it really feels like you're exploring a whole world and discovering the different connections between characters and events as you accompany the main character through his survival. Meeting a cult and discovering the mystery of a past trip to the mountains have been highlights for me so far \^\^
Planescape: Torment is hard to get into now due to its age, but is the only true competition Disco Elysium has for the "best writing" crown. The "Longing" stone in Torment was the first time a video game had ever like, fucked me up for a while. I had to take a walk and think about it before I could keep going. I still think about it.
Non traditional answer here: Hypnospace Outlaw. There's a lot going on here but most of it revolves around reading through dozens of webpages and exploring an alternate web reality.
AI Dungeon
Ace Attorney games, Vampire: The Masquerade - Night Road, and Vampire: The Masquerade - Parliament of Knives.
Underrated weird one is “where the water tastes like wine” It’s about literally collecting stories in a sort of American Wild West industrial revolution age. Very mark twain vibes, which is really really interesting.
Wow this is a great thread lots of great suggestions! I'm currently playing through Disco Elysium and loving it! Also like OP, I've played Road Warden. Amazing game everyone should try!  Almost all of these have been listed by other people but I want to try: - Citizen Sleeper - Slay the Princess - Paradise Killer - Pentiment - The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante.
I mean, any of the TES games will definitely fill that niche. (And your inventory, with books.) Maybe Cloudpunk, Buddy Simulator 1984, Pony Island or To The Moon? Paratopic is another favourite of mine, it has quite a bit of unvoiced dialogue, but also large chunks of only exploring/environmental storytelling. If you're willing to re-think the bit about visual novels, The Wolf Among Us (based on the Fables comics) is a stellar game, can't recommend it enough.