I like the idea of playing these RPG games but can't stand the combat. This is why Disco Elysium is my favourite game of all time. It had RPG elements, great story, narration, dialogue and voice acting and wasn't bogged down by a combat system I didn't like.
I have tried Divinity I and II, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, Pillars of Eternity. I left them at some point because I did not enjoy the combat one bit. With Pathfinder I even tried story mode to trivialise the combat but since the combat is such a big part of the game, I didn't enjoy it even then.
If anyone here has played Baldur's Gate 3 please let me know of your experience. Even if I end up not liking it I would really like to hear what you all think of it.
I haven't played it but I can assure you that you won't enjoy it. D&D is a combat-focused RPG system by nature and I haven't seen anything to make me think BG3 deviates from that formula.
Other than Disco Elysium, I can't even think of any other RPGs where combat isn't a focus of the game right now, it's a rare gem indeed.
Have you considered joining a TTRPG group?
You get a lot more freedom with RPG elements if you have a good DM/GM and you don't need to focus as much on combat.
If the first 2 games are any indication, you definitely won't like the third entry in the series.
Outside of that, River City Ransom is an NES side scrolling beat em up with RPG elements and a story.
The combat is super simplistic, one button for punch/kick, both buttons to jump, and you block if you press the same attack as enemy.
It still combat focused but a bit more out of the box.
I used to play Dungeons and Dragons but it's not my preferred medium for consuming role playing games. I prefer video games because I am not a creative or roleplayer-y person. With games like Disco Elysium I get the feeling that a story is being told to me which I really enjoy.
If you like the story telling aspect, what about Telltale Games or visual novels like Zero Escape or Danganronpa?
Telltale Games
I don't like the stories in these games usually. Otherwise I think they are okay.
visual novels like Zero Escape or Danganronpa
These two are way too anime for me. I do love Ace Attorney though. It is not exactly visual novel but I think it's close.
Check out the adventure and maybe puzzle genres in general. Primordia and Obduction are a couple more modern examples of both I really enjoyed.
consuming role playing games.
this phrase is like nails on a chalkboard to me. i really dislike that everyone accepts the denigrating bourgeoisie terminology
damn leeches consume everything, even things they don't actually consume is what that sounds like
Got 7 or 8 hours in the Act 1 EA.
Combats a major factor in this game. However it is more avoidable than the likes of the Div and Pathfinder games, mainly via bypassing with stealth or dialog. Combats a core part of the game still. We don't know what it will be like post act 1. But I feel it will be more of the same.
Combats a main function of the gameplay loop, and is a large part of the content. Which is a bit unfortunate for people who just want the story aspects, im not aware of any difficulty setting they may add to trivialise it. Combat play is similar to pathfinder wotr game overall / turn-based combat.
Based off your descriptions, I don't think you'd enjoy the combat in this game either. Unless they add some kinda of mode specifically for story only goers.
That being said the rpg, story, dialog and everything else feels top notch from what I've played.
It's a lot like the divinity original sin games in terms of combat. I love turn-based combat so I'm gonna inject this game into my veins when it launches but if you aren't a fan of that type of gameplay idk if you'll like this game since there will be a lot of it
Already pre-purchased it. Want to find someone to play with, but considering the fact I'm in China I can't but worry about the latency.
I've played Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition with people halfway around the world without problems. The lag is noticeable sometimes but since it's a pausable turn-based rule system, latency isn't a big problem.
I like picking up stuff, and being in China playing with Europeans means it takes me around 20 seconds to get the loot window to open... 😢
i bought the early access about two weeks ago because i have a friend who bought it over a year ago and just raved about it, and the reviews on steam were positively glowing. I don't tend to like these games but i want to. I thought this might be the one that I like and discover a whole genre of games I usually avoid.
It wasn't. I ended up refunding it before 2 hours. I just can't get into these kinds of games at all.
I pre-ordered for Act 1 what feels like years ago, but it's been a minute since I've loaded it up and a lot has changed.
There's some unavoidable combat, but a lot of stuff can be prevented through dialog choices.
So I don't think there's a pure pacifist path, but you can minimize combat at least.
IMO it felt like pretty much like pathfinder: WOTR meets Divinity OS2.
Environmental effects exist but they're far more sparce than in Divinity, where they're a core feature. The EA only covers up to level 5-ish, so this may change at higher level, but it also felt less like Pathfinder in that you weren't REQUIRED to do a ton of pre-combat buffing and min-maxing of specific abilities to be successful/powerful in combat.
Overall I liked it, I think Larian did a good job trying to balance some of the D&D mechanics in an engine that's not quite like any other in the D&D RPG space. The extent of those changes remain to be seen, but yeah, I think I'm a fan.
If you like role-playing games but not so much the combat maybe check out Age of Decadence and Colony Ship by Iron Tower. The combat in those games is intentionally brutal to incentivise thinking ways around it if you can, and I'm pretty sure you can make it through the whole game avoiding combat entirely.
Age of Decadence especially is complete and has many branching paths depending on your build, and Colony Ship is still early access but planning on releasing fully later this year.
The settings are pretty awesome for both, with AoD set in a post apocalyptic land with tech analogous to the late Roman Empire, and Colony Ship being set sometime during a centuries long generation ship voyage.