I've always been a sucker for RPG games. When I'm feeling down I tend to play Final Fantasy 8 or Final Fantasy 10, they're like my comfort games.
I've had a hard time finding joy in modern RPG games, they all feel very grindy and seem to have an uninteresting plot. I'm looking for something that sparks joy, so I don't have look for some ridiculous challenge like Khimari only run in FF10 or something.
Things that spark joy:
- Being able to play on Steam Deck or at least stream from my (linux) desktop
- Decent graphics, though pixel art is ok
- Voice acting
- No random encounters
- Good plot
- Good combat
Things that do not spark joy:
- Too much grinding
- DnD mechanics
- Mandatory online requirement
Games that I really enjoyed:
- Final Fantasy 7 through 10
- Final Fantasy 5
- Dragon Quest XI
- Xenoblade Chronicles 1/2
- South Park games
- Stardew Valley
Games that I did not enjoy:
- Elden Ring - I guess I just don't have the mental patience for souls games anymore.
- Final Fantasy X-2 - great combat mechanics, horrendous plot
- "Modern" Final Fantasy games
- Divinity: Original Sin 2, Disco Elysium - feels too much like DnD
- Hogwarts Legacy - It felt amazing at first but then got super repetitive
- Persona 5 Royal - The game severely overstayed its welcome, very bloated, very repetitive dialog (the characters tell you the same information multiple times)
- I am Setsuna - The plot resembled Final Fantasy 10 way too much, felt like I had already played that game. Didn't finish
- Kingdom Hearts - Severe motion sickness
- Octopath Traveler - The plot felt extremely disconnected, random encounters were annoying, I got stuck due to an underleveled party and didn't have the patience to grind it up
Thanks in advance!
Definitely on my wishlist, the only reason I haven't bought it is because I read the Steam Deck experience is very bad. I can always stream it from my desktop though.
I played it on the Deck. I have to agree that there are rough edges (some ambient color go from A to B with no transition, and some zone have a really strange colorimetry compared to a more powerful device). But it is entirely playable.
In that case: on a completely different spectrum, Sea of Stars is an absolute masterpiece, taking liberal inspiration from the good old days of SNES JRPGs.
…and that should run just fine on SteamDeck!
It's on my wishlist now, definitely going to check it out. Have you tried the multiplayer aspect of the game? Might be fun to couch co-op.
I’ve not had the chance to try it, I also hear it’s quite good.
Cheers!