Best Story-Driven RPGs With Minimal Combat

Computer-driven roleplaying games originated from pen-and-paper roleplaying games, which themselves were an offshoot of tactical war games played with dice, models, and a battle board. It’s no surprise that most cRPGs carry this element of combat in their DNA.

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That being said, just as tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons gradually drifted away from a pure-combat experience, so too have games played with a keyboard and mouse gone from hack-and-slash to story-oriented, with some games, in particular, putting a special emphasis on making story beats, dialogue, and plot twists the main game loop.

Torment: Tides of Numenera

Using Diplomacy And Tact To Win The Day

There are many fights in Torment: Tides of Numenea, but the game is designed in such a way that most combat encounters can be avoided for those with a silver tongue. As experience points are handed out for the completion of quests, players who wish to play the game for the story rather than to test their tactical finesse will not find themselves falling behind.

The efficiency with which fights can be avoided or resolved through wordplay rather than swordplay depends on the player’s build. Taking the “nano” class has its advantages in this area, but the best way to go for those looking to enjoy a good story is the “jack” with the “charming” descriptor and focus on the “persuasion” and “perception” skills.

Age of Decadence

Buying Bypasses With Lies And Wealth

Although Age of Decadence takes place in a fictional setting, there is a large emphasis on realism. Players explore a Romanesque empire filled with danger and mistrust, where a fight against multiple opponents, unlike other cRPGs, can quickly mean “game over.”

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However, it is entirely possible to traverse the challenges of Age of Decadence by taking a diplomatic approach, namely by taking the silver-tongued “grifter” or trade-savvy “merchant’ backgrounds, focusing on the “charisma” stat, and focusing heavily on the “disguise,” “etiquette,” “persuasion,” “streetwise,” and “trading” civil skills.

The Council

Solving Problems With Skills Of A More Enlightened Age

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The Council – Episode 1: The Mad Ones

Systems

Released

March 13, 2018

Developer(s)

Big Bad Wolf

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

Not all dangerous situations involve weapons, and not all monsters come with glowing red eyes or savage claws. The Council puts players behind the eyes of Louis de Richet, a member of a secret order who must investigate the disappearance of his mother on a private island filled with powerful historical figures.

While the threat of violence looms over the story in The Council right from the get-go, there is no way to fight the monsters staying on the island (even if they deserve it) as player creation involves making Louis a detective, diplomat, or occultist, each bringing their own advantages and disadvantages to the investigation.

The Outer Worlds

Worlds Of Possibility

Upon its release, some critics gave the Outer Worlds lower marks for its length. However, what it lacked in longevity it more than makes up for in player freedom. There is plenty of violence to be had in the colonies for those looking for it (there is even an ending predicated on the player killing every single NPC in the game).

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Conversely, if players are interested in an experience driven by dialogue and a well-written story, they need only invest points in speech skills and sneaking. Doing so will lead to the player finding more interpersonal tidbits about NPCs and companions and experiencing the worlds without bashing skulls in or melting too many life forms down to a red, ashy goo.

Planescape: Torment

Considered One Of The Early Great Storytelling Achievements In cRPGs

In any discussion about good storytelling in video games, it is likely that Planescape: Torment will come up. Although enemies such as guards and bandits are still prevalent across the map, it is possible to de-escalate tensions with high charisma, intelligence, and wisdom stats.

Failing that, sneaking or running away is often a viable play. That being said, Planescape is still a product of its time, and there will come moments when fighting is the only option. That being said, much of the time when combat is mandatory stems from optional areas and quests.

Gamedec

Solving Virtual Crimes Rather Than Causing Them

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Released

September 16, 2021

Developer(s)

Anshar Studios

Set in a world dominated by virtual worlds, the player fills the shoes of a “gamedec,” a cross between a detective and a troubleshooting software engineer. The virtual world has become as unsafe as the real one, and so getting to the bottom of a case means the difference between fun and fatality for its inhabitants.

Although the are no enemy encounters in Gamedec, the story likes to go down deep, dark places. Depending on the player’s deduction skills (or lack thereof), characters in Gamedec can experience a fate worse than a violent death.

Fallout: New Vegas

A Silver Tongue, A Gold Rush, And A Platinum Chip

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October 19, 2010

Obsidian is known for leaning on their writing chops in their games, and unlike Bethesda’s vision for the Fallout series, Fallout: New Vegas offers players a way to be the most violent Road Warrior-wannabe in the post-apocalyptic Mojave Desert, or the most peace-loving, depending on their ability to stay out of sight or charm the pants off of greasy grifters, anachronistic gangsters, psychopathic slavers, and other trappings of dark Americana.

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New Vegas famously allows players to complete the game without putting a single body in the ground, including the final boss (if they played their cards right and lined up the right skills before the encounter). Not only that, but the expertly assembled story is one of the finest in RPG history, meaning slippery pacifist types will have a lot to chew on for eschewing the world of over-the-top violence.

Disco Elysium

The Cop That Asks Questions First, Then Shoots Into An Existential Crisis Later

With a literal series of novels as a background for the world (although only one novel, The Sacred and Terrible Air, was ever written), Disco Elysium wants nothing more than to breathe the fumes of a new world onto its players, and it does so by shunning regular combat encounters for long, beautifully intricate dialogue trees with over a million words in the script and a reactive world.

With over a million lines of dialogue, there was hardly room for a combat system, but besides the ever-present economic violence put upon by the owners of capital against the workers of Elysium, there are (at least two) moments of violence that might be considered “final test” style boss battles, although they are handled somewhat differently than they would be in a game with a combat system.

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