Best Isometric RPGs To Keep You Busy For Months, Ranked

Best Isometric RPGs To Keep You Busy For Months, Ranked

Key Takeaways

  • Isometric RPGs offer ample content, complex plots, and customizable gameplay mechanics.
  • Titles like Pillars of Eternity 2, Wasteland 2, and Divinity: Original Sin 2 provide engaging narratives and strategic combat.
  • Games like Tyranny, Disco Elysium, and Baldur’s Gate 3 challenge players’ morality and offer high replayability.



Great isometric RPGs hold a special place both in the hearts of many gamers and in the video game market. This genre, characterized by its unique environmental perspective and meticulous attention to various gameplay elements, typically combines well-crafted narratives with equally engaging mechanics, captures the essence of epic journeys.

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Often inspired by the freedom of tabletop RPGs, isometric RPGs offer ample content to keep players entertained for dozens of hours. Campaigns usually feature complex plots, side quests, and numerous choices that can alter various events in the story, ensuring each adventure has something new and unique to explore. These titles are a perfect option for those who enjoy lengthy games.


9 Pillars Of Eternity 2: Deadfire

An Epic Journey In A Rich And Detailed World


Franchise
Pillars of Eternity

Released
May 8, 2018

Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire transports players to the vast Deadfire Archipelago, offering a deep and engaging isometric RPG experience. With a complex and branching narrative, the game allows choices to directly influence the unfolding of the story, ensuring a unique journey with each playthrough.

In addition to the captivating plot, the title stands out for its rich character customization and a strategic combat system that combines classic elements with modern innovations. Maritime exploration and interaction with various factions add layers of depth to the gameplay, providing dozens of hours of content for enthusiasts of the genre.

8 Wasteland 2

A Classic Post-Apocalyptic Experience Full Of Decisions


Considered the spiritual successor to the first Fallout, Wasteland 2 offers a branching narrative filled with impactful decisions in a world devastated by nuclear apocalypse. The story follows the Desert Rangers, tasked with bringing order to a land rife with challenges and conflicting factions, with choices that profoundly shape the fate of the world and its characters.

Beyond the dense storyline, the game features tactical turn-based combat that requires strategy and planning. The customization of builds and teams allows for different approaches to challenges presented, encouraging replayability. With rich side missions and an immersive world, Wasteland 2 is an ideal isometric RPG for fans of branching narratives and well-crafted combat.

7 Divinity: Original Sin 2

Great Isometric RPG With Plenty Of Content To Be Discovered

Larian Studios has become a major touchstone in the video game market due to their passion and the quality of the isometric RPGs they produce, with Divinity: Original Sin 2 being a prime example. Besides being an excellent game, it also has enough content and mods to entertain players for months.


Just Fort Joy, which serves as an introduction to the entire story and setting, already showcases some of the freedom that the next chapters of Divinity: Original Sin 2 will offer, with numerous choices, places to explore, and many characters to interact with. Additionally, the game features extensive character customization, which helps keep players engaged.

6 Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

The First CRPG In The Warhammer Universe

After years of waiting, fans of Warhammer 40,000 finally received a CRPG worthy of its rich setting. Developed by Owlcat Games, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader transports players to the vastness of space, where they assume the role of a Rogue Trader, exploring uncharted territories and facing unknown threats.


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For players passionate about massive RPGs, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader manages to keep fans entertained for many hours, with turn-based combat, numerous ways to customize characters, and various companions that fit well within the game’s universe. Rogue Trader is an indispensable option, not only for fans of the storied franchise, but also for enthusiasts of isometric RPGs who are craving a game to immerse themselves in for weeks — and even months — on end.

5 Tyranny

A Game That Challenges The Player’s Morality

Tyranny
Systems
Platform(s)
Linux , Microsoft Windows , macOS

Released
November 10, 2016

With a unique approach, Tyranny is an isometric RPG capable of challenging the player’s morality, as it tells a story where evil has already triumphed. In the role of an agent of the ruthless Overlord Kyros, the protagonist is responsible for imposing order in a war-torn realm, so much of the plot revolves around complex moral choices where the main character’s loyalty is at stake.


Within this context, Tyranny is one of those isometric RPGs capable of offering ample content for those who enjoy exploring rich stories and well-crafted combat. The battles are conducted in the genre’s classic style, mixing real-time with pauses, making the game developed by Obsidian Entertainment a long and fascinating journey.

4 Disco Elysium

An Isometric RPG That Keeps Players Engaged With Its Story Above All Else

Released
October 15, 2019

Developer(s)
ZA/UM

Publisher(s)
ZA/UM

OpenCritic Rating
Mighty

Few games in the genre have a narrative as well-crafted as Disco Elysium, which offers a complex and engaging story focused on characters. Set in the desolate city of Revachol, the player assumes the role of an amnesiac detective who needs to investigate a murder that goes beyond the crime itself.


Although the plot twists are more impactful the first time they are experienced, new playthroughs reveal subtle details and clues that might have gone unnoticed before, making the storytelling of Disco Elysium even more interesting. The dialogues and characters are brilliant, and it’s amusing to see the many different ways the protagonist can meet his end throughout the story.

3 Fallout 2

Major And Minor Choices Can Bring New Discoveries And Changes To Explore

Systems

Released
October 29, 1998

Developer(s)
Black Isle Studios

One of the classic games within the isometric RPG genre, Fallout 2 is also an iconic title in the video game industry, offering a branching story that reflects all the choices made in different ways. In the role of the Chosen One, it’s possible to see how these changes impact the world in subtle or significant ways.

For those who enjoy seeing these alterations, which can influence the fate of characters or even entire communities, Fallout 2 is a great example of how a game can blend an extensive narrative with a unique story for each wasteland adventurer. Despite having some older mechanics compared to modern entries, it is still a title worth revisiting.


2 Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous

A Long Story In Paizo’s TTRPG Universe

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous from Owlcat Games offers one of the most immersive and enduring experiences among modern games of the genre without sacrificing a classic feel. Inspired by Paizo’s tabletop RPG of the same name, players embark on a rich campaign filled with decisions that shape a world on the brink of collapse.

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Beyond the main campaign and side stories, the game encourages diverse build optimization, offering a variety of options to customize the main character as well as companions. The vast content of Wrath of the Righteous is ideal for those seeking hours of exploration, epic battles, and an incredible experience.


1 Baldur’s Gate 3

Beloved Isometric RPG With Some Of The Highest Replayability On The Market

Since its official release in 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 has captivated players due to its intricate story and the freedom it offers, allowing a quest or challenge to have wildly different solutions. Furthermore, the narrative is often modular, adapting to choices made throughout the three acts, potentially resulting in greatly different endings.

In addition to all the content the base game offers, Baldur’s Gate 3 has an active modding community, creating new modifications that can keep each journey through the game’s story fresh. This is without counting the characters and different party combinations that can be made, making the game one of the isometric RPGs with the highest replayability available.

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