TBS?
Do you want choose-your-own-adventure-book-like games or one with a similar turn based combat?
Many turn-based games have interrupt mechanics, but no offline games come to mind which also have time limited turns, since the point of turn based games is being able to take your time and think things through.
Comment has been collapsed.
Any in the series+ whatever you can find via google
Grandia III
Can't pull them for memory, but it shouldn't be hard for you to find some.
Comment has been collapsed.
Lonewolf is definetly more into Choose Your Own Adventure(CYOA) then tbs.
Even tough it uses turns its reflex based combat and how focused it is (not tactics, one character only) is entirely designed around CYOAs patterns- it makes for a more intimate and narrative combat in choice-heavy narrative games.
Im afraid i don't know o any other CYOA with such active combat. Lonewolfs resembles a design pattern made famous on mobile by games like Inifinity Blade; Wich means theres a bunch of similars to be found on mobile - combat only, it will be harder to find this combat+CYOA adventure; Looking up the most well scored and the ones existing in PC may be a good lead to find a similar not only in style but in quality (despite steams flood of bad games and bad mobile ports often good mobile games get ported to pc then the large derivative ones).
But if CYOA is your thing as long as combat is good or not getting in your way... theres some good ones; Fewer then it should for my taste since the majority of CYOAs have cheap, dumb to no combat at all, or no challenging at all.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/324740/The_Warlock_of_Firetop_Mountain/
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain comes first to mind just because its highly wishlisted by me and i got a chance of playing it over a friends and its gold. Its a adaptation from a classic dungeon-crawling CYOA book (also know as game-books, like the lonewolf series) but it pales in narrative- Lonewolf the author creates a more engaging world, lore and plot while Firetop mountain is just plain dumb... 'theres a big evil dungeon to cross a mountain. Dare you enter?'.
...its dumb. It was a dungeons and dragons-like generic adventure in book that became a classic.
But the game is awesome; Multiple paths, unexpected encounters. Fun TBS combat that is around thinking in the shoes of your character rather then 'class, specs, builds'. Core to the combat is guessing the enemies next step - you suceed by hitting where the enemy will be next(your guess) making it like a Dark Souls dance in turn-based form where learning your enemy patterns and behaviours changes is key. Its also very fitting how these patterns and behaviours follows character- so you can enter in the story and figure by dialogue if that dark wizard will be a puny cowad or a daring flanker.
Steve Jackson's SORCERY
THIS. A thousand times. Can't recomend enougth.
My playtime on steam is close to none just because i enjoy playing it on my tablet- its way better on pc (prettier, fancier) but i kinda treasure hunt for good games for tablets so i kill some backlog away from home.
Sorcery's combat is second tier compared to Firetop and Lonewolf but its way above the curb- for CYOAs 90% of the genre is in a third or 'no' tier for me, Sorcery's is one of the good ones around a well rounded mechanic/mini-game that offers some thinking, guessing and variance alongside die rolls. Basically every combats turn you decide how much you will be offensive or defensive on a bar, how effective it will be will depende on your oponents choice(unknow to you) and these choicas conect with the next turn (go too much one way and you will have less to maneuver next)- couple that with some moves, using itens and such and its a joy, even if its simpler. Also well presented.
So it have good combat(just not as good)- and everything else is... STELLAR.
The plot feels like too much standard fantasy fare but its in such a peculiar and richly fleshed world that it feels almost alive- and hides a less then standard fantasy, born from a time psychadelics were high i suppose it feels (and ilustates) more like some wild fantasy from some obscure comic book, some crazy heavy metal world or something like that. Its all trolls and goblins and such but less Tolkien, in a world that could have been designed by a tamer Moebius (look it up if you don't know).
It shines on feel and paths: you have a country to cross in every game, with multiple paths and encounters (random and otherwise). Sincerely its the best 'fantasy journey' depiction ive seen, maybe the only other game that manages that is The Dwarves(and Sorcery still comes on top, minor having a party of friends). If you enjoy Lord of the Rings or riking around the country in table top rpgs sorcery is the closest on digital you get to what seems to me one of the most underused/underdelivered 'genres' if i may. I love witcher, lost too many hours on Skyrim- they don't come close regarding making the act of travelling around a living world feel as a rpg adventure trully deserved, they either feel too intimate, too flooded of secondary arbitrary goals... less of the surprises and turns affecting each step.
IF you dig that and like oldschool rpgs with active-pause combat(like Baldur's) then Drakensang River of time ( http://store.steampowered.com/app/33770/Drakensang_The_River_of_Time/ ) is a great pick. The main quest is basically one long journey of the ring (looking for a stolen crown) with towns along the way where the plot(s) further develop and some going back and forth - guided mainly by the 'old river'(river of time in the title); Along the way strange encounters and dungeons abound. Very different combat tough, you need to invest some atention in a kinda arcane rule set with way too many skills and stats and mood is entirely diferent- nothing of the lone hero in a dark world to save mankind but a jolly band of adventurers met by chance(and fate perhaps) growing thei friendship alongside a trip. A varied and fun one. You can almost feel a game master rolling dice behind the screen, the game aimed for nothing more then replicate the Drakensang(a pen and paper rpg) to the pc.
[Funny side note: i hate Drakensang's rule system as a tabletop rpg; would never run a table with it. But on pc where all the crazy math is done for us its good to amazing- depending on how much you enjoy actual RPGs).
Hand of Fate
The opposite balance of Lonewolf:
Its combat focused in a procedural adventure where every step is a random encounter(card) with choices, without any particular main plot; Still the combat is fun (bit exploitable) and the encounters and variety off the charts- it only misses the whole imersion and conection of things on feeling like you're in a adventure. Each encounter is its own thing so no choices biting you down the line unless they dealt with your rersources.
Its more of a board game mixed with CYOAs choices.
FALLOUTS (bethesda) is perhaps the only pc-rpg i can think of could be compared just because of how bethesda adapted Fallout's oiginal turn-based aiming into the 'special' slow-mo; So mid real time action you create turns.
Finally Turn-based... its another beast altogether, the majority focused too much on tactics (wich i love, but its a different genre/feel)- and while many manage to be engaging with great stories and such they don't reach the same level of intimacy 'inside a adventure like im there'. Cyoas are like the closest thing to a link between what first person/third peson rpgs can achieve and the classics turn-based ones with the addition of pen and paper rpgs feel/situations (where CYOAs and Adventure Games are the only ones that can nail that- still don't beat a good human GM, but gets close).
I could name a bunch but not for similarity- unless fantasy and turns is all you're looking for. But a good start would be the aforementioned River of Time.
ADVENTURE:
Quest for Infamy and Heroine's Quest (FREEEEEE!!!!!- AND GREAT!) are the closes i know. they're not only good 'classic' adventures they're on the bar i consider trully good adventures because of Rpgs influences- so its not only about mixing itens in inventory and making some choices, your character is either a burglar or wizard, your itens matter, theres actual combat... I sincerely don't know why they're considered adventure- for me they're rpgs made with adventure-like interface/solutions.
In both you get it all- a engaging story(connected) with choices that matter where action comes along and how you made your character into being plays a impact. Combat choices matter.
Quest for infamy is comedy and have some pretty good humor but for the life of me idn why Heroine's Quest that for me feels superior in almost every regard is free. Not saying Quest for Infamy should, just that id buy Heroine's Quest in a heartbeat.
Look at videos tought, the combat is definetly different- but from the same principles id say. Moment to moment one on one action.
Comment has been collapsed.
Steve Jackson's SORCERY
THIS. A thousand times. Can't recommend enough.
I've only played Sorcery! 1 & 2 so far (after they were free from Amazon Underground) but they are a lot of fun.
I spent several hours playing Swindle dice in part 2 and the pretend 3D map makes it feel like a Lord of the Rings style journey where you track the progress of the heroes with the maps in the back of the books :D
By the way 80 Days by the same developer (inkle) is currently in the 1$ Tier of the Humble Game On Bundle and is a lot of fun too.
Obviously it doesn't have the same Fantasy feel like Sorcery! since it's adapted from the Jules Verne novel but the world has a very unique feel as well and the writing is as you said STELLAR :D
Due to the nature of the story, the game feels a lot more hectic than Sorcery! does though.
Comment has been collapsed.
\o/
I freaking LOVE 80 days- bought it on release and then again on android where i play.
But its way more on the race and developing their relationship with no action to speak of- the only rasons i didn't mention it because it came fresh on my mind. Stellar CYOA, a really nice surprise that came out of nowhere and manages to be pretty fresh and original. I always tought of a race-like Cyoa/adventure (yes, a wish a actually have- game id make if i developed) and then 80 days appears;
Theres no other competitors choosing their paths and interfering like my mentioned 'dream cyoa' but the pressure on clock, how every detail influences and being chasen by the police makes up for it.
Comment has been collapsed.
Theres no other competitors choosing their paths and interfering like my mentioned 'dream cyoa' but the pressure on clock, how every detail influences and being chasen by the police makes up for it.
I think shortly after release there was an online feature where you could see other players in the vicinity but it seems it was more like in No Man's Sky Oh, there is somebody. without much interaction (or possibility to snatch encounters from each other by being there first or things like that). But judging by the Steam Forums that feature has been disabled by now which I don't mind too much since it didn't seem to add a lot.
and being chasen by the police makes up for it.
Oh cool :D I I wasn't even chased by the police on my first 2 tries but I already had that encounter with that police guy who insinuates Monsieur Fogg might be a jewelry thief in the opium den in Hong Kong so don't worry, no spoilers there ;)
Just shows how many different story branches there are...
I'm currently trying to do the Journey to the Center of the Earth route but I think my run is already messed up because I intended to pawn a rare antiquity in Merv and didn't know how terribly connected that city is and must have lost roughly 10 days getting there and I'm not even back on track :( Note to self for future runs: Avoid Merv at all costs. :D
Comment has been collapsed.
Center of the Earth!! I still have to do that! Damn (re-installing asap- was out of space on tablet)
I know i am biased, being a big 'vernian' fan/nerd- still i hold this game as highly recommended for anyone.
BTW its interesting seeing how things follow from the book, differently and wildly differently (its a awesome steampunk world in 80 days with way more stuff)- they managed to create more out of it for adventure creating something their own. But knowing the book makes or both 'spoilers' and twists- and make the moments from the books more interesting when you see how diffferent choices change things.
The police i didn't tought as spoiler because its a major plot from the very start in the book- completely forgot the game did the right thing of not telling any of that so as the travellers we're unaware of it. Sorry.
Im under the impression our paths, speed and other choices affect how and if they get our track and reach us; And its awesome how the chance adds to the tension and 9 out of 10 happens unlike in the books (theorically it could happen 'anywhere' in the world/timespan in the game).
Comment has been collapsed.
Yeah, I really like how the new Steampunk stuff complements the familiar parts :D
The whole artificers arc is another one I have barely scratched but which seems really interesting.
I have to admit I have read none of his book in the original yet so I'm only familiar with his works through that adorable comic tv show with the animal characters from my childhood and a few other adaptions but the game really made me wanna change that :D
Comment has been collapsed.
They're good. Solid. Timeless.
Some are better then others- his writing quality varied on my opnion, in some he nails the pace in others it varies. But he always nails character to a amazing extent and its freaking awesome how filled with information, theories, conjectures and such all his books are- from a victorian era perspective wich is awesome(at least for me) both by cultural/mindset contrast as well as the inacuracies and what they did get right. Its amazing some of the stuff considered possible in theory; It also amazes me to see acurate cience from sources and methods so behind- gave me a whole new respect for the sciences and how much it can deduce correctly from formulas and undisputed theories (in the absence of better data). Heck, made me give the benefit of doubt to some wild current theories that i dismissed as pure what-if like stuff dealing with blackholes, quantum theory and such. He gave me faith on the method and maths so to say (definetly not a math person).
How he time-lapses parts of the journey (almost a diary/retelling) get some using to but is great- so he focus on the more interesting stuff and the glimsed over parts leave wild ample space to imagination. How he often indulges in little interpersonal situationals and random encounters is briliant, builds lots of character, immersion and manages to grasp a sense of travel that rarely other media can (and movies, wich can, rarely do, so well or in the same extent). Its funny for example why i remenber/imagine the earth center but also so well or even better the interior of a poor icelandic family house they slept one night- also because it was of no apparent relevance, a one time stop, some little chatter, milk a bed. Still i remenber then as one of the strong memories of that trip.
The guy was briliant- i mean come on, from earth to the moon was a ridiculous tall tale even for its time (and layered with humor, as to lessen the absurdity of all); Still he nailed we would do it by rocket propelled projectile, was incredibly accurate and scientific about the whole trip and what they see on the moon(and fail to see as well- no moon people sadly) and... heck, how he managed to keep my attention for 2 books in what in essence are 3 guys in a bullet looking through a window. Goddammit, that had to be an award just for that.
My top recomendations are 20000 leagues, 5 weeks in a balloon (probably the most real dangerous adventurer journey that actually existed- the search fo the heart of affrica that led so many explorers to their deaths and created pretty much every fictional explorer we love today), Master of the World and Journey to the Center of the Earth....damn, hard to tell, its pretty much on par with 80 days (80 days is surprisinly more packed while journey is long treck down until everything goes bananas).
heck, i was about to continue listing the whole thing lol
Comment has been collapsed.
Thanks a lot for your recommendations :D 5 weeks in a balloon seems like a good place to start.
Comment has been collapsed.
They're almost the same. River of time its the sequel, better in my opnion (story and pacing, they're pretty much the same game/engine in different stories/enemies). But the first one is bigger, it only gets a tad long for things to click- both the story and action.
Since river of time is a prequel to the first one i generally recommend it first.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/33770/Drakensang_The_River_of_Time/
Heroines quest in kings quest from the tip of the toe to highest hair, only modern and in my opnion better- cause come on, king quest had some dubious design choices in how to beat/proceed in some parts. Its true oldschool- the good and the bad design of the past too.
Comment has been collapsed.
Bump because i'm interested in knowing more games like Lone Wolf as well!
Comment has been collapsed.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean as I didn't play with Lone Wolf, but check outt gameplay videos of Child of Light, it has a dynamic "turn based" system where speed of attack matters as well (So if your turn to act, but your attack has a long windup, I can catch up with your turn and by using a fast attack I completelynullify and interrupt your attack)
Comment has been collapsed.
157 Comments - Last post 6 minutes ago by PsyKo
47,170 Comments - Last post 18 minutes ago by pizzahut
424 Comments - Last post 1 hour ago by BarryBoneRaiser
8,604 Comments - Last post 1 hour ago by FranckCastle
7 Comments - Last post 1 hour ago by Qnemes
468 Comments - Last post 1 hour ago by Wasari
171 Comments - Last post 3 hours ago by Doshmaku
16,964 Comments - Last post 6 minutes ago by Operations
105 Comments - Last post 7 minutes ago by sallachim
2,586 Comments - Last post 8 minutes ago by Choutas
109 Comments - Last post 17 minutes ago by LieEater
1,259 Comments - Last post 40 minutes ago by Ev4Gr33n
256 Comments - Last post 42 minutes ago by Vampus
23 Comments - Last post 54 minutes ago by Mitsukuni
"Joe Dever's Lone Wolf HD Remastered" who has similar mechanics + elements any one knows of such games? (steam recommend normal TBS games who dont have to mechanics of this game active combat...)
for those of you who wish to know if the game is good, i personally like it tho he aint what i was expecting of it before playing it (for the better and refreshing approach to TBS combat)
on the lower difficulties its normal TBS game with timer to your combat choices (meaning is if your/enemy turn timer is run out and you didnt do any action - then the turn moves on regardless) similar to what we are kindev used for, on the "Hard" setting it becomes active TBS meaning enemies can and will attack/interrupt you on your own turn! which adds flavor and challenge to the combat system (especially early on game)
if you like TBS games and timed action combat - this game ia for ya ^_^
Comment has been collapsed.