Help me to rock out with my casual but open world-ly side out

[Ayjona]

I've a kinda peculiar gaming itch to scratch, and who better to help me reach that spot than the world's premium collection of escapists?

I'm looking for an open world game for the PC, with skill/twitch-based combat (reliant on reflexes and precision, not primarily character skills). However, I also want the open world dynamics and the general gameplay mechanics and feel to be kinda casual, with less focus on the relatively powerful immersion and epic scale of Skyrim, and less on the involved and focused gameplay found in some first- or third-person open world PC RPGs, and more on meandering about the countryside, battling it out in skill-based (though sadly probably quite simplisic) fighting against a never-ending supply of disagreeable characters, and generally enjoying the sense of freedom and limitlessness less narratively forceful open world experiences provide.

Ideally, the solution would be an isometric/top-down dual stick shooter/fighter set in a huge, open world. I know of no such game for the platform, though.

Although the combat mechanics make my inner game designer twitch uncontrollably, a Diabloesque ARPG might also do the trick, as long as the world is open enough, Sacred-style rather than the segmented worlds of Path of Exile and Torchlight II.

Even a behind-the-back-er (Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Risen, etc) could itch that scratch, as long as it leans less towards Fable in terms of openness, and less towards Dark Souls in involvement.

It probably doesn't exist. But if you've the time for a specific and specifically weird request, let's pretend, and start dropping names like generic mobs

EDIT: after I admit some extent of defeat in my search, a game with a nice (kinda sophisticated, tactical variety and strategic impact of combat decisions beyond simply choosing between attack and one or two special abilities) turn-based battle system might work as well, as long as it fulfills the other criteria detailed above. Spiderweb Software RPG-style.

 

[Qvar]

Have you tried Fallout: New Vegas? Sounds like something you would like. Open-world shooter-RPG based more on your precision than character skills (although it does have a leveling system). You can use first or third person.

If that doesn't work... What about Mount & Blade: Warband? It has a kind-of turn-based strategy map (a-la Medieval: Total Warfare), but the battles are played in real time, 1st/3rd person, with you controlling the commander of the army (you can give orders to your troops, but not controll them directly).

Your character and the rest of your party (the named heroes, so to speak. You also can have dozens of nameless soldiers) advance as RPG characters, leveling skills such as engineering, prisioner management, riding, horseback archery, trade, leadership, blocking, pathfinding... It's an awesome game, I've put 164 hours in it.

Edit: Oh and the game is totally open, both phisically and plot-related. You start as mr. nobody and follow your own path.

 

[shrekfan246]

Divine Divinity.

It's admittedly still got the Diablo II stat- and skill-building and inventory management, and the combat is a fairly simplistic isometric hack&slash affair EDIT: where you don't have to be very precise at all with your attacks because it does auto-attacking so maybe that would be a problem :END EDIT, but you do still need to be quick on your toes in the encounters because the difficulty (at least at the start of the game) does not mess around and if you just go in to wail on every enemy you find, you'll chew through your health potions and die in no time. Also, the UI is still pretty antiquated, even with the updates Larian themselves did to bring it up and running on modern systems.

Outside of Sacred 2, it probably has the biggest and most open world of any isometric RPG I can currently think of.

Divinity: Original Sin comes to mind as well, since it's a much more modern title set in the same lore world and features tactical turn-based combat, but it's still in Early Access on Steam, so I wouldn't really rightfully recommend it yet (because why should I recommend things I haven't yet bought myself).

The Witcher 2, as well, actually.

It's not quite open-world, insofar as things like Skyrim are, but rather more like the Diablo-style of open where the areas are extremely large and completely ungated as you're exploring, allowing you to travel as you like but then moving to an entirely new location when you push on in the story. EDIT: I would stress that the areas themselves aren't built quite as linearly as in games like Diablo, though. :END EDIT I would say the hack&slash combat isn't very involved either, though it can be quite punishing so it might not be "casual-friendly" enough for you. Also the game is very heavily narrative focused, so that might be an issue as well.

Em...

Darksiders II, maybe? Combat is very similar to Kingdoms of Amalur, but it's also got a lot of Legend of Zelda-esque puzzles and environment interactions which make it a little more interesting to simply explore than something like Amalur where you're just always running around on foot.

I mean, part of the problem is that on PC, twin-stick shooters are incredibly rare. And many of the ones we do get are terrible. Most often isometric games are going to be like Baldur's Gate or Fallout or Diablo or Grim Dawn. I mean, since you already mentioned it I would assume you've played Sacred 2, but if not then I'd say check that out, I suppose? Sacred 3 is supposedly coming out in a few months.

 

[Qvar]

snip

I have Divinity II from a humblebundle (iirc), are the first and the last one better than that one? I was very tempted to try it (I have a monstruous backlog on steam), but seems like you thin kit's not the best one of the series.

I would recommend Darksiders too, although I liked the first one a liiiittle bit more. I felt like the badassness in it was a bit more rounded up. But the second is also quite good and has other improvements here and there.

 

[shrekfan246]

snip

I have Divinity II from a humblebundle (iirc), are the first and the last one better than that one? I was very tempted to try it (I have a monstruous backlog on steam), but seems like you thin kit's not the best one of the series.

You know what, I actually forgot about Divinity II. Criminal, considering I brought up the other games in the franchise.

I actually quite liked Divinity II and it might fit pretty well with what OP is looking for. It's got more involved combat than Divine Divinity but it's still much less technical than something like The Witcher 2. Its problems mostly stem from the technical side of things, really; Animations are extremely clunky and dated and look very silly, the difficulty curve spikes very early on and then gets almost too easy by the end, the world isn't quite as large as you might think or expect, things like that. I found a lot of charm in the world and characters though, as is befitting of a Larian game, so I could get past the ropey mechanics of it. Though it has to be said that the "Developer's Cut" version currently available on Steam is supposedly much better than the initial release of the game was.

I would recommend Darksiders too, although I liked the first one a liiiittle bit more. I felt like the badassness in it was a bit more rounded up. But the second is also quite good and has other improvements here and there.

I liked the first Darksiders more as well, but I recommend the second over it in this instance simply because the first Darksiders feels more like a Legend of Zelda game by way of Warhammer 40k rather than a full on open-world game. It might still be worth checking out regardless, since the world is still very large and very fun to explore in the first game.

Also, to the OP, I would generally recommend Diablo III in a circumstance like this if it weren't for the fact that it sounds like you really aren't interested in that style of level design, because Diablo III has what I consider to be the best combat of any isometric ARPG currently available on the PC. And with the Loot 2.0 patch and the release of Reaper of Souls, the game doesn't still completely dick you over with terrible equipment you never need and encourages more replaying and simple exploration with things like Adventure Mode. The areas are very large and there's tons of little nooks and crannies which hide dungeons and whatnot, but it still might not be what you're looking for because they always eventually lead you on to the next area in a fairly linear manner. Also it does indeed still have an always-online component, so I wouldn't blame you for avoiding it just because of that.