Finishing Baldur’s Gate 3 can leave you ready for another long-form role-playing adventure. No other game can recreate a first playthrough, but these ten picks offer compelling alternatives through reactive stories, memorable companions, meaningful decisions and flexible approaches to problems.
This list focuses on polished, substantial RPGs with strong reviews and plenty to do. It leaves out earlier games from Larian Studios, along with Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, despite the quality of those classics and Divinity: Original Sin 2. The closest match depends on what you value most: tactical combat, character building, romance, consequence-driven writing or a rich party dynamic.
1. Wasteland 3
Best match for: Dark humour, difficult choices and a team of unusual companions.
Key difference: This is a science-fiction setting without a romance system.
Where to play: Mac, PC and Steam Deck.
As the last surviving members of a group of Desert Rangers, you must keep your base supplied while trying to survive post-apocalyptic Colorado. Wasteland 3 repeatedly puts you in situations with no clean answer, then makes you deal with the consequences.
Character skills include practical choices such as Animal Whisperer and Lockpicking, alongside the wonderfully specific Toaster Repair. Your squad’s relationships and darkly comic personalities provide the party appeal, even though the game’s setting is far removed from fantasy.
2. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
Best match for: Deep character customisation and rules-heavy cRPG systems.
Key difference: Its more complicated tabletop ruleset can be demanding to learn.
Where to play: Mac, PC and Steam Deck.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is a strong choice for players who enjoyed planning every level-up in Baldur’s Gate 3. More than 25 base classes, archetypes and feats create an enormous range of builds.
Your character can follow paths such as Angel, Demon, Swarm-that-Walks or Lich, with each choice changing both the story and gameplay. It is crunchy and complex, but that depth suits anyone who wants the fantasy of becoming a demigod to be supported by detailed mechanics.
3. Wildermyth
Best match for: Companion stories that develop across generations.
Key difference: Its papercraft presentation, gentler tone and lighter combat are far cosier.
Where to play: Mac, PC and Steam Deck.
Wildermyth follows ordinary farmers as they become legendary heroes through procedural storytelling. Characters can fall in love, start families, perform great deeds and eventually retire.
The game’s personal pantheon lets you preserve heroes for future recruitment, giving their stories a sense of continuity beyond one campaign. It lacks the scale and intensity of Baldur’s Gate 3, but its long-running companion arcs offer a distinctive kind of emotional payoff.
4. Tyranny
Best match for: Consequence-driven dark fantasy and nuanced villainy.
Key difference: It has a smaller cast and shorter runtime than most games here.
Where to play: Older Macs, PC and Steam Deck. It is not compatible with macOS 10.15 Catalina or later.
In Tyranny, evil has already won. You play a Fatebinder enforcing the laws of a successful overlord, with the freedom to be cruel, efficient or rebellious.
The game supports morally grey decisions with substantial in-world consequences rather than reducing every conversation to obvious good and bad choices. Its shorter campaign makes it a focused alternative for players who want role-playing freedom without another hundred-hour commitment.
5. Pillars of Eternity
Best match for: Dense fantasy lore, faction politics and choices that echo through the world.
Key difference: Its real-time-with-pause combat takes adjustment after a fully turn-based RPG.
Where to play: Mac, PC and Steam Deck.
As a character able to see past lives and souls, you investigate political and social crises while confronting questions about faith, reincarnation and the nature of the gods. Non-player characters and factions remember what you do, making the setting feel responsive.
Pillars of Eternity is text-heavy and deliberately detailed. Combat uses real-time-with-pause, with a turn-based option available, so it rewards players willing to spend time learning its systems and reading its world.
6. The Mass Effect Trilogy
Best match for: Unforgettable companions, lore and choices carried across a trilogy.
Key difference: Combat is action-shooter based, and the setting is hard science fiction.
Where to play: EA Play, PC and Steam Deck.
The Mass Effect trilogy brings the party-and-companion appeal of a fantasy RPG into space. Save imports allow decisions to follow you across three games, while Commander Shepard can be shaped as either righteous or ruthless.
The crew’s found-family dynamic is the main attraction for many players. Its character writing and long-term story have helped inspire people to describe Mass Effect as one of the best RPGs of all time, even years after its original release.
7. Dragon Age: Origins
Best match for: Dark fantasy, companion approval and morally messy decisions.
Key difference: Its visuals and combat show their age beside Baldur’s Gate 3.
Where to play: EA Play and PC.
Your Warden must confront a demonic Blight, but there are many possible ways to approach that responsibility. You can navigate upheaval among the dwarves, make controversial choices such as becoming a Blood Mage, and manage the competing personalities of companions including Morrigan and Alistair.
Gifts, approval and party conversations make camp an important part of the adventure. The presentation is dated, yet the range of political, personal and ethical decisions remains a compelling reason to play.
8. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Best match for: A tightly directed story that balances grief with humour.
Key difference: It is more linear and offers less freedom to build your party or protagonist.
Where to play: PC and Steam Deck.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a French RPG about existential grief, presented as a focused experience rather than a sprawling sandbox. Its tone shifts between sadness and comedy without losing sight of its central themes.
There is less scope for constructing a party than in Baldur’s Gate 3, but the controlled structure lets the story build towards its ending. The game was named Game of the Year for 2025, and its conclusion is best experienced without prior details.
9. Persona 5 Royal
Best match for: Character relationships, strategic dungeons and a strong visual identity.
Key difference: Its modern Tokyo setting, calendar system and teenage drama are far removed from high fantasy cRPG design.
Where to play: Windows and Steam Deck.
Persona 5 Royal divides its time between daily life at Shujin Academy and supernatural dungeon-crawling with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Managing your calendar, relationships and combat preparation creates a different form of role-playing pressure.
The genre and presentation are very different, but players who enjoy analysing every interaction, building bonds and planning their next move may find a familiar appeal.
10. Cyberpunk 2077
Best match for: Open-world freedom, consequential problem-solving and a lavish setting.
Key difference: It follows one protagonist rather than a traditional party, and its perspective is primarily first person.
Where to play: Some Macs, PC and Steam Deck. It is not compatible with Macs using Intel processors.
In Cyberpunk 2077, V is dealing with a digital ghost who is gradually overwriting their mind. The premise echoes the urgent personal stakes of a ticking transformation, while Night City replaces the fantasy landscapes with a neon-lit futuristic world.
There is no full party system, but the open-world structure offers genuine freedom in how many problems are solved. The game’s fashion, atmosphere and first-person presentation give this recommendation a very different identity from Baldur’s Gate 3.
Honourable mention: classic Dungeons & Dragons RPGs
Older Dungeons & Dragons-inspired role-playing games are also worth investigating, particularly if you want to explore the foundations of the modern cRPG. A convenient and often-discounted bundle of them on Steam collects several enhanced classics.
For more gaming and arcade news, explore the RETROCADE Arcade Blog, or compare options in the Arcade Machine Buying Guide. If you want to bring a different kind of game room experience home, browse the virtual pinball machines.
These games cover hundreds of hours of fantasy, science fiction, tactical combat, relationship-building and consequence-driven storytelling. The right next choice depends on which part of Baldur’s Gate 3 you are most reluctant to leave behind.
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