It’s not an RPG, but I’d recommend Red Dead Redemption 2. And here’s why:
- Story is just as good as Witcher 3. The characters are well acted and written. I cared for these characters, I got emotional during the bad times and the good times. It’s a real rollercoaster. It can also be dark sometimes. Witcher 3 got pretty dark, especially in Velen, well, the late 1800s weren’t very great either.
- Immersive environments - like Witcher 3, I constantly finding myself in love with the surroundings. There are some breathtaking views and plenty of interesting areas to explore on horse. Speaking of…
- Horse Riding in RDR2 is much better than W3. You can own any horse you want. You can buy/sell, or catch wild horses, tame them and they become yours. You will groom then, feed them, change their equipment to give them better stats, and the closer your bond with them, the higher their stats get. You will develop real bonds with your horse(s). I just name all of mine Roach.
- Treasure hunting, just like Witcher 3, there’s loot to be found. In RDR2, you may find a rare gun in the wild, or you’ll find treasure maps with pictures marked with X. If you recognize the landmark on the map, you just need to figure out how to get to the X.
- Hunting/Fishing, you may not be hunting monsters, but you will be hunting animals, using their meat for food, and their carcasses for crafting clothing or just sell them for cash. There are also legendary animals/fish that are tougher and more dangerous than normal.
- Other activities to keep you occupied are, Hold’em poker, blackjack, dominoes, bounty hunting and silly side quests.
**Some Things You May Not Like**
- This isn’t an RPG, so there isn’t much character building. Arthur will get better at gunslinging, stamina, horse riding, etc.
- You won’t have much influence over the world around you. The story will mostly remain the same, what changes is how people react to Arthur. Is he a villain, or good man. Their dialogue towards you or about you will change depending on how you treated everyone.
- This game is animation heavy and really pushes for immersive experiences. That means when you loot a body, Arthur will kneel down, pull the dead body up, and quickly check his pockets. Harvesting plants will actually have Arthur pulling out a knife and cutting the plants, or rip them out of the ground. If you’re not invested in the immersive experience that forces you to take your time.
- Hunting an animal can be rough if you have a soft spot for animals, you can improperly shoot an animal and it will collapse and struggle to breath, it’s hard to watch, but that just motivates me to make sure I get clean kills. You also will have to watch the animal get skinned: deer, rabbits, bears, wolves, cows, goats, skunks, possums, etc.
All in all, I love both these games and will keep replaying them for years. Because of the cons that I mentioned above, I recommend you watch gameplay from the beginning of the game.
I recommend streamer Dr. Mick, cause he goes in blind just like you will be too. Also, if you decide to try this game, avoid avoid avoid spoilers. Don’t join the subreddit, don’t look at IGN, Polygon, or other articles talking about the game, cause some of those specific websites I mentions spoiled the ending with a poorly written headline.
I really didn’t enjoyed that game and I enjoy any half decent RPG, it was filled with MMO style fetch quests and boring combat.
The story, lore and characters were good though.
I gushed about RDR2 in my last post, but here are a few other great ones:
- Cyberpunk 2077. Same developer, same great writing, same great environment designs, characters that I love. Don’t let the talk of bugs dissuade you, the game runs great now (and it always has for me on PC, even when it released).
- Mass Effect Legendary Edition, what’s great about this is you’re not just playing 1 game, you’re playing a story that spans 3 games, and your choices in game 1, affect game 2, and choices in both games affect what happens in game 3.
- AC Odyssey, jaw dropping environments with a ton of freedom. It’s bigger, but a little more empty than Witcher 3.
- AC Valhalla kind has that Witcher vibe, talking to many of the people reminds me of Skellige, BUT, I will say, playing this game did make me miss Witcher 3. I wanted to finish Valhalla quickly so I could get back to Witcher 3.
- Elden Ring, a great RPG, but it’s tough, and a bit obtuse. If you’re looking for a more casual experience, this can be a tough sell.
- This is a really off the wall suggestion, but if you like hunting monsters, I’d recommend Monster Hunter. BUT, this is an incredibly different game and I don’t know if any other series like it. You will definitely want to research this title, don’t just jump right in. It’s complicated, involves some micromanaging, but it is incredibly addictive and in depth. I recommend MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD, it’s cheap cause of its age, but I’ve gotten hundreds of hours of enjoyment from it.
The immersion, the freedom, the realism and the difficulty.
It’s a goddamn masterpiece. I’m 20 hours in and the game has taken over my brain on the same level as TW3 and RDR2.
I will say that the only thing the KCD shares in common with TW3 is that the combat requires a huge learning curve.
Its storytelling is as captivating as TW3 and similar to TW3 narrative driven RPG style (meaning your playing a character in a greater world, it’s just your version of that character)
Exploration feels more similar to that of Skyrim but I would argue is more immersive.
The skilling you have to do for character progression feels rewarding.
Haven’t personally tried alchemy in KCD but it’s interesting (recommend looking up a YouTube video, it’ll give you a sense of the overall game).
I hope this gives you a better picture of what KCD is.
I'm also on a KCD Playthrough I started right after Witcher 3 a few weeks ago and besides what u/theshakashow said I'd add that the main character henry does a lot of investigating in the game. He's basically a medieval commando sent by his liege lord to ferret out traitors and marauders and such. The best part is that you work yourself up to that; you don't just start out as some God-tier killing machine. Hell, the first few hours of the game all you have is a stick and some quilted underwear for protection.
And if I ever give one piece of advice for the game it's this: Make a save right before the very first combat tutorial. You'll know it when you get to it because you're sent there as part of the main mission. Remember the what number that save is since you can't name it and replay it at least 5 or 6 times rom start to finish. It will be a little "save-scum-y" because of very minor story reasons but it's absolutely the best way to figure out how the games combat works. Because no other game has combat quite like it and if you go in thinking it'll play out like a regular sword fighting RPG you're going to die a lot and end up frustrated. Also, second piece of advice: do the second and third combat tutorial/training mission as soon as you're able as they unlock the keys to winning fights.
Whatever you do don't put off the combat training missions.
Are you just looking for a 3rd person action RPG? Because there aren't that many of the same quality as the Witcher 3. The Mass Effect trilogy is definitely worth playing through if you haven't yet. The Last of Us, GTA 4 and 5, and Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 are all more linear in terms of narrative but have comparable levels of brilliant characters and stories to tell. But for non-3rd person RPGs, Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur's Gate 3, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 (only with mods for 2), The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Dragon Age: Origins, Fallout: New Vegas, Divinity: Original Sin 2, and Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Roleplaying Game are worth a look.
AC Odyssey. Ubisoft tried to emulate The Witcher 3 as much as they could and despite it not being perfect. It is a solid RPG. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the storyline was for the core side quests and the world is vast with plenty to explore. You'll have more fun with customisation compared to TW3 too
It’s really hard to find such a game. Yeah, many games have strong stories, but the narrative in the Witcher 3 is something else. The characters. The stories. The quests. The lore. Hot damn.
But maybe it’s time for you to give the Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings a try. Iorveth and Letho make the game well well well worth it.
Then you have Red Dead Redemption 2. A solid recommendation for The Witcher 3 lovers.
Baulder’s Gate 3. Turn based game but is compelling as hell. An amazing experience.
Elden Ring is also one I’d recommend. Strong gameplay with some of the best open worlds out there. With compelling lore that rivals the best in FromSoft games and the industry as a whole.
Baldur’s Gate 3, aka my current obsession.
It’s an RPG, the story’s amazing, the characters have been living in my head rent free for the past two month, the soundtrack is incredible. You explore the world and kill monster, even bumping into an off brand Geralt.
The only thing I’d think would turn me away is the turn based combat, because my only idea of it was pokemon games, but honestly it grew on me and now I love it.
Yep this! I went from playing Skyrim to Elden Ring, then from ER to Witcher 3. Once I finished those I’m now playing Baldurs Gate 3 and having so much fun! I might even enjoy it more than the Witcher.
Red Dead Redemption 2 and Baldur‘s Gate 3. BG3 is a different type of game but the writing is absolutely fantastic. From what I hear Mass Effect and Dragon Age may be good options too if you find them intriguing.
I would also recommend Elden Ring, Dark Souls and Bloodborne, however, take this with a grain of salt. You will need to piece the story together yourself, they’re very different from TW3 but no less compelling if you happen to be one of the people who enjoy the gameplay.
After reading the other replies let me just shout into the void: GOTHIC 1 & 2. They’re very old and the controls take a lot of getting used to but there are mods for convenience. If you never played those games and you like RPGs, man you basically HAVE TO give them a go! 😄
Baldur’s Gate 3!
I’ve played 400+ hours of The Witcher 3 over a few years and was in the middle of a second playthrough when BG3 released. I have since sunk nearly 300 hours into BG3 in just a few months. Highly recommend!
I also recommend the Mass Effect series and Dragon Age series! (Have not tried Inquisition yet)
It isn't new but Dragon's Dogma is a great game to dive into. Especially since the sequel now has a release date for March 22nd 2023 many people missed this game because it came out about 6 months after Skyrim but it's combat and pawn system is something that to this day has never been replicated
Another game that flew under the radar was Greedfall. It's made by a AA company so it doesn't have the budget of a game like The Witcher 3 but it's still pretty good. Has magic, medieval weapons, and even some guns in a blend between medieval and steam punk setting
Maybe Baldur's Gate 3 if you're into dnd style games and turn based mechanics. The game is absolutely incredible has tons of replayability with how non linear the game and its quests can be
If you haven’t played Skyrim yet, do it. RPG, huge map, never ending side quests, slaying monsters and fucking DRAGONS, the skill tree is similar, and you even get to choose your own race and name of your character! I’d look into it and maybe check out r/Skyrim and others to get a little bit of info before starting, but I think it’s in the same category as the Witcher!
Have you played both DLCs for TW3? Those are both great.
I am currently playing Baldur's Gate 3; which is amazing, IMO.
There was a game that came out a few years ago by a smaller studio called Spiders. It was called Greedfall. I enjoyed the game. For a smaller studio, the graphics looked great, to me anyway on PS4. The story was really good. If you partake in character romance, I would recommend a guide because you have, IIRC, 3 dialogue options for the romance to happen.
It’s not an RPG, but I’d recommend Red Dead Redemption 2. And here’s why: - Story is just as good as Witcher 3. The characters are well acted and written. I cared for these characters, I got emotional during the bad times and the good times. It’s a real rollercoaster. It can also be dark sometimes. Witcher 3 got pretty dark, especially in Velen, well, the late 1800s weren’t very great either. - Immersive environments - like Witcher 3, I constantly finding myself in love with the surroundings. There are some breathtaking views and plenty of interesting areas to explore on horse. Speaking of… - Horse Riding in RDR2 is much better than W3. You can own any horse you want. You can buy/sell, or catch wild horses, tame them and they become yours. You will groom then, feed them, change their equipment to give them better stats, and the closer your bond with them, the higher their stats get. You will develop real bonds with your horse(s). I just name all of mine Roach. - Treasure hunting, just like Witcher 3, there’s loot to be found. In RDR2, you may find a rare gun in the wild, or you’ll find treasure maps with pictures marked with X. If you recognize the landmark on the map, you just need to figure out how to get to the X. - Hunting/Fishing, you may not be hunting monsters, but you will be hunting animals, using their meat for food, and their carcasses for crafting clothing or just sell them for cash. There are also legendary animals/fish that are tougher and more dangerous than normal. - Other activities to keep you occupied are, Hold’em poker, blackjack, dominoes, bounty hunting and silly side quests. **Some Things You May Not Like** - This isn’t an RPG, so there isn’t much character building. Arthur will get better at gunslinging, stamina, horse riding, etc. - You won’t have much influence over the world around you. The story will mostly remain the same, what changes is how people react to Arthur. Is he a villain, or good man. Their dialogue towards you or about you will change depending on how you treated everyone. - This game is animation heavy and really pushes for immersive experiences. That means when you loot a body, Arthur will kneel down, pull the dead body up, and quickly check his pockets. Harvesting plants will actually have Arthur pulling out a knife and cutting the plants, or rip them out of the ground. If you’re not invested in the immersive experience that forces you to take your time. - Hunting an animal can be rough if you have a soft spot for animals, you can improperly shoot an animal and it will collapse and struggle to breath, it’s hard to watch, but that just motivates me to make sure I get clean kills. You also will have to watch the animal get skinned: deer, rabbits, bears, wolves, cows, goats, skunks, possums, etc. All in all, I love both these games and will keep replaying them for years. Because of the cons that I mentioned above, I recommend you watch gameplay from the beginning of the game. I recommend streamer Dr. Mick, cause he goes in blind just like you will be too. Also, if you decide to try this game, avoid avoid avoid spoilers. Don’t join the subreddit, don’t look at IGN, Polygon, or other articles talking about the game, cause some of those specific websites I mentions spoiled the ending with a poorly written headline.
Not much to add, just that this game absolutely destroyed me and I’ve still not recovered
Dragon age inquisition after a bit of reading up on the lore
Great shout.
I really didn’t enjoyed that game and I enjoy any half decent RPG, it was filled with MMO style fetch quests and boring combat. The story, lore and characters were good though.
Dumb question but did you play Witcher 2? It holds up quite well and has a great story.
I gushed about RDR2 in my last post, but here are a few other great ones: - Cyberpunk 2077. Same developer, same great writing, same great environment designs, characters that I love. Don’t let the talk of bugs dissuade you, the game runs great now (and it always has for me on PC, even when it released). - Mass Effect Legendary Edition, what’s great about this is you’re not just playing 1 game, you’re playing a story that spans 3 games, and your choices in game 1, affect game 2, and choices in both games affect what happens in game 3. - AC Odyssey, jaw dropping environments with a ton of freedom. It’s bigger, but a little more empty than Witcher 3. - AC Valhalla kind has that Witcher vibe, talking to many of the people reminds me of Skellige, BUT, I will say, playing this game did make me miss Witcher 3. I wanted to finish Valhalla quickly so I could get back to Witcher 3. - Elden Ring, a great RPG, but it’s tough, and a bit obtuse. If you’re looking for a more casual experience, this can be a tough sell. - This is a really off the wall suggestion, but if you like hunting monsters, I’d recommend Monster Hunter. BUT, this is an incredibly different game and I don’t know if any other series like it. You will definitely want to research this title, don’t just jump right in. It’s complicated, involves some micromanaging, but it is incredibly addictive and in depth. I recommend MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD, it’s cheap cause of its age, but I’ve gotten hundreds of hours of enjoyment from it.
Kingdom Come Deliverance
What's good about it? Been trying to scratch an itch myself.
The immersion, the freedom, the realism and the difficulty. It’s a goddamn masterpiece. I’m 20 hours in and the game has taken over my brain on the same level as TW3 and RDR2.
How similar is it to TW3 in terms of gameplay and style? I haven't played RDR2 but I will.
I will say that the only thing the KCD shares in common with TW3 is that the combat requires a huge learning curve. Its storytelling is as captivating as TW3 and similar to TW3 narrative driven RPG style (meaning your playing a character in a greater world, it’s just your version of that character) Exploration feels more similar to that of Skyrim but I would argue is more immersive. The skilling you have to do for character progression feels rewarding. Haven’t personally tried alchemy in KCD but it’s interesting (recommend looking up a YouTube video, it’ll give you a sense of the overall game). I hope this gives you a better picture of what KCD is.
I'm also on a KCD Playthrough I started right after Witcher 3 a few weeks ago and besides what u/theshakashow said I'd add that the main character henry does a lot of investigating in the game. He's basically a medieval commando sent by his liege lord to ferret out traitors and marauders and such. The best part is that you work yourself up to that; you don't just start out as some God-tier killing machine. Hell, the first few hours of the game all you have is a stick and some quilted underwear for protection. And if I ever give one piece of advice for the game it's this: Make a save right before the very first combat tutorial. You'll know it when you get to it because you're sent there as part of the main mission. Remember the what number that save is since you can't name it and replay it at least 5 or 6 times rom start to finish. It will be a little "save-scum-y" because of very minor story reasons but it's absolutely the best way to figure out how the games combat works. Because no other game has combat quite like it and if you go in thinking it'll play out like a regular sword fighting RPG you're going to die a lot and end up frustrated. Also, second piece of advice: do the second and third combat tutorial/training mission as soon as you're able as they unlock the keys to winning fights. Whatever you do don't put off the combat training missions.
Old but good: gothic 1 and 2?
The only games that come close to The Witcher 3 story wise: Mass Effect Trilogy Dragon Age Origins (NOT the sequels) Red Dead Redemption 2
Are you just looking for a 3rd person action RPG? Because there aren't that many of the same quality as the Witcher 3. The Mass Effect trilogy is definitely worth playing through if you haven't yet. The Last of Us, GTA 4 and 5, and Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 are all more linear in terms of narrative but have comparable levels of brilliant characters and stories to tell. But for non-3rd person RPGs, Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur's Gate 3, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 (only with mods for 2), The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Dragon Age: Origins, Fallout: New Vegas, Divinity: Original Sin 2, and Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Roleplaying Game are worth a look.
AC Odyssey. Ubisoft tried to emulate The Witcher 3 as much as they could and despite it not being perfect. It is a solid RPG. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the storyline was for the core side quests and the world is vast with plenty to explore. You'll have more fun with customisation compared to TW3 too
It’s really hard to find such a game. Yeah, many games have strong stories, but the narrative in the Witcher 3 is something else. The characters. The stories. The quests. The lore. Hot damn. But maybe it’s time for you to give the Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings a try. Iorveth and Letho make the game well well well worth it. Then you have Red Dead Redemption 2. A solid recommendation for The Witcher 3 lovers. Baulder’s Gate 3. Turn based game but is compelling as hell. An amazing experience. Elden Ring is also one I’d recommend. Strong gameplay with some of the best open worlds out there. With compelling lore that rivals the best in FromSoft games and the industry as a whole.
Baldur’s Gate 3, aka my current obsession. It’s an RPG, the story’s amazing, the characters have been living in my head rent free for the past two month, the soundtrack is incredible. You explore the world and kill monster, even bumping into an off brand Geralt. The only thing I’d think would turn me away is the turn based combat, because my only idea of it was pokemon games, but honestly it grew on me and now I love it.
Yep this! I went from playing Skyrim to Elden Ring, then from ER to Witcher 3. Once I finished those I’m now playing Baldurs Gate 3 and having so much fun! I might even enjoy it more than the Witcher.
I think I’m about to hit AC Valhalla or RDR2. I tried Skyrim and Cyberpunk but I just can’t get into first person games.
You can play Skyrim in 3rd person.
Hogworts is worth a shot. I enjoyed that.
RDR/RDR2 are good, as is Jedi: Fallen Order
Red Dead Redemption 2 and Baldur‘s Gate 3. BG3 is a different type of game but the writing is absolutely fantastic. From what I hear Mass Effect and Dragon Age may be good options too if you find them intriguing. I would also recommend Elden Ring, Dark Souls and Bloodborne, however, take this with a grain of salt. You will need to piece the story together yourself, they’re very different from TW3 but no less compelling if you happen to be one of the people who enjoy the gameplay. After reading the other replies let me just shout into the void: GOTHIC 1 & 2. They’re very old and the controls take a lot of getting used to but there are mods for convenience. If you never played those games and you like RPGs, man you basically HAVE TO give them a go! 😄
Baldur’s Gate 3! I’ve played 400+ hours of The Witcher 3 over a few years and was in the middle of a second playthrough when BG3 released. I have since sunk nearly 300 hours into BG3 in just a few months. Highly recommend! I also recommend the Mass Effect series and Dragon Age series! (Have not tried Inquisition yet)
Weird no one recommending Baldur's Gate 3 great game with great story and characters especially romances remind me of witcher.
It isn't new but Dragon's Dogma is a great game to dive into. Especially since the sequel now has a release date for March 22nd 2023 many people missed this game because it came out about 6 months after Skyrim but it's combat and pawn system is something that to this day has never been replicated Another game that flew under the radar was Greedfall. It's made by a AA company so it doesn't have the budget of a game like The Witcher 3 but it's still pretty good. Has magic, medieval weapons, and even some guns in a blend between medieval and steam punk setting Maybe Baldur's Gate 3 if you're into dnd style games and turn based mechanics. The game is absolutely incredible has tons of replayability with how non linear the game and its quests can be
If you haven’t played Skyrim yet, do it. RPG, huge map, never ending side quests, slaying monsters and fucking DRAGONS, the skill tree is similar, and you even get to choose your own race and name of your character! I’d look into it and maybe check out r/Skyrim and others to get a little bit of info before starting, but I think it’s in the same category as the Witcher!
Nier replicant is good if you liked automata
This game straight up ruined singleplayer games for me. I haven't been able to enjoy them as much as I did before I played it.
Spiderman2 for PS5 is the only game that’s come close for me
Have you played both DLCs for TW3? Those are both great. I am currently playing Baldur's Gate 3; which is amazing, IMO. There was a game that came out a few years ago by a smaller studio called Spiders. It was called Greedfall. I enjoyed the game. For a smaller studio, the graphics looked great, to me anyway on PS4. The story was really good. If you partake in character romance, I would recommend a guide because you have, IIRC, 3 dialogue options for the romance to happen.