The most popular party-based games
A party based system allows the player to create, customize and play with a party of adventurers at the beginning or during the game. The vast majority of old RPGs were party based: Ultima, Eye of the Beholder, The Magic Candle are just a few.
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The Bard's Tale
DOS1987 Interplay Productions
The Bard's Tale: Tales of the Unknown was developed by Interplay Productions and published by Electronic Arts for DOS and other systems. The game takes place in the fictional city of Skara Brae, which is overrun by monsters a...
Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate
DOS1992 Origin Systems
Ultima 7 is often hailed as the crown jewel of the series, and with good reason. It throws you into an open world that feels startlingly alive, even decades later. Townsfolk go about their daily routines, you can bake bread if you...
Might and Magic Book One: Secret of the Inner Sanctum
DOS1987 New World Computing
Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum is a classic first-person role-playing video game (RPG) released in 1986 for DOS and other platforms. It was developed and published by New World Computing and designed by ...
Dungeon Master
DOS1992 FTL
Dungeon Master is a classic computer role-playing game (CRPG) developed by FTL Games and released in 1987. It's considered one of the pioneering titles in the dungeon crawler genre. In Dungeon Master, players navigate through a du...
Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness
DOS1981 Origin Systems
Before Ultima 1 came along, role-playing games on PC were about as sophisticated as a pocket calculator. Then Richard Garriott threw players into a digital world full of space travel, dungeons, and dragons—yes, all at once. ...
Might and Magic 2: Gates to Another World
DOS1988 New World Computing
Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World is a classic role-playing video game developed and published by New World Computing. It was originally released in 1988 for various home computer platforms, including the Apple II, MS-DOS...
Eye of the Beholder
DOS1991protected Westwood Studios
Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
Windows XP/98/95LinuxDOS1992protected Sir-tech Software
Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant is a first-person perspective party-based RPG developed and released by Sir-tech Software in 1992 for Windows, Linux and DOS. Wizardry 7 is the seventh chapter in the Wizardry series and ...
Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire
DOS1990freeware Origin Systems
After the success of Ultima 6: The False Prophet, Origin decided to "create worlds" not part of the popular Ultima series (strictly speaking) using the same engine of Ultima 6. They came up with two games: The Savage Empire and Ma...
Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon
DOS1991protecteddemo Westwood Studios
Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon is a first-person party-based role-playing game (RPG) developed by Westwood Associates and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI). It was released in 1991 as a sequel to ...
The Bard's Tale 2: The Destiny Knight
DOS1988 Interplay Productions
The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate
DOS1990 Interplay Productions
The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate is the third and final installment in the original The Bard’s Tale trilogy, developed by Interplay and published by Electronic Arts in 1988. It is a classic turn-based dungeon crawler...
Ultima 5: Warriors of Destiny
DOS1988 Origin Systems
Ultima 5 takes a darker turn. Lord British is missing, and his regent, Lord Blackthorn, has turned Britannia into a police state where virtues are enforced at sword-point. You know things are bad when honesty is compulsory and pun...
Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia
Windows XP/98/951999protected New World Computing
Ultima 6: The False Prophet
DOS1990protected Origin Systems
In Ultima 6, you finally meet the Gargoyles, who aren’t the snarling monsters everyone assumed—they’re just misunderstood neighbors with a different perspective. Cue moral dilemmas and cross-cultural negotiations...
Jagged Alliance 2
Windows XP/98/95LinuxMac OS1999protected Sir-tech Software
Jagged Alliance 2 is a turn-based tactical role-playing strategy game developed by Sir-Tech and released in 1999 for Windows. It is the sequel to the original Jagged Alliance and has earned a reputation as one of the best games in...
Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol
Windows 3.x1995protected
Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol is fantasy RPG game released in 1995 for Windows 3.x, but it runs flawlessy even Windows XP (see this faq if you want to play Mordor in a virtual machine). Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol is a mix ...
Ultima 3: Exodus
DOSMac OS1985 Origin Systems
By Ultima 3, the series had discovered the magic of party-based adventuring. No longer a lonely trek, now you command a ragtag group of heroes who bicker only in your imagination. Exodus, the mysterious villain, is less a person a...
Dungeon master 2: The legend of Skullkeep
DOS1995 FTL
MegaTraveller 1: The Zhodani Conspiracy
DOS1990 Paragon Software
MegaTraveller 1: The Zhodani Conspiracy is a science fiction role-playing game (RPG) released in 1990. The Zhodani Conspiracy is the first installment in the MegaTraveller series and was developed by Paragon Software.MegaTrav...
Darklands
DOSLinuxWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1992protected MicroProse Software
Darklands is what happens when medieval Europe gets even darker than it already was. This 1992 RPG drops you into the Holy Roman Empire, but don’t expect knights in shining armor—expect alchemy, witch trials, and demon...
Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound
Windows 10/112003canceled Black Isle Studios
Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound was an unreleased role-playing video game that was intended to be the sequel to the critically acclaimed Baldur's Gate series. It was initially announced by Black Isle Studios, a division of Inte...
101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy
Windows XP/98/951998 Empire Interactive
So you think you're ready to storm Normandy? Think again. 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy drops you into the chaos of World War II with all the grace of a paratrooper landing in a barn. This is a tactical strategy game that...
Captive
DOS1992 Mindscape
Think Dungeon Master, but in space, and your party is made of four remote-controlled robot prisoners. Welcome to Captive, where the only thing more confusing than the plot is the maze you’re stuck in. Inventive and brutal, t...
Heroes of Might and Magic
DOSWindows XP/98/951995 New World Computing
Baldur's Gate
Windows XP/98/95LinuxMac OS1998protected BioWare
Baldur's Gate a fantasy RPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe which is regarded as the RPG that brought new life in a dying genre in the late 90s. Baldur's Gate was developed by BioWare and released by Black Isle Stu...
Ultima 7 Part 2: Serpent Isle
DOS1993 Origin Systems
As sequels go, Serpent Isle is less “more of the same” and more “everything is different, good luck.” Shipwrecked on a strange new land, you’ll deal with political intrigue, bizarre magical phenomena,...
HeroQuest
DOSMac OS1991 Gremlin Graphics / Gremlin Interactive
HeroQuest is a classic video game adaptation of the popular board game HeroQuest, released in 1991 by Gremlin Interactive. HeroQuest faithfully recreates the turn-based, dungeon-crawling, and role-playing gameplay of the...
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
DOS1981 Sir-tech Software
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is a role-playing video game that was first released in 1981. It's one of the pioneering titles in the dungeon-crawling genre and one of the first computer role-playing games (CRPGs).D...
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I
DOS1990 Interplay Productions
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I is an abandoned fantasy top-down DOS RPG game set in the The Lord of the Rings universe. The Lord of the Rings I was developed and released by Interplay Productions in 1990. The ...