Baldur’s Gate 3 sold over 20 million copies. It won Game of the Year at every major ceremony simultaneously, which genuinely hadn’t happened before. And then it ended, Larian confirmed there’s no DLC or sequel coming, and millions of people sat there wondering what to play next.
The problem with most “games like BG3” articles is that they just list other CRPGs. “It’s a CRPG, you’ll love other CRPGs” is technically true and practically useless, because BG3 attracted people for completely different reasons.
Some of you loved the companions and the romance arcs. Some of you loved figuring out 12-action-economy turns and watching the tactical choreography land. Some of you loved playing through the whole thing with a friend or partner.
These are not the same person. They need different recommendations.
This list is organized by what you loved about BG3. Find your profile, skip straight to your section.
Quick note on time investment
I’m including approximate time-to-beat for everything here because at 3-7 hours a week, these numbers matter. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous at 100-200 hours is a year-long commitment at that pace. Disco Elysium at 30-40 hours is about six weeks. These aren’t the same decision.
Profile 1: “I loved the story, companions, and romance arcs”
You’re not primarily a tactics person. You want rich characters with real motivations, story decisions that feel like they matter, and relationships that develop over time. Astarion, Shadowheart, and Karlach are why you played 80 hours.
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
Platforms: PC, PS4/5, Xbox, Switch | Price: ~$39.99 (often $8 on sale) | Time: 30-45 hours
The most literary RPG ever made. You play a detective who has drunk himself into amnesia and is trying to solve a murder while reassembling his own personality. There’s no combat , encounters are entirely skill checks and dialogue choices. Your character’s internal voices argue with each other as you make decisions.
The writing is in a different league from virtually everything else in gaming. Characters feel real in the way that characters in good novels feel real. The politics, the philosophy, the humor, and the grief all land without feeling forced.
If BG3 caught you because of its writing and characters rather than its combat, Disco Elysium is your next game. It’s the single strongest recommendation I can make for narrative-focused BG3 fans.
What it doesn’t have: Any combat. If you need some kind of action to stay engaged, this won’t work for you.
Dragon Age: Origins
Platforms: PC (best version), Xbox 360/PS3 (backward compatible) | Price: ~$14.99 | Time: 40-80 hours
BG3’s spiritual predecessor in terms of companion writing. The six companions in Dragon Age: Origins are still some of the best-written characters in RPG history , Morrigan’s acerbic pragmatism, Alistair’s earnest jokes covering real vulnerability, Leliana’s faith-tested-by-experience. Approval/disapproval systems drive relationship development in ways that feel earned.
The real-time-with-pause combat hasn’t aged perfectly, but the tactics depth still works. The main story , a Blight threatening a kingdom while political factions argue about who should lead the response , is genuinely excellent.
Dragon Age: Origins is 17 years old and still one of the best Western RPGs ever made. If you’ve never played it, you’re overdue.
What it doesn’t have: Turn-based combat, co-op, modern production values. The early areas are rough to revisit.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox (Game Pass day one) | Price: ~$49.99 | Time: 35-50 hours
The surprise of 2025. A French indie studio made a turn-based RPG about a world where an entity called The Paintress appears each year and erases everyone above a certain age. The story is a meditation on mortality, grief, and what we owe each other.
It won GOTY at The Game Awards 2025 with 9 awards , more than any other game. 5 million copies in its first weeks. Metacritic 92.
The combat system mixes turn-based decisions with real-time parry/dodge inputs, which makes it feel more alive than pure turn-based. The story hits harder than expected for a game about art and existential dread. The companions are well-written enough that you’ll care what happens to them.
Was on Game Pass at launch. Check availability before buying.
What it doesn’t have: Co-op, the D&D ruleset, the open-ended quest design of BG3.
Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox, Switch, iOS | Price: ~$19.99 (often $5 on sale) | Time: 25-50 hours
The original “what can change the nature of a man?” RPG. You play The Nameless One , an immortal who keeps dying and waking up in a new body with no memory. The game is almost entirely about talking, reading, and making choices.
The combat is a known weak point. Skip it in difficulty settings if needed , you’re here for the writing, and the writing is extraordinary. The companions include a floating skull who is funnier than most comedies and a fallen angel working through genuine grief.
Old enough that some UI patterns feel dated, but the Enhanced Edition smooths the sharpest edges. For narrative-focused BG3 fans who want something different in tone and setting.
Profile 2: “I loved the tactical combat and build optimization”
You spent 45 minutes planning a single ambush. You’ve tried six different party compositions. You actually read the D&D 5e rules to optimize your action economy. The story is fine, but the game is really the tactical puzzle.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Platforms: PC, PS4/5, Xbox, Switch, iPad | Price: ~$44.99 (often $13-17 on sale) | Time: 60-100 hours
The game Larian made before BG3, and the most direct comparison in the genre. Turn-based tactical RPG with a fully realized world, environmental interactions (everything is flammable, everything reacts with everything else), and four-player co-op.
The combat is arguably deeper than BG3’s because the elemental interaction system creates emergent tactical options that BG3’s D&D framework doesn’t have. Set fire to an oil puddle, then someone teleports an enemy into the fire, then someone else freezes it , combat becomes improvisational choreography.
The narrative isn’t as strong as BG3, and the early Act 1 (Fort Joy) is notorious for being a rough start. Push through it. The game opens significantly once you’re past the first area.
Who this is for: Every profile, honestly, but combat-focused players will specifically love the freedom the elemental system provides.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
Platforms: PC, PS4/5, Xbox, Switch | Price: ~$49.99 (often $12-15) | Time: 100-200 hours
This is the “I want MORE mechanics” game. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous uses Pathfinder 1st Edition rules, which are significantly more complex than D&D 5e. The build space is enormous. The tactical options are extensive. It has both turn-based and real-time-with-pause modes.
The mythic powers system lets your character transcend mortal limits and become something approaching divine , there are roughly ten mythic paths with genuinely different mechanical identities.
The honest caveats: the early game is overwhelming. The mythic power system is confusing until it clicks. The opening hours are not representative of the game at its best. And 100-200 hours is a genuine commitment.
If you finished BG3’s tactical content and wanted MORE systems, more builds, and more depth even at the cost of complexity , this is your game.
Solasta: Crown of the Magister
Platforms: PC, Xbox | Price: ~$39.99 (often $10) | Time: 40 hours
The game for players who specifically loved the D&D 5e ruleset in BG3 and want more of that exact system. Solasta is the most faithful video game adaptation of D&D 5e available , more rules-accurate than BG3 in several ways, including support for verticality in combat that BG3 doesn’t have.
It’s a small-studio game and the production values show , writing is functional rather than great, characters are serviceable. But the combat is excellent if you love the system. Four-player co-op added post-launch.
Genuinely underrated in discussions of BG3 alternatives because the “lesser production values” concern overshadows how well it does the one thing combat-focused BG3 fans want.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch 2 | Price: ~$49.99 | Time: 100-130 hours
Turn-based CRPG set in the Warhammer 40K universe. You’re a Rogue Trader , a noble granted a warrant to explore the edges of the Imperium with unusual autonomy. Made by Owlcat Games (same studio as Pathfinder: WotR), so the combat pedigree is solid.
The setting is genuinely different from the typical fantasy CRPG , grimdark sci-fi with political intrigue among the crew. Cross-platform co-op works well for the audience that loved playing BG3 with a friend.
The companion writing is Owlcat’s best yet, with the caveat that nothing matches Larian’s production quality.
Profile 3: “The best part was playing with my partner or friends”
You did co-op and now you need more co-op. The tactical stuff and story matter but what you’re really chasing is that shared experience of playing through something together.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 (again, for different reasons)
Up to 4-player co-op, online and local split-screen. The tactical combat creates natural moments to discuss and debate. Each player controls their own character with their own inventory and choices. Arguments over whose turn it was to pick up that magic armor are a feature, not a bug.
Solasta: Crown of the Magister (again)
4-player co-op with the D&D 5e rules many BG3 co-op players already know. The most accessible entry point for groups who want more tabletop-adjacent co-op RPG.
It Takes Two
Not a CRPG at all, but the best co-op game made in the past decade if what you want is an experience designed specifically for two people. Platformer/adventure game that changes genre every chapter. If you played BG3 with a partner and want something with the same “we’re doing this together” energy but more casual, this is the recommendation.
The Quick-Reference Table
| Game | Best Profile | Co-op | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disco Elysium | Narrative | No | 30-45h | ~$39.99 |
| Dragon Age: Origins | Narrative | No | 40-80h | ~$14.99 |
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Narrative + Combat | No | 35-50h | ~$49.99 |
| Planescape: Torment | Narrative | No | 25-50h | ~$19.99 |
| Divinity: Original Sin 2 | All | Yes (4p) | 60-100h | ~$44.99 |
| Pathfinder: WotR | Deep Combat | No | 100-200h | ~$49.99 |
| Solasta: Crown of the Magister | Combat (D&D 5e) | Yes (4p) | 40h | ~$39.99 |
| Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader | Combat + Narrative | Yes (cross-platform) | 100-130h | ~$49.99 |
| Pillars of Eternity | Narrative | No | 40-100h | ~$29.99 |
| Tyranny | Narrative (shorter) | No | 25-40h | ~$29.99 |
One More Thing: Larian’s Next Game
Larian confirmed no BG3 DLC or sequel in development. Their next project was announced at The Game Awards 2025 as a new Divinity game , back to their own IP. An HBO TV series adapting BG3 is in development with Craig Mazin producing.
If you’re waiting for more Larian in the BG3 style: it’s going to be a few years. In the meantime, the games above will keep you covered.
Which BG3 alternative surprised you most? Drop it in the comments , always interested in the ones that land for people who weren’t expecting them.
About the Author: Fred is one half of Two Average Gamers, a community-focused gaming site dedicated to helping regular folks enjoy gaming without the toxicity. He has played Disco Elysium twice and considers it required reading for anyone who claims to care about video game writing.
More from the Game Discovery Guide
This article is part of our Game Discovery Guide , TAG’s complete framework for finding games you’ll actually love.
- 12 Games Like Baldur’s Gate 3 (Organized by What You Loved)
- Games Like Stardew Valley: 15 Cozy Games for Unwinding
- Hidden Gems of 2025: The Best Games Nobody Talked About
- Xbox Game Pass Hidden Gems: 20 Games Worth Playing Right Now
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