The other night, I just stared at my monitor for a solid ten minutes, completely empty inside. The credits were rolling on my third Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough, and the sudden realisation hit me: I had absolutely nothing left to do in Faerûn. It’s a brutal feeling when a masterpiece ends and regular gaming feels entirely hollow.
If you are currently trapped in that post-BG3 depression, wondering how any other RPG can ever live up to that level of storytelling, I feel your pain. You want choices that actually matter, complex companions you genuinely care about, and a world that reacts to your wildest ideas.
That is exactly why I put this list together. Over my 12 years of blogging here at TechDhami.com, I’ve played through hundreds of RPGs, and today I’m sharing the five incredible games that will actually fill that massive, Mind Flayer-sized void in your gaming life.
The RPG Hangover is Real
Let’s be honest for a second. Baldur’s Gate 3 ruined a lot of other modern games for us because it treated us like intelligent adults. It didn’t hold our hands, and it let us break the rules if we were creative enough.
Finding something to follow that up with is tough, especially if you are on a budget and don’t want to drop another $70 on a gamble. The good news is that some of the absolute best storytelling in gaming history actually belongs to the past, meaning you can get incredible narratives for a fraction of the price.
If you want that same deep, tactical, choice-driven high, you need to look back a little bit. In fact, turning to retro games worth playing is often the absolute best move you can make after a modern masterpiece, because that is where the DNA of BG3 was born.
1. Dragon Age: Origins
If what you miss most about BG3 is sitting around the camp talking to your companions, getting into arguments, or accidentally triggering a romance, this is your next stop. Released back in 2009, this game is the spiritual ancestor to the modern cinematic RPG.
You play as a Grey Warden trying to stop a demonic Blight, but the plot is secondary to the incredible writing. The banter between a cynical witch like Morrigan and a naive templar like Alistair rivals anything Larian Studios put out.
The combat is real-time-with-pause rather than turn-based, which takes a little getting used to. However, the tactical depth is immense, allowing you to program your companions’ AI behaviour down to the millisecond.
2. Divinity: Original Sin 2
This one is a bit of a no-brainer because it was made by Larian Studios right before they tackled Dungeons & Dragons. If you loved the environmental chaos of BG3—like casting a grease spell and then setting it on fire—you will feel right at home here.
In many ways, the combat in Divinity 2 is actually more brutal and complex than BG3. There are no dice rolls determining your fate here; instead, it is all about managing physical and magical armour shields.
The story takes place in the world of Rivellon, where you play as a sorcerer fighting against systemic persecution. It features original characters with deeply personal quests, full voice acting, and a four-player co-op mode that works flawlessly.
3. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Imagine taking the deep isometric perspective of classic RPGs, throwing in a brilliant pirate theme, and giving the player a fully customisable ship to sail around an archipelago. That is exactly what Obsidian Entertainment delivered here.
You play as the Watcher, chasing a rogue god who has possessed a giant stone statue and is trampling across the ocean. The world-building is incredibly dense, dealing with colonialism, religion, and faction warfare.
What makes this a fantastic follow-up to BG3 is that it offers both a real-time-with-pause combat mode and a fully fleshed-out turn-based mode. If you prefer the methodical, D&D style of combat, you can just toggle it on at the start of your journey.
4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
I know what some of you might be thinking. A space game from 2003 belongs to the category of retro games worth playing, but can it really satisfy a high-fantasy itch? Trust me on this one; it absolutely can.
Before BioWare made Dragon Age, they built this masterpiece using a modified version of the D&D d20 ruleset. Underneath the lightsabres and blasters, the mechanics are fundamentally the same as the tabletop games you love.
The story takes place thousands of years before the films, focusing on a massive war between the Jedi and the Sith. The twist midway through the game remains one of the most legendary moments in video game history, and the companion characters are unforgettable.
5. Planescape: Torment
If your absolute favourite part of BG3 was the bizarre, otherworldly lore of the Astral Plane, the Githyanki, and the darker side of magic, you need to play this. It is widely considered to have the greatest script ever written for a video game.
You play as the Nameless One, an immortal being who wakes up in a gritty, bizarre mortuary with no memory of who he is. Every time you die, you simply wake up again, and your immortality is central to solving the game’s massive mystery.
It is a game where you can literally talk your way out of the final boss battle if your wisdom and intelligence stats are high enough. It values philosophy, poetry, and character development over mindless hacking and slashing.
Where These Games Might Fall Short For You
Look, I love these games, but I have to be completely transparent with you. Going backward in time after playing a 2023 mega-hit comes with some serious visual whiplash.
Planescape: Torment looks like a beautifully painted potato by modern standards. The user interfaces in older titles can be incredibly clunky, inventory management is often a nightmare, and you won’t find beautiful, motion-captured closeups during dialogue scenes.
Furthermore, the combat in Dragon Age: Origins can sometimes feel like a muddy slog if you don’t enjoy micromanaging tactics menus. I’ll admit that during my last replay of KOTOR, the outdated movement controls made me want to throw my mouse across the room a few times before muscle memory kicked back in.
My Absolute Top Pick
If you can only afford to buy one game this weekend and you want the closest possible match to the high you felt playing Baldur’s Gate 3, my money is 100% on Divinity: Original Sin 2.
It has the exact same DNA, the same wicked sense of humour, and a level of interactive freedom that will make you feel like a genius. Plus, because it’s a few years older now, you can almost always find it on sale for a steal.
But hey, that’s just my take after a decade plus of reviewing games. Which one of these are you going to dive into first? Or did I blasphemously leave your favourite RPG off the list? Drop a comment down below, and let’s talk about it!