Top 5 blobber RPGs
With the idea of old-school blobbers gaining a modern following, and a first choice of a role-playing game to be created by indie developers. With the sub-genre gaining popularity once more, here are five games that belong in anyone’s gaming library.
Since many blobbers are part of a series, the top five list will cover all or most of the series. So, charge your staff and sharpen your swords. It’s time to dive into dungeons.
1. Might and Magic IV & V: World of Xeen (1992 & 1993)
Both games are great blobbers. Might and Magic IV is also known as Clouds of Xeen, in which the party must traverse the light side of Xeen and stop the evil Lord Xeen and save Crodo as they prepare to finally defeat Sheltem. Might and Magic V, known as the Darkside of Xeen and is set in the same world as part IV however this takes place on the Darkside of the planet and culminates with the defeat of Sheltem, who was the antagonist of the series from the first game. Having both games then unlocks the world of Xeen which allows the player to take his party through teleporters to each side of the world and unlocks a final quest in which they unite both the dark and light sides of the world.
Generally, a fun game, but one that takes patience as the learning curve is steep, however, with some perseverance the player will have a great time exploring Xeen.
★★★★☆
2. The Bard's Tale Remastered Trilogy (2018)
Produced by Interplay in 1985 and remade in 2018 by inXile Entertainment. The game involves you creating a party, with the titular bard the game is named after in the party. The party choices range from warriors to wizards, rangers and thieves. The titular bard can also be a choice, has different magical songs. These songs can only be sung a certain number of times before the bard needs to recharge, by drinking beer and ale the bard can regain the uses of their songs.
The first game takes place in the fictional city of Skara Brae, where Mangar the Dark has cursed the city with eternal winter. The party must equip, train, and finally traverse many dungeons around the city before doing battle with Mangar.
The second game sends the party to the neighbouring lands of Lestradae, in which a wizard by the name of Lagoth Zanta is ruling with an Iron Fist, the party must assemble the destiny wand, which then they can defeat him. A similar game to the last but with more to explore as the party travels around a whole kingdom and not just a city.
The final game takes the party back to Skara Brae, in which Tarjan the mad god has laid waste to the city. The party must then defeat Tarjan, which ascends them to godhood themselves.
Another great series of games, however, to get the full experience the player must devote a lot of time to each game to get the full story. However, grinding is a big part of the games and may put off some players.
★★★☆☆
3. StarCrawlers (2017)
For those who want to try blobbers, but don’t like the idea of swords and sorcery. StarCrawlers has you covered with its Sci-Fi, cyberpunk setting. In this game, you create a character such as a soldier, hacker, or a psyker which is this game's version of a wizard. You then go on missions for corporations and follow a story that begins with different ships missing their crew.
Each mission can be tackled differently, but with the same outcome. Grab the info or item from different corporations and sell it on the black market, all the while earning the ire of different corporations, who will send assassins after you if you do too many runs against them.
A fun game, but the classes can be a little unbalanced.
★★★☆☆
4. Pool of Radiance (1988)
Based on the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition ruleset, Pool of Radiance is the first in a series of four games. The four games take place in the Forgotten Realms of the Dungeons & Dragons world, and the created party starts in Phlan at level one and with nothing except some coins. The party must equip and then start clearing out Phlan as it's filled with monsters. As they adventure on and level up, they must finally do battle with Tyranthraxus, a dragon who wants the Pool of Radiance to become immortal.
A great rendition of D&D although new players may be confused by the 2nd edition rules. With things like THAC0 and armour classes going down. Also, many might complain at a wizard having one spell per day at level one, but if they take time and learn the rules, they may have fun with the game, and look forward to the other three games in the series.
★★★★☆
5. Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny (1993)
Based on the German tabletop role-playing game The Dark Eye (Das Schwarze Auge). In this game, a party of six is tasked to unite the Blade of Destiny known as Glamring to defeat the Orc Chieftain who has united the Orcs. The party has two in-game years to achieve this before the Orcs invade and the player loses the game.
A good game that does the remake well. However, if the player has no knowledge, then the game can be difficult to start with and requires experimentation on party creation. Also, the game is very unforgiving due to The Dark Eye rule set. Prepare for a lot of game saving and reloading.
★★★☆☆