The future of RPGs is isometric

Isometric RPGs have seen a resurgence in recent years, thanks to the likes of Disco Elysium and Baldur’s Gate 3. After nearly a decade of AAA RPGs aping Breath of the Wild’s stamina wheel and emergent narratives, the genre seems to be shifting back towards the aerial perspective of years gone by. Players who became obsessed with Baldur's Gate 3 now flock to developer Larian's back catalogues to discover isometric cRPGs that have long been considered the pinnacle of the genre, while developers hope to achieve a slice of its success by embracing the old school perspective.

While Baldur's Gate 3's perspective can be toggled and shifted a little, by default it's an inviting entry point for casual-leaning RPG fans to discover more ‘hardcore’ isometric cRPGs. Games like Planescape: Torment, Pathfinder, and the original Fallout aren’t easy for newcomers to the genre (or perspective) to get to grips with, and Baldur’s Gate 3 is the perfect bridge between modern AAA RPGs and the classics of yore. The number of people finding and playing Divinity: Original Sin 2 after Larian’s recent Divinity reveal wouldn’t have been half as high were it not for the welcoming nature of Baldur’s Gate 3.

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But it’s not just Baldur’s Gate 3 that’s changing the RPG genre. Disco Elysium is already considered a cult classic, as proven by the fervor surrounding the four spiritual successors currently in production. Its impact on the indie scene beyond its former employees is immediately obvious.

2025’s mental health time loop Rue Valley evokes Disco Elysium in many ways, not least its dialogue. Esoteric Ebb is a fantasy rendition of the Disco-like experience, switching 2d6 for a d20 and the Thought Cabinet for ability scores. The Thaumaturge – which features none other than Rasputin as your mentor – is a grossly underrated Polish isometric RPG that deserved to ride on Disco’s coattails to greater success than it ultimately achieved.

Owlcat Games, like Larian, has been a consistent purveyor of isometric cRPGs no matter the popularity of the genre. But it has seen unprecedented success with its most recent releases thanks to the subgenre’s growing popularity. In its hands, the Warhammer universe has taken to isometry like a chainsword to a heretic with the surprise success of Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, which Owlcat continues to furnish with DLC despite the fact that a followup, Dark Heresy, is already in production.

The isometric revolution doesn’t stop at the indie or AA level, though. Despite recent reshuffles at the top of Xbox, it’s collecting ex-Fallout developers like Infinity Stones – most notably Tim Cain, who is working on an unannounced project at Obsidian. No matter how much I hope the combined power of the Fallout creator and New Vegas designer Josh Sawyer will concoct a Fallout: New Vegas ‘demaster’ in the isometric style of Cain’s OG Fallout games, I think whatever they cook together will be far more interesting, original, and exciting.

Xbox also has Clockwork Revolution on the way. While this isn’t an isometric RPG by any standard, it’s interesting that inXile Entertainment studio head Brian Fargo told GamesRadar+ that he wants to “bring the level of reactivity from our isometric titles into something first-person.” I’ll be interested to see exactly how that materializes, but with inXile’s experience creating Planescape: Torment spiritual successor Torment: Tides of Numenera, however, I believe it can bring the isometric juice to Clockwork Revolution.

These isometric screenshots of Fallout 4 make me wish Bethesda would return to the genre's roots