Apocalyptic (not post-apocalyptic) RPGs

[wndrbr]

There's a ton of various RPGs set after the nuclear war/alien invasion/pandemic, where the player is some kind of survivalist Mad Max stereotype who roams the wastes, fights mutants, kills raiders, and loots their belongings.

But are there any RPGs (or games in general) that take place during the on-going apocalyptic event? The bombs fell, an earthquake has happened, aliens invaded, pandemic started, and you are some kind of a first responder who must do what it takes to restore order and tackle the problem.

The only such games i know about are Disaster Report (japanese action-adventure games where you play as a survivor of an earthquake) and Pathologic series (you are the doctor and there's an ongoing epidemy). Dead Rising sort-of fits the theme. But RPGs?

[rusty_shackleford]

Dead State
Zombo games are a bit of a cheat, there's rarely any post-apoc zombo games.

[BlueMemphis]

When it comes to rpgs I am going to have to ponder hard.

But for games in general? Much easier, the EDF series immediately comes to mind as the premise is always the same: the earth gets invaded and only the edf can stop them, haven’t played the earlier games in the series but in 4-5 you definitely get a feeling of things going bad for humanity, emphasized by total map destruction as you typically raze half a city every mission. And realistically even if you do win by the end of the story humanity is seriously crippled.

Sticking to the aliens theme, depending how you play, the first 3 games of the xcom series certainly qualifies, and in terms of narrative from enemy unknown to ttftd to apocalypse things just keep getting bleaker for humans even if you succeeded in fending off the aliens invasion.

Related, ufo aftermath, the aliens release some sort of grey goo and you can see on the world map how it spreads across the globe slowly but surely, easily the best thing about that game.

For something different now: command and conquer, specifically the first one. Sure the primary focus is nod vs gdi rather then tiberium slowly spreading and ruining the world but just because you are too busy spamming mammoth tanks and don’t realise you are in an apocalypse scenario doesn’t mean it’s not happening and regardless of the gdi’s success in defeating nod by the time tiberium sun comes around the world has become truly screwed.

[Trithne]

For something different now: command and conquer, specifically the first one. Sure the primary focus is nod vs gdi rather then tiberium slowly spreading and ruining the world but just because you are too busy spamming mammoth tanks and don’t realise you are in an apocalypse scenario doesn’t mean it’s not happening and regardless of the gdi’s success in defeating nod by the time tiberium sun comes around the world has become truly screwed.

I can't really think of any other franchises to do an eco-disaster as well as the Tiberian series did, and it did it by not being about it, as you say. Tiberian Sun certainly straddles the line between mid and post apocalypse, as the world is still in the middle of being fucked over, but we're well past the "Tiberian Dawn" phase, where the world is slowly dying but you can't see it yet.

What I find funny is that this all came out of Westwood simply wanting to re-use their existing logic they implemented for Spice in Dune 2, so they came up with Tiberium and then it evolved into something more.

[WhiteShark]

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. Game starts off in regular Tokyo but almost immediately the world undergoes an apocalypse and becomes full of demons and such. I wanted to cite other games from the series but in all the other ones of which I could think the apocalypse is either barely prevented or it's long after (there's apparently a thirty-year timeskip in Shin Megami Tensei I right as the nukes are launched, didn't remember that).

[Gregz]

But are there any RPGs (or games in general) that take place during the on-going apocalyptic event? The bombs fell, an earthquake has happened, aliens invaded, pandemic started, and you are some kind of a first responder who must do what it takes to restore order and tackle the problem.

Strictly speaking, X-COM (1994) isn't an RPG, but it's a better game than anything that passes as an RPG these days.

[Tweed]

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. Game starts off in regular Tokyo but almost immediately the world undergoes an apocalypse and becomes full of demons and such. I wanted to cite other games from the series but in all the other ones of which I could think the apocalypse is either barely prevented or it's long after (there's apparently a thirty-year timeskip in Shin Megami Tensei I right as the nukes are launched, didn't remember that).

I was going to mention SMT, first half is end-times, second half is post-apocalyptic. The devil summoner is whisked away to limbo or some other similar place, I forget the actual name. During that time where he gets tested based on his alignment and then sent back to punch a bunch of gods and demons in the face. Canon ending is neutral, so he kills almost everyone because that's what you do when you're neutral.

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[Fargus]

It's quite hard to find a non zombie game that fits this description... Funny enough Skyrim happens during the awakening of Alduin and his dragons that supposed to destroy the world but there is lots of lore wanking on the subject and it never really happens because Alduin ends up being a trashmob flying lizard that you kill with a few shots of your heavily tempered bow.

Then there are Mass Effect games and Enderal where apocalyptic events slowly unfold.

Maybe Dragons Dogma if we're going to stretch further.

[NaturalSelectionist]

I can think of a lot more action games than RPGs that fit the bill. Lots of shooters happen during alien invasions, zombie apocalypses, etc. I guess Deus Ex takes place during a slow societal collapse that's accelerating towards a major change of power, and 2/3 of the endings result in an apocalyptic change, but that's rpg-shooter so maybe not what you're looking for. Same with Mass Effect as Fargus mentioned. And Diablo 2 takes place during a demonic invasion that culminates in an apocalyptic event, but that's clickfest with minor rpg elements.

I never beat FFT but doesn't Tactics' plot kinda revolve around a demon invasion causing a world war? But it's more turn based strategy than rpg. Plenty of jrpgs have that kind of plotline but most are light on the rpg elements.

Can't really think of any Baldur's Gate or KOTOR style games that fit that kind of setting/story.

[rusty_shackleford]

Is Cyberpunk 2077 an RPG?

[WhiteShark]

aliens invaded

Dragon Age: Origins should count. The game is about stopping a giant demonic horde threatening to wipe your kingdom and more off the map.

[aeternalis]

I never beat FFT but doesn't Tactics' plot kinda revolve around a demon invasion causing a world war? But it's more turn based strategy than rpg. Plenty of jrpgs have that kind of plotline but most are light on the rpg elements.

In FFT, the demonic stuff, while eventually becoming the main plot, is also like a "secret plot". The story converges on a civil war in the kingdom Ivalice (with a bit of War of the Roses flavor) and it's fairly grounded in something that feels medieval and historical, while the religious and demonic elements begin to work their way in. There's never an obvious apocalypse, and the apocalypse-stopping happens in secret. (I do think it's a good story/setting, although, also, there isn't really player choice in the plot, compared to e.g. Tactics Ogre.)

JRPGs do tend to have apocalyptic elements, for sure.

[rusty_shackleford]

FFT is one of the few later final fantasies that doesn't go full gonzo, something I dislike about the series & later JRPGs in general.

[WhiteShark]

FFT is one of the few later final fantasies that doesn't go full gonzo, something I dislike about the series & later JRPGs in general.

How do you feel about the propensity for early fantasy to mix in sci-fi elements? M&M had some of that. That's normally what I understand 'gonzo' to mean when applied to fiction.

[rusty_shackleford]

FFT is one of the few later final fantasies that doesn't go full gonzo, something I dislike about the series & later JRPGs in general.

How do you feel about the propensity for early fantasy to mix in sci-fi elements? M&M had some of that. That's normally what I understand 'gonzo' to mean when applied to fiction.

Enjoyable & underused. Not to be confused with generic 'science fantasy'(e.g., Star Wars or Arcanum), but more like they're kept purposely separate inside the same game.

[WhiteShark]

FFT is one of the few later final fantasies that doesn't go full gonzo, something I dislike about the series & later JRPGs in general.

How do you feel about the propensity for early fantasy to mix in sci-fi elements? M&M had some of that. That's normally what I understand 'gonzo' to mean when applied to fiction.

Enjoyable & underused. Not to be confused with generic 'science fantasy'(e.g., Star Wars or Arcanum), but more like they're kept purposely separate inside the same game.

So in that case, what do you mean by gonzo? What's a concrete example? I'm personally alright with bizarre settings as long as they follow some sort of internal logic.

[rusty_shackleford]

How do you feel about the propensity for early fantasy to mix in sci-fi elements? M&M had some of that. That's normally what I understand 'gonzo' to mean when applied to fiction.

Enjoyable & underused. Not to be confused with generic 'science fantasy'(e.g., Star Wars or Arcanum), but more like they're kept purposely separate inside the same game.

So in that case, what do you mean by gonzo? What's a concrete example? I'm personally alright with bizarre settings as long as they follow some sort of internal logic.

https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=gonzo

2. Extreme, unconventional, or bizarre: gonzo artwork; a gonzo snowboarding style.
3. Crazy, excited, or unrestrained: Fans went gonzo when the band came out.

Basically any of the last act twists in later Final Fantasy games.
FF8 time travel, hard to even begin with FF9 — started out with a great setting + loved the multi-threaded plotline, Basically all the 'revelations' in FF10

Someone purposely sat down and thought "hmm, we need to turn these stories on their heads for no good reason". This can be contrasted to sci-fi in M&M games in that it's a gradual leadup rather than just turning the plot on its head.

[Dead]

For me that sounds more anime than gonzo

[WhiteShark]

Basically any of the last act twists in later Final Fantasy games.
FF8 time travel, hard to even begin with FF9 — started out with a great setting + loved the multi-threaded plotline, Basically all the 'revelations' in FF10

Ah, well there's my problem: I haven't played any FF beyond IV. At least now I get that you mean an issue with story rather than setting.

Someone purposely sat down and thought "hmm, we need to turn these stories on their heads for no good reason"

This is actually an element of traditional Japanese storytelling which originates from Chinese poetry. The word is 起承転結 (kishōtenketsu), and translated literally it's 'rise-receive-turn-bind'. Chinese poetry consisted of four lines, each corresponding to one of those words: rise (beginning), receive (continues the thought from the previous line), turn (introduces some sort of change), bind (conclusion that ties it all together). This structure was adopted for storytelling in general, so yes, Japanese storytellers really do sit down and think about how to turn stories on their heads toward the end.

[Stavrophore]

Imagine if someone did RPG in a setting envisioned in Graham Hancock Ancient Apocalypse, either without aliens or with them, being stranded on earth. Speaking of exodus/atlantis, there's really no RPG capitalizing on this theme at all. I think RPGs like high medieval settings, because of versatility of melee weapons and much deeper historical storytelling that can be transmorphed with few tweaks into a fantasy plot.

[Fuze]

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. Game starts off in regular Tokyo but almost immediately the world undergoes an apocalypse and becomes full of demons and such. I wanted to cite other games from the series but in all the other ones of which I could think the apocalypse is either barely prevented or it's long after (there's apparently a thirty-year timeskip in Shin Megami Tensei I right as the nukes are launched, didn't remember that).

I think devil survivor is closer to the definition of apocalypse currently happening, whereas it happens immediately at the beginning of nocturne. A world where there is less than ten human remaining alive is post-apocalyptic for me.

[WhiteShark]

I think devil survivor is closer to the definition of apocalypse currently happening, whereas it happens immediately at the beginning of nocturne. A world where there is less than ten human remaining alive is post-apocalyptic for me.

I thought about listing that one but the problem is the disaster-in-progress is only happening in a part of Tokyo, so it doesn't exactly qualify as an apocalypse. It would have turned into a real apocalypse had the protagonist failed, but it isn't one yet.

[Fuze]

If you do yuzu's ending you end up not preventing it. Also, does it have to be worldwide to be considered an apocalypse ?

[Rigwort]

I want to play a game that is akin to the end of Ragnarok. There just being complete destruction and then being one of those who live through it and see a world completely changed. I suppose the closest I played to that is Mother 3, or maybe... WoW? Eugh. I think it would be a neat concept, like the BBEG wins and you have to defeat him before he totally corrupts a new world after he destroyed the old one? A bittersweet yet hopeful ending.

[rusty_shackleford]

I want to play a game that is akin to the end of Ragnarok. There just being complete destruction and then being one of those who live through it and see a world completely changed. I suppose the closest I played to that is Mother 3, or maybe... WoW? Eugh. I think it would be a neat concept, like the BBEG wins and you have to defeat him before he totally corrupts a new world after he destroyed the old one? A bittersweet yet hopeful ending.

Sounds like you're describing Banner Saga, it happens during events obviously heavily inspired by Ragnarok.
That series would have been a lot better if they didn't have the terrible death spiral combat. Still pretty decent though.

[Emphyrio]

Ultima 7 Serpent Isle
Risen