The perfect cRPG for old people to get a taste of the hobby?

Kariotis

Explorer
My old people sometimes ask about "that RPG stuff you do". I had them visiting one of my tabletop RPGs a couple of times, they enjoyed the fantasy and story aspects but showed little interest in playing in a group themselves. So I thought about gifting them a cRPG they can play to really experience an RPG for themselves once. They're PC savvy enough to install and use software, but I'm not so sure about them getting stuck with the usual pitfalls of the genre ("What do you mean, only a thief can search for traps?").

Old people noobs are often a bit different from young people noobs. They are more set in their ways and have more refined (and more narrow) tastes. Kids make up for their lack of experience with boundless curiosity, more free time, and being open to pretty much anything at first. And while my old people haven't lost their curiosity and aren't killjoys either, I wouldn't want to frustrate them too much - they got enough other stuff to do than to wrap their head around 8 schools of magic that never do much for the game, plotlines with filler combats, obscure mechanics that grognards get a chuckle out of but mean little to the uninitiated, or fanservice moments of questionable taste.

Hence my question: what do you guys think would be a great game to show an older person what's so great about RPGs (story, characters, freedom, mechanics ... no obligatory list though) while being very accessible? For reference, one of my first ideas was something like Disco Elysium or something like Planescape: Torment or Pillars of Eternity in story mode, but I guess at least Planescape would be too abstract.
 

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Kariotis

Explorer
It's more about showing what a good RPG experience is than a good TTRPG experience, I see that wasn't clear from my original post though :D
 

Reynard

Legend
Supporter
CRPGs can be a little daunting. They often appeal to players who love deep systems. I wouldn't point a newb (young or old) at Wrath of the Righteous, for example, even though it is a really great game.

Neverwinter Nights Enhanced would not be a bad choice. or, for something more recent that feels very tabletop, Wildermyth.
 





That's a weird response. Lots of folks have gotten into computer/video games later in life.
Granted, but that doesn't preclude the possibility of a well-done playthrough being a helpful introduction, or at least entertaining. Doesn't even need to be a CRPG, a TTRPG actual play session could be informative, which seems to be at least part of the OP's goal here - letting the "old people" (who are possibly younger than most of this forum going by that recent poll) get an idea of what roleplaying is like even through the lens of a performative video - or podcast, for that matter.
 


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