I love turn based RPGs, where you can plan, take advantage of the environment, plan ahead, etc.

The issue is that most are CRPGs, making them heavy on story and dialogue. Sometimes, after a long day's work, I just want to smash things without reading novels' worth of text.

Because of this, I come here looking for a party-based RPG, more towards Diablo / Dungeon Siege than Baldur's Gate.

Ones That come to mind and why not:

- Divinity Original Sin: amazing game, too much dialogue. Aside from that, very close to what I am looking for (would like less environment interaction, though)
- Pillars of Eternity: amazing game, on the top of CRPGs of all time. But defeats the purpose
- Wasteland 2: Above average combat, too much story
- Grimrock / Might & Magic: dislike the first person view and all the puzzles
- Dragon Age 1 and 2: finished many times
- Dragon Age 3: snooooooooooooooooooooooore
- Mass Effect: love them all, can't wait for Andromeda
- Renowned Explorers: short and repetitive gameplay
- BlackGuards 1 & 2: mediocre, battles feel detached
- I can't remember the title, grid-based isometric. Was very hard, with a spiralling skill tree. Shallow, albeit challenging

Thanks for your suggestions!

Most of the classic RPGs don't annoy you with story much. Might and Magic, Wizardry, Dungeon Master. And maybe if there are some roguelikes with parties, those are the pure RPGs, not much story BS to bother with usually.

Have you tried something like Jagged Alliance 2 or XCOM (old or new one)? maybe that's what you're looking for.

I'd say Blackguards. It's about 65% combat, 20% story, 15% managing skills and equipment. The story is ok, nothing great, nothing terrible but the cobat is really good tactical, turn based, grid based stuff. The only real downside is that, being based on a pen & paper RPG it has a luck element to it, so you can get screwed over by bad "dice rolls".

Expeditions: Conquistador is even better when it comes to the tactical combat part, but it has more exploration in between, random events done choose-your-own-adventure style. It's a great game, but it might be too much reading for what you're looking for.

BG is the one I couldn't remember the name.

E:C seems interesting, will research. Feels VERY similar to BlackGuards though

Edit: Purchased E:C, seems exactly what I was looking for :)

Oh i know that feeling, currently playing Diablo 3 (coop) and the story and voices are so cheezy that it feels like i'm on a morning saturday cartoon show, some npc's join the party and they don't stop talking, cool for those that care but i don't, i just want them to be quiet.

I would say + 1 to Xcom (at least the recent one, haven't played the older ones) and you might want to consider Warhammer 40k DoW 2 and Chaos Rising, i know that it's strategy but it feels like an rpg, you have 1 to 4 squads (1 hero and some soldiers around, the squad is more of a health thing, you lose soldiers then consider that you have less health and less damage so you need to call for backup to recharge), you can level them up and equip gear.

Edit: Actually, forget about Warhammer, there's a lot of conversation there.

Perhaps you should check out the Tactical RPG genre (sometimes also known as Strategy RPG) instead of the regular RPG genre.

Anything good and recent? Played all XCOMs and similar (like Hard West), can't wait for XCOM 2 in a month!

Yeah, same here but not going to buy on release, my backlog comes first. Actually i remember another one, Silent Storm, my only grip with the game is that the movement is really, really tedious, in Xcom you have the liberty of moving and shooting using using a good amount of AP but in SS everything uses too much AP and it can make the combats unfair/boring. It's a shame because otherwise the game is really good.

Something for your radar (because i haven't played them so i can't give feedback), Battle Brothers, Legions of Steel and Templar Battleforce.

Try some of the Gold Box games, like the Pool of Radiance series (Forgotten Realms Collection 2) or the Krynn series. The view is first person outside of combat, but it switches to overhead view during combat.

Elminage Gothic is like the early Wizardry series: First person dungeon crawling with few puzzles (not like Grimrock) and Wizardry-style turn based combat. The game starts out fairly gentle but gets rather brutal as you progress, especially in the late post game. There is almost no story in the game.

Not turn based, but if you don't mind Baldur's Gate style combat you might want to try Icewind Dale. Icewind Dale focuses on dungeon crawling and combat rather than story or dialogue. (Note, however, that Planescape: Torment is not what you are looking for.)

I have to say the game you're looking for is Aarklash Legacy. It's real time with pause, but perfectly balances pace of play so that you have to make solid tactical decisions, you have time to act and react AND it avoids each combat encounter becoming a slog.

The powers are a lot of fun and you have to use them all wisely / effectively (no spamming one "uber" spell or ability here). The interface, UI and power / enemy descriptions are also PERFECTLY laid out - you always have all the information you need right at your fingertips and in an easily accessible manner.

Obviously, I couldn't get enough of the game. And as per your request, it's very story-lite. There's a story there, but you're not going to be making constant dialogue choices or watching a ton of cutscenes. It's very much about moving from one combat encounter to the next and just a ton of fun.

If you're looking for something a bit "deeper" and classic, I'll second the others mentioning Icewind Dale. But for decent depth and ease of play I can't recommend Aarklash enough.

*EDIT TO ADD*

Also, while I haven't played it have you tried Invisible, Inc? I've been meaning to pick this one up for a while now but it looks like it could fit the bill if you're dead set on turn based. My only concern would be that it'll have the same issues for you as Renowned Explorers.

Xenonauts is a really awesome reimagining of the original XCOM. Like you, I also LOVED the recent Firaxis X-Com. Super fun game, that while not without flaws I think did a very nice job of bringing the spirit of XCOM to modern gamers.

This is the one I forgot the name. Above average, finished quickly

I like it more than RE thanks to the stealth elements, played a good amount

Hundreds of hours on all 12 XCOMs, including xeno :)

Same here, haha!

torchlight 2 (you can find a drm-free version on humblebundle some times or you can buy it on steam).