Planescape: Torment

Why recommended

• Features a complex, character-driven story with heavy thematic elements of souls, death, and destiny, reminiscent of Planescape's narrative depth.
• Criteria — Strategy is central to its real-time-with-pause combat system, requiring careful party composition, spell management, and tactical positioning.
• The game presents numerous moral dilemmas and dialogue options that significantly alter the narrative path and world state, echoing the impactful choices in Planescape: Torment.

Why recommended

• Boasts a sprawling, reactive world where player choices have far-reaching consequences and character interactions are richly written, much like Planescape: Torment's narrative focus.
• Criteria — Strategy is paramount in its turn-based combat, which heavily emphasizes environmental interactions, elemental synergies, and precise tactical positioning.
• Incorporates numerous optional environmental puzzles and challenges that require creative use of character abilities and items, fitting the 'Puzzle' criteria implicitly through gameplay.

Why recommended

• Offers an unparalleled narrative richness and philosophical depth, exploring themes of identity, memory, and the human condition through extensive dialogue and internal monologues.
• Criteria — Challenging Difficulty comes from its complex skill checks, difficult moral decisions, and the constant threat of psychological collapse, demanding careful thought and role-playing.
• The game is essentially one massive, interconnected puzzle, where 'solving' the mystery of your past and the murder requires meticulous investigation, deduction, and navigating complex social dynamics.