This will be a long post, but I hope it helps you.

The RPG genre is very vast and has a lot of different variety and styles.

It seems you may not like western CRPGs. They are not for everyone, and as a huge fan of RPGs, I find a lot of western CRPGs to be tedious and not fun myself. However, don't discount the whole genre.

You may like JRPGs (which have a large diversity to them). Games such as the Legends of Heroes series and Grandia II (available here on GOG) and the Dragon Quest series offer defined characters in which you don't have to do any stat allocation at all, turn-based combat and a defined story arc.

Still in the JRPG realm are Strategy RPGS like the Agarest series (here on GoG) and Disgaea, Ogre Battle and Final Fantasy Tactics. They feature turn-based grid combat, but have very deep gameplay and huge variety, but it is largely up to the player to decide how deep they want to go and how many different game systems they want to master. These focus less on stat points (HP, MP automatically assigned per level), and more on skill development (you decide the skills to gain and allocate your resources to develop them), Disgaea also let's you create your own characters to join your party for combat and you can keep making new ones including monsters if you like until you get what works for you.

Still from Japan are Demon's Souls, the Dark Souls series and Dragon's Dogma. These games are real-time combat. The Souls series is known for extreme difficulty and is a single controlled character. Dragon's Dogma is a single-controlled character with AI teammates in an open-world setting featuring real-time combat. You will have to decide how your character develops during the game. You're class, skills, etc.

All these JRPG games are third-person perspective. They don't feature a world for you to move about, but rather you progress from on level to the next on set piece maps. Disgaea does feature random maps in the item world for you to keep playing outside the main story arc.

From the west, we also have huge variety.

Starting with Action RPGs. You have the Diablo series (though I personally think Diablo III is awful) which lets you pick a class and fight real-time combat. The first two games featured random levels (the third does not) and they offer random loot. Some of the head of the first two Diablo games then created the Torchlight series (available here on GoG) the first game is signle player only, the second is multiplayer and offers the same gameplay as Diablo. Also in this category are Grim Dawn, Victor Vran, Van Helsing and Titan Quest (all on GoG). These games are all isometric in perspective.

Next, single-character RPGs featuring real-time combat.

The Witcher series (obviously on GoG) and Kingdoms of Amular, Neverwinter Nights (on GoG). All these games feature huge worlds to explore. The Witcher has a predefined character - Geralt of Rivia - and he uses swords and magic, but the character is defined.

Kingdoms of Amular features an open world to explore, real-time action combat, but it is up to the player to decide the type of class they are going to play as. You do not pre-select your class in KOA, the opening level gives you all the different types of ways to play combat (bow and arrow, daggers, sword and shield, magical staff), to see what works for you. As you go along you then add the points to your skills and develop the play style for you, and you always have two weapons armed at all times. That means you can hit a large group with a fireball from your staff and then charge in with daggers for quick finishing blows, etc. This game is highly under appreciated IMO.

These games feature third-person over the shoulder perspective - but the first Witcher also has an isometric perspective and unique combat system that i personally find outstanding.

Western SRPGs. Rainbow Moon and Fallout Tactics. Unlike the Japanese SRPGs mentioned above, Rainbow Moon features an open world to explore. Enemies are visible on the map, but you also get random encounter - but you never have to play a random encounter ever! Once you go into combat, it is SRPG style on a grid in which you guide your party. This game has predefined characters and you do not create any for your party.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgTIOCBLqio

Fallout Tactics I have never played so I can't comment on it, but it is on GoG so you can check it out there or perhaps ask somebody else about it.

Next CRPs. Now CRPG is really any RPG on the PC, but it is most often used in reference to party-based isometric RPGS. This category features the Baldurs Gate series, Shadowrun series, Wasteland series, Icewind Dale, Fallout 1 and 2, Pillars of Eternity (all on GoG). They feature combat that is both turn-based or can be paused and unpaused from an isometric POV, use the enviornment around them as part of the combat. As you do not like Shadowrun, it is unlikely you will like these games.

Lords of Xulima. You create your party, walk around and explore the world in an isometric POV, but combat is first-parson. You may or may not like this game (also on GoG).

First-person dungeon crawlers. The Wizardry series, Legend of Grimrock series (both on GoG). The wizardry series is just like the first sentence says. You are in FPP mode moving around a dungeon fighting in turn-based combat. LOG is the same, but with real-time combat.

First-person RPGS, but not just dungeon crawlers. The Bard's Tale IV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxdtmhnT1aE

Borderlands I and II. Yup they are also FPS games (the only two FPS games I like), but you never have to add stats to your character, you don't create characters, but you do gain levels and each character has three skills trees, and finding tons of loot and better gear and guns is awesome.

That is not all the genre has to offer. The genre has rogue games, 2D RPG games, a lot of which can be found here on GoG.

Some I didn't mention in more detail, Nox, Divine Divintiy, the whole Divintiy series, Darkest Dungeon, Enter the Gungeon, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic I and II, Vampire Masquerade series, Blackguards series (grid-based SRPG), all are on GOG.

The genre does not suck, you just may not be playing the type of RPG that is right for you.

Traditional RPGs and tactical-RPGs are usually not very accessible. You could trying playing something less demanding, action-RPGs like Diablo or System Shock 2 or even Dust: An Elysian Tail. Some more complex RPGs can still be very accessible, like Divine Divinity or Might and Magic VI.

Speaking for myself, part of the allure of RPGs for me is the sense of discovery and adventure similar to reading a fantasy novel (including looking at the maps accompany the noval). If you don't read fantasy, maybe RPGs won't have the same appeal.

the mentality more to have I think is similar to:

I don't like hundreds of action movies, but I like hundreds of action movies

so it's just a matter of finding what you like, and to do that, you have to try a good number

PS:Torment~

The term is broad so it's hard to say.

The most that can be inferred from you not liking Shadowrun Returns is that you are not a die-hard RPG fan and may prefer less conventional RPGs.

There might still be some RPGs that you like out there. There are a couple less conventional ones that blur genre lines like Unepic, Ultima Underworld I & II, Arx Fatalis, Morrowind and a couple more.

There are also Japanese RPGs (as I'm growing older, I tend to prefer Western style RPGs more and more, but still, there are a couple of gems in the JRPG pile).

PS: There are also some more classical RPGs that were just incredibly well made like Baldur's Gate 2 (I'd skip the first game and go straight to the sequel), the Fallout franchise or Neverwinter Nights. This is yet another avenue that you could explore.

I overcome that problem by reading a FAQ on character creation. Or if not available, at least a manual.

I did that with e.g. Icewind Dale and Fallout. With Fallout, I went with one of the GameFaq FAQs that gave a suggestion for an "optimal" Fallout character where you don't feel left out (like missing some discussions or subquests because you are so dumb). It worked quite well for me.

In Icewind Dale I vaguely took some suggestions from a FAQ, but still created a party that felt like it was mine.


On CRPGs in general... what would be your main motivation to play them? Are you interested in the story mostly, or if it is some gameplay mechanisms, what exactly?

I like CRPGs because I like the ability to develop a character or party from weaklings to super killers over the course of the game. Yes, the stats and level ups.

Some others say they look mostly for a story, but to me that is a secondary thing. A good story is very nice to have, but I can still enjoy a CRPG even without any meaningful story. I consider e.g. ADOM and other roguelikes as such.

Weird way to think. People like different things. I don't like watching sports. You don't like playing RPGs apparently. It's life...

Neither, but I understand where you're coming from. Not everybody has to like RPGs.

I could say the same thing about RTTs (stuff like Ground Control, Total War, Sudden Strike and the lot). I know they're not bad, since I know people that enjoy them a lot, they just don't do anything for me.

The only notable exception in my case is the Close Combat series, which strangely enough struck a resonant chord. I wouldn't give up on RPGs in your case either - even if you're not a fan of the genre you may find something you like eventually.

Have you tried lighter action-RPGs like Torchlight for example, before diving into the more serious stuff? Or maybe more story-driven things like Planescape: Torment?