Divinity: Original Sin

This is a tactical RPG, with a great story, top down view, lots of lore, but it's not D&D based. I guess you could call this a general PC role-playing game. The original was good enough for people to fund a Kickstarter project and they knocked it out of the park! What really helps Divinity: Original Sin stand out from other PC RPGs is how all the spells, effects and environments interact. If you hit a puddle of water with fire, you'll get steam and if you hit poison with fire - boom! You can get really creative.

Keep an eye on your dialogue choices while playing, there are so many decisions that can permanently affect your character. This can be a huge plus on one hand, or a source of great frustration on the other. Either way, it's fun.

If you like this, you might also enjoy: Pillars of Eternity (very new, but seems great)

Mass Effect

I would call this "gaming meets cinema". I need to give huge props to the developers (Bioware again!) for their work on bringing it to life. More than half the time I felt like I was in a movie! I found myself wanting to speak to characters just so I could watch those facial animations more.

As far as story-telling goes, this game takes the cake. Apart from having a great plot with good pacing and lots of lore (that doesn't distract), it also has the kind of dramatic moments that one would only expect from quality cinema. It's surprising that this wasn't a book first.

If you like this, you might also enjoy: Mass Effect 2 and 3 (you'll want them for the story), The Witcher series (also great, but much slower, which may put some gamers off), Dragon Age: Origins, Deus Ex: Human Revolution