So… You’ve decided to wave your real life goodbye as you melt into a world so immersive that you’ll probably end up slacking at your job or barely sleeping at all?
An excellent choice if you ask me. 😌
Feel, at least for a few weeks, like you’re living in a fantasy universe that’s full of magic. Get to make decisions that can impact millions of lives and entire galaxies. Completely disregard your friends, family, and loved ones because you really need to slay that giant lizard.
That’s what an RPG is all about.
Let’s dive into this list of the best RPG games and get you ready for your next dive; a dive into a beautiful world of your choice. Full of mysterious characters, incredible landscapes, and breathtaking plot twists.
#1 Best Overall – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Now, some people might say that I’m biased since I’m known to love monsters and anything that features them; such as CW’s Supernatural, Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World, and my ex-girlfriend. However, that’s a really small percentage of people. Everyone else agrees that The Witcher 3 might be the most complete RPG ever released.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Gameplay
Left-click to do a faster, light attack and right-click to do a slower, strong attack. Also, you’ve got a few other buttons for movement maneuvers and five more for performing magic.
Seems simple enough. Right?
Well, no. You can get extremely creative, combining these seven types of actions. For example, you can trap an elusive ghost in a magical circle by being smart and luring him in. Or maybe, you are interested in having your strongest enemy destroy his henchmen? How about getting a clueless bandit to turn his back while you eliminate him with a wave of fire?
It’s all quite possible.
Other than that, you can complete extremely engaging side-quests and exploration challenges. These will reward you with recipes for creating potions and blade oils that enhance your power against different types of enemies. Each combat situation is a different puzzle for you to solve.
Oh, yes, you also got two swords — a silver one for monsters and a steel one for people. In the world of Witcher, you sometimes don’t know which one to use; humans tend to be more monstrous than the actual monsters.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Graphics
To say that the Witcher 3 is well optimized would be an understatement. It came out in 2015, and it remains one of the best-looking video games on the market. Still, you can play it on the highest settings using one of the best gaming graphics cards under $300.
When I first fired up the game, during the tutorial mission, I walked Geralt on to the balcony in Kaer Morhen (the castle where witchers live), and I stood in awe. The scenery of wild nature was so beautiful that I had to pause, take a screenshot, and post it on Twitter. I was that impressed.
(Unlike some other games which don’t look half as good and require a more expensive GPU. Looking at you, Assassins Creed: Unity.)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Storyline
The Witcher video game trilogy is a continuation of a top-rated book series carrying the same name. I’m not going to spoil the books for you since they are a real gem in the epic fantasy world, but they tie in together pretty well. The writer, Andrzej Sapkowski, has actually helped the video game writers finish his story.
In a world once plagued by monsters, but now almost entirely free of them, you’ll be playing as the witcher Geralt. The best at killing monsters for bounties, right now he is feeling pretty depressed. Why? Well, there are almost no beasts left to hunt, and the love of his life had vanished.
That doesn’t stop him from involving himself in hunting various legendary creatures that are still breathing, as well as being pulled into all sorts of political schemes: kings, queens, heritages, sorcerers, and manipulative sorceresses. Geralt is pretty sick of all of them, but he keeps on going to protect his adoptive daughter.
Depending on your choices throughout the game, you can get multiple different endings for each playthrough. Completing some hidden side-quests may even change the fate of various characters you meet on your journey. Do I even have to say how high is the replay value of this game?.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Overall Review
As I already stated, this is probably the best Action/Adventure RPG available on the market. The interactive combat system, beautiful visuals, and a top-notch story make The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, my favorite game to this day.
If you’ve already finished enjoying The Witcher 3 (multiple times, as I did), I recommend looking into the upcoming Mount & Blade title which is surely going to capture your attention.
Update: For all you hardcore fans out there, we might be getting The Witcher 4, although it’s unlikely to feature Geralt.
#2 Best Trilogy – Mass Effect
Anyone else loves space operas as much as I do? If you enjoyed watching Cowboy Bebop, Star Wars, or Star Trek, then Mass Effect will be another one of your all-time favorites. Alternatively, you should go ahead and play Mass Effect because it’s quite remarkable.
Mass Effect Gameplay
I have to admit; the gameplay is not the most exciting part of the Mass Effect trilogy. However, that doesn’t make it bad at all.
Controlling your character, Commander Shepard and two of your semi-automated squadmates, you will go on different space military missions. Combine different class-powers, gun types, and ammo variations to either wreak havoc or spread peace throughout the whole galaxy.
As you progress through the game, you will become stronger and more adept at your class powers, and so will your teammates. The more quests you finish, the more experience you’ll get as a reward. You can use these points to upgrade abilities across your team and unlock powerful cross-class combos. For example, you can use a shotgun blast from one of your soldier allies to push a few enemies together and then blast them with an AoE reave using Shepard or another kinetic teammate.
Another thing making Mass Effect enjoyable is the three types of ‘energy’ that enemies sport:
- Armor is weak to organic and biotic abilities, but fire and explosive bullets/weapons will quickly destroy it.
- Shields are also weak to organic abilities, but biotics and warp ammo will ravage them.
- Finally, Health is vulnerable to everything, but you can absolutely slaughter health-only enemies with organic powers.
You can pause the real-time combat for strategic decisions. All three games feature this way of battle, with minor changes or improvements.
Mass Effect Graphics
The first installation is pretty dated, but it’s worth playing for the story. Mass Effect 2 and 3 look much better with updated visuals. However, you’ll be able to run the whole trilogy even if you have a great graphics card under $150.
Mass Effect Storyline
In character creation, you can decide “your Shepard’s” first name, gender, backstory, and choose a class. Shortly after, the intro cinematic will explain the technological advancements of humanity in 2183. During the tutorial mission, you meet your first companions and find out about something that threatens to wipe out all organic life in the universe.
Now, I don’t remember ever encountering a game with so many meaningful choices so carefully planned out. The stuff you do in ME1 will influence your final fight for the fate of the whole galaxy in ME3. Of course, this only happens if you keep the save game files and import them to each sequel.
Your relationships with your companions are also vital. By talking to your friends, helping them with personal missions, and following them between planets on personal vendettas, you’ll help them decide whether they will follow you to the very end.
When you get to the final part of the last installment, you’ll understand the importance of it all. The characters are so well-written that you’ll feel more attached to them than to some people you’ve met in real life. People in real life are overrated anyway.
Mass Effect Overall Review
The Mass Effect trilogy contains one of the best-written storylines in all of gaming. For me, it’s one of the absolute best RPG games of all time, but this isn’t a personal opinion list. (My editor is forcing me to be more objective.)
If you don’t mind playing through the original game’s shoddy graphics, you’ll be greatly rewarded with visually appealing and exciting sequels.
Furthermore, feel free to check out other great games like Mass Effect.
#3 Best Character Development – Dragon Age: Origins
This one isn’t really about Dragons. I mean it is, but not as much as the title would have you think. If it were up to me, I’d call it Demon Age: Origins or something like that.
Still, this doesn’t stop Dragon Age: Origins from being one of the most critically acclaimed RPGs of all time. Unlike its average sequels.
Dragon Age: Origins Gameplay
Leading a team of four characters, you’ll be enjoying one of the most tactical and decisive combat systems ever created. Same as in Mass Effect, (and most of Bioware RPGs,) you’ll be able to pause the game mid-combat and take a moment to plan, strategize, and queue abilities.
The talent trees in Dragon Age: Origins are extremely fun, and you can build each class multiple ways. I believe I replayed this game at least ten times, and the level of enjoyment has never diminished. Furthermore, by completing well-hidden quests, you can unlock specializations for your talent trees that will let you enhance your preferred combat style by a lot.
For example, if you’re a warrior that likes picking off enemy mages, you can become a Templar Knight and gain increased magic resistance and an ability to silence them completely.
Each character you meet will have different skill trees and combat specifications. It’s up to you to select your perfect lineup for each mission. For example, if you’re facing a lot of mages, having an archer to pick them off is a great choice. However, if you’re up against rogues, your archer will be useless without a warrior protecting him. You need to think ahead.
Dragon Age: Origins Graphics
To be honest, the graphics are what you’d expect from a game that came out ten years ago. Not that great. However, they looked beautiful back then, and they are nothing less than acceptable right now. If you’re an avid RPG lover, you won’t let some pesky visuals turn you away from one of the best character development storylines ever created.
Dragon Age: Origins Storyline
Depending on your choices in character creation, each storyline is different. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t get ten unique campaigns at the price of one, but there’s enough variety to call them unique and give DA: O extraordinary replay value.
Whichever character type you begin with will determine your skill set and class. Also, some side quests that are crucial for the main story will be different. Also vol.2, you’ll be treated differently by the whole world, since the game is hell-bent on pointing out the unfairness of racism.
Once you’ve decided who you want to be for the next 40 hours, you can start your exciting journey. After your first quest, the Grey Wardens show up and recruit you. They are a group of fearsome warriors who dedicate their lives to protecting the world from demonic orcs called ‘The Darkspawn.’ The demon-orc-things follow an Archdemon which appears in the form of a near-indestructible dragon.
Come to think of it; Grey Wardens are quite similar to the Night’s Watch from HBO’s Game of Thrones.
As it tends to happen, a lot of stuff goes sideways, and it’s up to you to save the world.
Dragon Age: Origins Overall Review
Dragon Age: Origins would probably be the Lord of the Rings of the gaming fantasy world if there weren’t for a change of management. After the original installation’s writers were replaced, everything went sideways. The sequels, Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition are fun video games to play, but they’re quite average. Hopefully, the rumors about Dragon Age 4 turn into news and trailer videos, and it saves the franchise.
The magic which made Dragon Age: Origins one of the greatest RPGs ever was, sadly, lost.
#4 Best Old-School RPG – Diablo II
Yup, this is still one of the best things to play, even in 201. Introducing the most praised roguelike RPG of all time, Blizzard’s Diablo II.
Aside from Half-Life 3, I haven’t heard of a more anticipated sequel than Diablo III. The latter was quite disappointing, but I’m mentioning this fact because I can’t stress enough the importance of Diablo II in the RPG world.
However, it might not be for everyone, especially if you’re turned away by bad graphics. I mean, the game came out in 2000, almost 20 years ago.
Diablo 2 Gameplay
Even the original Diablo game was rated quite highly. However, the major overhaul that Diablo II introduced has put it on so many ‘best of all time’ lists that I’ve lost count.
The concept of character class development has existed before but never containing this much detail. You could choose from five available classes and decide how you want to develop your skill trees. This meant that you could build each class multiple ways with immense replay value that video games didn’t have back then.
Traveling the ravaged land, you’ll encounter various creatures that came from hell. They’ll stop at nothing to destroy you so, in turn, you’ll have to destroy them using the powerful artifacts you find along the way. At first, you’ll be exalted when a creature drops regular leather trousers, but as you progress through the game, you will grow so powerful that nothing short of legendary gear will actually satisfy you.
After you complete the main campaign for the first time, you can replay it using your existing character. Your level and equipment will be saved, and the enemies will scale up to your strength. This allows you to play Diablo II indefinitely, becoming more powerful by each waking hour.
Furthermore, if you bought the expansion pack, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, you’d get bonus classes and an extended campaign.
Diablo 2 Graphics
Not much to say here. It’s dated and really ugly. However, if you care about the history of gaming and having a fun time, you’ll be able to enjoy Diablo II.
Diablo 2 Storyline
A band of heroes (including yourself), hears a story about a corrupt someone who’s spreading evil everywhere he passes. Of course, you decide to get to the bottom of this story and, yeah, you guessed it, save the world.
Fighting demons, evil in general, and all kinds of evil beings, you become strong enough to face the mysterious threat. It’s quite linear but very well-written. Also, some cool angels are appearing, and who doesn’t like cool angels?
Diablo 2 Overall Review
Diablo II is quite outdated, but also very well-written and a considerable part of video game history. Playing it is not mandatory, but people compare it to reading Tolkien if you respect younger fantasy writers like Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson.
#5 Most Popular RPG Ever – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Even my grandma has heard about Skyrim. I believe it’s literally the most popular game ever released. Funny though, the story is often called sub-par, and the overall experience isn’t as impressive as marketed.
So, if it’s not well-written like the rest of the titles we’re reviewing, and the hardcore RPG fans consider it bad, why is it listed here?
It’s. So. Much. Fun.
Skyrim is so big that you can easily spend thousands of hours in it and still have something to do.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Gameplay
Skyrim features a leveling system that’s pretty unique in the RPG world. Actually, I believe Skyrim was the first game to introduce something of the sort. What I’m talking about are the talent trees which aren’t ‘locked’ from the moment you select your class (like they are in the rest of the games in the genre.)
The more you use a combat skill, whether it’s a defensive one or an offensive one, the more you get to level it up. For example, you can start using a bow and arrow at level 50 and still level it up as fast as you would on level 1. Then, you start putting points into Archery, and suddenly you are a grumpy orc berserker who turned out to be a quite agile archer at level 65.
There are three types of combat skills named after well-known RPG classes: the thief, the warrior, and the sorcerer.
- Thieves can become archers or assassins. Sounds simple but it’s not – you have to try it yourself.
- Warriors can choose to fight using two swords, a sword, and a shield, or a two-handed sword.
- Sorcerers can use one of many spell schools available in Skyrim. The possibilities here are literally endless, as you can either call down a rain of fire on your opponents or make them slaughter each other.
I recommend you pick two classes and then go through the game as a cross-class combatant. An assassin who can use magic to make his enemies fall asleep. A warrior who can heal himself during combat. A dangerous spellcaster who can quickly switch to his trusty swords if enemies come too close.
The fun part is that you can master each of these combat styles if you play long enough. Then, you can switch-up between them as you see fit.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Graphics
Skyrim came out in 2011, and it looked impressive back then. Nowadays, it’s average. By no means is it ugly or unplayable. It’s just… meh.
However, there have been quite a few remasters in the last few years. You’ve got the complete remaster, the legendary edition, and the enhanced edition. Each time they re-did the graphics to try and make the game more appealing to new audiences.
And it worked.
Combine these new editions with mods for high textures and improved resolution. Suddenly, Skyrim seems to be using a completely different engine – a really good looking one.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Storyline
So… As I already said, not the greatest story of all times. Especially the main questline. I even know people who enjoyed the game for thousands of hours and never bothered completing it.
Basically, you’re on your death row, and a giant dragon saves you. Later on, an unexpected turn of events reveals that you are the long-awaited Dragonborn. A mythical hero who can use the language of dragons to perform powerful spells called ‘shouts.’ Shouts aren’t bad, but only a few of them are actually useful for anything except progressing through the story.
After you escape the village where you were the Empire was going to execute you, you go on a long journey to find the nature of your origins and learn how to wield your newfound power. Along the way, you meet powerful allies, slay countless Dragons, and get legendary gear by exploring hidden areas and quests. Also, you spend hours in labyrinths which are actually abandoned dwarven cities; this last part is awful.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Overall Review
The fifth installation in the Elder Scrolls saga is very fun, has an enormous amount of content, and is quite simple. That last trait made it unlikable to some of the older fans of the series and RPG genre in general. Still, I’ve put hundreds of hours into it, even though I don’t like it that much. That’s how hugely entertaining it is. You can always get some of the best Skyrim mods to make it even better.
#6 Best Turn-Based RPG – The Darkest Dungeon
This is the greatest video game ever… if you’re a hardcore sadist.
The Darkest Dungeon isn’t the most fun, the best looking, nor the most emotional video game you can find. However, it is the most frustrating one — even more than the Dark Souls series.
Don’t get me wrong though, the Darkest Dungeon isn’t the best in any category, but it’s actually very fun and looks quite pleasing… Did you think I was also going to go back on that and say it’s emotional and enticing? Nope. Not one bit.
The Darkest Dungeon Gameplay
Unlike Mass Effect or Dragon Age: Origins, Darkest Dungeon won’t give you a team of immortal heroes which are very good friends and will do anything for you if you treat them right. Instead, you will be presented with the option of hiring countless mercenaries and replacing them when they die.
However, this means that if your strongest heroes go insane or something eats them while you’re already halfway through the game, you are bound to start a new run. Alternatively, you can visit the Windows control panel, click ‘add or remove programs’ and uninstall the game completely. Trust me; you’ll want to do that quite often.
The actual combat is turn-based with a little bit of exploration and survival mixed in there. Each champion has a few abilities unique to his class. The classes are a traditional combo of well-known RPG prototypes and cross-classes, so nothing new there.
Before you start a mission, you can choose a formation for your champions. Whether you win or lose will depend mainly on this fact. Also, they might not be able to use some of their abilities if you mess up. Another thing that will affect the performance of your team is their mental health. Like regular human beings, they can develop addictions, turn their backs on you, or leave.
The Darkest Dungeon Graphics
If you consider a video game to look good if it’s very realistic, then you won’t like the looks of the Darkest Dungeon. However, if you have a ‘sweet tooth’ for artistic representation, then you’re gonna love it.
The 2D comic book visuals are very appealing, and they completely capture the essence of the game: frustration, horror, loss of hope, and general insanity.
All jokes aside, it’s nice to see a top-rated video game released just a year ago that you can run on a budget gaming PC with settings turned up to very high.
The Darkest Dungeon Storyline
Actually, the story here is quite fun. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it on release, but it turned out alright. If you love mysteries and horror movies, you too are going to love it.
The game starts with you arriving at the family manor which you had just inherited. The last person who tried to rebuild the cursed castle, your cousin, ended up insane. In order to complete this task, you need to clear out the tunnels beneath the estate while slowly gathering the needed resources.
Soon, you will realize that this is a much harder task than you expected it to be. Countless monsters and atrocities are waiting underground, and they will do their best to stop you. Why? You might ask. No idea, probably because that’s what slimy man-eating things usually do.
However, unspeakable horrors that you will awaken aren’t the biggest problem. Neither for your character nor for the actual you. Stress is the real enemy. Both your champions and yourself will slowly start succumbing to the hopeless feeling of Darkest Dungeon. Your heroes will slowly go insane or start leaving you, while you’re going to start thinking that the game is impossible to complete.
I’m not going to tell you how to overcome this issue and complete the campaign since figuring it out is the most fun part of the whole game. Also, it will teach you a precious life lesson.
The Darkest Dungeon Overall Review
Overall, this is a game that I’d recommend to anyone. If you try hard enough, it’s gratifying and gives you the feeling of working for something and earning it. Additionally, there aren’t many turn-based RPGs being released right now, so if you’re a lover of the genre, you should check it out.
Also, if the ‘turn’ part is more important to you than the ‘role-playing’ part, you might want to check out the best turn-based strategy games ever.
#7 Best Shooter RPG – Far Cry 4
When people ask me to describe Far Cry 4 to them, I just say that it’s like Far Cry 3, only better. And if those people ask me to describe Far Cry 3, I tell them to leave the cave in which they are living and immediately play one of the best games of all time.
However, if those people are paying me to write, I’ll go ahead and write a complete review, and that’s precisely what I’m going to do.
Far Cry 4 Gameplay
Shooting. Hunting. Making life-changing choices. Crafting. Shooting. Riding vehicles and elephants. Doing drugs and going on spiritual journeys. Shooting. Far Cry 4 has it all.
Aside from an incredibly compelling story (thanks to the loveable main antagonist) Far Cry 4 also captures what its predecessor did in an exquisite way. Basically, it throws you into a giant open world and forces you to learn all of the survival skills that a Spartan warrior would know.
At the beginning of the game, you’ll barely know how to shoot a gun. Near the end of it, you’ll be able to craft a bazooka using a stick and then use it as a sword to behead your enemies while riding an elephant.
Okay, that’s actually impossible, but the feeling you’ll get comes close to what you’ve just imagined.
Side quests come in the form of bounties, hunting challenges, racing competitions, and some other stuff which I’m not going to spoil for you. Depending on the level of skill you display, you will be rewarded with an appropriate amount of experience points.
Experience points will quickly build up into skill points which you can use to get tattoos. Tattoos are a metaphor for abilities in your ever-growing talent tree. Each will symbolize a different skill and will make you a more fearsome warrior.
As you progress, not only will you become stronger, but you will start to look more menacing.
Last but not least comes the crafting. By collecting plants, animal bones, animal skins, animal teeth, and literally any other weird animal body part that you can think of, you will be able to craft better gear. This gear will allow you to carry more money or ammo, take more guns with you, or be more resilient in combat.
Far Cry 4 Graphics
Unlike the last few games I talked about, you won’t be able to run Far Cry 4 by using just any PC build. The graphics here are really top-notch, and like most of Ubisoft’s titles, they will require your gaming rig to perform at a certain level.
You can skate by on medium or low settings with an average gaming rig. However, getting the best gaming CPU there is or investing in one of the best gaming laptops will allow you to play the game on the highest settings.
This isn’t necessary, but I recommend it if you want to experience the fantastic visuals of Kyrat fully. The spiritual realm that you can visit looks even better, so you better not miss it.
Far Cry 4 Storyline
If you thought I loved Far Cry 4 because of what you’ve read to this point, now you’re going to think I’m planning to marry it. The incredible character writing, combined with exciting plot twists, is definitely something I’d recommend to everyone. Combine this with the adventurous feeling of being a nobody who is now saving a whole nation from an evil tyrant and you’ve got yourself a full package.
Our protagonist, Ajay Ghale, has fled to America with his parents during his early childhood. However, he was born on a mysterious island, Kyrat. After his mother’s death, he returns to his homeland to fulfill her last request and place her ashes in the temple Lakshmana.
Ajay’s journey suffers an interruption by a psychotic dictator ruling the country, Pagan Min. After a violent first introduction, Pagan takes Ajay to his manor where he is seemingly a guest but is actually a hostage. From there, he escapes, joins the rebel group ‘Golden Path,’ and helps them start a revolution.
His journey reveals a great deal about his parents hidden past, his real power, and his heritage.
Far Cry 4 Overall Review
Most RPG fans are die-hard lovers of the classic epic fantasy D&D setups. However, if you’re able to look past the fact that the world isn’t a fantasy one, you’re going to fall in love with Far Cry 4.
If you complete the main campaign and realize that you just can’t get enough of this game, worry not. There are four exclusive DLCs for Far Cry 4 that all feature unique quests and new areas.
Final Verdict
Hardcore role-playing enthusiasts are probably already familiar with most of the games in our review. However, if you’re a beginner at playing RPGs, I recommend savoring each title from this list before moving on to other, less-known, stuff.
We looked into some of the best RPG games to play in 2020. However, if you’re looking for something vintage or more ’underground,’ take a look at our lineup of the best RPGs of all time, or maybe even some outstanding roguelike games.