Why RPGs Keep Pulling Us Back In
Role-playing games are a unique kind of media that can linger long after the game has been finished. From crafting a character's journey, immersing oneself in a big world, or an action that is regretted minutes, hours, or days later. RPGs excel in being able to create a personal connection to the game. Newer games continue to push the medium with new features and flashy interfaces, and older games remain as relevant as ever because their ideas were good to begin with.
1. Baldur’s Gate 3
This game is so much like a tabletop campaign that’s come to life. There’s some variety in the outcomes of any given quest, and your choices can matter in the long term. You can explore the possibilities without fear of wasting time or missing a “real” path because of how interesting each one can become.
2. Elden Ring
For all of FromSoftware’s newfound open-endedness, there’s still a large payoff for those who just want to wander. Stumble upon something massive, be crushed by it, and return another day. Discovery feels like a reward in and of itself, and the mysteries are so large that it always feels earned.
Cosmic Timetraveler on Unsplash
3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
What sets Geralt’s adventures apart is how invested the game makes you feel in even the most inconsequential side quests. There are very few “right” answers to present to the player, and they often stay with you longer than you may expect. This is an RPG that respects you by trusting you to grapple with moral ambiguity.
4. Disco Elysium
This is a rarity in modern RPGs in that it actually has you playing an introspective game. Your skills don’t agree with each other most of the time, forcing you to make a case for yourself in your own mind. The systems support the story instead of the other way around, and if you’re as enamored of razor-sharp writing as I am, it will cut deep.
5. Persona 5 Royal
High school slash dungeon crawling is a balance that Persona 5 Royal strikes perfectly, and that shouldn’t be possible. The extra time and effort spent in the stylish world keeps everything feeling fresh, while the deeper social systems make every battle hit harder emotionally. By the end, you will genuinely care about how it all turns out for everyone.
6. Divinity: Original Sin II
Creative agency is always the highlight of any game that lets you do interesting things in combat. Divinity: Original Sin II is an excellent sandbox RPG for anyone who likes clever solutions to problems. The game is fun and requires you to really think about a clever solution to some of the obstacles.
7. Cyberpunk 2077 (Post-Updates)
It’s hard to look back at the mess that was this game’s release and just say it worked without any strings attached, but looking at the RPG at its core, it is quite good. After updates, it feels much more like the experience players hoped for back in 2020, and in that regard, it has only improved. Night City is alive, and it only feels denser the longer you play it, especially as you start to pull on the character-driven threads that the game drops along the way.
8. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
This is a remaking of one of the industry’s most iconic stories that manages to expand without losing any of its beating heart. Combat presents a slick combination of action and tactics, something the FF series has been chipping away at over time. Fights flow from start to finish without feeling like there’s an odd disconnect.
9. Starfield
Bethesda’s new space RPG wants to be as big as possible in every way, including player choice. You can focus more on sandbox play and exploration or role-play a narrower character type if that’s what you prefer. You can even just hunt side stories across the galaxy if you want.
10. Dragon’s Dogma 2
The sequel to an already unique RPG continues the trend of feeling like real combat by expanding on more interesting, tactile, and reactive systems. The AI for your party is improved so that they act less like mindless drones and more like actual adventurers. When it all comes together, the battles are so unpredictable that they’re incredibly fun.
There are always going to be RPGs that push the boundaries of structure, presentation, and how players have agency within a game world, but this genre’s roots go deep, long before graphics reached the photorealistic level that they have today.
1. Chrono Trigger
This game is a masterclass at respecting your time while also offering a story that can feel new depending on who you’re playing it with. The multiple endings also help incentivize replaying without punishing you or making it feel like a chore. The pacing is nearly perfect even by today’s standards.
2. Baldur’s Gate II
The reason that this game holds up so well is because of just how deep the characters are and the writing. The way that your party members interact with each other feels natural, and it only gets better the longer you play as you see some of them develop relationships. An old gem that is sure to capture your attention once you start the story.
3. Fallout: New Vegas
Player choice is at the heart of this game, and it permeates every single aspect. From which faction you decide to support or at least play favorites with, to what the final outcome is for the player character, intrigue never stops. You are constantly making choices about who to trust, who to double-cross, and who to kill.
4. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The world this game takes place in is not there to handhold you, and that’s part of the appeal. The exploration is satisfying, but you have to be paying attention to succeed at it instead of being led by the nose like most modern games with glowing markers. It’s an RPG that rewards patience and curiosity equally.
5. Final Fantasy VI
An ensemble cast is what makes the story this deep, emotionally resonant, and varied. Every character has a reason to want to continue fighting, and each of their motivations play into how attached you get to them and how they fare throughout the story. The villain is among the best the genre has ever had.
6. Knights of the Old Republic
The fact that your choices actually mean something and have consequences in this game is such a rarity that it’s still amazing to see just how well-defined your journey through the world can be. The twist also lands as hard as it does because it has earned it with good character work throughout. If you haven’t played this game yet, give it a shot!
Agnieszka Stankiewicz on Unsplash
7. Planescape: Torment
Identity and philosophy take center stage in this RPG above all other facets of the genre. Combat in particular is a secondary concern, and it shows, but in a rare example for the time and still to this day, it is for the better. The questions it asks about memory and identity have not aged at all.
8. Diablo II
The action in this game moves quickly and fluidly, but what really blends with the combat is just how satisfying and engaging the progression systems can be. Hunting for loot is its own gameplay loop, and very few games do it better than Diablo II, making it one of the most replayable games ever. Make sure to set an alarm, or you might find yourself spending the entire day playing this super exciting game.
9. Pokémon Gold and Silver
The entries that defined the Gameboy Advance helped expand on the core formula in new and memorable ways. The most notable of which is the concept of coming back to an entire region you missed the first time around, and it felt revolutionary. It set the bar high for the series going forward.
10. Ultima VII
A world that actually feels like it is living and breathing as you move through it is something that is often reserved for modern games with large budgets that push the boundaries of graphical fidelity. Ultima VII did that all back in 1992 with how it handled its NPCs and their routines and the environment you find yourself in. Truly a gem of its time.
