No game genre hits like role-playing games (RPGs). From storytelling to gameplay and the choices you make in between, everything wraps together to create a living world unlike any other game type. In RPGs, you are no longer a spectator; you become part of a fictional world, and your decisions have an impact that feels real. And whether you prefer magic, vampires, nuclear wastelands, medieval stages, or futuristic dystopias, there’s an RPGs to sate your appetite.
Putting together a definitive list of the best RPGs of all time is no easy task and is bound to create some discord. Nevertheless, I’m confident that at least some of my picks will find fans among you, be it due to their incredible worlds, unforgettable characters, or hard-hitting stories. Before I get started, however, I must point out that I’ve purposely avoided JRPGs; they deserve a live of their own due to their unique gameplay style, which tends to focus on turn-based combat and linear pre-defined narratives.
Without further ado, here is my list of RPG games that defined the genre, broke boundaries, and to this day deserve at least one play through.
Mass Effect 2
Developer: BioWare | Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 | Released: January 26, 2010.
Mass Effect 2 is one of the best character-driven games ever. On top of the usual squad building and companion stories, you had exclusive missions that had real consequences later in the game. These were not filler side quests either; they impacted which characters lived and died. Every companion had a strong personality and clear motivation, which made recruiting and bonding with them feel important and worthwhile. Heightening suspense, your choices gradually built up to the ending, instead of distilling everything into one single point in the story, like many games do to give the illusion of different endings.
Combat and movement were also great, feeling snappy enough for an RPG without being the focus of the gameplay. Mass Effect 1 was good, but Mass Effect 2 dialled in the perfect mix between active combat, world exploration, and role-play elements.
Taking continuity to another level, the series also implemented save-file imports. With the Mass Effect trilogy, your actions went beyond each game’s ending; you could load your save into the next game, which then took into account your choices up until that point. In other words, your Mass Effect 1 gameplay shaped in some way the future narrative of Mass Effect 3. I could go on all day about the story that unfolds through the three titles. Even side conversations deepened the setting and gave the galaxy a sense of scale and history. The series stands tall among the best space operas, in my opinion, with the second entry in particular knocking it out of the park.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Developer: CD Projekt Red | Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One & Series, Switch | Released: May 19, 2015.
Probably right at the top for many players, The Witcher 3 is undoubtedly a monumental addition to the RPG genre. And for good reason, given it has one of the most detailed worlds, encouraging exploration without spamming you with HUD/mini-map markers. You could easily spend hours wandering through the main cities, watching NPCs go about their daily routines, and getting caught in random encounters at every turn.
The main story missions are great, as they should be, but when it comes to side quests, The Witcher 3 is best in class. Each side quest is brought to life with voice-overs, character interactions, and potential impact on the main story. While I tend to bypass secondary missions in some games, in The Witcher 3 I finished every last one. The Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone DLCs alone are frequently compared to full-priced games, giving you a feel of the level of quality CD Projekt Red put into its craft, and proving that open worlds can have excellent writing.
As is the case with great RPGs, your choices in The Witcher 3 rippled through the world and impacted the ending. Contracts as basic as slaying a monster could turn out to be a much more complicated story with background and emotional depth. You don’t even need to reach deep into the main story to encounter one of these – don’t say I didn’t warn you when you get to the bit involving an unborn child. Also, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt lets you carry forward prior choices in a similar fashion to Mass Effect.
While combat leans into potion usage, debuffs, and knowledge of enemy weak points, you could still hammer your way through and play it as if it were an action-adventure. This made the game way more accessible to those who traditionally haven’t cared for the RPG genre.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Developer: Larian Studios | Platforms: PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series | Released: August 3, 2023.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game that brought the CRPG genre back into the spotlight, all while giving it a modern twist. Cults, gods, magic, and branching dialogues that can unfold in different ways depending on your approach. The Witcher 3 and Mass Effect 2 already handle player choice and its consequences in a great way, but Baldur’s Gate 3 takes things to a whole new level.
The game is all about freedom and choice. Regardless of whether you are discussing trivial matters with an NPC or preparing your next mission, every choice has the potential of shaping the story in ways you may not expect. To give you a sense, Larian Studios said that the game has around 17,000 possible ending variations when you factor in all the small permutations, which are based on who lives and who dies, as well as romance outcomes. Every single companion has a full arc that can unfold in multiple directions depending on your relationship with them.
With Baldur’s Gate 3, you are not following a linear adventure; you are building your own. There is so much beauty and potential that you need to finish the game multiple times, just to sate your curiosity of what could happen. And all of that is available from day one, with no DLCs and no paywalled content. A breath of fresh air at a time when every new game seems to have your wallet in its sight. The possibilities are endless, as evidenced by the romance elements, where you can even pursue a bear. Yeah, it’s technically a druid in his bear form, but still, it gives the impression that anything is possible.
The turn-based combat is tactical, rewarding good planning and knowledge. It borrows a lot from classic tabletop games, which isn’t surprising considering its roots in Dungeons and Dragons, yet it doesn’t feel overly complicated or sluggish. Of course, you can get very picky with each detail and stat, but the game remains accessible to those who want to dip their toe in this genre. Where many game sequels struggle to reach the quality of their predecessors, two decades after the release of Baldur’s Gate II, Larian Studios managed to create a sequel that exceeded player expectations.
Fallout: New Vegas
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment | Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Released: October 19, 2010.
There’s a reason players get a hit of nostalgia when reminiscing about New Vegas. Obsidian managed to craft a more believable world than any other Fallout game to date. Good writing, engaging quests, and character background intertwined to make a world that feels true. The game offered strong faction politics, sharp dialogue, and morally messy choices. Decision making wasn’t as simple as good and evil, which strengthened its role-playing aspect.
When it came to endgame choice and impact, New Vegas literally blows things away. How about eradicating an entire game faction using Nukes? Well, that’s a possibility. This ensured high probability that your journey would differ from your friends’, prompting discussions and comparisons that could lead to a new playthrough because you wanted to try something you heard about.
You could stay independent, back different factions, manipulate them, or betray them, all of which affected the game world in some way. Instead of a simple karma meter, you had to navigate competing faction interests and opposing ideologies. I was absorbed back in 2010, and believe you me, it wasn’t easy trying to balance all those choices between school and homework.
Your build mattered; skills, perks, stats, traits, and faction reputation each opened or closed dialogue and exploration routes. In New Vegas, you were not simply picking how and who to fight, you defined who your character would be. New Vegas is a game where opening a sewer plate expecting rats and poop can lead you to discover a cult practising organised monster fights.
It’s fair to say the gameplay is somewhat dated by today’s standards, yet with a little patience, it’s easy to see past the shortcoming and enjoy a deep, fulfilling experience. The game is not perfect in design, yet it feels authentic to its genre, to the extent that it redefined what RPG games should look like and became a hallmark of the Fallout series. New Vegas is absolutely a blast from the past.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios | Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3 & 4 & 5, Xbox 360 & One & Series, Switch | Released: November 11, 2011.
If you have a lot of free time coming up and want to lose yourself in a mystic world, Skyrim is the destination you are looking for. Huge mountains, snow-covered peaks, forests, and ice caves, this world is vast and varied. Each town and city has something unique about it, brimming with NPCs to interact with, and quests to accomplish. Most importantly, you are not pushed down one fixed path; you can be a warrior, a thief, or an assassin, and interact with the world accordingly.
While Skyrim’s story isn’t the best and its factions won’t blow you away, it remains an unforgettable open-world experience. The game masters the feeling of adventure; almost every direction leads to a cave, ruin, or strange encounter, rewarding curiosity. The game is less about deep branching consequences and more about letting you live in its world.
From the get-go you can explore any place you want, whether that be the main quest, a cavern you saw from afar, or joining a guild you heard about; it’s entirely up to you. I lost count of the amount of times I’d be walking towards a main objective only to notice something interesting along the way and be diverted to another storyline. Skyrim can also generate infinite procedural quests, though they can become repetitive. As for the rare loot you get for your struggles, it can be worth it, offering unique properties instead of basic stat buffs.
The love for Skyrim is perhaps best represented by the gaming community turning it into one of the modest modded titles of all time. 14 years after launch, modders are ensuring the game remains in tip-top shape, improving its graphics, customising its world, and even adding new story arcs. It was re-released six times: on modern consoles, handhelds, and even VR, and its status in pop culture has made it a prime candidate for memes that never fail to make me chuckle.
Honourable mentions
The above five are in no particular order – trimming the list down was tricky enough – and there are plenty of other great RPGs that didn’t make my shortlist. I’d be remiss not to mention at least a handful of my favourites, which include:
- Dragon Age: Origins – a choice-heavy fantasy RPG that revived classic CRPG design with its modern presentation.
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution – a cyberpunk RPG where freedom defines progression, blending stealth, combat, hacking, and dialogue.
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – a narrative-first RPG set in the Star Wars universe that delivered one of the genre’s most memorable moral arcs and plot revelations.
- Divinity: Original Sin 2 – the game that laid the groundwork for Baldur’s Gate 3.
Some of the titles are coming up to two decades old, yet if you’re a fan of the genre, or just starting your addiction, I’m adamant every RPG I’ve referenced warrants at least one playthrough. Prefer playing something that isn’t going to take over your life? Then be sure to check out my take on the best strategy and FPS games of all time.
