The best RPG games sweep you up in the most unforgettable adventures, letting you embody the role of all manner of different characters. They can come in all shapes and sizes, from venturing to sprawling fantastical lands, to exploring a more linear experience within a sci-fi universe, there’s no shortage of excellent RPGs out there to scratch your role-playing itch.
So if you’re looking for some role-playing goodness to get stuck into, read on below as we take you through our pick of the best RGPs you can play right now
The 10 best RPGs you can play right now
10. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Developer: Ubisoft
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
If you couldn’t tell already from our five-star Assassin’s Creed Odyssey review, this is a leap forward for Ubisoft’s stabby series. For the first time, you have NPCs to romance (whether you want to be a Casanova or as chaste as a saint), and dialogue options. Then combine those brand-new features with the return of naval combat and enough side-quests, locations, and hidden secrets to keep you busy for days, and you’ve got Odyssey.
Your misthios (mercenary) Alexios or Kassandra is truly yours to shape however you wish. With nine endings to unlock, the way you end specific quests will end up impacting the world around you, whether that’s for the better or worse. You know what that means? Multiple playthroughs. If you dare, of course, as you will be kept busy for over 100 hours if you choose to explore everywhere and do everything (and everyone). This RPG put the Assassin’s Creed series on a new path – one that both Assassin’s Creed Origins and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla would go on to follow.
9. Disco Elysium
Developer: ZA/UM
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch
In Disco Elysium, you’re a detective who has a drinking problem, drug-induced amnesia, and you can die in the opening minutes while trying to get your tie from the ceiling fan. There’s no traditional combat, but there are dialogue trees and skill checks, and you’ll need to upgrade skills to pass skill checks – however, it’s a slippery slope.
Upgrade your Drama too high, and you might be partial to the occasional fit of hysterics. All of Disco Elysium is based on dice rolls, which are added to your skill value and stat value – the resulting roll and addition of all the stats will tell you if you’ve succeeded in completing a task, which can be as asinine as getting your tie from a ceiling fan.
8. Elden Ring
Developer: FromSoftware
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Elden Ring introduces you to a breathtakingly beautiful world filled with bizarre, twisted lore that’s the result of a collab between George R. R. Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki – and you’ll never want to leave it. From poison swamps to cursed kings, The Lands Between is fascinating and fearsome. Elden Ring is an absolute beast, taking the best parts of the FromSoftware formula and injecting them with refreshing new elements that attract veteran and beginner players alike.
If you want to avoid that big, bad boss early on in the game, hop on your horse Torrent and level up a bit, or find a better weapon tucked away in a castle full of mean magicians. There are tons of options for players that mean countless permutations of weapon, armor, and stat builds; giving you so many ways to play this game you can easily justify a playthrough or two (or three). Read our Elden Ring review for more details!
7. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Developer: BioWare
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch
Sometimes, RPGs can feel a bit unapproachable. If you’re not a lover of the game type, you might feel daunted by a title that requires an endless supply of patience or a seemingly endless supply of choice. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a game that appeals to hardcore RPG players and those who may have been hesitant to join the ranks. Set 4,000 years before the movies’ events, you are tasked with training in the ways of the Force under the tutelage of the Jedi.
The game lets you pick from three character classes at the start of the game and choose if your character will align with the dark side or the light side of the Force. This is easily one of the best Star Wars games around, and fans Eden as it captures the magical, space-fantastical essence of the films while imbuing the entire experience with choice. There’s incredible voice-acting, accessible gameplay, and sparkling supporting characters. Plus, you get to swing a karking lightsaber.
6. Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Developer: Bethesda
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch
Be anyone you want. Do anything you want. Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is rammed full of delirious licenses to properly live in its world. You can devote yourself to Alchemy and go hunting for a Daedra heart, adventure to the top of the Companions, or just wander around Skyrim making a living harvesting wheat and potatoes as a farmhand.
Sure, the threat of a dragon razing a nearby village is almost ever-present. But despite the incoming apocalypse, your goals in Skyrim are just that – your own. Nothing forces you to accept quests. While we wait for Elder Scrolls 6 to be released, rest assured that Skyrim boots you out into the open with some looted gear and a whole world at your feet, and then it’s up to you to find out what kind of Dragonborn you want to be.
5. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Developer: Nintendo
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch
Link is a blank canvas. A wonderful, quiet, blank canvas that you can turn into a stealthy Sheikah, a fully-armored knight, or someone who runs around in their underwear throwing chickens at Moblins. Link’s personality is so malleable that you can do whatever you want in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and it just feels right. Despite the apocalypse that’s on the way, people have their own business to be getting on with and let you do exactly the same.
From spotting the tip of a new tower in the distance to navigating one of the mysterious mazes on the edge of the map, your surroundings are so intriguing that the world practically begs you to get distracted, fitting perfectly into the idea that Link has woken up after decades in slumber and just can’t stay still. Read our Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review for more details. It’s also worth checking out the follow-up, Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
4. Fallout: New Vegas
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One
You can’t blame The Courier for going on their rampage. Someone just shot them in the head; they survived, and now they want answers. But with all of Fallout: New Vegas’ land available to explore right from the beginning, that can wait. Not really a surprise, considering it’s also one of the best open world games around. You might even decide that finding the person who shot you in the head is the last thing you want, your survival instinct telling you that you had probably best stay away.
Join one of the many fierce factions, try to become the Savior of the Damned by boosting your good karma, or simply create your own goals. Collect all the teddy bears in the land. Clear Quarry Junction from its, er… pest problem. It’s up to you. Seriously, New Vegas isn’t just one of the best RPGs of all time; it’s also one of the best Fallout games ever made. It’s a must-play.
3. Mass Effect 2
Developer: BioWare
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
In this sequel (which you can enjoy along with the entire trilogy thanks to the Mass Effect Legendary Edition), BioWare takes the foundation laid in Mass Effect and builds a beautiful shiny space house on top of it. Oh, and it chucks out the goddamn Mako maneuvering. There’s a completely redesigned combat system that evokes the duck and cover style of the Gears games – with Shepard’s special skills and your squad’s unique abilities; you get dynamic gameplay that feels personalized.
The game’s comfortable place as the space meat in the middle of the “introducing you to this world” and “destroying this world” sandwich gives the plot some breathing room. Into that breathing room steps the most incredible cast of characters potentially ever. The romance options actually hurt your feelings, the background stories tug at your heartstrings, and the ideological arguments between your friends paralyze you. Sure, RPGs are good at evoking emotion and forcing you to make game-time decisions, but the sheer magnitude of how much Mass Effect 2 makes you care is a rare achievement. Find out more about this masterpiece in our Mass Effect 2 review.
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Developer: CD Projekt Red
Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
There’s nothing quite like The Witcher 3. One moment, you can help put the soul of a Noonwraith to rest, and the next, you can head to the Passiflora and engage in some heavy petting (that you paid for). With a fantastic mix of tough (but fun) combat, brilliant writing, and truly difficult decisions, The Witcher 3 will sink its hooks into you faster than you can say, “Wind’s howling.” Geralt of Rivia is both reviled and required by the people of this mythical world, and the tension of being an outsider in an environment growing more prejudiced by the minute is palpable.
But, as we mentioned in our Witcher 3 review, keeping busy is easy. Spend your time slaying monsters or seeking out rare armor tucked away in hard-to-reach areas – the choice is yours. And once you’re done with the weighty and intense main storyline, you can simply download The Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone DLC for a few dozen more hours of hanging out with Geralt and Roach. Simply put, this is the second best damn RPG you can play right now (especially since it got a shiny next-gen upgrade on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S), so toss a coin to your Witcher; you’ve got the time – we’re in for a wait for The Witcher 4, after all.
1. Baldur’s Gate 3
Developer: Larian Studios
Platform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Baldur’s Gate 3 is not only the best RPG around, but it also topped our pick of the best games of 2023. And it’s no wonder when you consider the depth and breadth of Larian’s adventure. In fact, we’re still playing this game today and it’s raised the bar high for every new RPG that comes our way.
With so much freedom to shape your journey, the Sword Coast is a veritable playground for you to experiment – whether that be with the abilities of your chosen class, what decisions you make during major story beats, or who – if anyone – you decide to romance as you try to deal with the tadpole lodged in your brain. With a memorable cast of characters, fantastic storytelling, and choices with impactful consequences, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a massively engrossing experience that is leading the charge when it comes to the modern RPG landscape.