Summary

• RPGs like Final Fantasy 7 and Skyrim set the bar high, making it tough for other games to measure up in the genre.
• The best RPGs immerse players in rich worlds with memorable characters, powerful themes, and meaningful choices.
• Games like Baldur's Gate 3 value player choices, embracing the role-playing aspect and setting new standards for the genre.

Sometimes, a game comes along that completely redefines its genre, changing how people think and feel about what comes after it — and sometimes, an RPG arrives that raises the bar so high those that follow struggle. And if that genre-defining RPG, like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, happens to be the first one someone plays, then it can ruin other RPGs when they are compared.

The very best RPGs are capable of not only telling a compelling story but fully immersing people for hours in rich worlds that feel alive. With memorable characters, powerful themes, and choices that matter, RPGs let people be someone else to live a life they could never have and roleplay characters vastly different from themselves. Each of these RPGs changes the game, rewriting what it meant to be an RPG, introducing what would become standard features, or creating a level of immersion that at the time was unmatched.

10 Mass Effect - Released 2007

Created An Epic Space Opera

Mass Effect, the first game in the Mass Effect series, used a mixture of interpersonal relationships, interactive storytelling, and cinematics to create a game that blew people away. Although the visuals were a little hit-and-miss, the overall experience and promise that choices mattered kept people engaged and launched one of the most loved game series. The clever world-building in the first Mass Effect set a new standard for those seeking to create new IPs, as the writing established the rules and elements of the universe as the player progressed.

9 Final Fantasy 7 - Released 1997

The First 3D Final Fantasy Game

For many, Final Fantasy 7 was the first Final Fantasy game they played as it brought JRPGs to a wider audience with its graphics, massive world, and incredible story. Indeed, when some think of Final Fantasy, they will immediately think of FF7 and its amazing cast of characters. FF7 is filled with iconic moments that continue to resonate through the RPG genre that in some ways have yet to be matched. It's hard to describe looking back at the game through modern eyes, just how epic FF7 felt when it first arrived and just how engrossing it was to play.

8 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - Released 2011

A Huge Sandbox World To Create Adventures

For better or worse, Skyrim changed the face of RPGs upon release, with it’s massive open world offering the chance to do almost everything. While the exploration and environmental storytelling in Skyrim was second to none, however, many felt that the factions and questlines were lacking.

Beyond the main quest, there are hundreds of NPC with their own routines and countless side quests, some of which are tragic while others are hilarious. Regardless, Skyrim remains one of the most replayable games, with hundreds of character builds, a thriving modding community, and new areas still being discovered even 12 years later.

7 Baldur’s Gate - Released 1998

Introduced Radical New Mechanics That Became The Norm

The world of the Forgotten Realms and Faerûn were brought to life in Baldur's Gate with an exciting and compelling story that drew players in. It's hard to describe just how revolutionary some of the mechanics introduced in Baldur's Gate were, with the morality system perhaps standing out the most. The story and companions reacting to player choices made everything feel more personal and is something that games that followed attempted to emulate with mixed success.

6 Fallout: New Vegas - Released 2010

Found The Balance Between The Different Styles Of Fallout Games

Perhaps the best installment in the Fallout franchise, Fallout: New Vegas, took the new FPS style of Fallout 3 and expanded it into a true RPG that stayed true to the original isometric Fallout installments. The level of detail and brilliance in Fallout: New Vegas is still something that struggles to be matched with characters, quests and exploration all on equal footing in of quality. Boasting some of the best factions and true consequences for choices, F:NV rewards multiple playthroughs rather than expects them.

5 Dragon Age: Origins - Released 2009

An Immersive and Complex World To Get Lost In

Dragon Age: Origins may have aged poorly in of graphics and combat, but its world-building, lore, and story set a new bar for RPGs upon its release. Featuring multiple origins for players to choose from, each Warden was unique with their own background and personal story, which helped immerse players in the world. With multiple endings and world states, which then had to be taken into for the sequels, DA:O respected player choices and felt like a game of Dungeons & Dragons where anything was possible, something that was unmatched until Baldur's Gate 3 arrived.

4 Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic - Released 2003

The First Star Wars RPG That Has Yet To Be Matched

Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic threw players into the world of Star Wars head first, crafting a story filled with characters whose legacies still live on in the franchise today. KOTOR used the Force to implement a morality system that influenced all other RPGs that came after it, along with a world that reacted to that system in a believable way. However, KOTOR is probably ed best for its amazing twist, which, despite coming as a shock, is still believable and tied in with the reality of the story KOTOR had woven.

3 Persona 5 Royal - Released 2019

Improved And Enhanced A Beloved Game

Boasting a cast of memorable and well-written characters, an astonishing, immersive world, and some amazing narrative storytelling is Persona 5 Royal. Gorgeous and stylish, Persona 5 Royal also set a new bar in of artistic but functional UI. From its combat system to replay value, Persona 5 Royal added to and enhanced the original Persona 5 to create a masterfully deep RPG.

2 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Released 2015

Had A Never-Before-Seen Level Of Depth

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt set the standard for RPGs the moment it was released and with good reason. Nothing is taken for granted, and every quest and side quest feels impactful in a staggeringly gorgeous and massive feeling world. It's hard to explain how many different outcomes there are, which encourages replays to find every path and experiences every piece of fantastically written dialogue. Even The Witcher 3’s DLCs, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, genuinely add to the story rather than just existing for the sake of it and still set the bar for what DLCs should be.

1 Baldur’s Gate 3 - Released 2023

Valuing And Rewarding Player Choices

Baldur's Gate 3 shines with its complex story along with nuanced and memorable characters. Described by some as the closest video game to actually playing DnD, BG3 manages to capture that strange mixture of epic fantasy and weird silliness that DnD does so well. The number of different approaches to each quest or problem is staggering, and even those who have played for hundreds of hours are still finding new things to surprise them.

Filled with multifaceted characters, each with their own goals and stories, BG3 embraces the role-playing aspect of the genre that, in more recent years, has felt like an afterthought. Each playthrough feels unique based on race, class, and choices made along the way. As the most recent entry into the RPG world, Baldur's Gate 3 has set new high expectations for those who come after it to give players realistic worlds that react to their actions.