In the biggest iteration yet of our ‘DualShockers Definitives’ series, we’ve gathered six of the biggest RPG fans and historians among the ‘Shockers editorial to collectively vote on the greatest RPGs of all time. It was a hell of a process, and a hell of a good time, as we all voted on our respective Top 30s (taking into account historical significance rather than just personal taste), tallied up the points, then spent a good few hours chatting over Slack and video about what belonged where on the list.
One of the big hurdles we had to overcome was deciding what an RPG actually is, given the many directions the genre’s branched out into, and also the many games out there that borrow RPG elements or even call themselves RPGs when they’re clearly not (looking at you, Atomic Heart). ‘RPG’ is a pretty solid marketing term these days—call your game an RPG, and it’ll get some attention—so we wanted to separate ourselves from that and be a bit more strict in our definitions.
DualShockers Definitives: 10 Best PS5 RPGs
Some of the most universally loved games live in the RPG genre. Here are the very best RPGs available on PS5.
So what is an RPG? Well, uhhh,deep breathleveling systems (not just skill trees), dialogue options and decisions with tangible consequences, quests, side-quests, deep character customization, classes and build variation, inventories, lots of numbers, variety in weapons and armor… y’know, RPGs! If a game ticks several of those boxes, it’s an RPG, while certain games that exhibit some of these qualities but in a ‘Lite’ way (likeAssassin’s Creed ValhallaorRed Dead Redemption 2) have been pushed into the ‘action-adventure’ bracket, which hopefully we’ll get round to one day.
A lot of collective brainpower and a lot of words went into this, so buckle up: like every great RPG, it’s going to be a long but hopefully rewarding ride.
30Planescape: Torment (1999)
Robert Zak - Features Lead
Swords-and-sorcery RPG experiences were really coming into their own in the late 90s, thanks to the likes of Daggerfall,Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and the Ultima series. Right in the middle of this high-fantasy golden age, however, came a dimension-crossing surreal adventure casting you as a rugged immortal amnesiac seeking to retrieve his memories.
Planescape: Tormentstill boasts one of the most unique settings in video games; each of the game’s gorgeous pre-rendered locations, from a City of Brass located in a plane of fire to Sigil, where portals lead to alternate dimensions, is filled with bizarre characters and quests to get embroiled in, with many of them deconstructing the D&D alignment scale that underpins the game’s morality system. It’s a game that deftly makes you questioneverything.
The storytelling and writing is sublime, almost literary, with memorable companions like your wise-cracking floating skull pal Morte or the Limbo-dwelling Dak’kon each having fascinating, oft tragic, stories for you to unearth.
It’s a game that deftly makes you questioneverything.
The Nameless One’s search for purpose is an introspective journey as well as one across a wonderfully weird world, and the philosophical and moral questions it presents to you will leave you scratching your chin way after you finish the game. It’s inarguably the ancestor ofDisco Elysium, and arguably the best-written RPG of all time.
Planescape: Torment
29Dragon Quest 3 (1988)
Matthew Schomer- Hybrid News/Features/Videos/Everything Editor
By today’s standards, I’m well aware that Dragon Warrior 3 (as it’s known here in the States) doesn’t look like much, but if you were to travel 35 years back in time, you’d be experiencing one of the most revolutionary times in RPG history, and this game had a lot to do with that.
… the selection of character classes brought a whole new level of strategy to the genre.
Letting you roll up your own four-person party (and keeping a bunch of reserve team members at the tavern) was a fresh concept in 1988, and the selection of character classes brought a whole new level of strategy to the genre. In a modern age where some of the best RPGs let you craft whatever character you wish and then add a bunch of pre-established companions to join you in your quest, it’s nice to look back on a game that let you go hog wild with the entire party’s backstory, and it’s something that I’d like to see come back to the forefront.
It’s already been updated for eight different releases across the decades, and an HD-2D remake was announced a couple of years back, which is a testament to this slice of gaming history’s longevity.
Matthew O’Dwyer - Evergreen Editor
While Dragon Quest 3 first came out in 1988, I knew it as Dragon Warrior 3 in 2001 for the Game Boy Color. It was a gaming experience unlike anything I knew at the time. I was absolutely taken in by the story, the art design of Akira Toriyama, and the ability to create my party from a wide variety of classes and characters. Every level up was a rush, as was pushing my party to their absolute limit before returning to town for some healing.
I wanted to fight every slime, even those dastardly metallic ones.
Dragon Quest 3 made me fall in love with turn-based combat and the strategy that came with it. I played it several times to try out different party compositions. I experienced the joy of grinding, something I didn’t quite like in other games. I wanted to fight every slime, even those dastardly metallic ones. Dragon Quest 3 left such an impression on me that I recently bought a poster of its art for my home. Needless to say, I’m excited to play the next iteration of this classic.
Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation
28Darkest Dungeon (2015)
Sam Woods- Managing Editor
Darkest Dungeon is one of the most unique titles on this list. It’s brutally difficult, wonderfully grotesque, and offers a melding of styles that helps it to really stand out. It’s part roguelike, part RPG, laden with clever mechanics, including a terrifying stress system which impacts your party’s performance during any given run.
It’s a game that took me a while to get into. In fact, the first time I played it, I fell off completely. However, once it clicked, itreallyclicked and its addictive roguelike loop had me returning for run after treacherous run, embracing the permadeath that my favorite companions would almost certainly succumb to.
Darkest Dungeon is a lightning strike in the RPG genre. There’s nothing quite like it, even when other games attempt to be. The quirk system makes each character unique, adding nuance to the classes. The stress mechanic is enthralling, adding jaw-clenching suspense with each tick. Its turn-based combat, with an emphasis on positioning, adds a layer of strategy missing from so many turn-based games.
The narrator’s dour tone and iconic quotes enhance the game’s atmosphere.
Take all of those mechanics and then dip them into a cauldron of dread. The narrator’s dour tone and iconic quotes enhance the game’s atmosphere. The bold lines and muted colors bring the game’s severity into its art design. The risk of delving farther into each dungeon, the temptation to drop a torch for treasure, and the thrill of just barely surviving to cash in keep you glued to your seat as you descend into ‘just one more dungeon.’
Darkest Dungeon
27Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)
The Nintendo GameCube wasn’t known as an RPG powerhouse, especially when compared to its biggest competitor at the time, the PS2. But while Nintendo’s console didn’t have RPGs in abundance, what it did have was the outstanding Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
It’s a game that deserves all the acclaim it gets.
The Thousand-Year Door followed up on the success of the 2000 N64 RPG, Paper Mario, building on the formula with a new cast of party members, an extremely fun story, some well-designed areas, and a level of whimsy that only a fully-firing Nintendo could pull off.
It’s a game that deserves all the acclaim it gets and one which, after Super Mario RPG, is getting a much-requested remake and it looks fantastic. Given that the GameCube was one of Nintendo’s least successful consoles, coupled with the fact that The Thousand-Year Door sold less than 2 million copies, it’s genuinely exciting that so many people will soon be able to experience this gem for the first time.
10 Best 2D Mario Games, Ranked
Mario is a gaming icon, traversing from 2D to 3D with surprising success. But, which are the best of the 2D Mario games? This list breaks it down.
26Suikoden 2 (1998)
Too big to be a cult classic but too niche (in the West, at least) to be truly mainstream, the Suikoden series is a bit of a lost gem. Releasing globally between 1998 and 2000, the second game is the most celebrated among its fans, centering itself upon the desire for peace and the necessity of war to achieve that ideal.
108 distinctly different characters, almost half of whom can join your main battle party, is a feat few games can live up to even today.
Even greater than the story, though, was the number of ways Suikoden 2 gave you to play. RPGs of the time were still heavily focused on small-party turn-based battles, and Suikoden 2 is mainly filled with them as well, but it wasn’t afraid to mix things up either, diving into one-on-one duels with enemy generals and large-scale battles pitting entire opposing armies against each other. It wasn’t the first game to do any of this, but combining the concepts into one cohesive game was an innovation that, at the time, really helped elevate the genre beyond ‘click ‘attack’ and let the action play out.’
If that’s not enough, giving you a customizable base of operations and 108 distinctly different characters, almost half of whom can join your main battle party, is a feat few games can live up to even today.
How Suikoden’s 108 Stars Cast Changes, But Always Stays The Same
No. we don’t talk about all 108 of them.
25Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire (2018)
Jack Coleman- News Lead
Despite the widespread love for Pillars of Eternity 2 among the cRPG faithful, Obsidian’s outstanding 2018 release is still underrated among wider player bases. A follow-up to the crowdfundedPillars of Eternity, Deadfire expands and improves upon every aspect of what was already a very impressive original.
It is the quintessential cRPG, incorporating and modernising the core aspects of the subgenre. Pillars 2 supports turn-based combat and pausable real-time combat, giving both sides of the debate something to enjoy. It has the most comprehensive dialogue and reputation systems that I’ve ever seen, allowing you to play exactly the role you want to.
It is the quintessential cRPG, incorporating and modernising the core aspects of the subgenre.
There are even inter-companion reputation systems, allowing you to see how each party member feels about you, one another and the various factions in the world. These features are indicative of the fantastic characterisation and narrative complexity of Pillars 2.
The cherry on top is the shift in setting towards the Deadfire Archipelago, which brings naval exploration and combat to the forefront. It was an inspired decision, bringing an even greater sense of limitless adventure and whimsy to the experience.
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
24Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)
I’m sure this entry may come as a surprise to people who witnessed the rocky launch of this amazing RPG. It’s never a good look to overpromise and underdeliver, butCyberpunk 2077has come a long way since then. While I would argue that Cyberpunk 2077 was something special right out of the box (unless you were playing on a console from the previous generation), there’s no denying that thePhantom Liberty DLCand accompanying2.0 updatemade a good game exceedingly great.
I played Cyberpunk 2077 at launch on my PS5 with little to no issues, and it was a great game even back then. The acting is incredible, with Keanu Reeves knocking his performance out of the park. The side characters always hit the mark, and the romance options are particularly compelling. Every mission on my way to 100% the game felt fully cooked, with some of the game’s best missions showing up in the side content. I saw every ending and, while some were better than others, they all felt satisfying in their own way.
While it may have slipped on its way through the door, Cyberpunk 2077 is going to be remembered as one of the greatest RPGs ever made.
Phantom Liberty and the 2.0 update doubled down on everything that made the game great while trimming away anything that didn’t belong. Part of what makes for a great RPG is the setting, and Night City is a character unto itself. Driving around Night City is a highlight of the game. In fact, the city itself is a living entity. The flickers and flashes of neon lights, holographic fish floating through the air, the hum of engines and thrum of chatter. Night City takes each breath in step with V.While it may have slipped on its way through the door, Cyberpunk 2077 now ranks among the greatest RPGs ever made.
Cyberpunk 2077
23Diablo 2 (2000)
RPG purists might balk at Diablo 2’s watering-down of cRPG rules to a relentless pursuit of loot with exponentially increasing numbers, hack-and-slash combat, and using mass-slaughter to solve all your problems, but there’s no question about the game’s quality and influence.
There’s a reason why people still play Diablo 2 multiplayer today.
If Diablo 1 was the start of the loot-em-up template that we see in games as diverse as Destiny 2, Vermintide, Borderlands, and Paths of Exile, then Diablo 2 was its big breakthrough. Starring five characters with super-distinct play styles, this was a fast-paced and compellingly clicky tear-up through the so-called world of Sanctuary. It was dense with atmosphere too, arguably more so than any other game in the series, and the campaign had an air of foreboding in part thanks to its higher challenge level than subsequent entries.
It was a significant step for co-op gaming too, with a seminal online system that let you play alongside seven of your buddies. There’s a reason why people still play Diablo 2 multiplayer today, and why the game received a lovingly crafted remake that remains faithful to the original barring a graphical makeover. It’s incredible that after all these years, Diablo 2 is still one of the most balanced, most satisfying games in the ARPG genre it helped create.
22Deus Ex (2000)
WhenDeus Exfirst came out, I’m not sure anyone was expecting it to be the incredible game that it was. Some would question its RPG purity, and it definitely fits into the ‘immersive sim’ bracket too, but the amount of customisation available to JC Denton, as well as multiple ways to approach (or avoid) encounters in its large world-hubs was phenomenal.
Wandering the streets, you’d happen upon all manner of conspiracies, quandaries, great writing, and weirdly prescient storytelling.
The game’s augmentation system meant you could play the game as a low-tech super-strength grunt capable of dispatching everyone with a baton, or a master hacker manipulating the environment to their will, or a classic super-spy with a silencer. Want to kill just about every NPC in the game world? Go for it, and find your own solutions. It’s a game that everyone would come away from with their own bespoke stories and experiences.
Wandering the streets of Deus Ex’s dystopian city hubs you’d happen upon all manner of conspiracies, quandaries, great writing, and weirdly prescient storytelling; there was a ton of intrigue and adventure in its nocturnal streets, apartments, and rat-infested alleys. You rub shoulders with clandestine groups vying for power in a techno-corporate world, building up towards one of three incredible endings.
Deus Ex’s latter-day sequels, Human Revolution and Mankind Divided, are well worth playing too, but the fact that they more or less replicate the format of the original, just with shinier graphics and smoother mechanics, shows how far ahead of its time Deus Ex really was.
21Fable 2 (2008)
Yep! The game where you just press a button to kill the final boss made the list! And as far as I’m concerned, it’s not in spite of that moment, but because of it.
… for me, that final moment when Lucien is at your mercy, monologuing at the wrong end of a gun, really solidifies it as one of the best RPGs in gaming.
The followup to Lionhead Studios’ most ambitious game ever delivered on a lot more of Peter Molyneux’s pipe-dream promises than its predecessor, but for me, that final moment when Lucien is at your mercy, monologuing at the wrong end of a gun, really solidifies it as one of the best in gaming. Fable games became increasingly steampunky as time went on, but the ending message is clear: no matter how many industrial and technological advances the world gets, there will always be a need for Heroes.
Fable 2 is a sequel done right; taking the eccentric British atmosphere and sense of adventure from the original and expanding upon these aspects. In addition, Fable 2 amps up the series’ proto-life sim mechanics, carving out a niche in the RPG genre that still hasn’t been replicated.
If one were to ask what exactly made Fable 2 so great, it would be hard to point to one specific strength. The combat, narrative and exploration are all commendable, but not revolutionary. It’s a cohesive vision that makes Fable 2 so memorable. It’s this weird, quirky and infinitely engaging roleplaying experience that’s unlike anything else.
Fable 2 amps up the series’ proto-life sim mechanics, carving out a niche in the RPG genre that still hasn’t been replicated.
The good people of Bowerstone ask if you chase chickens in thick Brummie accents, you can moon the richest people in Albion, talking doors urge you to become morbidly obese, you can buy every caravan in a camp and begin charging extortionate rent… or you can spend hours plying your trade as a humble woodcutter. Fable 2 is unique; a clear example of how creativity can contribute to a fantastic roleplaying experience.
