The best RPG games 2023

Disco Elysium is a detective RPG with sprawling potential and is probably one of the best games ever made. The main thrust is that you’re an amnesiac detective investigating an unusual death. From here, what happens is anyone’s guess - there are dozens of skills, tools and psychoactive cocktails to delve into as you develop your ultimate character. This flexibility carries into an expansive dialogue and narrative tree, and a fictional world with a rich and heated political history. The game has recently received a free, Final Cut update, fleshing the game out with full voice acting and new political side quests.

Rebuilding one of the most highly regarded games of all time is a gamble, and Square Enix rolled the dice. It paid off, successfully bringing together the atmospheres of 1997's journey through Midgar and fusing them with new mechanics, beautiful artistry and a little narrative twist. This instalment focuses on the first portion of the original game and promises great things for what is to come. Fans of the classic rejoice, newcomers, prepare to fall in love. If you’re one of the lucky few to have access to a PS5 or a high-end PC, then aim for FFVII Remake Intergrade - this enhanced version has improved graphics and load times, and an extra bit of story, called Episode Intermission. Yes - all the names are very confusing.

To Western eyes, JRPGs appear notably weird and wonderful. The Persona series is very, very JRPG. But behind all of the awesome-yet-bonkers parallel universes, demonology and pseudo-psychology, sits a brilliantly constructed title that rewards exploration, experimentation, and dedication. This one is all about character growth and building meaningful relationships (and letting you live out your fantasies of being a painfully cool teenager in Shinjuku, Tokyo).

On October 21st 2022 the game is finally going multiplatform, a deal made even better due to it being available on Xbox Game Pass.

A successor to System Shock in all but name, Prey has you exploring a huge space station. The only problem is, it’s infested with superpowered aliens. Luckily, the game gives you a huge range of toys and powers, that let you approach a situation however you want. Just beware of the mimics, they can take the shape of anything aboard the station.

Were there always two mugs here?

The latest game from director Miyazaki (No, not the guy from Studio Ghibli), Elden Ring takes FromSoft’s genre-defining, souls gameplay, into the open world. While still as challenging as ever, the game rewards the player's exploration and skill with new abilities, weapons, and areas. The world design is truly at its best, as players will explore open fields, angelic-looking cities and even a wasteland. It’s the developer's most ambitious title to date.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a violent and bizarre JRPG that's serious and slapstick, satirical and optimistic. You take control of Ichiban Kasuga, a betrayed ex-Yakuza with a heart of gold, as he treads the neon-lit streets of Ijincho with a rag-tag band of equally charming characters. Like A Dragon is a notable deviation from the rest of the series in tone and gameplay and is the first to adopt a brilliant turn-based battle system and class system. It's also the most accessible instalment of the Yakuza series, as it doesn't rely on you having played any of the other games.

Got Xbox Game Pass? You can play Like A Dragon for free, today. To find out what you have access to, read our guide to the best games on Xbox Game Pass.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses takes the series’ tense, tactical gameplay and adds in something the series has never done before; it makes the player a teacher. You will nurture students’ skills and get to choose their upgrade paths for upcoming battles, but it goes further than that. Each student is their own unique character who has their own stories and much like other RPGs, you can build your friendship with them – a mechanic made deliciously bittersweet by the presence of battlefield permadeath (though this can be disabled if you find yourself too attached). The game is also extremely replayable; the titular three houses have their own cast and story, each requiring a different playthrough.

In Mass Effect, you take up the role of Commander Shepard and embark on a struggle to save the galaxy from the wrath of the Reapers. It’s a series of epic sci-fi mastery and incredible world-building, full of tough decisions and meaningful consequences. You’ll forge close friendships, alliances and romances with crewmates, or the opposite if you so choose. Previously the Mass Effect trilogy would’ve taken up three spots on this list -thanks to the new and polished Legendary Edition, that’s no longer the case. This new edition treats the original games to a shiny 4K remaster - great for old-timers, perfect for newcomers. It also includes 40 DLC packs from across the games, including missions and weapons.

The third and final instalment of the Xenoblade trilogy, that started way back in 2010 on Wii. It sees you adventure as a group of soldiers from opposing sides, forced to work together. It features a cast of loveable yet deep characters, and the story throws many twists and turns at the player. The game takes the best gameplay aspects of the first two Xenoblade games while adding its own flavour to make a unique and engaging combat system. Though it's the third game in the series, newcomers won’t be confused, as, much like Final Fantasy, it’s a brand-new story but it still has references that long-time fans can appreciate.

Breath of the Wild's map is huge. It's the first truly open-world Zelda map, and it doesn't hold back. You'll take control of Link and explore the vast and enchanting plains of Hyrule, fighting, gathering ingredients, uncovering secrets and solving puzzles. This game easily lasts beyond 100 hours of play. It’s geographically, mechanically and narratively open, meaning that you do have to play a role and carve out your freeform path.

It’s time to take over your grandfather's farming plot in the rundown and sleepy town of Stardew Valley. With only a few coins and some sub-par gardening equipment, the player sets to cultivating both the land and friendships in the humble surroundings. It's charming, absorbing and rewarding, and mixes up its traditional framing simulator roots with the cave exploration and fights, marriages and fishing sprees. ConcernedApe is dedicated to the ongoing support of Stardew Valley too, with updates and quality-of-life improvements being frequent and significant. It’s a multi-format game, but our favourite place to play is the Switch - its graphics and pacing feel at home on the console.

The ninja-laden Monster Hunter returns with Rise. Here, as always, you take up the role of a hunter and adventure through a fantastical world hunting increasingly outrageous monsters to slay. It's a deep game presented in an accessible form, boasting hours of immersive gameplay, tonnes of loot, and a robust combat system that conveys a hugely satisfying sense of weight and heft. This is also a great one to play with friends - players can team up to take down foes, taking advantage of different class skillsets and abilities. The game has recently released the Sunbreaker expansion, adding more monsters and areas to an already content-rich game.

Dragon Quest XI is a classic RPG adventure through and through, featuring a large world, epically long playtime and a finely tuned combat system. While the fantasy narrative beats are predictable, the gameplay, world design and OST are wholly excellent. The Definitive Edition certainly earns the name, adding new side missions and paying a meaningful homage to the series roots: players can switch between the 3D and 16-bit visuals, orchestral score and digital score, and English and Japanese voice acting.

If it feels like Skyrim has been around forever and chances are you've played at least once – but it's never a game to underestimate or ignore. The role-playing elements of both the narrative and skill development mean that no two playthroughs are the same, and the DLC expansions only add to the hundred-plus hours of potential adventuring. Originally released way back in the halcyon days of 2011, it looks a little tired now (even with its endless rereleases and ports), but it’s still a masterpiece deserving of your time.

Taking place in the dying days of the Wild West, Red Dead Redemption 2 has players explore the era’s last hurrah in the face of impending modernisation. The world that Rockstar has made is painstakingly detailed and full of life, wonder and opportunity. There are cowboy moments aplenty as the player confronts gangs, governments, wild animals and local hicks in a game that’s nothing short of a cinematic open-world masterpiece.

The unfortunate reality of RPGs is that they will never come close to the creative options in Dungeons & Dragons, right? Not quite. Divinity: Original Sin 2 offers creativity like no other game. Players are given freedom to do things such as: placing heavy items into a barrel and dropping it on the enemy, teleporting characters into harm’s way, and last, but not least, talking to a squirrel that rides on an undead, skeletal cat. The game also features branching quest paths, a dungeon master mode on PC, and it’s entirely playable in co-op, so you can work together with your friends, or teleport them into a fire.

Your choice.

What was once an ill-fated MMO, has since grown to be a global phenomenon. Final Fantasy XIV is the quintessential MMO for both fans of the genre and Final Fantasy. Player customisation is at the forefront of the experience, thanks to its slew of, classes, equipment, and weapons, which, naturally you can show off to your friends in your party. The game recently received its fourth expansion, Endwalker, so the game has plenty of content and its story has often been heralded as one of Final Fantasy’s best.

NieR:Automata is enviously confident in its weirdness. It follows the androids 2B, 9S and A2, as they fight on behalf of the human race to reclaim the earth from its mechanic overlords. Other than this, it’s got an open-world, RPG mechanics and hack-and-slash mechanics, not to mention mech battles. To top it all off, to fully unfold the story, it needs playing three times. Automata is weird, sure, but it earns its place as a certified cult classic.

The Outer Worlds is a quirky space-galivanting FPS RPG from the creators of Fallout: New Vegas and its gameplay mechanics share much of the same DNA. Taking place in the Halcyon system, you must work your way through various worlds and colonies to uncover a nefarious conspiracy at the heart of the system. The universe has a nice retro-futuristic edge (yup, like Fallout), which is a joy to explore and behold and makes for some interesting tech to use and discover.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is brimming with memorable characters, inventive lore and meaningful RPG progression. You take up the role of Geralt, the burly monster hunter and sword for hire, as he quests his way across the lush and sprawling Riva, fighting, magicking, bartering and card gaming his way to victory. The map is vast and world detailed, and the massive quest log will have players engrossed in this award-winning game for hundreds of hours.