These RPGs are sure to keep you engaged throughout.
When it comes to RPGs, it’s often the Japanese-developed offerings that have the most spotlight shined upon them. This makes sense, with Japan responsible for such genre titans as the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series. Not to mention the fact that JRPGs boast some traits that tend to push all the right buttons for genre fans. They’re just so packed with content at times that they can be exhausting to finish. All the same, though, Western developers are just as capable of crafting incredible RPG experiences.
Western RPGs explore just as many grand worlds and unforgettable characters. Here are ten such titles, acclaimed for their quality, that keep up those high standards from their beginnings until the credits roll. 10
Child Of Light
Child of Light was introduced by Ubisoft Montreal in 2014, a beautiful storybook adventure created in the UbiArt Framework engine. Players guide Aurora and her growing band of fantastical friends through the kingdom of Lemuria, to which she had been transported after seemingly dying in the ‘real world.’ To return home to her grieving father, she must retrieve the Stars, Sun, and Moon of this kingdom and defeat the Queen of the Night, Umbra, who has seized control of the realm.
From the village of the Bolmus Populi to the waters of the Cynbel Sea, from the twists and turns of the Mahthildis Forest to the charming homes of the Capilli, Child of Light embraces its fairytale aesthetic throughout, down to the evocative piano-based soundtrack, relentlessly rhyming dialogue, and battles that take place on a ‘stage’ of sorts and involve manipulating time to try and interrupt foes’ attacks. It’s not extremely lengthy as so many RPGs are (How Long To Beat suggests approximately 11 hours for the main story), but its rather short run time and similarly condensed yet rewarding sidequests make it a very approachable RPG. 9
Disco Elysium
Some games are just too open-ended for their own good. It’s easy to be led astray and choose what’s clearly a very bad idea from a list of possible actions provided, just because it sounds hilarious and you want to see what happens next. If this is the sort of thing you’re looking for, Disco Elysium will absolutely fit that bill for you.
The setup, in which you’re a detective investigating a killing in a small town who can’t remember anything else about himself, gives the player the freedom to develop their character and their investigation as they wish. A methodical, thoughtful approach? Bumbling off into sidequests with fascinating narratives of their own? Utterly bemusing your partner Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi with your illogical decisions? The choice is yours. Disco Elysium is very much dialogue-based, with writing that is hilarious, horrifying, and utterly unpredictable in equal measure. This is how it keeps players gripped: Not through action (of which there’s very little in the conventional sense), but through the sheer need to know what will happen next. It’s extremely replayable, too, because decisions made and character builds affect the progress of the story so much. 8
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
The most important thing for any licensed game, and probably the one that they completely miss the mark on most often, is to make the player feel as though they’re part of the franchise they love. As though they’re really playing through the movie, if it’s directly based on one. Star Wars games have, perhaps, hit that mark more often than titles based on other series, with Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader, for instance, absolutely living up to the concept of playing through a series of the most dramatic battles and sequences from the original trilogy. The famed Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic takes a rather different, yet no less effective, approach.
Developed by BioWare, a team known for engaging RPGs demanding meaningful choices from the player, this 2003 titles puts the players in the shoes of a warrior who will later undergo Jedi training, the ultimate goal being to take down Darth Malak. Your growing roster of abilities and Force powers is affected by the decisions you make, which can lead you to the Light or Dark sides. Such choices will determine not only the ending, but other factors such as companions who may be available to fight alongside you. KOTOR is fondly remembered for its unique battle system, high-stakes plot with little ‘filler’, and providing the freedom that fans had long been desperate
for from a Star Wars game. This original title in the series still holds up very well. It’s fun to be the villain, but it’s just as fun to be good. 7
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Being based on a novel series, it makes sense that a primary strength of The Witcher would be its exemplary narrative.
