51 Best Role Playing Games Ever Made for PC (Single Player RPGs): Page 5 of 5

best role playing games
Find Some New Games to Play with the 51 Best RPGs Ever Made!


10. Diablo (1996)

Developer: Blizzard North

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Dark Fantasy Adventure, Slay Demons

Following the simple journey of a lone hero through the multi-leveled dungeons under the town of Tristram, eventually entering the bowels of hell to defeat Diablo in order to release a curse put on the reanimated corpse of King Leoric.  The gameplay was revolutionary for its time as a role-playing hack-and-slash. The game went on to inspire two sequels as well as defining the genre for many, many games in the future to imitate and give homage to.

Encounter wicked, monstrous creatures and demons in Hell

 

In the end you must destroy Diablo himself

9. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002)

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure, The Elder Scrolls

The Elder Scrolls games were solid RPGs, but didn’t break any ground as major games of the genre until the release of Morrowind.  With its vast open world and deeply immersive RPG mechanics that fit with the 3D exploration gameplay, Morrowind created a standard for not only the series, but for nonlinear games as a whole.

Following a prisoner set free and inducted into the Empire’s protectors, the Blades, the player is given free-from control over the path of the story as they are sent to investigate disappearances and oddities revolving around the land of Morrowind. Morrowind built the series into some of the best RPG games that we have today.

Why are such bizarre things happening around Morrowind?

Go from prisoner to Empire protector

8. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure, The Elder Scrolls

Another entry from the Elder Scrolls series, the latest main (single-player) game in the series takes the formula that worked so well for its predecessors and did hard work to simultaneously add new features and simplify the existing features. Between the immense graphical improvements and the streamlined combat system, the gameplay has never been smoother.

Following a prisoner “rescued” from his execution by a dragon attack, the player escapes to discover that they are actually a special being known as “Dragonborn” who uses special powers called “Shouts” to use magic usually wielded by the dragons themselves to do battle with them. Targeted by Alduin, the Dragon leader, the Dragonborn must train in the art of “Shouting” to face against him, and meanwhile deal with a growing civil war between the supporters of the Empire’s expansion into Skyrim, and those who believe that Skyrim should stay independent.

The Dragon god, Alduin, is the darkest foe alive

Fulfill your destiny as a dragonslayer

7. Mass Effect 2 (2010)

Developer: BioWare

Genre: Third Person Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Alien Invasion

Mass Effect 2 is generally considered the strongest in the series. Following the events of the first game, Shepard and the crew of the SSV Normundy are searching the galaxy geth resistance, when their ship is attacked, and Shepard provides a self-sacrifice to guarantee that the crew makes it out alive. Dying of asphyxiation in space, Shepard’s body is recovered by Cerberus, a mysterious pro-human organization, who uses the Lazarus Project to bring Shepard back to life.

Afterwards, the leader of Cerberus tells Shepard that colonies of humans are disappearing all over the galaxy, and sends Shepard out to investigate.  Building on the gameplay and visuals of its predecessor, Mass Effect 2 creates a perfectly balanced game that retains its fun no matter how many times it’s played.

Investigate the disappearance of human colonies in space

Shephard lived a normal life… until he died and was brought back to life

6. Baldur’s Gate (1998)

Developer: BioWare

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure, Baldur's Gate

Keeping up with the D&D games, Baldur’s Gate takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting. The first game to make use of the Infinity engine for graphics, Baldur’s Gate made huge bounds for its time in character development through dialogue, exploration, and combat.

The game begins with the mage Gorion leaving Candlekeep after he senses trouble.  The player character leaves with Gorion as his ward. Encountering a bunch of men out for his life, Gorion’s ward is protected by Gorion, who refuses to hand him over. Gorion fights off the men, but is killed in the process, leaving his ward to continue on by himself to discover why the men were after him and what the danger that Gorion was sensing meant for his ward and the world itself.

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms

Can you survive now that Gorion is dead?

5. Dragon Age: Origins (2009)

Developers: BiowWare & Edge of Reality

Genre: Third Person Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure

Dragon Age: Origins is the first game in the series, and the strongest one to date. The land of Ferelden is swarming with creatures known as the Darkspawn. During events known as “Blights”, the Darkspawn spread across the land, destroying everything in their path.  The strongest of those who fought against them joined together to form the “Grey Wardens”.

As the story begins, the player starts at a different point depending on what race they choose, whether they be a human noble, an elven servant, or something else in between. Regardless of choice, a representative of the Grey Wardens, Duncan, comes to invite the player to become a candidate for initiation.

Following each individual origin story, the player takes part in the “Joining”, and discovers that the Wardens are on the verge of another Blight. After taking part in attempting to fight off the blight, the King is killed and the Warden sets off to try and find a way to end the Blight as Ferelden is thrown into political turmoil.

A classic fantasy tale presented through a darker lens than most, Origins is a BioWare game through and through, which means both clever dialogue and difficult decisions galore.

End the Blight

Beware evil creatures!

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

Developer: CD Projekt RED

Genre: Third Person Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure, The Witcher

The third game of The Witcher trilogy, the player once again takes control of Geralt on his ongoing journey of monster-slaying. Soon after the game starts, however, he is summoned by the Emperor of Nilfgaard and given a quest: find Ciri, a child of destiny and Geralt's former apprentice, before the Wild Hunt does. What ensues is one of the most complete role playing experiences imaginable as Geralt travels the world and fights monsters wherever they may be, human or otherwise.

Already being hailed as the greatest RPG of 2015 and a top contender for Game of the Year, Wild Hunt has all the hallmarks of a top-notch RPG: interesting characters, a world worth exploring, a riveting story, and more customization options than one can handle on just one playthrough. It also sports a combat system that, on the higher difficulties, is said to be on par with the Dark Souls series in terms of complexity and reward. Wild Hunt has become the standard from which modern RPGs have to measure themselves from now on, and those are some very big shoes to fill.

Being a Witcher is no easy job

Run into all sorts of danger as you try to find Ciri

3. Diablo II (2000)

Developer: Blizzard North

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Dark Fantasy Adventure, Demon Slaying

Building on the success of the first game, Diablo II takes place shortly after Diablo’s defeat at the hands of the lone hero, his essence being absorbed into the hero in order to contain him.  However, the essence began to corrupt the hero, and demons begin to appear around him, wreaking havoc.

A group of wandering adventurers hear about this destruction, set off to find its cause, and deal with the corrupted hero. As they chase after the “Dark Wanderer” and deal with the aftermath of his presence, they begin to discover the end goal of his journey: to reunite with the other Prime Evils. Together, the adventurers must find the Wanderer before he reaches his goal and defeat Diablo and the other Prime Evils.

The Wanderer wants to join the Prime Evils… stop him!

Travel through Hell and face darkness

2. Pillars of Eternity (2015)

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment

Genre: Action Role Playing Game

Theme: Fantasy Adventure

Taking place in the land of Eora, the player takes control of a traveller who is the sole survivor as a mysterious storm appears and kills everyone else in the caravan. Witnessing a strange ritual in a cave, the player is exposed to a special energy and is granted the ability to read souls and access the memories of past lives. When it's discovered that this power serves as a curse that will eventually bring insanity, the player sets out to find the priest who performed the ritual so that the curse can be reversed.

Appealing to the nostalgic RPG fans in us, the game brings old-fashioned mechanics to the modern age of gaming in such a refreshing manner that it appeals to both old-fashioned gamers and new gamers alike. Inspired by classic games, Pillars of Eternity can serve as an inspiration itself on how to properly create homage to old games.

You have been cursed with the ability to see past lives... find a way to reverse it before you go mad

Children are being born without a soul. It is your duty to stop this from happening.

1. Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000)

Developer: BioWare

Genre: Fantasy Adventure

Theme: Choice, Friendship, Morality

It’s not that often that a game shows up that handles everything that it does so perfectly. Baldur’s Gate was a triumph in the realm of Role-Playing Games, and its sequel takes all of its virtues and amplifies them.

Taking place shortly after the first game, the hero and companions are captured and experimented on by a mage named Jon Irenicus. After a distraction, the hero escapes with a few companions. After this, the story is dictated by choices that the character makes in the journey to stop Irenicus and his dark actions.

Putting everything together, the game holds up to 300 hours of gameplay, which was enormous for its time. The level of character customization, from classes to kits to strongholds to equipment and alignment, allows the player to create a truly unique character and go on a unique adventure every time that they play. On top of that, the fun can be shared with up to 6 players adventuring together at the same time. With such a strong balance and perfect game feel, it didn’t take much for this game to make our pick as the best RPG game ever made.

Irenicus has escaped from his prison

Help the elves find their hidden city

So what do you think of our list? Are there any games that you feel we should have added, or any games that didn’t belong?

Leave us a comment, letting us know what you consider to be the greatest RPGs of all time. Also, where you think the future of RPGs is headed?

More on this topic:


Gamer Since: 2005
Favorite Genre: RTS
Top 3 Favorite Games:Star Wars: Battlefront, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor,


More Top Stories