For those of you who don’t know, role-playing games are essentially game content where characters are required to make decisions that impact the game world. These games usually deal with the building of relationships and teamwork to solve some form of conflict. They are always set in a fictional setting and focus on things like character growth and exploring new areas.
If you’ve ever heard of the RPG genre, then you must be aware of the definition of what RPG stands for: role-playing game. You might also know that there are countless titles in this gaming category – from classics, to indie. This means that if you have a Mac device and are looking for a great RPG experience, the odds are high that you’ll have lots of choices to pick from.
There are hundreds of Mac games that have RPG elements in them. From The Elder Scrolls to Batman Arkham or Tomb Raider, to The Witcher 2, RPGs are among the most popular gaming genres out there. The best RPG games for Mac computers offer fantastic worlds to explore and characters to meet.
If you’re looking for more than a simple action game with RPG elements, these games can satisfy your needs.
The best Mac RPG games come in many different forms. From the traditional action-RPGs to more modern, squad-based games and turn-based strategy titles, the list of RPGs for Mac continues to grow at a rapid pace. I’ve rounded up these 10 best RPG games for Mac that you can find on Steam or the App Store.
1. Wasteland 3
Wasteland 3’s huge, hand-drawn world is at once brutal and beautiful. Much of the game takes place underground, where you’ll encounter caverns filled with mutants and monstrous life-forms. The art design is so good that I sometimes found myself staring in slack-jawed amazement at a scene’s gorgeous vistas, like the view of a mountain range rising before you as you descend into an abandoned mine shaft.
One of my favorite moments was when I wandered through a series of caves that looked like they’d been carved by a giant’s hand. It was hard to tell if they were natural formations or the work of some far more malevolent force, but either way, they were stunning to behold.
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The story is much more ambitious than it was in Wasteland 2, which makes sense considering the developers are trying to squeeze so much content into Wasteland 3. My companions’ goals evolved in surprising ways, which added replay value to what felt like a fairly linear storyline. One quest involved infiltrating a cult whose members worship Ronald Reagan, who serves as the game’s apocalyptic villain. You’ll have to figure out how to sneak past security cameras when you’re monitoring their ritual practices; otherwise, they’ll capture and brainwash you.
Not only is Wasteland 3 a bolder setting, it’s also a bolder game.
In Wasteland 2, you and your cohorts fought to survive in the irradiated remains of America’s heartland. The game drew inspiration from the nuclear wasteland movie The Road, but it also paid homage to classic isometric RPGs such as Fallout and Icewind Dale. Both Wasteland 2 and its predecessor also put you in a decimated American city that had been overrun by gangsters, mutants and monsters.
All that remains of Colorado Springs is a patchwork wasteland, but the land has been filled with new dangers.
Wasteland 3 takes place in the 22nd century, so the world has been ravaged by nuclear war on an unprecedented scale. This leaves plenty of room for the apocalypse to get even more interesting. To keep things interesting for players, there are no levels in this game; when you die, it’s game over. You’re not starting over at level 1 with nothing but a small pack of supplies sitting in your inventory — instead, you get to start again with just about every item you’ve picked up so far.
The result is a kind of sandbox aspect to the game: You can build your character however you want over multiple playthroughs with all the different choices
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From a mechanical perspective, Wasteland 3 is built on a modified version of the engine that powered Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire , and it shows. Combat is satisfying, challenging and rewarding (if you can handle it). You have no shortage of tools at your disposal, but much of the time, you’ll find yourself working within an unorthodox framework — using traps, stealth and careful planning to defeat opponents. If you’re looking for an “easy” RPG, this isn’t it — but if you relish real-time combat that feels intense but fair, Wasteland 3 is a must-play game.
Wasteland 2 was a marvelous game that told the story of a post-apocalyptic world overrun by the forces of evil. A sequel that builds on the foundation of its predecessor is always a good thing, and Wasteland 3 is certainly no exception.
The graphics in Wasteland 3 are extraordinary, particularly in the irradiated Colorado wilderness. The character models have improved as well, but they’re still not as detailed as some other contemporary titles in their field. Still, you can’t fault the overall look and feel of this game. The cities are more varied than before and often impressively detailed. The sound design is also exceptional. It’s an engrossing experience from the moment you boot up to when you turn off the computer.
The combat system is quite similar to the one in Wasteland 2; it’s functional but not very exciting. You’ll find yourself using all your skills and perks repeatedly to finish enemies off quickly and efficiently – but it works fine for what it is, which is a challenging, linear RPG .
Initial release date: 27 August 2020 Developer: inXile entertainment Series: Wasteland Composer: Mark Morgan Engine: Unity Publishers: inXile entertainment, Deep Silver, Koch Media Platforms: macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems
2. Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium is a game that explores the human psyche and our society’s penchant for violence through the lens of role-playing games. The game centers around a kidnapping, as well as the investigation into it, and it uses a point-based system to resolve different scenarios, as well as provide different outcomes based on how you want to shape the story.
It’s an RPG where you can choose from various characters and build your own unique party. The game features some intriguing mechanics that involve debating against bits of your own brain, but it also has some other neat ideas in store for you.
Though there are other great titles on the market, nothing has captured my imagination like Cthulhu Confidential and its sequel, Disco Elysium.
The story is told in first person – you’re an investigator navigating through this crazy world while also being accountable to your own conscience. And while you’re making your way through this twisted mystery story, you can take advantage of some new mechanics such as a brain-teaser that asks you to decide between three conflicting choices or force your enemies to tell all by forcing them to debate against 24 different sections of their own brain. These mechanics add just enough complexity and unpredictability to a fairly linear story to keep things interesting and compelling for me.
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You’ll also be able to explore a richly detailed city and interact with many characters.
It has a really polished feel to it, from the opening cinematic to the crisp menus, animations, and voice acting. The dialogue feels natural and entertaining, with creative writing that makes each conversation feel like it holds as much weight as a real-life conversation.
The main mechanic has you talking to different “sections” of your brain – yes, like Monty Python – in an attempt to come up with solutions to the problems the world is facing. You’ll explore different locations, talk to NPCs about their problems and discover new facts about the world’s state of affairs. These conversations are often funny and provide some unique comedic moments throughout the story. The game also includes a couple of mini-games that are actually pretty fun too. They’re simple, but they add some variety to an otherwise straightforward experience.
You can play through the entire story without ever using combat – if you want to do so – but if you want to go off on your own adventures you’ll be able to do so without any trouble at all. The game very much encourages exploration and is designed around giving you as much freedom as possible so that you can pick up the game whenever you want and enjoy.
In this dark, but surprisingly funny, game you play the part of an amoral, sociopathic detective. You’ll patrol the streets trying to solve cases by interrogating witnesses and suspects, searching their homes and offices for clues, and even talking to their dead bodies. The game’s narrative is told through a series of vignettes that are presented on screen as you play, while text scrolls along the bottom of the screen to provide context.
You’ll be able to take pretty much any action you want in these scenes. You can be a total jerk by insulting your suspect to her face or just bludgeoning her with a crowbar. You can go on long rants about how crazy everyone else is or obsess over how sweet your own apartment looks. And you can make all of this fun and surprisingly often funny.
And just when things start getting interesting, it takes a completely unexpected turn into pure surrealism at the end that I never saw coming. It’s not like other games I’ve played; in fact it’s unlike anything I’ve ever played before. And, somehow, it manages to make all of this fun and, surprisingly often, funny.
I’ve played more than a few games like this, and I can tell you they’re very much on the fringe of my personal preferences. (I’m more of a narrative person.) But I can’t deny that Disco Elysium is a good game, and it’s not only good for a non-narrative game, it’s good in its own right. It’s a well-made game that plays smartly and has some genuinely compelling concepts.
The First Spark is the first two days of the apocalypse, when people are still wandering around trying to figure out what’s going on while trying to survive. The Last Spark is the last day before the world ends, when everyone turns into zombies and humans are driven mad by the horror of death. In between these two points are several days of preparation, when you have to decide what you want to do with your life, your family, and all the treasure you have. During this time, you’ll have to make difficult decisions about whom you save, what you do for survival, and how much power you want to be given over your life in order to make sure your surviving family is safe.
It’s also a game that uses mechanics that would normally feel like gimmicks or distractions as its central premise.
Initial release date: 15 October 2019 Designer: Robert Kurvitz Composer: Sea Power Engine: Unity Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, macOS, Xbox Series X and Series S, Google Stadia
3. Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Divinity: Original Sin, winner of over 150 Game of the Year awards and nominations. The game features an enormous cast of characters, both old and new, as players are thrust into a world on the brink of disaster. Players will have to be smart about each situation they find themselves in if they hope to have any chance at survival!
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a joy to play. It’s a rich and deep RPG that I can also play with a friend, on my couch, or wherever. The console versions are well executed, and while they aren’t perfect they are still an excellent way to experience one of best RPGs.
As you can probably imagine, combat is where this version of the game shines brightest. It’s always been a turn-based affair, but what has changed is how it’s handled. As with many other console RPGs these days, you can move freely while selecting commands from your radial menu, then execute them by pressing A.
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This is probably going to be a dealbreaker for some PC folk: having to choose between selecting abilities or moving your character around feels like an odd choice given that you could do both before. On the other hand, it does make fights more dynamic – especially when the screen is full of enemies.
It’s not just the graphics that have been adapted for the console audience. The controls have been overhauled to make use of a gamepad (despite what Larian says about preferring mouse and keyboard), while new tutorials have been added to help you learn how to play.
You can also play as an entirely pre-made character or create your own using a selection of origin stories that alter events slightly at key points throughout your journey.
This can be done on top of choosing one of six preset classes (the same as you could select in the PC version) but it’s a shame these aren’t more tailored to console play; I picked Rogue after
For a game that is so much about player creativity, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is surprisingly consistent at the highest level of play. The variance introduced by party compositions and skill builds is dwarfed by the much more complex forms of meta available to you. Larger teams bring with them greater complexity in item management and positioning, and matches become increasingly about bluffing your opponent. While the actual fights are turn-based, most matches are won or lost before the first punch is thrown –and I mean that in the best way possible.
Ultimately, Original Sin 2 is a fun, deep game with a genuinely interesting and engaging story that picks you up, throws you down, and then invites you to get up again. It’s a challenge at times, with fights feeling well-matched against enemies, but it’s one that players will find far less frustrating than its predecessor. There’s a fair amount of work to do in Original Sin 2 if you’re looking for every secret (you can bet this guide’s author is going to be doing just that). If that sounds like fun to you, there’s no reason not to get Divinity: Original Sin 2.
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Overall, I enjoyed my time with Divinity: Original Sin 2. It has a lot of stuffing and it’s worth your time to dig in but not always worth the effort to stay engaged when there are so many other games that do what it does better. Some of the elements, like repeatable battle arena, are a strong draw but if you don’t care about the lore or happen to be new to this kind of RPG, there are more rewarding party-based RPGs out there. For me, it disappointingly takes a backseat in Larian’s library and that’s a shame for a studio that has made some great RPGs in its time.
Initial release date: 14 September 2017 Mode: Multiplayer video game Series: Divinity Developers: Larian Studios, Elverils Awards: British Academy Games Award for Multiplayer Publishers: Larian Studios, BANDAI NAMCO Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Microsoft Windows
4. Diablo III
Diablo III is an action role-playing game (RPG) from Blizzard Entertainment. It takes place on Sanctuary, a fantasy world. Diablo III was announced at the 2008 WWI in Paris, France and was released as a result of what Blizzard Entertainment called “an unprecedented level of fan support”. As a player, you must face the Prime Evils and other forces of darkness alone and discover the secrets of the dark universe of Diablo III.
Diablo III is a game where the journey is far more important than the destination. The story is mediocre, and after completing it for the first time, most players will be left wondering why they just wasted hours of their lives. But Diablo III isn’t about storytelling. It’s about killing demons with your friends, finding that one legendary item that lets you crush your foes in an instant, or going on a treasure-hunting spree to see what sort of loot you can uncover. You could spend dozens of hours on Diablo III and never even touch the main campaign, instead focusing your efforts on crafting the perfect character through farming for gear and leveling up.
Diablo III is a fast-paced action RPG with easy to learn mechanics, plenty of loot, and tons of replayability. Blizzard’s dungeon-crawling series has always been about finding better loot, and Diablo III takes that to the next level with an incredible amount of Legendaries (the game’s most powerful items) for players to find. The Crusader, Diablo III’s third expansion class, is a very strong pick for players looking for a well-rounded character that can dish out tons of damage while also providing useful buffs and heals to all party members.
New in Reaper of Souls are Adventure mode bounties. Completing these random missions around the world rewards players with new crafting materials used to build Legendary items, Greater Rift keystones (used to increase your character’s power), and other various rewards. There’s also Nephalem Rifts, endgame dungeons filled with randomized enemies and bosses that drop high quality loot. And if you just want to go toe-to-toe against other players, there’s PvP action as well.
The game’s emphasis on loot has been both praised and criticized by the community. While some fans appreciate the core gameplay loop of killing more monsters to find better loot to kill more monsters, others feel it’s nothing more than a grind-fest where you’re just trying to get lucky enough to find that one legendary item. Others feel it’s too easy to make powerful characters thanks to the Auction House and its wide variety of items available for purchase.
Diablo III is an accessible and incredibly fun action-RPG that offers a wealth of content to players old and new. In pure gameplay terms it may not be the most original title, and those hoping for a rip-roaring story won’t find what they are looking for. However, if you like loot hunting and hacking up your foes, then this is the game for you. And for Diablo veterans, Blizzard has conjured a worthy sequel that should keep you happy until Diablo IV comes along.
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It’s hard to find much to complain about when it comes to Diablo III. You’ve got tons of items and vast quantities of monsters to slay, a well-written story that works as an excuse to get you moving from one place to the next and a gorgeous art style that pops out at you from the moment you launch the game. Whether you’re looking for hack-n-slash combat or squad-based tactical gameplay, Diablo III has plenty to offer, and multiplayer has never been more fun. It’s sad that this may be the last game in the series, but here’s hoping another developer picks up the torch sooner rather than later.
Initial release date: 15 May 2012 Developer: Blizzard Entertainment Series: Diablo Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, MORE Designers: Leonard Boyarsky, Jay Wilson, Stone Librande Modes: Single-player video game, Multiplayer video game Genres: Dungeon crawl, Hack and slash
5. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a role-playing game developed by Polish developer CD Projekt RED. The game is the second installment in The Witcher series, preceded by The Hexer.
I’ll try to keep this brief and spoiler-free. The witcher 2 follows the story of Geralt, a famous monster hunter who, through a series of events ending in him being infected with vampirism, has been tied up with a secret order of warriors known as the witchers. Don’t worry if you’ve not played any games from this series, I wasn’t familiar with the first game going into this. In true RPG fashion, the game is played from a 3rd-person perspective where you control Geralt’s actions from a set camera angle determined by where he is in the environment.
Geralt himself is fully voiced and accompanied by an amazing soundtrack that ranges from slow and ambient to adrenaline pumping battle music.
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The Witcher 2 is a superb game, and in my opinion the best roleplaying game of this generation. The storytelling is so well done, the characters are fleshed out so deeply, and it features some of the most intuitive but deep combat this side of Dark Souls. But what I admire most about The Witcher 2 is that it’s not afraid to leap into new areas, explore new concepts. It breaks down barriers, both technological and traditional, giving us a world far more violent and dark than those we usually see in RPGs.
In the end, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a very good game. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s an engaging, gripping and well-told story that could easily rival many movies. CD Projekt RED told us that they were aiming for this experience with its sequel, and they’ve done a hell of a job. While we may never know how its predecessor would compare if given a similar level of attention, we think that this game stands very well on its own merits. If you’re interested in trying out the game for yourself, it’s available on Steam.
Initial release date: 17 May 2011 Series: The Witcher Publisher: CD Projekt Developers: CD Projekt, CD Projekt RED Composers: Marcin Przybyłowicz, Adam Skorupa, Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz Platforms: Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Classic Mac OS Genres: Hack and slash, Action-adventure game
6. Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition
Buy Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition now! With more than 40 hours of gameplay, and a wealth of new content for players, Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition offers the most complete role-playing experience in the Forgotten Realms.
The award winning story and characters by renowned RPG writer Chris Avellone pulls you into a classic conflict between good and evil as your character explores the Sword Coast, and beyond. Meet an unforgettable array of NPCs, from Drizzt to Elminster, as well as new creatures such as illithids and beholders. Explore the vast city of Waterdeep and the many other locales of the Sword Coast in a game that offers unprecedented freedom of exploration.
Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition offers a substantial number of quality-of-life improvements over the original, including autosaving and quicksaves. Beamdog first added a new Enhanced Edition to 2014’s remaster of the original Baldur’s Gate—the so-called Ultimate Edition—as well as in the Black Pits expansion for that title.
Taking on feedback from that initial remake, however, Beamdog also incorporated every single tweak and fix from every patch made to either game in their second remaster of this classic story of a group of adventurers saving a pleasant land from gathering pitchfork-wielding darkness. In total, Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition is better than any experience you could have with the original versions of the game.
This isn’t just a case of polishing a classic with modern tech, but rather updating it significantly in several areas. It’s still not perfect: the main game occasionally suffers from continuity issues and the Black Pits mode still feels like little more than a time-waster designed to illustrate some of the game’s byzantine class options. But if you’ve never played this masterpiece, or if you’re an old fan who’s ready to return, Enhanced Edition is just about perfect.
Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition does not necessarily succeed in making a classic game feel modern, but it updates the experience for a new audience that has grown up with more forgiving, contemporary design principles. The combat is almost as mindless as in the original game, but it’s now at least as challenging.
The graphics are lacklustre even compared to its contemporaries, but they’re no longer out of place. The writing still contains many cringeworthy references to grunge rock and other pop culture of the day, but the greater volume of material means that they are less obvious in aggregate. Beamdog could have done due diligence when updating the quest logs, miscontrued several responses to consistent player feedback and perhaps made Baldur’s Gate II more vibrant by adding more detailed visual effects, but these issues pale into insignificance compared with what Beamdog have rightfully identified as their largest problem – an uneven difficulty curve.
It’s a solid package, even though it may not convert everyone. Compared to the beloved Infinity Engine that powers Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II, the Neverwinter Nights engine employed here has always felt like an ugly and limited piece of code. Aside from its clunky implementation of cutscenes, the plug-in-based nature of Neverwinter Nights led to numerous suspensions in both content and performance quality across Beamdog’s two Enhanced Editions. The game’s dynamic scaling also regularly leads to major dips in frame rate during busy encounters. Many players will have seen their complaints about this in the forums, but the specific issues have yet to be addressed.
Initial release date: 15 November 2013 Series: Baldur's Gate Mode: Multiplayer video game Platforms: Nintendo Switch, iOS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Android, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Macintosh operating systems Developers: Beamdog, Overhaul Games, BioWare Corporation Publishers: Beamdog, Skybound Games, Overhaul Games, Atari, Skybound Entertainment Genres: Role-playing Video Game, Strategy Video Game, Adventure
7. Hades
Hades RPG is a multiplayer 3D multiplayer turn-based tactics game, with a strong story and a fast-paced experience. Experience the joy of killing your friends as well as yourselves, trying to become a superhuman, or building a wicked base. Regardless of the path you choose, you will be jumping into an experience like no other.
Hades is a rogue-lite. That means you’ll die, a lot. But it has the same “just one more run” allure as Supergiant’s previous games. You’re always making progress in this game, whether it’s learning a new weapon or item, upgrading your powers, or just getting better at using what you have. And with each death, you learn something new about the world and its inhabitants, whether it’s a new story aspect or even just some lore on an enemy or weapon.
While you can rush through the first few times you play Hades (it took me around five hours to escape Hell once), the game encourages you to spend time exploring with the help of its narrative hooks. It makes each new attempt feel different with randomized encounters and enemy placement, as well as unique modifications that add extra challenge — and rewards — to a run.
You collect Gemstones from enemies and treasure chests as you fight and explore, which are used along with Charon’s Obol currency to upgrade your weapons and powers in between attempts. Each upgrade is permanent, so no matter how many times you die, you’ll never lose those upgrades.
Although Hades’ story is built on the ancient Greek myth of Sisyphus, who was made to toil for eternity in Hell by pushing a boulder up a mountain only for it to roll down again, there’s no real toil here. Sure, you’ll die over and over again as you try to make your way out of the underworld, but your journey isn’t really a push uphill. It’s a downward descent and you get stronger each time.
Zagreus, the son of Hades, is the protagonist and he’s determined to escape Hell — or Hades as it’s referred to in this game — with the help of anyone willing to lend him a hand. He heads into combat with the aid of mirror shards that he uses like shurikens and powerful boons from various gods that he can earn in exchange for nectar given as gifts from his family and friends.
Each run through Hades is randomized, so you don’t know what kind of environment you’ll be in or what enemies will be waiting for you until you hit play. Your arsenal also varies depending on which godly powers are made available.
Hades has a lot in common with games like Spelunky and Dead Cells, where you fight your way through randomized rooms of enemies in a quest to reach some goal. In this case it’s the surface world. But where those games are about completing a single run, Hades is about making progress by building up your strength over the course of many runs. The more you play, the farther you can get and the more abilities, weapons, and improvements you can unlock that carry over to future attempts.
Hades’ story is told primarily through conversations between your character (Zagreus, son of Hades) and other characters as you move along on a given run. It’s an interesting blend of linear narrative and procedural gameplay, since there are some moments that are designed to happen at specific points in the game no matter what you do along the way. But unless you beat one of the boss characters at the end of each world — which takes serious skill — Zagreus won’t make it out alive and you have to start all over again from the beginning.
The action-adventure elements are simple but satisfying: slashing through enemies with your sword or other weapon types, dodging their attacks with quick rolls or super-speed attacks.
Hades is a fun, challenging after-school activity for RPG fans who feel like they’ve mastered the offerings of skyrim and its ilk. The various powers, enemies and environments you fight through provide new challenges at every turn, and the game’s soft spot for difficulty variation means your progress can be measured in minutes rather than hours. It stumbles occasionally with some basic interface problems and the balance of enemies can drag in the later game, but these are minor issues overall. Stick with it to its conclusion to witness a show-stopping boss battle and explore one more piece of Supergiant’s unique library of thought provoking art.
Initial release date: 6 December 2018 Developer: Supergiant Games Engine: Proprietary Engine Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, MORE Awards: BAFTA Games Award for Artistic Achievement, MORE Publishers: Supergiant Games, Take-Two Interactive, Private Division Genres: Roguelike, Indie game, Shooter Video Game, Fighting game, Action role-playing game
8. Star Wars: KOTOR 2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 starts out slowly. You’re still stuck on the ravaged world of Taris and barely have enough money to survive. But it’s not long before you are swept up once again in a vast, galaxy spanning conflict—one where loyalties will change, opportunities for adventure galore, and moral decisions that affect everything from huge chunks of the galaxy to your own abilities.
As a high-level RPG, it’s not surprising that KOTOR 2 is full of moral choices. These range from the subtle to the obvious: Do you help a stranded woman and her child trying to flee from alien slavers, or ignore their plight because it’s not your problem? Do you jump at the chance to make some easy money by smuggling contraband for a known criminal organization, or can you afford to turn down the offer of quick cash in favor of your principles?
The game offers you many choices like this, most of which have profound consequences. You can’t please everyone; you’ll need to pick and choose which people and factions you want to support. In addition, some decisions will lead to branching storylines — do you want to follow a path that leads to power but perhaps corruption, or one that might require long-term planning but could lead to lasting change?
In a nice touch, the game actually remembers your past decisions throughout. If you lied to someone early on in the game and then meet them again later on, they’ll remember that. It’s a simple but effective way of making the story feel more cohesive and real.
The first KOTOR game was a great example of how to take an established license and make something new with it. The game’s designers didn’t simply rip off the movies, nor did they create a game that was merely a more interactive version of them. Instead, they created a game that captured the spirit of the original films while also adding plenty of new ideas and twists that made sense within the context of Star Wars but weren’t featured in the movies.
Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords does everything its predecessor does, but one better. While there are some flaws and shortcomings, this is a great role-playing game that’s sure to please fans of the genre and Star Wars fanatics alike. Unfortunately, if you haven’t played Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR), you’ll be missing out on a lot of background information that would help you understand what’s going on in this sequel.
The original Knights of the Old Republic was widely lauded for its plot, characters and dialog. Some good ideas were lost in execution, however — especially when it came to gameplay. In this sequel many of those problems have been addressed, resulting in a much more satisfying gameplay experience overall.
Initial release date: 6 December 2004 Series: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Composer: Mark Griskey Mode: Single-player video game Developers: Aspyr, Obsidian Entertainment, Aspyr (Mac, Linux, & Windows Update) Publishers: Aspyr, The Walt Disney Company, Lucasarts, Lucasfilm, Aspyr (Mac, Linux) Platforms: Android, Xbox, iOS, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Macintosh operating systems
9. Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is a farm simulation and RPG-type game. The player assumes the role of a character that has just inherited their grandfather’s rundown farm in Stardew Valley, and must learn to live off the land by growing crops, raising livestock, and interacting with other people in the town.
The player can play as either male or female. The female version is named Robin. The player can customize their appearance.
Stardew Valley gameplay is similar to that of the Harvest Moon series. The player starts off with their character inheriting a farm from their grandfather in a small town called Pelican Town. The player can choose to live in one of five different farms ranging in size and layout; Riverland Farm (the largest farm), Forest Farm (a forested area with the most mining resources), Hill-top Farm (the second largest farm), Wilderness Farm (the smallest farm) and Four Corners Farm (the middle sized farm).
The game allows the player to grow crops, raise livestock, craft goods, mine for ores, sell produce, and engage in social activities, including romances leading towards marriage with one of 12 characters of various gender and sexuality.
Stardew Valley is an RPG at heart, and it’s an extremely satisfying one at that. The game gives you a number of systems to wrangle with and master as you progress through its seasons. You can grow crops and raise animals on your farm and sell them for currency, which in turn lets you upgrade your tools and expand your home. You can fish by crafting bait and wading into the water or by going to docks where you can cast out a line until you hook something. There are even systems where you can befriend neighbors by giving them gifts they like, which expands their personal storylines over time.
The game takes place in an isolated village called Pelican Town, where you can interact with 23 different characters and use their services. Some of them are friendly, some of them are mean, and many can be romanced by either sex. Because these are just small side stories to the main plot of the game, they don’t take long to complete. However, since there are so many of them available, you can enjoy playing through them over multiple playthroughs.
The transition from Stardew Valley’s story to its gameplay is seamless. You’re encouraged to complete certain tasks throughout each day by way of a “To-Do List” that you can check off, but what you do and when is up to you. Each night at 2 a.m., you go home and go to sleep where time skips ahead to 6 a.m., which starts another day, but you can stay out as late as you want and complete tasks before returning home if need be.
In Stardew Valley, players inherit their grandfather’s old farm and have the option to either support Joja Mart (a giant corporation in the town) or rebuild the community center. The community center can be rebuilt by giving items to villagers, while Joja Mart can be supported by buying items from it. However, the true ending of Stardew Valley comes once both are completed — which takes quite a bit of effort.
The game’s complexity and open-endedness is truly staggering. While the game gives you a clear goal of restoring the community center, how you get there is entirely up to you. You can become a farmer and grow crops, a fisherman and catch fish, a forager and collect all manner of resources from the forest, or even an adventurer and delve into dangerous caves. There are also plenty of townspeople to befriend, with some even being romanceable.
Stardew Valley is an amazing game to be sure, but there are some downsides. The story is kept fairly minimal, largely relying on the player’s imagination for more detail and size. This can suffice for many players, but others want a bit more from their games. The length of this game also might not satisfy players looking for a longer adventure. This game took me quite a while to finish, but it’s length could easily be finished in twenty to forty hours if you really push it along. Another issue that I had with Stardew Valley was with some bugs and glitches I ran into late in the game.
Crashing had become fairly frequent during my few months playing Stardew Valley, and starting a new save file did not help remedy these issues. These were minor issues for me, but I can understand how they can turn away the hardcore gamers who might want something more from Stardew Valley. Nonetheless, Stardew Valley is definitely one of the best indie games out there and deserves to be experienced by any patient gamer who wants to take over their grandfather’s old farm!
Initial release date: 26 February 2016 Designer: Eric Barone Engine: Proprietary Engine Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Developers: Eric Barone, Sickhead Games, ConcernedApe Genres: Role-playing Video Game, Indie game, Adventure game, Modes: Single-player video game, Multiplayer video game
10. Borderlands 3
Borderlands’ big draw has always been the vast number of guns it puts at your disposal, and Borderlands 3 makes good on that promise. As with previous entries, the majority of them feel distinct thanks to wildly different firing rates, reload speeds, capacities, and damage types. But now you can also equip mods called “barrels” that drastically affect their behavior — turning one shotgun into a rapid-fire laser cannon and another into a single-shot grenade launcher, for instance.
The variety doesn’t stop there: each gun comes with its own traits (like explosive rounds or ricochet bullets) and elemental effects (like corrosive blasts or radiated explosions), plus several slots for further augmentations from randomly generated purple anointments. Taken as a whole, these bullet-spewing toys are way more fun to use than the melee weapons introduced in Borderlands 2. And it’s not just about blowing things up: you can also transform any firearm into a makeshift rocket launcher by slinging it at enemies then shooting it midair.
I was skeptical that Borderlands 3 could maintain its signature style after such a long hiatus. But after playing it for nearly 30 hours, I can confirm that this is the Borderlands experience I know and love. It’s a game that never takes itself too seriously and is full of heart. The guns are still whimsical and weird, the enemies are tougher than ever, and the colorful art style is as vibrant as ever.
The opening sequence is a little slow and not as memorable as that of previous games. But once you’re out in the world, you’ll notice big improvements over Borderlands 2 — namely, much more polished movement and shooting mechanics. Vault Hunters have always been able to mantle ledges, but now you can climb ladders and even slide down hills like Kratos from God of War.
The weapons themselves are just as varied and ridiculous as those found in past games, with an even greater emphasis on elemental damage types like shock and radiation. The new weapon manufacturer, COV (Children of the Vault), has some particularly devious options like a flamethrower with a shotgun attachment at its base or guns with twisting barrels that spit fire at your enemies.
The core of Borderlands 3 is still shooting, looting, and leveling up your character. The more enemies you kill, the more experience you earn, and once you’ve earned enough to level up, you can spend a point on a skill from one of your three skill trees. While each class has its own distinct abilities and play styles—the Siren can summon phantoms to fight for her, the Beastmaster can send out pets to distract and attack enemies—they all share one major change that makes them much more flexible than the classes in previous games. Now you can equip two Action Skills at once rather than just one.
These new Action Skills are customizable as well. You’ll unlock several variants of each skill through normal progression, but as you play through each class’s story campaign (yes, there are multiple short campaigns now that follow each of the four Vault Hunters) you’ll also start finding equipment that allows you to customize your skills even further.
The first thing you notice about Borderlands 3 is how much better it feels to move and shoot than in any previous edition of the game. That might sound like damning this particular loot-shooter with faint praise, but that’s not my intention. Borderlands’ hectic gun fights have always been fun, but they were also messy affairs where I felt like I was constantly struggling to stay mobile and aim properly at the same time.
This time around, the combined effect of a refined aiming system and improved movement mechanics makes those issues a thing of the past. Vault Hunters can double jump and mantle over obstacles, slide on all fours across the ground, and use action skills to get a little extra midair lift. Borderlands 3 may not have cover systems, but you won’t miss them.
Initial release date: 13 September 2019 Publisher: 2K Games Series: Borderlands Mode: Multiplayer video game Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, MORE Developers: Gearbox Software, Gearbox Studio Québec Composers: Jesper Kyd, Michael McCann, Raison Varner, Finishing Move Inc.
What are RPG Games?
To begin with, RPG stands for Role Playing Game. Specifically, it is a genre of games in which the player takes up the role of a character and controls it in the game. The player can modify the appearance, traits and skills that are unique to that character. Seldomly, you could also control a group of characters and make choices for them. The decisions made in RPGs does not only affect your role but may also influence the overall storyline of the game in question. An example is the award-winning game “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” by CD Projekt Red where players will make decisions that will change their experience in the end game.
RPG is a subgenre of adventure games which means they have non-linear storylines and offer freedom to explore the environment at your own pace. While most games limit you to certain actions, RPG games allow players to make choices based on their liking as well as provide a more immersive experience with its rich world-building and events.
Some of the most popular RPG games are Skyrim, Mass Effect, Fallout, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Pokémon Go, Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls, Nier: Automata.
History of RPG Games
The history of RPG games can be traced back to 1975 when the first role playing game was released in Western countries. The name of that game was Dungeons and Dragons which was developed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
It became a huge success and started a new trend of playing games based on fantasy theme where players could take control of their own characters and go on imaginary adventures. After this, many more role playing games were developed but they were mostly text-based console RPGs until 1987 when Japanese developer Squaresoft developed Final Fantasy which became one of the highest selling video games in Japan.
Later, this game was also released in North America and Europe where it also gained popularity among gamers.
Storyline of RPG Games
The storyline of an RPG game is written by a team of writers who work together to create a detailed plot for each game. The plot is usually divided into several different parts that take place in different locations and times during the course of the game. The player will be given tasks and quests to complete at each part throughout the duration of an RPG game.
RPGs have captivated gamers worldwide for decades with their engrossing storylines, fascinating characters, and complex battle systems that lend themselves to hundreds of hours of gameplay. The best RPGs offer hundreds of hours of gameplay and can be some of the most demanding games on the market.
What makes a great RPG? Here are some factors to consider:
Story. This is probably the most important factor in an RPG. At their core, RPGs are interactive stories, and the best ones give you a reason to care about your character and the world that surrounds them.
Gameplay. Gameplay is what separates RPGs from other genres. Some have turn-based systems while others use real-time combat. Some even turn combat into a puzzle game of sorts. Either way, it’s important that players feel engaged during battle rather than bored or frustrated by mechanics that don’t work well together.
Progression and customization. Most RPGs allow players to customize their character(s) in different ways, whether it’s through choosing abilities, customizing stats, or decking out characters in gear they earn throughout the game. The best RPGs give players enough options so they can tailor the game according to their playstyle.