The best single-player RPGs (like many of the best story-driven games in general) offer expansive worlds with important stories. These immersive experiences are suitable for players who can immerse themselves in solo, offering hours of tantalizing good fun that feels like plunging into new worlds all over again. Most role-playing games are long-running and large-scale games that offer rich content at a relatively low price compared to the hours of entertainment at hand.
While most single-player RPGs aren't the best in terms of replayability, most single-player adventures offer dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of excitement before the credits finally roll. Throw in expansion packs, secret missions, and New Games Plus with new content to unlock, and you have a genre filled with a veritable treasure trove of content. The list below features some of the most addictive, challenging and rewarding RPGs on the market for all systems, from Xbox Series X | S to PC. You may well find a new favorite to dive into.
Best Overall: CD Projekt Red The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
What we like
- Huge, gorgeous open world
- One of the best storytelling in games
- Exciting fight
What we don't like
- Somewhat awkward detour
For a long time, The Witcher was a fairly niche RPG series that only the most dedicated fans were looking for. The Witcher 3 is considered one of the best RPGs ever made and offers everything you could want from the genre. You play as Geralt the Witcher, a highly skilled monster slayer who travels the world helping peasants and kings. Do you want to help people in trouble or expose corruption? Sure, it's an option, but it's a darker and more sinister choice. The world of The Witcher 3 is huge, complex and politically confusing, just like real life. But it doesn't have to be that serious - you can also relax and play cards at the local tavern.
Upgrade your weaponry as you see fit or choose to have Geralt master the Witcher's magic. Or maybe you'll just have a better time racing, it's all up to you. It's likely that you'll end up doing a little bit of everything as the game grows and every action results in a satisfying reward, even if every choice you make comes with unexpected consequences. Battles are action-based rather than turn-based, so you can really learn how to best fight ghosts and ghouls and how to survive your encounters with mythical creatures and armies of the undead.
The Witcher 3 looks great and seems almost infinite in scope. It offers compelling storytelling and near-infinite replay value with its selection. It is available for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Best Action/Adventure: Nintendo The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo Switch)
What we like
- The best and most open Zelda to date
- Wildly interactive world and items
- Incredibly unique dungeons
What we don't like
- Dividing weapon strength system
Widely regarded as the best The Legend of Zelda game in its long history, Breath of the Wild was the reason for many Nintendo Switch purchases at the console's launch. It's unlike any other Legend of Zelda game considering it's a much more open world than previous entries and is based on a lot of cues from contemporary RPGs like Dark Souls and Fallout.
In the game, you will scan vast fields, oceans, volcanoes, castles, ruins, dungeons, caves, forests, and snow-capped mountain ranges with no limits as to where you can explore. It is possible to glide across the terrain, as well as simply travel on foot or on horseback to see what you can discover. There's a deep and compelling storyline here, but the fun part is getting off the beaten track and just seeing what's going on there. Taking advantage of this for review, our tester Kelsey found that some of the best content exists outside of the "main narrative".
You can search for new weapons, destroy huge beasts, solve environmental puzzles and create food to withstand the scorching heat or freezing cold. It's a delightfully open approach to problem solving, though you'll need to keep an eye on your resources and stamina. Unlike other Zelda games, you can "abuse" your weapons, causing them to lose their effectiveness or fall apart completely, so manage your tools well.
« A beautifully designed adventure RPG that will appeal to both newcomers and fans of the series »
Best Style: Atlus Persona 5
What we like
- Fantastic cast of characters
- Some of the best turn based combat ever
- Amazing clockwork world
What we don't like
- Steam is exhaled near the end
Japanese Role Playing Games (or JRPGs) are usually quite unusual and different from Western RPGs. This certainly applies to the Persona series, and Persona 5 is definitely one of the best in the series. The story follows a group of teenagers who spend their days at school before spending their nights in the dungeons as the Phantom Thieves, a group dedicated to exposing others' inner vulnerabilities through the use of protective masks.
Days are spent doing simple school assignments, such as attending classes, participating in extracurricular activities, or being assigned to part-time jobs. The change in pace of nighttime dungeon crawling is significant and frustrating, but each gameplay component complements the other as you learn more about the characters and level them up. It may seem rambling, but its turn-based combat is fast-paced and exciting, and you really care about everyone involved, whether they're wearing a school uniform or a cape.
Persona has a unique art style with distinctive character designs that you will remember for a long time. The acid jazz soundtrack makes things even more stylish and cool as you play through the centenary campaign. Fear not if you haven't played past Persona games; this one will still make sense since the plot is unrelated to past titles. The only downside? Only available for PlayStation 4 owners.
Best Co-Op: Blizzard Entertainment Diablo 3: Eternal Collection (Xbox One)
What we like
- Fantastic combat fight
- A staggering amount of loot
- Cool, great character classes
What we don't like
- Maybe too much booty
Generally referred to as a loot RPG, Diablo III is all about finding new gear at every turn. Pretty much every enemy you kill will drop some kind of gear, weapon, or mountains of gold, which you can then sell to earn more stuff. The combat is fast-paced and almost like a gunfight; you will easily destroy hundreds of enemies in each session. You select and equip your gear and mash buttons until everything on the screen disappears.
It's also fantastic fun when you play co-op with a friend, online or side-by-side (check out some of the other best PS4 co-op games you can buy). Even though it sounds rather superficial, Diablo III actually has a complex story wrapped in tons of lore. While the previous titles are not yet available for consoles, you will soon find yourself drawn into the tales of Deckard Cain and company as they travel through treacherous and dangerous worlds on an epic adventure to defeat Diablo.
Choosing different character types means there's always a reason to replay Diablo III, as each class offers different abilities and abilities, ensuring that a different strategy is required to deal with the enemies and bosses along the way. What might seem like a mindless act at first soon reveals its depth as you find yourself juggling different combinations depending on what kind of enemies you're facing, paired with who's in your group, and how you can complement together your skills.
Best mod support: Bethesda Fallout 4
What we like
- Often on sale
- Huge open world narrative
- Hundreds of mods available
What we don't like
- Sometimes game breaking bugs
- Mods do not have official support
Bethesda's Fallout 4 is a post-apocalyptic open-world game that already contains hundreds of hours of content in its base game as players explore vast wastelands. But despite its vast single-player landscape, Fallout 4 is also well known for being easy to mod for curious players who want to make the game feel more like their own creation. The Fallout modding community is very noisy, with talented players creating their own heroes, NPCs, weapons, and narratives and effortlessly breathing new life into them. Now, five years after Fallout 4's first debut, it's become something of a beacon for modders to dig into and truly create their own, from improved versions of the base game to new voices for companions that make Fallout 4 almost feel like a completely new game. new game.
Best post-apocalyptic: Wasteland 3
What we like
- A humorous approach to exploring the post-apocalyptic wasteland
- Unique isometric perspective
- Inventive plot and characters
What we don't like
- Not very accessible to beginners
- Difficulty spikes can slow down progress
For some time now, Fallout has worn the crown of offering the best of the best in terms of post-apocalyptic exploration. Wasteland 3, however, has several advantages. From refusing to stick to conventional norms to caustic descriptions of what a true post-apocalyptic nightmare would be like, this is an action-packed top-to-bottom adventure that must be seen to be believed. Players travel to the icy tundra of Colorado after the country is riddled with nuclear war as part of the Arizona Ranger Team November. They want to help the ruler, known as the Patriarch, win support for matters in Arizona, but the Patriarch has his own problems. Players must fight rival factions, hold back wayward punks,
Funniest RPG: Obsidian Entertainment The Outer Worlds
What we like
- Unique setting
- Fantasy characters and relationships
- Vast world to explore with a branching dialogue system
What we don't like
- Combat can be simplistic sometimes
- Some performance issues depending on the platform
What if, in 1901, President William McKinley was not assassinated at the Pan American Exposition and Roosevelt never took his place? The world may look something like the alternate future featured in The Outer Worlds, which paints a picture of a future ruled by mega-corporations that have begun colonizing space and terraforming alien planets. The colonists work to reach the stars and find habitable planets, but at some point the mission goes awry and your playable character wakes up early from cryosleep. As a result, you must join the faction, find out what is happening in the Emerald Valley colony, and get used to the way the world has become. Oh, and of course there are plenty of quests to complete and loot to collect. It all unfolds with some really fun quests, NPCs,
Best Sci-Fi RPG: Cyberpunk 2077
What we like
- A huge number of tasks to complete and people to meet
- Captivating and captivating cyberpunk aesthetic - it's like Blade Runner comes to life.
- Developed by experienced RPG creators
What we don't like
- The sheer number of cases can seem overwhelming
- Adult content may not be for everyone
Just as developer CD Projekt RED did for fantasy with its colossal hit The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the costume did the same for Cyberpunk 2077's sci-fi world and cyberpunk aesthetic. Players descend into the dystopian world of Night City. open world divided into six different regions. As a customizable V mercenary, they can customize their body to match their body type and cybernetic modifications, exploring various disciplines of hacking, weaponry, and hand-to-hand combat, all in an attempt to complete a variety of missions and goals that will change depending on the character's class, backstory, and worldview. Cyberpunk 2077 is a massive world filled with personality and cutting-edge technology, with tons of cars, weapons, clothes, consumables, music, and even sexiness. This'
“In terms of the quality of the story itself, whichever path you take is surprisingly well-written, and that storytelling quality is probably the main highlight of the game, next to the insane graphical fidelity. It's well crafted and some of the sequences are so well done that you can almost forget you're playing a game and it becomes more like an interactive movie."
Best Fantasy: Bethesda Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
What we like
- An exciting living world
- An amazing variety of quests and storylines.
- Open, highly customizable character development
What we don't like
- Too much content can be intimidating
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is unmatched in offering an immersive world that you can get lost in for countless hours. First released in 2011 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim continues to captivate fans around the world. Now available in a special remastered version for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, there's a good reason why many have returned to it more than once: it's an all-time classic with an immersive setting and endless things to see and do.
You play as the Dragonborn, a man whose destiny is to defeat the ancient dragons and free the kingdom. These are standard RPG concepts, but The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim offers a lot more than simple fantasy clichés. Vampires, trolls, and dragons get in your way, and defeating them grants you souls that you can use for special powers and magical spells.
The development of your character also depends on how you play, so your strength will grow depending on how you overcome obstacles. Ready to speak out of trouble? You will see how quickly your speech skills develop. Is it comfortable to handle a one-handed sword rather than a staff? The more you hack and slash enemies the better. The game reacts dynamically to your play style, while making sure to add a lot of wrenches to your plans to keep you on your toes. Our reviewer Kelsey said it was the perfect game for "any player who loves fantasy, dragons and magic in a vast open world."
« Skyrim does an amazing job of setting up an open world combat system that really lets you control how your character fights and levels. »
What to Look for in a Single Player RPG
Setting. One of the most exciting parts of any RPG is the world it is set in. Are you looking for a sprawling open world like in The Witcher, or something a little more compact but still extremely diverse, like Monster Hunter World? Do you want something colorful and bright, like the cartoony landscapes of Mario and Rabbit, or something more expansive and varied, like Skyrim?
Plot – Another important component is the storytelling. RPGs excel at storytelling, and The Witcher 3 is one of the best and deepest games ever made. By contrast, the story in South Park is predictably hilarious, quirky, sometimes bordering on goofy, but always entertaining.
Mechanics “Of course we play games to interact with these stories and worlds, so gameplay and systems are key. Skyrim has one of the most elaborate character development systems in gaming, Diablo III's combat is some of the best ever written, and XCom 2's intense tactical combat provides a whole different take on explosive action.
