2020-10-05T14:22:31 02:00

The 14 best action role-playing games 2020

In this guide to the best action role-playing games 2020, you'll read:

Which are the best action role-playing games
Which platforms the games are available for
Which action role-playing games are not to be missed

Action role-playing games offer you the best of both worlds: On the one hand, the hunt for loot and better stats, and on the other, exciting battles in real time. With most of these games, you won't want to put the controller or mouse down. Our guide to the best action role-playing games of 2020 provides the perfect overview of this addictive spiral.

Diablo 3

Platform: , , , PS3, Xbox 360
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: Reaper of Souls
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of the original, with which Blizzard coined the so-called "Diablo" formula

One of the most accessible action role-playing games is still Diablo 3. The combination of the popular characters of the Blizzard universe, epic cutscenes, a cinematic German dubbing and addictive gameplay has pretty much perfected the popular game. A good seven years on, Diablo 3 continues to get new content.

20 years after the events of Diablo 2, you travel to the city of New Tristram to investigate the mysterious impact of a star that resurrects the dead. It turns out that the star is actually a man who can't remember anything

Choose from seven different classes - barbarian, crusader, demon hunter, monk, necromancer, witch doctor or sorcerer. You can freely choose between male and female main characters. In five acts you'll travel to the east to the desert city of Caldeum, to the crater of Mount Arreat, to the sky itself and to other places.

With up to 20 different difficulty levels that unlock increasingly higher rewards as the challenge increases, the replay value is particularly high. In addition to this, there are the Seasons, which bring new buffs and special modifiers to the gameplay at regular intervals. Diablo 3 Season 18, for example, brings a new legendary gem.

Nioh (Series)

Platform: PC,
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: Various DLCs
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of Souls-like games and Japanese culture

Wait, is this Dark Souls? That was the first reaction of many gamers to Nioh. The action role-playing game from the developer studio Team Ninja (Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive) is primarily characterized by its crunchy difficulty level, and at first glance it does indeed remind us of the famous Souls series. However, Nioh has some new tricks up its sleeve.

You play the Irish samurai William and travel to Japan in the 1600s to take down your nemesis Edward Kelley. The country is a war zone. Enemy clans fight each other for supremacy. In addition, plague spirits, so-called Yokai, cause fear and terror. William makes a pact with the powerful Shogun Tokugawa to defeat the Yokai and his arch-enemy together.

As a samurai you are faster and more agile than in the Souls games. In closed levels without an open world, you'll have to deal with human and supernatural enemies. There are three fighting stances that you have to use skillfully. The high stance boosts your attack, the medium stance boosts your defense, and the low stance lets you dodge faster

Each combat move costs ki (Stamina). Wild attacking and dodging eats up your ki and leaves you defenseless against the enemies. Defeated enemies leave behind loot, weapons, money and amrita (experience points). In addition to the traditional sword, William can wield melee weapons such as double swords, axes, polearms, the Japanese weapon Kusarigama, and long-range weapons such as bows, rifles and pistols.

Nioh became a success and has received a sequel, Nioh 2. You can see a gameplay trailer here.

Path of Exile

Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: Several expansion packs
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of the "Diablo" series who are comfortable with the Free2Play model

Path of Exile shows what a good F2P action role-playing game / hack and slay can look like. You play a prisoner who is washed up on the coast of the cursed continent of Wraeclast. Together with other so-called Exiles, you'll have to survive this hostile area full of mutants, bandits and wild monsters.

The scope of Path of Exiles is really impressive. Seven classes - Marauder, Ranger, Witch, Duelist, Templar, Shadow, and Recruit - and ten acts of story will keep you entertained for several hours. Gems provide a deep gameplay system. These gems give abilities and spells to armor, weapons, helmets and shields. With support gems you can further refine and customize these abilities.

Path of Exile does not use gold as currency. Instead, you'll have to trade certain items. The biggest feature, however, is the gigantic skill tree. Here you have a total of 1350 passive abilities at your disposal. If you're not careful, you can quickly find yourself in a "dead end".

As an F2P game, Path of Exile is free to play. It offers optional microtransactions for special character animations, pets, and convenience features.

Grim Dawn

Platform: PC
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: DLCs and Ashes of Malmouth and The Forgotten Gods
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of the Victorian Age

grim Dawn by the developer studio Crate Entertainment was released in 2016. In Cairn, two hostile otherworldly creatures face each other, the Aetherials and Chthonians. The latter have caused the collapse of human civilization, driving it to the brink of extinction.

This event is called Grim Dawn. You play a human who wants to defeat the otherworldly creatures with his special abilities. In the course of the main game and the two add-ons Ashes of Malmouth and Forgotten Gods, you'll travel through deserts, to volcanoes and to other dark places with Lovecraft atmosphere.

The gameplay peculiarity of Grim Dawn is the two types of experience points that enable a dynamic class system. Apart from attributes, you'll invest the points in combat and magic abilities, which are divided into eight different masteries. You'll be able to choose two masteries and get a completely individual class.

For example, the masteries Shaman and Blaster result in the Elementalist class. Inquisitor and Occultist, on the other hand, make up the Deceiver class. Together with the add-ons, 36 combinations are possible. In addition to new masteries, the paid add-ons offer more story chapters, modes, level limit increases and more.

Torchlight 2

Platform: PC, (PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: None
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of games with mod support

Torchlight is destroyed. The eponymous city is razed to the ground by the Alchemist at the beginning of Torchlight 2 from developer Runic Games. It's up to you to pick up his trail and bring him down in four acts.

Choose one of four classes (Berserker, Glowstone Mage, Engineer and Vagant). Defeating enemies will earn you experience points, which you can invest in four attributes. On your journey you'll fight in steppes, meadows, deserts, underground mines, snow-covered mountain regions and other regions.

The Torchlight series is especially known for its good playability and comic book look which is not as gloomy as Diablo, for example. The other big trademark is the pets. 14 of them are available for you to choose from at the beginning of the campaign. Your pet fights along and can even sell items in the city on its own.

After playing through, "New Game Plus" awaits you with stronger monsters and better loot. New compared to the predecessor is the multiplayer, which you can play via LAN on the PC or via the Internet. Torchlight 2 has also been available on consoles since the beginning of September. In our Torchlight 2 Guide you will find all information about the best tips and builds!

Victor Vran

Platform: PC, PS4, ,
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: DLCs and Motörhead Through the Ages
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of action role-playing games with an open character system

Zagoravia is waiting for you. The dark city from Victor Vran, the action role-playing game from developers Haemimont Games, needs a hero. All sorts of demons are up to mischief and need to be eliminated. That's where the titular hero comes in.

Dodge, roll, attack, jump. With Victor you are dynamically on the move. However, you don't have to choose a character class. There isn't even a talent tree. Instead, your equipped weapon decides what kind of fighter Victor is.

You want to give powerful blows? With the hammer, no grass will grow after your attacks, but the lunge will take a correspondingly long time. In addition, there is a lightning rifle, hand mortar, rapier, shotgun, sword and scythe. In addition, you can also equip demon powers, which round off the combat system with magic.

Alone or in co-op multiplayer, you can play through the storyline and face five special challenges that exist in each area. For example, you'll only be allowed to defeat certain monsters or you'll have to respect a time limit.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (Series)

Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: Various DLCs
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of action role-playing games that combine different gameplay mechanics

Whether from books, movies or games; you've definitely heard the name Van Helsing before. The vampire and monster hunter is the perfect template for a hack and slay. In this case, even three, because The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing by developer NeocoreGames is now a trilogy.

The adventures in the gothic noir world of Borgova have always improved over the three parts. Thus, in the second part there are still three playable classes, while in the third part there are six. Among them are the Elementalist, who causes a lot of damage from a long distance, or the Protector, who shows his strengths especially in close combat.

Lady Katarina is always at your side. The spirit lady is always good for a snappy comment. Together you'll have to defeat a mad scientist, save the city of Borgova and prevent the end of the world itself.

A special feature of the series is your hiding place. You'll have to equip it with traps in a tower defense mini-game to prevent it from being overrun by monsters and demons. You can play the third part with up to eight players in PVP mode or with up to four players in co-op mode.

Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem

Platform: PC
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: None
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of graphically intricate games

Although the release of Wolcen was quite bumpy and several bugs, patches and server problems caused discontent among players, the action role-playing game is still a first-class representative of the classic Diablo formula. Our tips & tricks for Wolcen will also help you get started.

In the campaign, which lasts between 15 and 20 hours, you slip into the skin of a warrior who has been trained to protect the Republic from monsters of all kinds. Accordingly, you'll fight your way through hordes of creeps. As usual, the hunt for better and better loot is in the foreground.

Once you've finally knocked the final boss off his feet, you'll have to take care of the rest in the end game the game is about building up a city, which promises several hours of monster fights.

One thing that makes Wolcen special is its beautiful graphics. Thanks to the CryEngine, Wolcen impresses with a lot of details and great effects. On the other hand, Wolcen also offers you a fairly open character system. While many similar titles force the abilities of your hero into narrow paths via classes, in Wolcen you can freely combine and learn each skill with others.

Minecraft Dungeons

Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: Jungle Awakens
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of Minecraft and anyone who wants a kid-friendly Diablo

Who would have thought a Diablo clone in the Minecraft universe would work so well? Minecraft Dungeons makes the Diablo formula developed by Blizzard ready for the nursery. The familiar, blocky protagonists from Minecraft roam colorful environments, defeat monsters, and diligently collect loot.

It's surprising how much of the original has actually remained intact in Minecraft Dungeons (). The hunt for the next best piece of equipment is just as fun as in the original. Only the crafting elements have been heavily scaled down.

Although Mojang is now owned by Microsoft, the development studio still publishes its games for all platforms. Game Pass subscribers can play the title on PC and Xbox at no extra cost.

If you want to get started, you can find many valuable tips in our guide to Minecraft Dungeons.

Salt and Sanctuary

Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Genre: 2D action role-playing game
Addons: No
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of Souls-like games and retro games

Like so many games of the past few years, Salt and Sanctuary takes its cues from the Dark Souls series - but puts a new spin on the popular formula. The fact that this is a 2D game alone sets the title apart from its role model. You can expect a dark game world with challenging platforming interludes and tough enemies.

You might not see it directly in the game, but it offers deep role-playing elements like classes and skill trees. On the side, Salt and Sanctuary is also a Metroidvania. That means you'll keep returning to places you've already visited to unlock new paths. Just like in Dark Souls, you can not only exchange messages with other players, but also go on a monster hunt together.

Bloodborne

Platform: PS4
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: The Old Hunters
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Dark Souls fans

Bloodborne does two essential things differently from Dark Souls: the gameplay is significantly faster and it takes place in a completely new setting. As soon as you arrive in Yharnam, the influences of H. P. Lovecraft are obvious. Evil creatures roam the streets and old gods are waiting to relieve you of your head.

If Dark Souls is too ponderous for you, Bloodborne is just right, because agility is the order of the day here. There is exactly one shield in the game, and it is as useless as a bolus. So you'll always have to keep moving to avoid getting mauled. When you do take damage, you can regain some of the lost health if you counterattack quickly enough.

Many fans would like to see a sequel, but we'll probably have to wait a while for that. For now, the remaster of Demon's Souls is coming for the PS5, and From Software itself is currently working on Elden Ring.

Genshin Impact

Platform: PC, PS4
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: Game-as-a-Service
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Zelda fans and anime lovers

At first glance, Genshin Impact looks like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in anime style. However, under the surface there are many elements that make the game unique. You can assemble a team of up to four fighters, between which you can switch at any moment. Or you can go right away with up to three friends into the colorful fantasy world.

There are currently 23 different characters, some of which you'll meet in the course of the story, but many of which you'll have to unlock via Gacha mechanics. Fighting is done in real time. In addition to the regular attacks, you also have elementary attacks at your disposal. Each fighter represents one of a total of seven elements, which can affect the opponent and the environment.

Since several complex systems collide in Genshin Impact with Free2Play, Game-as-a-Service, open-world and online role-playing, it can be quite difficult to get started. To make the first few hours a little easier, we've summarized the most important questions in our Genshin Impact Guide.

The Surge 2

Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Genre: SciFi action role-playing game
Addons: Various DLCs and "The Kraken
Multiplayer: No
Suitable for: Fans Souls-like games and science fiction

The Surge 2 () consistently follows on from its predecessor and expands the basic concept with a lot of meaningful content.

It is still an action role-playing game, which rather appeals to fans of the Dark Souls series, because the difficulty level turns out to be high. In the fights, the focus is still on cutting off body parts of your opponents. This is the only way to get blueprints for new weapons and the like to improve your own character.

At the beginning of The Surge 2, your character is stranded in the city of Jericho, which you will explore in the course of the story. Martial law is in effect there, so you'll also have to deal with armored soldiers. On the other hand, a mysterious nanostorm is brewing, which you will also get to the bottom of.

Jericho as the setting of The Surge 2 allows developer Deck13 to present the most diverse environments, so you can expect more variety than in the first part. In addition, the game world with its many secrets invites you to explore.

Dark Souls (Series)

Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Genre: Fantasy action role-playing game
Addons: Yes, for Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3
Multiplayer: Yes
Suitable for: Fans of challenging games with a high frustration threshold

With Dark Souls, developer From Software virtually founded its own genre in 2011: Action role-playing games, or rather games in general that use a high degree of difficulty and are simultaneously motivating that players want to grit their way through. The Japanese continued this recipe for success in the sequels Dark Souls 2 in 2014 and Dark Souls 3 in 2016.

However, the Dark Souls games are therefore not suitable for everyone. Even the simplest opponent can quickly mean the end here. The key to success is therefore always a thoughtful approach, studying the behavior of the opponent and the well-dosed use of attacks, blocks and abilities.

But despite or perhaps because of the high frustration potential of the Dark Souls games, they are considered classics among action role-playing games today and provide hours of fun and a lot of happiness when you finally finish off a supposedly invincible boss opponent.

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