2021-07-15T19:00:08 02:00

The 15 best role-playing games 2021

We present you the best role-playing games in 2021:

What makes these role-playing games stand out?
On which platforms are they available?
Who are the role-playing games suitable for?

So that you don't lose the overview, we present the best role-playing games of all time for PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. Take a look at our guide to the best JRPGs if you are a fan of Japanese role-playing games. We also tell you what the best action role-playing games are.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Genre: Sci-Fi RPG
Addons: The Legendary Edition includes almost all DLCs of the series (only Pinnacle Station from Mass Effect 1 is not included)
Multiplayer: No

As Commander Shepard, you take on the dangers and challenges of the galaxy. The alien Reaper race threatens to destroy humanity, and only you are capable of averting this threat.

In this sci-fi space epic you'll be able to explore planets, meet innumerable NPCs that all have their own stories and quests, fight with futuristic weapons in the style of a cover shooter, and experience a rousing story about love, friendship and betrayal. During the adventure you'll be able to recruit new crew members and even form romances with them.

Who is the Mass Effect Legendary Edition for?

The Legendary Edition includes the original trilogy - we'd rather keep quiet about the botched fourth part, Mass Effect Andromeda. Thus, this edition is not only the perfect introduction to the series, but also suitable for old hands, since (except for the DLC Pinnacle Station from Mass Effect 1) all expansions are included. Fans of space adventures like Star Wars or simply of Bioware role-playing games can grab this one without hesitation.

Our guides to the Mass Effect Legendary Edition:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Platform: PC, PS VR, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch
Genre: Medieval, fantasy role-playing game
Addons: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, Dragonborn (The "Special Edition" contains all DLCs)
Multiplayer: Only via mod on PC

Skyrim is something like the mother of all modern western role-playing games. The game gives you all the freedom from the very beginning: Go where you want, do what you want, be who you want! Follow the main story or decide to explore the packed fantasy world on your own - even in VR.

Several hundred weapons and spells can be found or crafted. The character system in Skyrim responds authentically to your play style and defines you according to your actions. If you sneak a lot and like to attack from ambush, you'll become a top-notch thief or assassin. If you prefer to fight directly, you'll develop in the direction of a knight.

Thanks to the extensive Mod support, Skyrim still doesn't get boring almost ten years after its original release. Whether it's better graphics, new quest series, or fresh weapons and spells - the selection of community content for the role-playing game seems almost endless. Our Skyrim mod guide gives you an overview of the best modifications.

Who is Skyrim suitable for?

Do you have a thing for Norse mythology and want to dive into a single-player role-playing game that can keep you busy for hundreds of hours (also thanks to mods)? Then Skyrim is the right choice for you. Fans of Bethesda role-playing games (The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, Fallout 3) are going to pick it up anyway, or have probably already done so.

Our guides to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:

Divinity: Original Sin 2

Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, iPad
Genre: Fantasy role-playing game
Addons: a mini companion as well as free DLCs, but only for cosmetic customizations
Multiplayer: On- and offline co-op mode

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of the best isometric role-playing games for many RPG fans. Great stories, complex combat, a fantastically designed world and multiplayer that works both offline and online are the highlights of this role-playing game.

With a party of up to 4 players, you'll explore the world of Rivellon, which was also the setting of the first Divinity: Original Sin installment. The game lives from its attention to detail and the huge scope of the game. Every character you meet has a story to tell and every decision has consequences.

Who is Divinity: Original Sin 2 suitable for?

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is your game if a role-playing game can't be complex enough for you and you don't mind heaps of long and entertaining dialogues. And don't worry, you don't have to have played the predecessor, but can dive into Original Sin 2 completely without any prior knowledge. After all, Part 2 takes place over 1,000 years after the first part.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Fantasy role-playing game
Addons: Hearts of Stone, Blood & Wine
Multiplayer: No

In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, you slip into the role of the witcher Geralt von Riva, just like in the previous parts. In search of your foster daughter Ciri, you dive into the brutal world of Temeria.

In addition to imaginative characters and quests, you can expect an action-oriented combat system that requires strategy and fast reflexes. The story around Geralt and Ciri is excitingly told and lets you meet old friends, new enemies and all kinds of monsters. Thanks to the still beautiful looking game world and the countless great told side quests, The Witcher 3 is still one of the best games the role-playing genre has to offer in 2021.

Who is The Witcher 3 suitable for?

The Witcher 3 is not set in a run-of-the-mill fantasy world, but rather depicts a war-driven, alternative Middle Ages that doesn't stop at topics like brutal violence and sex. If you're fed up with standard fantasy fare with elves and orcs, you should definitely pick up The Witcher 3 (). Game of Thrones fans will feel just as much at home here.

Our guides to The Witcher 3:

Dragon Age: Origins

Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Genre: Fantasy role-playing game
Addons: Warden's Keep, The Stone Prisoner, Return to Ostagar, A Tale of Orzammar, The Darkspawn Chronicles, Leliana's Song, The Golems of Amgarrak, Witch Hunt
Multiplayer: No

As the spiritual successor to the classic role-playing game Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age: Origins combines fantasy elements typical of the genre with an emotional story, nerve-racking battles and believable characters. The fantasy world of Thedas is haunted by the "Dark Brood". Your task is to unite the different peoples of the land in the fight against the threat. Your social status and origin will determine where you start and how certain races react to you.

Even though Dragon Age: Origins is a bit dusty graphically, it is still one of Bioware's best role-playing games in terms of gameplay and content. If you missed Dragon Age back then, you can catch up with it today without any problems thanks to the Xbox Series X/S backwards compatibility. PlayStation gamers will unfortunately have to dust off their PS3 again, since Dragon Age: Origins unfortunately doesn't run on either PS4 or PS5.

Who is Dragon Age: Origins suitable for?

Are you into high fantasy like Lord of the Rings and have already played through Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 several times? Then try your hand at Dragon Age, which, along with Mass Effect, ushered in the next era of Bioware role-playing games. After Dragon Age: Origins, you can also expect two more parts of the series, Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition, which don't quite match part 1, but are still good role-playing games.

Pillars of Eternity

Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Fantasy role-playing game
Addons: The White March Part 1 & 2 (console versions already include all DLCs)
Multiplayer: No

In the iso role-playing game Pillars of Eternity, you can choose from six races, eleven classes, and a range of abilities and attributes. In the course of your journey, you'll meet all sorts of characters, who you'll add to your party if you can persuade them to do so.

With up to 6 heroes, you'll explore the origins of a magical storm that has awakened special abilities in you. Thus, you'll now be able to read the memories of others and, in this way, collect clues that will lead you to the origin of the storm.

Who is Pillars of Eternity for?

Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity captures the essence of classics like Baldur's Gate incredibly well, but at the same time it has been modernized in the right places to appeal to new players. The iso role-playing game was so successful that a sequel, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, was released in 2018.

Fallout 4

Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Genre: End Time Role Playing Game
Addons: Automatron, Wasteland Workshop, Far Harbor, Contraptions Workshop, Vault-Tec Workshop, Nuka-World, High Resolution Texture Pack - all of which are already included in the "Game Of The Year" edition
Multiplayer: No

In Fallout 4 you'll shoot, chat and craft your way through a nuclear contaminated wasteland. In an open game world, you explore abandoned factories and meet various survivors, monsters and factions.

The end-time role-playing game also offers an extensive crafting system that lets you build equipment and entire bases. The battles work in first-person shooter style and can be paused to spot the enemies' weak points.

Like Skyrim, Fallout 4 still lives through the active mod community. So that you don't have to dig through the countless modifications, we have summarized the coolest Fallout 4 mods in a guide.

Who is Fallout 4 suitable for?

Fallout 4 still knows how to impress with its retro-futurism and unique end-time setting to inspire. The post-apocalypse has rarely been staged so amusingly. If you are enthusiastic about this and are also looking for a well thought-out role-playing game with a big focus on crafting, you will easily get over 100 hours of gaming fun with Fallout 4.

Our guides to Fallout 4:

South Park: The Staff of Truth

Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Fantasy role-playing game
Addons: Ultimate Fellowship Pack, Super Ultimate Pack
Multiplayer: No

You are the new kid in South Park and get caught between the fronts of a live role-playing game of well-known series characters such as Kyle, Stan, Cartman or Kenny. With them, you embark on an absurd journey of fecal humor.

The gameplay, on the other hand, is more classic: You'll have conversations, improve your equipment, find weapons and advance the story about the "Staff of Truth". The battles are turn-based.

Who is South Park: The Staff of Truth suitable for?

Thanks to the attention to detail, South Park: The Staff of Truth is visually almost indistinguishable from its series predecessor. If you can even relate to the humor of the series, you should definitely play this gag firework.

The Banner Saga 1-3

Platform: PC, Android, iOS, PS Vita, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Strategy RPG, turn-based
Addons: No
Multiplayer: No

As the leader of a Viking tribe, you'll take your caravan across Nordic landscapes to find a way to defeat the man-hating Dredge. Every decision you make along the way affects the fate of the caravan.

Similar to Shadowrun: Dragonfall, you fight in the top-down view in turn-based mode. You'll face warriors and mystical creatures that need to be eliminated.

Who is The Banner Saga suitable for?

The Banner Saga lives above all from its unique art style and oppressive atmosphere. As in Mass Effect, your decisions are carried through all three parts of the game series. Your actions affect who lives and who dies. Fans of games like Final Fantasy Tactics or Shining Force are in for a treat.

Kingdome Come: Deliverance

Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Genre: First-person role-playing game in the Middle Ages
Addons: From the Ashes, The Amorous Adventures of Bold Sir Hans Capon, Band of Bastards, A Woman's Lot
Multiplayer: No

You play the budding blacksmith Henry, whose home village is burned down. His parents die, and Henry swears revenge. Kingdom Come: Deliverance lives from its authentically told story and the realistic game world. Unlike fantasy role-playing games like Skyrim, you don't take on dragons and undead as a hero here, but experience the Middle Ages as it probably really was for most people: hard and merciless.

Not only do you have to sleep and eat regularly, but you can also wear several layers of clothing to prepare for battles. The fights seem a bit wooden, but are thus meant to emulate the realism of real sword fights in the Middle Ages.

Who is Kingdom Come: Deliverence suitable for?

If you're looking for a realistic medieval game and have always wanted to live in a monastery and drink beer with other monks, Kingdom Come is the right game for you.

Our guides to Kingdom Come: Deliverance:

The Outer Worlds

Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch
Genre: Sci-fi role-playing game
Addons: Peril on Gorgon, Murder on Eridanos
Multiplayer: No

Fallout veterans will feel right at home in the outer worlds. From the black-humored quests to the memorable characters to the classic gameplay, everything is reminiscent of the popular post-apocalyptic franchise.

On a mission to save the entire solar system, you and your team will shoot, negotiate or steal your way from planet to planet and from task to task. As is typical for role-playing games, the awarding of points decides on your character's combat strength, eloquence or criminal disposition. Thus, you are completely free to develop your own play style.

Who is The Outer Worlds for?

The Outer Worlds is, in a way, a slightly smaller and more focused Fallout. Among other things, it shares the black humor and shooter gameplay with Bethesda's role-playing series. As long as you don't expect a huge open world, you can grab it without hesitation as a fan of the Fallout franchise.

Our guides to The Outer Worlds:

Disco Elysium

Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Detective role-playing game
Addons: No
Multiplayer: No

You take control of an extremely unorthodox detective who was supposed to solve a murder case, but instead - after an emotional breakdown - goes on a three-day alcohol and drug spree through the city's red light district. With no memory, he eventually wakes up in a rundown hotel room. In addition to the task of solving the murder case, it is equally important to find out who you are in the first place.

The surreal self-discovery trip does completely without a combat system and is only controlled by the character values and their effects on other people and situations. The high focus on dialogues, freedom of decision and individual character development are the strengths of Disco Elysium and make it one of the most unusual, but also best role-playing games of all time.

Who is Disco Elysium for?

If you have a penchant for detective novels and want to try a role-playing game outside the mainstream, whose gameplay consists almost entirely of dialogues and solving puzzles, then by all means give Disco Elysium a try. There is hardly any other role-playing game that offers such a fascinating experience.

Our guides to Disco Elysium:

Gothic 1-3

Platform: PC (via Steam or GOG)
Genre: Medieval, Fantasy role-playing game
Addons: "Night of the Raven" (for "Gothic 2"), "Twilight of the Gods" (for "Gothic 3")
Multiplayer: no

Gothic from 2001, as the first work of Piranha Bytes, laid the foundation for one of the most famous developer studios from Germany and is still considered one of the best role-playing games on the PC.

The nameless hero experiences a total of three adventures. While in part 1 he is stranded in a prison camp and has to deal with all kinds of scoundrels there, the game world opens up considerably in the second part. Finally, part 3 offers the largest environment and leads from the island of Khorinis to the mainland of Myrtana, which caused quite a few problems at release, but is now playable.

All three games are connected and thus tell a continuous story. Thus, you will meet some characters again and again. In addition, Piranha Bytes always relies on different factions that your hero can join. This is more or less the same as the choice of classes in other role-playing games, because each guild has its own preferences and skills.

Gothic's game world is also characterized by the fact that its characters all act realistically, and thus react to you with harsh sayings and knock you off your feet when you steal. The enemies you meet are also believable, and with their combat strength they set natural limits to your exploration.

The good news for Gothic fans: Publisher THQ Nordic has revealed that a remaster of the first Gothic part is currently being developed at Spanish developer studio Alkimia Interactive. There's no word on when it will be released, but those who are patient will be able to enjoy a modernized version of the classic in a few years.

Who is the Gothic series for?

Fans of oldschool role-playing games who like to explore a game world without help and on their own are in the right place with the Gothic series. Don't be put off by the somewhat old-fashioned graphics and the dusty combat system, because behind them lies an incredibly immersive role-playing game.

Wasteland 3

Platform: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5
Genre: Iso role-playing game with turn-based battles
Addons: The Battle of Steeltown
Multiplayer: Online co-op mode

After the arid desert setting in Wasteland 2, you'll have to fight for survival in the icy cold of Arizona in Wasteland 3. Once again, you'll assemble a party with which you'll fight the turn-based battles. But not all confrontations have to be solved with the help of violence. Wasteland 3 offers an extensive role-playing system that often lets you choose whether to confront confrontations with eloquence or force of arms.

Thus, as the game progresses, you'll level up your characters, learn new abilities and find out what the self-appointed patriarch is really planning. Best of all, you can even experience the story of Wasteland 3 as a team of two in online co-op mode.

Who is Wasteland 3 suitable for?

If you've already enjoyed playing the predecessors or simply want to experience a classic role-playing game with tactical battles and a lot of freedom to make decisions, we highly recommend Wasteland 3.

Our guides to Wasteland 3:

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2

Platform: PC (via Steam or GOG), iOS, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Genre: SciFi role-playing game
Addons: none
Multiplayer: no

Both games in the Knights of the Old Republic series (KotOR for short) are set around 4,000 years before the Star Wars movies, but are not directly connected.

In the first part, you take on the role of a Jedi who has lost both his memory and his Force abilities has. Over the course of his adventure, you'll rebuild his abilities and gradually learn who he really is. Part 2 uses a similar premise. However, here you are also hunted by the Sith, who want to destroy the Jedi.

KotOR lives above all through its grandiosely staged game world, the many dialogues with lots of characters and its great battles. The first part already showed the approaches that later distinguished Mass Effect. The battles are partly turn-based. You can pause the action at any time and give your heroes instructions, which they then execute in real time.

Rumors are currently circulating that a new edition of KotOR is in the works. However, an official confirmation or even announcement is still pending.

Who is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic suitable for?

Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 are a must for every Star Wars fan. Thanks to the backwards compatibility of the Xbox Series X/S, the two role-playing games are still playable in 2021, PC players will find them on GOG or Steam.