Best RPGs to Buy Right Now

The most fully-realized CRPG ever made. Larian somehow crammed the freedom of tabletop D&D into a video game — improvised solutions to encounter design problems the developers never anticipated. Bards can seduce their way past encounters. Druids can wild-shape into a bear and carry a party member through a dungeon. Every decision has weight and every companion has genuine depth that reveals over 60+ hours. The multiplayer co-op works on both PC and PS5. If you play one game on this list, it's this one.

The most daring RPG ever written. There's no combat. No dungeon crawling. Just a profoundly broken detective trying to solve a murder while his 24 competing internal voices — each a different skill set — argue about what to do next. The writing is the best in any game, full stop. Funny, devastating, and genuinely strange. A mandatory experience for anyone who thinks games can be literature.

FromSoftware's open-world masterpiece. The Lands Between is one of the greatest achievements in environmental storytelling — a world that implies centuries of history without spelling any of it out. The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC adds another 30-40 hours of content at the series' peak quality. Punishing but never unfair. Rewarding in ways few games manage.

Still the gold standard. Persona 5 Royal takes an already-perfect JRPG and adds a full new semester of story, a new character with an entirely new social link, and dozens of quality-of-life improvements. The style — the music, the Palaces, the UI design — is immaculate. Even the menus feel like art. 100+ hours that never drag.

Atlus's next evolution. The creators of Persona built a political fantasy world and tackled class systems, propaganda, fear of the other, and democratic idealism — themes that land harder with every news cycle. The Archetype system (essentially a job-class system where every combination creates unique builds) is the best mechanical design Atlus has produced.

The definitive version of the game that made Persona a household name. P3 Reload's complete remake brings the dark, melancholy story of mortality and fighting inevitable doom into full modern fidelity — without losing any of the original's soul. Darker than P5, more intimate, and arguably more emotionally devastating.

The most warmly generous JRPG ever made. Dragon Quest XI S doesn't try to innovate — it perfects. The characters are lovable, the world is beautiful, and the back half of the story pulls off a structural twist that recontextualizes everything that came before. Pure comfort food at its most nourishing.

The DLC that became the talk of an entire gaming year. Shadow of the Erdtree is not supplementary content — it's a full second game stapled to one of the best games ever made. New weapons, new bosses, new environments of staggering beauty. If you've completed the base game, this is mandatory.

Team Ninja's masterwork. Nioh 2 takes the Soulslike formula and injects Japanese action game DNA into it — the result is the most mechanically deep combat system in the genre. The yokai shift abilities add a transformation layer that creates entirely new tactical options mid-fight. For players who want more than Elden Ring offers mechanically.

The most mechanically audacious CRPG of the decade. Mythic powers eventually let you become a literal angel, demon, lich, or trickster — and each path fundamentally changes how the game plays. The scope is staggering. Set it to Normal difficulty on your first run and just let the world wash over you.

The game that revived the CRPG genre before Baldur's Gate 3 completed the revival. DOS2's elemental interaction system — fire ignites oil, electricity conductors, poison clouds, ice slicks — creates combat that plays like a chemistry experiment. The co-op multiplayer works flawlessly. A genuine masterwork of the genre.

Three legendary games. One package. The Legendary Edition remaster respects the originals while modernizing enough to make all three games feel consistent. Your choices in game one echo into game three in ways that still feel like magic. Commander Shepard's trilogy remains the gold standard of long-form character-driven RPG writing.

The CRPG that never got the audience it deserved. Obsidian's nautical sequel features some of the best writing in the genre — companion banter, faction politics, and philosophical underpinnings that make Deadfire feel like a living world. The ship-to-ship combat adds an entirely different dimension. Criminally overlooked.