The days of the Xbox consoles being a wasteland for RPGs have long since passed. From open world RPGs to JRPGs, there’s no shortage of experiences that players can dive into for hours, days, weeks, months, or even years. Some are definitely better than others though, and these are our picks for the top 30 best RPGs on Xbox consoles.
The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3 is one of the best RPGs of not only this generation but any generation. Host to a sprawling open-world for players to explore, there’s no shortage of fun to be had within its digital landscape. Players can embark on their main quest and be drawn into each twist and turn as Geralt tries to find his adopted daughter Ciri. Or, they can set off in any given direction, stumbling upon any number of distractions or side quests as they journey further across the seemingly endless world map.
It’s entirely up to the player, and given how often said players return for a repeat adventure, there’s little question that this is a must-play for any Xbox One owner that is a fan of massive open-world RPGs.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Our 2014 game of the year, Dragon Age: Inquisition is another excellent open-world RPG. The end to the initial trilogy combines what was good about the first two games into a complete package that finally satisfies the majority of the series’ fans. In addition to a gripping fantasy tale of struggle and rising against a supernatural threat, there are engaging character-driven side stories and a slew of different party members to become closer to in true BioWare style.
Further enhancing the experience is a wide array of different locales ripe with secrets, side quests, and fun details to discover, ensuring you’ll be entrenched in the game’s world for many a moon.
Fallout 4
As might be expected of a Bethesda game, Fallout 4 is an ideal RPG for most any Xbox owner. Dropping you into the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Massachusetts, the game has no shortage of content for you to engage with. You can lose hundreds of hours just working on side quests about helping a faction of settlers, uncovering long-lost technology, and so much more. You can likewise take part in the main story about a parent searching for their son after a nuclear apocalypse, only for a shocking twist to turn everything on its head.
This is to say nothing of the game’s DLC, which offers new locales to explore and even more quests to take part in.
It’s definitely one of the best RPGs available on Xbox consoles and serves as an excellent choice for anyone looking to lose hundreds of hours to an RPG experience.
Fallout 76
There was a time when we couldn’t imagine putting Fallout 76 on a list of the best Xbox One RPGs, but fast forward to 2023 and the game has come on leaps and bounds from its disastrous launch. Thanks for a bunch of updates and new content expansions, Bethesda has steadied the ship and finally delivered on the promise of an online RPG Fallout experience that is definitely worth trying if you’re a fan of the franchise. It’s still missing some of the magic of single-player entries like New Vegas and Fallout 4, but 76 is now definitely worthy of the Fallout name.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Anniversary Edition
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim might be on a quest to be on every platform under the sun, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s one of the best RPGs of all time.
Filled to bursting with content ranging from fetch quests to sprawling journeys across time and space, this game can literally keep you occupied for hundreds of hours. You’d be hard-pressed not to find something that interests you too, as the sheer variety of tasks to take part in is jaw-dropping.
Want to become an all-powerful wizard who knows the most powerful spells known to mortals? You can do that. Want to travel the lands in search of ancient artifacts, some of which belong to Daedric Princes? You can do that too. Heck, you could literally try to live out your life as an average townsperson, making an honest living by cutting wood or gathering crops and trying to keep yourself alive a la the Anniversary Edition’s Survival Mode.
The choice is yours, and there’s nothing stopping you from seeing how all of these choices would play out by creating a plethora of different characters.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
The latter half of the 2010s was a turbulent period for the Assassin’s Creed series, but also gave the series time to reinvent itself. This in turn led to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, arguably one of the best RPG experiences on Xbox consoles.
Putting you in the shoes of the ancient ancestor of the series’ assassins, the game provides you with an exceptional amount of freedom in how you play. You can partake in the main quest or delve into the side content. You can search the world for secrets hidden in hard to reach places, or you can go wherever the wind takes you to find your own adventures.
This is all in addition to a robust leveling and combat systems, resulting in an experience that is a breath of fresh air for both Assassin’s Creed fans and RPG lovers alike.
Dark Souls III
Dark Souls III serves as the ending to the Dark Souls trilogy, and damn if it doesn’t stick the landing. Providing the same weighty combat the series is known for but with the speed and visual flair that made Bloodborne a hit for Sony console owners, the end of the trilogy is a honed machine of RPG gaming. No matter how many times you’re ground into paste by difficult enemies, the combat and diverse character building system will keep you coming back for more. Each new challenge, and each new opportunity to test a character build, will open the game further and hook you into the experience again and again.
And that’s to say nothing of the fantasy world you’ll be able to make your way through. A perfect storm of dismal, dark themes and western fantasy tropes, it’s the kind of RPG experience that can easily become a person’s go-to image of an RPG setting.
Diablo III
Although it got off to a rough start on PC, Diablo III found itself before releasing on the Xbox One and is now one of the most fun dungeon-crawler RPGs on the wider line of Xbox xonsoles.
As with the other titles in the series, the game is ripe with opportunities for fast-paced combat, looting, and leveling your character of choice. That last point is incredibly addicting too, as unlocking new abilities by leveling up opens a whole slew of possibilities for how you engage in combat and otherwise make the combat more engaging.
There’s bonus fun to be had if you play locally with friends too. The entertainment gained by tearing through enemy hordes is that much better when you do so with one, two, or three other friends, having a grand old time as you slay together.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
The highly-celebrated Divinity Original Sin 2 is just as much fun on Xbox consoles as it is on PC. Between its exceptional presentation, fully-realized fantasy world, and incredibly dense character-building and customization systems, the game has plenty that’ll keep you engaged with its world. Not only that, but it has multiplayer functionality, allowing you to engage in the adventure it presents alongside your closest gaming pals.
The real draw, however, is its choice system, which feels on par with that of a pen and paper RPG experience. Your actions can well and truly shape the world around you, and that’ll keep even the most discerning RPG fan invested in the game well into the future.
Pillars of Eternity II
In line with other great Obsidian RPGs, Pillars of Eternity II is the perfect game for RPG fans who crave a choice-driven experience. Everything, from your character’s background and race to how you respond in dialogue, determines how the wider experience plays out. This can largely alter the end experience you walk away with, and gives that much more weight to how you choose to play a given character.
Adding to this is a tactical battle system where playing to your chosen class is integral. Knowing how best to utilize a rogue versus a warrior, and how best to improve them with leveling, will largely improve your overall experience, and further drag you into playing out the role you selected at the start of the game.
It’s a tried and true RPG experience, and Xbox owners won’t be disappointed should they give it a chance.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
The follow-up to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided polishes the RPG design framework presented by its forebear to great effect. Offering the same diverse options for how you play the game, this title is about as good as the series’ recent installments get. You can approach different situations how you see fit, interact with the wider world to make your play sessions easier or harder, and otherwise optimize your own personal Adam Jensen as you see fit.
It hits some stumbles along the way in terms of its narrative, but if you were a fan of the first — or are just a fan of stealth action games with RPG elements — you’ll enjoy Mankind Divided.
South Park: The Fractured but Whole
Surprisingly, one of the best tactical RPGs to come out in the past decade is from the South Park series. The Fractured but Whole is a fast-paced TRPG packed with a surprisingly diverse array of classes to choose from. Even better is that it lends itself some personality by tweaking said classes to fit within the South Park mythos. What would normally be a simple move or ability comes to life thanks to some surprising burst of violence or a reference to the show.
Speaking of which: There’s no shortage of personality to be found within the game’s setting, with easter eggs galore to be found by those who fully immerse themselves in the experience.
It’s the kind of game fans of the show and RPG fans can lose themselves in equally and is still entertaining so many years since its release.
The Elder Scrolls Online
One of the best MMORPGs you’ll find on the Xbox One, The Elder Scrolls Online has come a long way after getting a rehaul via its One Tamriel Update.
Host to a variety of locales from the Elder Scrolls universe, the game has no shortage of open-world areas for you to explore. Each area has different storylines, side quests, and tasks for you to take part in too, ensuring you’ll be able to lose yourself in the world for dozens upon dozens of hours.
This is in addition to the character and class customization options, which allow you to tweak your personal character so that they allow you to fill whichever role you’d like to play during your time with the game.
Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy XV might have taken way too long to actually release, but the end product still stands as an excellent addition to the RPGs available on Xbox. In addition to its sprawling tale of Noctis and his friends attempting to save the world, the game also offers the usual array of RPG mechanics which the Final Fantasy series is known for. There are level-ups to earn, abilities and magic to utilize, and monsters aplenty to defeat using a carefully trained knowledge of typings and weaknesses.
There’s also the fact that the game offers the series’ first attempt at an open world to great effect. There are loads and loads of side quests and missions to take part in, which is made all the more fun thanks to the fact that the world feels fairly lively all things considered.
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is a remaster of one of the best action RPGs of the previous generation, and it takes advantage of the improved hardware on more modern Xbox consoles.
Setting you up for an adventure as a resurrected chosen hero, the game features everything one could hope for in an RPG. There are a variety of classes to choose from, a litany of side quests to dig into, and choices that can actively shape your long-term experience with the fantasy world. This is in addition to a party system that allows you to choose from a variety of different NPCs. One is made by you, while the other two are computer-generated or made by another player entirely.
The world itself, meanwhile, is one which forces you to adapt and play your role as best you can. Fully immersing yourself into being a quick-shooting archer or tank-y warrior, as well as building your party up in a way that lends itself to your playstyle of choice, will result in an experience that fully pays off your investment into its fantasy world.
Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy
It may be a while yet before we get our hands on Mass Effect 4, but at least we’ve got Mass Effect Legendary Edition on modern Xbox consoles.
Offering the same sprawling epic first seen on the Xbox 360, the remastered trilogy offers the best way to play through the core series. It features the same great choice-driven gameplay, variety of gameplay options based on your class, and a diverse cast of characters to fall in love with, but with a more palatable aesthetic thanks to touched-up graphics.
It’s also worth mentioning that the first game in the series has been rehauled in certain respects, making it that much easier to get to the series’ high points found in the second and third game.
Kingdom Hearts 3
Kingdom Hearts is one of the most prolific RPG series around, and Kingdom Hearts 3 stands as one of the best options for those looking to dive into one of the games on Xbox consoles.
Offering the culmination of the series’ gameplay, the end to the Xehanort saga is a blast to dive into. There are a variety of attacks to utilize through the action-heavy gameplay, and the leveling system ensures you’ll have a constant stream of serotonin coursing through your veins. There are likewise a variety of different minigames, side quests, and tasks to take part in, allowing you to spend as much or as little time in a given world as you wish.
To be sure, it may be hard to get invested in the story without playing through the other titles in the series. And yet, it’s hard not to say that one can enjoy this game with little to no knowledge of the wider plot, engaging solely with the great action RPG gameplay.
Child of Light
Child of Light is one of the prettier and more charming RPGs to come out during the last generation, and is still worth a look on Xbox consoles.
Providing a stylish and gorgeous world to explore, the game allows you to platform your way across a fantastical world and take on a variety of enemies. Combat plays out in an active turn-based style wherein you have to carefully but quickly make decisions, and you’ll gain experience which helps you grow stronger so that you can take on bigger and better challenges.
Don’t let this description fool you though. The game is super easy to pick up, and is great if you’re out for a less intensive RPG experience to distract you for a handful of hours.
The Banner Saga Trilogy
The Banner Saga Trilogy is hands down one of the best tactical RPGs in recent memory. Weaving an intricate story together with some challenging yet rewarding tactical RPG combat, the trilogy of games will grip you tightly and keep you enthralled for its entire experience. You’ll dive fully into playing out the story of its cast of characters, and will agonize over every choice made in combat thanks to the investment you’ll have in seeing every character to safety.
All three games are available as a bundle too, so you can dig into the full experience without skipping a beat if you so choose.
Monster Hunter Rise
Monster Hunter Rise brings the long-running series to the big screen on home consoles in spectacular fashion. The premise is simple: Choose a weapon, equip some armor, and team up with friends to take down some of the most ferocious monsters around. You’ll likewise be able to engage in a wide array of different hunts and missions across a wealth of areas and uncover a winding story of trying to protect your village from a mounting Monster threat.
It’s not as steeped in stats and leveling as other RPGs on this list, but is that much easier to dive into as a result.
Monster Hunter World
We could hardly talk about Monster Hunter Rise without including what is effectively its big brother, World. This cooperative RPG launched in 2018 and started a new, mainstream chapter for the franchise that finally saw its popularity hit the world stage. For years, Monster Hunter had been big in the East, but World’s high-budget graphics and more sophisticated mechanics saw it quickly gain success with Western players who tend to prefer AAA console experiences. It plays superbly on Xbox One and has enjoyed some notable expansions since its launch.
Lost Odyssey
Lost Odyssey remains one of the more striking offerings from the Xbox 360 era of JRPGs, and the backwards compatibility of more recent Xbox consoles allows one to dig into the experience even today.
Boasting a driven plot of an immortal trying to find answers about their own existence, the game is a masterclass of a bonkers JRPG story managing to evoke an emotional response from even the most hardened RPG fan. It also boasts a surprisingly engaging turn-based battle system, which allows for both carefully thought-out decision-making and fast-paced, flashy brawls.
It’s also worth mentioning that this is easily one of the best works to come from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is dripping with his crushingly impactful writing style in almost every respect.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey brought players into a new age of Assassin’s Creed titles, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla carries the torch brilliantly.
Applying the same open world RPG mechanics from Odyssey to a Viking epic, the game offers just as much variety in its gameplay and options available to players. You can take part in a sprawling main quest; or, you can dig into the wealth of side content, losing yourself in all manner of additional adventures for the duration of your time with the game.
This comes with that extra bit of polish offered by Valhalla being a more recent entry in the series, meaning you’ll be able to enjoy the game without noting any major graphical lapses or faults.
The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds is yet another Obsidian-made RPG adventure, and it’s quite literally driven by choice.
Players can play through the game in any number of ways, siding with a whole host of factions as they travel across the galaxy. Though your decisions may not always seem as impactful as they could be immediate, they can and will come back to harm or help you as the game goes on.
Not only that, but you can actively shape your character’s class through the allocation of skill points. Where someone else might build themselves to be a violent brute of a protagonist with weapon skills, you can instead pour your points into stealth and speech skills in order to find less violent solutions to different missions.
It’s the type of game that ensures your choices matter, and helps you lose yourself in the world it presents all the better as a result.
CrossCode
CrossCode is an action RPG that deserves to get more recognition than it does.
The sci-fi story has you play as someone playing an MMO as they attempt to uncover the mystery of who they are and how they fit into the strange world they find themselves in. It’s a bit meta, but the combat, characters, and plot come together in a way that can drag you in for the long haul with ease.
It’s also worth noting that the gameplay is both action and puzzle-driven, lending the experience a sense of control and agency that helps make you feel like you’re actively taking on the role of the character you’re playing.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Yakuza: Like a Dragon transplants the zany antics of the Yakuza series into a turn-based RPG, and the end result is fantastic.
Full of character class customization, flashy abilities, and plenty of strategies related to enemy weaknesses and resistances to consider, the combat will provide more than enough for RPG diehards to sink their teeth into. And yet, the battle system is accessible enough that even newcomers can have a blast with it should they take some time to figure out the basics.
There’s also the story the game tries to tell. Boasting the grandiose scope of an RPG but with the sympathy and eccentricity the Yakuza series is known for, it’s the kind of plot that will pull players in and keep them enraptured until the credits roll.
Cyberpunk 2077
It may have experienced the mother of all rocky starts, but Cyberpunk 2077 has become one of the de facto RPG experiences on Xbox.
Allowing you to customize your experience to an absurd degree, the game is one in which you can craft your own adventure with little to no effort. Everything from how your character looks and how they interact with others to which abilities they can utilize is left to your discretion and can result in two playthroughs being drastically different from one another.
The main story itself, meanwhile, manages to be a roller coaster ride of action and emotion that is actively shaped by your choices. Granted, its endings are limited, but they still feel earned based on the specific choices you make throughout your adventure.
NieR: Automata
NieR: Automata remains one of the crazier action RPG experiences around, and is easily one of the best RPGs an Xbox owner could hope to play.
Set in a world that humanity has long since been erased from, the game puts you in the roll of several Androids who are fighting an endless war and desperate to find a deeper meaning to their existence. This results in a sweeping tale of love, loss, tragedy, and the eternal struggle of beings to make something better out of the existence they’ve been forced to live through. While this may sound like a lofty narrative to tackle, the game nails it thanks to its thoughtful writing and exceptional character development.
Bolstering the experience is the combat, which blurs the line between character action and action RPG in the best ways possible. You’ll be able to customize your approaches to combat thanks to a slew of different weapons, a wide array of combos, and plenty of other mechanics which keep sorties fresh even dozens of hours later.
Elden Ring
FromSoftware’s magnum opus of sorts, Elden Ring is an Xbox RPG experience like no other. Applying the punishing gameplay trappings of a Soulsborne game to an open world, the game’s premise is simple: Set off and do whatever it takes to become the Elden Lord. Past that, where you go and how is left largely up to you. The way you level up your character, how you interact with the world and its enemies, and the order you face challenges in is left entirely to your discretion, and your adventure ends up being shaped entirely by your active decisions.
To be sure, there is a path of least resistance, and you’ll eventually be funneled toward it. And yet, the fact that you can do so in so many different ways is a wonder to take part in, and will keep you immersed in the Lands Between for several dozen or hundred hours.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Up for a traditional JRPG experience? Look no further than Dragon Age XI. Just about everything about this game is as tried and true as the series it comes from. As a chosen hero, you’ll need to amass allies and gain strength before taking on a lord of evil and despair. Along the way, you’ll level up your characters, learn abilities and magic spells, and otherwise embark on a fantasy adventure the likes of which you’ve seen a million times.
And yet, the game is well worth diving into thanks to one simple fact: It executes the tried and true formula of a traditional JRPG exceptionally well. There are few flaws to be found, and you’ll be treated to the ideal experience one could hope to get from a genre that is otherwise flooded with sub-par offerings.
Tales of Arise
The first entry from the Tales series to grace the Xbox series X|S, Tales of Arise acts as a high point for the long-running series. In addition to telling a fairly high-quality JRPG tale, the game also offers one of the best action RPG combat systems around. There are a variety of combos to execute, combination attacks to execute using different pairs of party members, and flashy abilities which can keep combat feeling fresh even in the game’s twilight segments.
The cast is likewise enjoyable, offering a decent mix of trope-y goofballs and more serious edgelords that you’ll love, hate, and laugh at in equal measure. They’re nothing new to the JRPG genre, but are still serviceable enough to keep the wider experience interesting.
Stardew Valley
Though it might not be as fantastical as other entries on this list, Stardew Valley is arguably one of the best RPG experiences of all time. Sure, you may not level up or gain a diverse cast of party members, but you will fully immerse yourself in the role of a wannabe farmer. You’ll work your way up from being a clueless amateur to being the owner of a thriving farmstead, gaining the necessary skills for the job through dedication and hard work. Along the way, you’ll make friends and acquaintances who will help you reach further heights, their personal stories dragging you further into the experience.
Before long, you’ll have spent ages in this world. Thanks to how well made the game, its world, and its characters are though, you won’t be bothered in the slightest, and might even spend another month or two enjoying the simple existence this game allows you to fall into.
Those are all of our picks for the best RPGs available on Xbox. If you’re looking for a different kind of experience in the same genre, be sure to check out our list of the best JRPGs on Xbox as well.
Published: Mar 16, 2023 01:37 pm