Check Out the 7 Best RPGs of 2015

Bloodborne

Bloodborne was an interesting surprise from From Software earlier this year. It was the first PlayStation exclusive from the developer since Demon’s Souls, but it didn’t stray too far from what had been working for the dev team over the past few years. Set in a dark, twisted, gothic world, players were thrown into a nightmare that only they could figure out and escape from. A world with old gods and hideous beasts just begging to be slain, and powerful blood that was at the center of all.

Playing out as more of an Action RPG, experience worked very differently than it does in most games. Players must collect Echoes (which are pretty much just like Souls from the Dark Souls series) and exchange them to increase their level and certain stats. In turn, growing more powerful becomes this sort of risk-reward dance where you may just spend your Echoes on equipment or decided to save up enough to increase your level (which you will need to do quite often). That constant fear of losing all your progress and hoping that you can make it back to the spot where you died to reclaim your experience keeps the pressure on and adds to the engaging intrigue of Bloodborne.

Combat is one of the reasons you’ll want this one, though, especially if the Dark Souls series isn’t your cup of tea. With the almost complete removal of blocking (there are a couple of shields, but you’ll be better off without them), combat is fast and relies on dodging and perfectly timed parries with your firearm. It’s a challenging but very rewarding experience that you definitely need to try if you have a PlayStation 4.

Fallout 4

Fallout 4 became the most anticipated game of the year the moment it was announced at Bethesda’s E3 2015 press conference. The hype was unreal, and many believed it would be impossible to live up to such lofty expectations.

Fallout 4 took all of the parts that made the previous Fallouts great (the leveling, the murder, the dead world, amazing characters, etc.) and managed to make them even better. On top of that, the studio decided to add in a bunch of new features so that players could truly place their mark on the sprawling Boston Wasteland.

Settlement building is now a thing, and it will require recruiting, resource management, and some building skills. Lay out electricity, build defenses, and put survivors to work as you all endeavor to make Boston great once more. There is also weapon crafting and cutomization so that you don’t have to rely on rinky-dink firearms and rare legendary weapons anymore. You can now craft your very own tools of the trade and show some Super Mutants exactly why they shouldn’t mess with you.

The branching mission structure, gripping story, elaborate open world, freaky enemies, and the sense of truly feeling like you’re in a world that has seen hell makes Fallout 4 a great game. It was tough following up a beloved RPG but Bethesda did a bangup job, and it sits as one of the best of the year.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

It’s no secret that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a great game. In fact, The Game Awards realized this and awarded it the highest of honors this year. We can go into great detail about why it’s easily one of the best RPGs of not only 2015 but of all time, but we know you have places to be so we’ll try and keep this simple.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an expansive game, and often times that can be difficult to connect to. It’s the nature of having so much ground to cover and that leads to characters and events being forgotten. The Witcher 3 is masterfully woven to prevent that from happening and is a very human experience to connect to. Something you might’ve been unable to tell due to all of the monsters and magic. You will meet characters and you will bond with them only to see everything grow so big that you can’t help but watch as your decisions have irreparable repercussions.

Then there’s the tight combat that forces players to learn every monster and human’s pattern and weakness. The Witcher 3 rewards players who pay attention and remember, and often times condemns those that rush in haphazardly.There are also characters who will enter the fray either with or against you and they each add a sense of gravity and wonder to the whole affair.

The Witcher 3 goes above and beyond in making the player feel as if they truly matter to the world and its events. And that is something that is the telltale sign of a great RPG.

Pillars of Eternity

Pillars of Eternity released earlier this year on PC and showed the gaming world how to tell stories in a way that keeps players on their toes while also keeping them enthralled. It’s one of those games that isn’t afraid of building someone up only to tear them down in the most tragic of ways as you work through the 50+ hour long adventure filled of death, intrigue, and magic.

This RPG isn’t for the faint of heart, though. If you think this is going to be your standard, manageable fare, then you’re in for a rude awakening. Even on Normal mode you’ll find yourself dead, quickly and brutally. Pillars of Eternity is a Role-Playing Game through and through and requires you to manage everything from placement to stats of every single member of your party. You can opt to let NPCs handle their own decisions, but you’ll quickly find out that you’re their best bet at survivial.

It’s all very well done, though, and it harkens back to the days of brutal, immersive RPGs such as Baldur’s Gate.

If you just haven’t been feeling the RPG offerings of recent years, Pillar of Eternity is sure to bring a smile to your face with its fresh take on decidedly old-school RPGs.

Undertale

Undertale is an indie RPG that came out of nowhere and captured everyone by surprise. Making an amazing RPG isn’t exactly easy. It’s hard to build a world and characters that players will care about for hours on end, and to provide combat that is challenging but interesting enough to do over and over. Yet this small, indie RPG managed to do all of this, plus add an amazing soundtrack and a story that is sure to touch your heart (unless you don’t have one, but in that case you’ll still enjoy it).

Most games on this list have been out for some time or at least had a strong build up to their release, but Undertale showed up and stole the spotlight with ease. It is an amazing experience that you owe to yourself to play. You’ll be mesmerized by the intriguing interaction with enemies and NPCs, and the freedom of choice in all things that are given to the player.

It oozes charm at every turn, and although it may not be as big as its fellow list entries, it certainly contends with any one of them on equal footing.

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Nintendo may not have had the greatest year in their over 30 year history, but that didn’t stop them from putting out amazing games. One of those amazing games is the largest RPG of the year, and you probably wouldn’t expect that this one to be running on a Nintendo Wii U. Its sheer scope and the fact that gives the player tons of freedom is unrivaled.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is a spiritual successor to one of the original Wii’s best games, and it takes full advantage of Nintendo’s most recent hardware. Large varied expanses that players can fully explore along with their companions, huge beasts, crowded cities, a full day/night cycle, and battle mechs bring tons of fun to the game. All of this is encountered on planet Mira, the planet where the last remains of human civilization have crash landed. What starts as what should be the end for our protagonists, ends up becoming the catalyst for something truly great.

Creating your avatar and embarking into the great unknown of this alien planet provides a sense of adventure reserved for truly great RPGs. As you meet and save new people, unlock wonderous abilities, and take to the skies in huge battles, you’ll easily lose hundreds of hours as you save a world that must now become yours.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is one of those RPGs that you aren’t sure is for you but the moment you pick it up you can’t find any reasons to put it down. It has so many of the greatest RPG staples that speaks to the souls of all of us fans of the genre.

Do you like loot? It has tons. Crafting? It’s in there. Want to make a badass character and slowly transform them into the greatest hunter in all the land? Sure, go right ahead. And it isn’t just the fact that it does these things. It’s the fact that it does them all incredibly well.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is an amazingly large game that was constantly being built upon with free DLC and updates. The sheer act of hunting new, and greater beasts is hard to resist, and even when you get beaten down you can’t help but get back up and give it another go.

This is an RPG that focuses on the development of your character to the extreme, and there are very few games on the market that can boast the same. If you’ve been looking for an RPG to lose yourself in, this is a good place to start.

2015 proved to be a great year for RPGs as you can see from the seven games we have listed here. Are there any RPGs you feel were left out in the December cold? Feel free to share your thoughts and favorites in the comments below.