The Best RPGs of the 2010s

The transition from 7th to 8th-generation consoles in the 2010s paved the way for some of the most groundbreaking games of the era to come to PlayStation and Xbox hardware, including some of the decade’s most important and best RPGs. The time period is home to two massive open-world RPGs in particular, Skyrim and The Witcher 3, that were not only influential upon their launches but still rank as some of the most-played and most loved games in the genre more than a decade after their release. But Western RPGs are just half of the equation, as the JRPG got a major shot in the arm during the 2010s with two of the best entries in the long-running Persona and Dragon Quest franchises, setting up a new golden era for Japanese developers during the 2020s.

• Release Date — January 26, 2010
• Developer — BioWare
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

BioWare’s Mass Effect was one of the most ambitious and exciting new RPGs to arrive during the 2000s, setting up its sequel to be one of the first great releases of the 2010s. Sure enough, Mass Effect 2 would end up becoming the Empire Strikes Back of the Mass Effect trilogy; a darker, more complex tale that improved everything players loved about the first game and raised the stakes for how the final game might take shape. Mass Effect 2‘s combat and exploration elements were vastly improved over the original’s, but it’s ultimately the game’s themes of building and connecting with your party to survive an impossible mission that make it one of the greatest role-playing games of all time.

• Release Date — March 14, 2010
• Developer — Game Freak
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Nintendo DS

There are an almost staggering number of Pokémon games that released during the 2010s, spread out across three distinct generations of Nintendo hardware: the DS, 3DS, and Nintendo Switch. But the best of them all, and the ones most deserving of a spot on a list of the best RPGs of the decade, are the HeartGold and SoulSilver titles. As their naming implies, HeartGold and SoulSilver are remakes of arguably the best games in the Pokémon series, Gold and Silver, and the ways that these remakes carry over the original gameplay blueprint while also updating it using modern Pokémon game visuals and mechanics make them about as good as the series got during the 2010s.

• Release Date — October 19, 2010
• Developer — Obsidian Entertainment
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Like Mass Effect, Bethesda’s Fallout 3 was one of the great RPGs of the late 2000s, making it an inevitability that the developer would want to follow it up with a sequel in short order. But rather than handle the game’s development in-house, Bethesda passed along that duty to renowned RPG developer Obsidian Entertainment, which, as Black Isle Studios, had previously worked on the franchise and knew it all too well. The result was Fallout: New Vegas, which remains many players’ favorite game in the first-person reinvention of the Fallout franchise, thanks to its incredible RPG depth, strong writing and quest design, and a greater emphasis on freedom and player choice that make each new playthrough as exciting as the last.

• Release Date — September 22, 2011
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Publisher — Bandai Namco
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Out of all the best RPGs of the 2010s, only one can make the claim of inventing its own subgenre of gaming: Dark Souls. The seeds for Dark Souls were planted back when Miyazaki developed Demon’s Souls (and, arguably, even further back with older FromSoftware classics like King’s Field). Still, Dark Souls found a way to circumvent the more niche aspects of Demon’s Souls to become a bona fide cultural phenomenon, kicking off the era of the Soulslike action RPG and signaling that players were more than ready for an industry-wide shift back toward challenging games that felt rewarding to complete. Plus, all these years later, Dark Souls still has the best and most interesting world to explore out of the entire FromSoftware pantheon.

• Release Date — November 11, 2011
• Developer — Bethesda Game Studios
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Bethesda had already rewritten the book on the open-world RPG with both The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3, which made the wait for Skyrim in 2011 almost unbearable. But for however much most of us RPG fans were excited for Skyrim, nothing could have truly prepared us for how much of a step up it was from all of Bethesda’s previous work, to the point where it’s taken nearly 15 years for us to get a proper follow-up. Skyrim, along with another incredible open-world RPG on this list from 2015, practically rewrote the book on how to implement emergent gameplay in the context of a modern RPG, and its countless ports to other platforms mean players will be experiencing it for years to come.

• Release Date — April 19, 2012
• Developer — Intelligent Systems
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — Nintendo 3DS

The success of the fan-led Operation Rainfall campaign both helped bring Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story to the Wii and proved to Nintendo that American audiences really craved new JRPG experiences. So when it came time for the Fire Emblem series to make its 3DS debut, Nintendo wisely decided to give the franchise one last shot at making a splash in the West before relegating it to Japanese exclusivity in perpetuity. Not only did Fire Emblem: Awakening quickly become the 3DS’ best-selling title and move players to pick up the system (myself included), it also reinvigorated interest in the Fire Emblem series, effectively setting up the franchise’s new golden era on both the 3DS and Switch. And even in the wake of the excellent Three Houses, it’s still the best game in the Fire Emblem series.

• Release Date — June 14, 2012
• Developer — Atlus
• Publisher — Atlus
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PS Vita

The original Persona 4 released late in the PS2’s life cycle, which limited the amount of impact it had among more casual players. Thankfully, Atlus went back and remastered it while adding in new content (a common practice in the Persona series) and re-released Persona 4 on the PS Vita as Persona 4 Golden, delivering the game that many consider to still be the series’ peak. And thanks to the massive crossover success of Persona 5 (which, coincidentally, wouldn’t have been possible without the cult-classic status held by Persona 4), Persona 4 Golden has now been ported to just about every platform under the sun, making one of the best JRPGs of all time readily available for anyone looking to experience it.

• Release Date — August 27, 2013
• Developer — Square Enix Creative Studio III
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

After a mostly successful first attempt at transitioning the series to an MMORPG with Final Fantasy XI, Square Enix tried again in 2010 with Final Fantasy XIV. Except this time around, a disastrous launch nearly killed the project outright, forcing Square Enix to go back to the drawing board. When Final Fantasy XIV eventually reemerged in 2013 as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, it was practically an entirely different game, and it’s since become one of the best MMORPGs on the market. The core Realm Reborn experience is strong enough on its own, but it’s the game’s incredible expansions and welcoming, active community that continue to make it not just the best MMORPG in the Final Fantasy universe, but one of the best Final Fantasy games, period.

• Release Date — October 23, 2013
• Developer — Grinding Gear Games
• Publisher — Grinding Gear Games
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

The launch of Path of Exile back in 2013 couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. With the mostly disappointing launch of Diablo III turning off many longtime fans of the series, ARPG players were hungry for a new experience that pushed the limits of what was possible in terms of buildcraft and customization, which ended up being Path of Exile‘s strong suits. It also didn’t hurt that, for years after its launch (and even well into the modern day), Grinding Gear Games continues to improve and iterate on the formula to try and make Path of Exile the best and most endlessly replayable ARPG out there, which, for many, it still is.

• Release Date — November 18, 2014
• Developer — BioWare
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

BioWare’s decision to go back to basics with the third game in the Dragon Age series gave us what still stands as the franchise’s high point, the Game of the Year-winning Dragon Age: Inquisition. While it definitely pulled some of the action RPG DNA from the polarizing Dragon Age II, the brilliance of Dragon Age: Inquisition was that it was a deep RPG that players could shape to their liking. Want to play Inquisition like a hack-and-slash action RPG? You can do that. Want to use real-time-with-pause combat and play Inquisition like an old-school Baldur’s Gate game? You can do that, too. Inquisition is still one of the best RPGs of the 2010s thanks to both its excellent story and choice-driven outcomes, along with the flexibility it affords in its gameplay systems.

• Release Date — March 24, 2015
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PlayStation 4

It wouldn’t take long for Miyazaki to move on from Dark Souls, passing the reins of the franchise to Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura so that he could focus on the studio’s next project: a gothic horror action RPG that would be exclusive to the PlayStation 4. That game, of course, was Bloodborne, and to many, it stands as FromSoftware’s magnum opus and the best game in the “Soulsborne” lineage. It’s a fair assessment to make, as Bloodborne is truly unlike any other FromSoftware game, and it’s even unique among action RPGs, delivering a harrowing cosmic horror tale while also featuring some of the best combat and boss encounters of any game. That players are still hoping for a remaster or remake 10 years later tells you all you need to know about Bloodborne‘s impact and legacy.

• Release Date — March 26, 2015
• Developer — Obsidian Entertainment
• Publisher — Paradox Interactive
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

Obsidian spent most of the 2000s working on entries in other studios’ big franchises, first with Knights of the Old Republic II and then with Fallout: New Vegas. So when it came time for the studio to chart its own path and do a project that was near and dear to its heart, Obsidian went the crowdfunding route to create Pillars of Eternity, and the RPG world was arguably never the same. Not only was Pillars one of the first major success stories from Kickstarter to gain widespread attention, it was also the first new CRPG in many years, sparking interest in a genre many had long thought dead and helping to plant the seeds for its revival years later with the gargantuan success of Baldur’s Gate 3.

• Release Date — May 19, 2015
• Developer — CD Projekt RED
• Publisher — CD Projekt RED
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

Along with Skyrim, CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher 3 is perhaps the most important RPG of the 2010s, especially when it comes to establishing how a proper open-world RPG should play and look. The Witcher 3 was such a massive step up from the already great Witcher 2 that it almost seemed too good to be true when it first launched, and that CD Projekt RED only continued to improve and refine the game throughout the years (including bringing an incredible port of the title to the Nintendo Switch, of all platforms) helped the studio earn plenty of goodwill from fans at a time when game publishers were becoming exceedingly profit-driven. But none of that would have mattered if The Witcher 3 wasn’t also a great game with a fun world to explore and some of the best quest design in the genre, which it absolutely is.

• Release Date — September 15, 2016
• Developer — P-Studio
• Publisher — Atlus
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PS3, PS4

With Final Fantasy‘s place as the definitive JRPG franchise in the West on shaky ground in the 2010s (owing to Final Fantasy XIV being the series’ sole great new entry and fans being mixed on both Final Fantasy XIII and XV), the Persona series was teed up to make a major splash, and that’s exactly what it did with Persona 5.

Other entries in the Persona series had been loved by RPG fans prior to Persona 5‘s release, but Persona 5 marked the series’ first mainstream crossover in the West, not only helping the series come to prominence as one of the most popular JRPG franchises but helping to introduce a whole new generation to the genre at a time when interest in anime, manga, and other aspects of Japanese culture were reaching all-time highs in North America. Persona 5 is the series’ “lightning in a bottle” moment, and what a perfect game to do it.

• Release Date — July 11, 2017
• Developer — Square Enix
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

For years, Final Fantasy XII was one of the more polarizing mainline entries in the series. While a lot of fans loved the game for its visuals, story, and setting, just as many were turned off by its somewhat confusing progression systems and a combat model that took some getting used to. Square Enix addressed these criticisms with the game’s Japanese-exclusive International Version, which it then brought to the West in 2017 as the Zodiac Age re-release, which is now the definitive edition of one of the Final Fantasy series’ best and most underrated entries. Its arrival was also perfectly timed with the launch of the Switch, becoming one of the first must-have RPGs on the platform and shining as an exemplary handheld experience.

• Release Date — September 14, 2017
• Developer — Larian Studios
• Publisher — Larian Studios, Bandai Namco
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

We have the Divinity games to thank for Larian Studios eventually being given the keys to the Dungeons & Dragons franchise with Baldur’s Gate 3, specifically Divinity: Original Sin II. According to Larian president Swen Vincke, Larian had previously pitched an idea for Baldur’s Gate 3 to Wizards of the Coast but had been shot down. It took Wizards seeing the response to Divinity: Original Sin II, along with the sentiments many shared about its best-in-class tactical combat, to reopen that conversation, resulting in Larian developing what’s arguably one of the best RPGs ever made. Of course, Divinity: Original Sin II also belongs in that conversation, if for nothing else than its impressively robust and flexible quest design and combat systems.

• Release Date — September 25, 2018
• Developer — Media.Vision, Sega
• Publisher — Sega
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

For whatever reason, the Valkyria Chronicles games seem not to get nearly enough love from TRPG fans, which is a shame when you look at how universally well-received they are by both players and critics. These alternate-history World War I and World War II-themed tactics games feature some of the best storytelling in the TRPG subgenre, along with some of its most interesting and atypical combat, eschewing the typical grid-based movement and strict turn structure that most tactics games are known for in favor of a system that’s more dynamic. Valkyria Chronicles 4 presents the best of both of these elements, to the point where it served as the template for a full-blown remake of the first game in the series.

• Release Date — February 26, 2019
• Developer — PlatinumGames
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

The 2010s seemed to be a time when once-niche franchises finally got their breakout moments, one of which was NieR. The Drakengard series had long been a cult-classic favorite among action RPG fans, but its haphazard localization in the West, combined with the utterly confusing handling of the first Nier game, resulted in most players not realizing what NieR: Automata was or what it might entail when it initially arrived. But thanks to some absolutely glowing reviews from critics, NieR: Automata quickly caught on via word of mouth as one of the best games of the decade, resulting in the title getting a definitive edition re-release that brought it to a whole new audience. NieR: Automata almost defies classification, and its one-of-a-kind story and varied gameplay make it a game without peer.

• Release Date — September 27, 2019
• Developer — Square Enix, ArtePiazza
• Publisher — Square Enix, Nintendo
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — Nintendo Switch

Along with the Zodiac Age version of Final Fantasy XII, the Switch got one of its early “must-have” RPGs in the form of the definitive release of Dragon Quest XI, and it’s still one of the best RPGs on the console. Dragon Quest XI S can best be described as “JRPG comfort food”, and it ticks all the right boxes that fans of the genre both young and old would want from one of its best games. Combat, progression, and exploration are all at a series peak in Dragon Quest XI, and the story, characters, and writing are all incredibly charming, humorous, and heartfelt, just like you would expect from a game in the long-running and foundational franchise.

• Release Date — October 15, 2019
• Developer — ZA/UM
• Publisher — ZA/UM
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — Android, PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

The new golden age of the CRPG that was inspired by games like Pillars of Eternity and Divinity: Original Sin II helped pave the way for ZA/UM, a small team from Poland, to craft Disco Elysium, a narrative-driven experience that tied together themes from some of the most important literature on philosophy and ethics from the 19th and 20th centuries. Disco Elysium is all about its behind-the-scenes RNG and dialogue, but that it manages to be totally thrilling throughout the entire experience without a single shred of combat is testament to how much love, care, and attention went into crafting those systems. As a player, Disco Elysium commands your full engagement, but it’s an experience that gives back what you put into it tenfold.