Diablo has done it, countless games have been inspired by it: action role-playing games are one of the most popular genres of all. It’s also one of the most confusing! Luckily, we’ve got a buyer’s guide with our top ten RPGs for PC and consoles – there’s sure to be something for all tastes! Don’t feel like reading?
Are you still scoring or are you already getting pumped up? Action role-playing games, along with action-adventure games, are probably the genre to which most major games belong these days. What used to be pure action games are increasingly enriched with RPG elements. They should give a better sense of progression and more playtime. Conversely, role-playing games like to use action to open up to a wider audience.
Even Assassin’s Creed can’t be imagined without a skill tree, Fallout is increasingly replacing RPG elements with shooter action, and the Souls series meanwhile has spawned so many games that it can fill its own genre. For that reason, if you miss Bloodborne and the like, we refer you to our guide.
As you can see, action role-playing games are ubiquitous and now so varied that it’s getting harder and harder to accurately classify them. We’ll give it a try anyway: here’s our pick of the best games you can play Bluechip casino India right now!
Diablo 2 resurrectedÂ
Let’s start with the series of games that probably shaped the term “action role-playing game” like no other. We’re talking, of course, about the root of all tendinities: Diablo! And here you’re spoilt for choice: if you choose Diablo 3, which, strictly speaking, is still the latest installment in the series, you’ll be offered an uncomplicated and extremely addictive orgy of shredding that will especially suit newcomers and couch potatoes. -op. On the other hand, if you put the Diablo 2 remaster on your virtual shelf, you’ll get a surprisingly old-fashioned, challenging and dystopian RPG that’s barely lost its charm even in its proudly 21-year-old age.
Compared to the failed Warcraft 3 Reforged, Blizzard has really put in the effort and offers significantly improved graphics. With detailed environments and atmospheric lighting, Diablo 2 Ressurected really does look as good as you imagined through the nostalgia filter. Under the bonnet is an experience that has changed only slightly, it’s far more complex and challenging than its successor, which is why it’s still enthusiastically played. Whether on PC or with a great controller on console: every action-RPG fan should have played Diablo 2 to see how the genre made its breakthrough.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborn
In January 2018, Capcom’s successful RPG series celebrated its return to Playstation, Xbox and PC after a long run on handhelds and Nintendo. And Monster Hunter World has created a sensation, with vastly improved graphics, more accessible gameplay and open hunting grounds bringing the game over 17 million sales to date. The new features enrich the concept of the indestructible game that has captivated monster hunters on its screens since the first installment. With one of 14 weapon classes, you set out from your base camp to explore, fight or capture massive monsters. Not only are the creatures impressively animated, they also require different hunting strategies and can even fight each other in a complex ecosystem.
If you flatten one of the giant creatures alone or in cooperation with friends, you can pack the individual pieces. At base camp, you use it to create new giant weapons, impressive armour or support items. In this way, you gradually progress through the main quest line and a multitude of side missions. This interplay of crafting mechanics, a complex combat system and hunting increasingly nasty lizards creates an insane attraction. The main game alone is a gigantic project, and Iceborne’s massive expansion will add dozens more hours of hunting fun!
Grim Dawn
If you’re looking for an old-school hack ‘n slash in the vein of Diablo 2, Sacred and Titan Quest, Grim Dawn should more than satisfy you. The spiritual successor to Titan Quest has been on the market since 2016, but with its motivating gear hunt and freely combinable character classes, it still offers an equally challenging and accessible experience. The game also shines with a dark presentation, a huge, hand-crafted game world and more loot than you could ever carry away.
The multitude of quests is also no mockery: the story doesn’t knock you off your feet, but it does successfully guide you through an atmospheric game world that’s really worth exploring, thanks to an additional skill system called Loyalty. Long-time prey hunters play Grim Dawn to the highest of three difficulty levels, dip into a hardcore mode or two extensive expansions. Ashes of Malmouth and Forgotten Gods have new loot, classes and endless challenges. If that’s still not enough for you, you’ll be pleased with the many community mods for the game, some of which are still being updated today. The only drawbacks: Grim Dawn is the only PC exclusive game on our list, and the multiplayer mode never caught on.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
With the release of Assassin’s Creed Origins in 2017, Ubisoft’s Assassin series has finally undergone the changes that had long been announced: the action-adventure game has become an RPG with a skill tree, enemies with their own level and loot sorted by colour. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla wanted to reduce the excess RPG mechanics criticised in its predecessor and bring you into the current trending scenario for the most part: Vikings! Well, Ubisoft may not have managed to completely clean it up, given the still huge playtime.
Nevertheless, the core gameplay and motivating progression systems ensure that you’ll spend hours of fun in Valhalla again. Spectacular battles, a surprisingly successful storyline and full-on moonlighting await you. Of course, there’s also plenty of drinking, conquest and plundering, just like real Vikings should! Assassin fans should also appreciate that the hidden blade works the way it used to. So if you want a lot of games for your money and aren’t tired of Ubisoft’s scheme, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is a great choice.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade
Even the first Final Fantasy 7 Remake was impressive in its extremely complex presentation, the PS5 update, including the Intergrade DLC, takes it one step further: at 60fps, you’ll explore the still-enchanting city of Midgar and swing through dynamic battles. Anyone who knows and loves the original 1997 game will have to swallow the bitter pill first, as the gameplay has been extensively reworked and modernised. Also, the first game of the remake project only contains about a third of the original story, but that doesn’t detract from the gameplay.
Tense team battles, an impressively re-recorded iconic soundtrack and a still-exciting story quickly dispel initial doubts! Connoisseurs of the original will be glad to see their favourite characters, monsters and environments again, but will also be surprised by all sorts of new scenes. With accessible gameplay that includes a glossy polish, newcomers can quickly get the hang of the game and look forward to an exciting role-playing experience in an immersive gaming world. Finally, the intermediate version adds a multi-hour episode starring fan-favourite Yuffie, giving a new perspective on what happened in the main game.
Fallout 4
From isometric role-playing to open-world adventures with shooters and morale-boosting systems to online survival games: under Bethesda’s leadership, the Fallout series has moved further and further away from its original core. Those who want an old-school post-nuclear RPG are more likely to pick up Wasteland 3 these days . On the other hand, if you prefer to end up shooting and looting, Fallout 4 will serve you well! Despite the reduced RPG elements, the game still offers a motivating development system, tons of loot, quirky characters and a game world full of charming 50s kitsch.
Yes, the basic plot is typically Bethesda rather flat, and the dialogue and decision-making system are hardly worth mentioning. Fallout 4 attracts with its huge and varied world map, which rewards each exploration trip with interesting side quests, new items and atmospheric environments. You can expect secret military bases, cannibal villages, settlements you can build yourself, and, of course, nuclear shelters with horrific backstories. Not to mention the gigantic number of community mods that keep the game alive to this day – in limited form even on consoles!
Horizon Zero Dawn
The path of exile
The free-to-play Path of Exile, which has been available online since 2013 and has since been expanded with a host of features and systems, is at the pinnacle of complexity and scale, and newcomers often don’t even know where to begin. The giant skill tree may at first evoke memories of the basic circuitry of a quantum accelerator, but it turns out to be an important component of the game’s grandly open-ended character development. You gain new skills in the form of collectible gems, which you in turn further improve with support gems. This leads to an endless, motivating and very challenging path to the monster slayer elite, in which you can spend thousands of hours.
Speaking of investment: Path of Exile can also convince the payment model, because all microtransactions in the game are purely cosmetic – with one exception. For more convenience when looting, you can buy expansions for your lootbox, which will save you some inventory management. In our opinion, it’s a fair deal, because Path of Exile not only offers a truly top-notch and challenging lootbox experience for free-to-play. If you’re worried that the upcoming sequel is no longer worth playing Path of Exile, don’t worry: the Path of Exile 2 beta isn’t due to start until 2022, and the first part will still be thoroughly upgradable. Also, the second part shouldn’t be a separate successor anyway. You’ll simply be able to take your characters and cosmetics from the first part.
Legendary Mass Effect Edition
Anyone who missed Commander Shepard’s furious journey across the Milky Way really has no excuse for a trilogy of remasters. With a gripping epic story full of lovable characters, far-reaching decisions and rich atmosphere, Mass Effect is good old Bioware at its best. With tangible improvements in graphics, interface and gameplay, the remaster benefits primarily from the first part of the 14-year-old. Mass Effect 2 and 3 are in any case well outdated thanks to optimised and modern gameplay.
Legendary Editon offers you a complete package with all the DLC now easily integrated into the games and a single character editor. More than 100 hours of drama, a great combat system and fun third-person shoot-outs with your companions await you. To this day, the original Mass Effect trilogy remains one of the best video games ever created in the science fiction genre. An absolute must buy for action and story lovers! One can only hope that Dragon Age will eventually be transformed with as much love.
Nir Automata
Originally just a little-known series for fans, Nier has meanwhile evolved into a well-known franchise. This is mainly due to the unexpected success of Nier Automata, released in 2017: with half-dressed but well-armed androids you face off against an army of machine creatures and defend the last remnants of humanity on earth. The game switches from hack & slay to hellish shooter, text adventure and back on the fly. The action wizards at Platinum Games provide impeccable in-game firefights, and the intriguing story of Yoko Taro’s creative mind continues to kick you under the breath.
To make our list, an RPG, of course, must also be proper beyond the action, and here Nier Automata convinces with an extremely flexible upgrade system and mountains of side quests affecting the story and endings. Speaking of endings: if you think you’ve finished the game after the credits, you’re in for a surprise! The package concludes with arguably the best soundtrack for last-gen consoles and plenty of philosophical undertones that you wouldn’t have believed the game capable of at first glance. In short, if you want to see your favourite environment at its best and experience a story that couldn’t be told anywhere else, you need to play Nier Automata.
