10 Best RPGs of the 2010s

The 2010s saw some fundamental shifts in the video game industry, including what is expected from RPGs and how they're made. The new generation of consoles was released alongside those expectations, and certain games raised the bar on what was possible.

Some of my favorite RPGs are from this era, and it's really where technology began to meet the potential of what RPGs could really be capable of. At the same time, some of the best games of the 2010s used technology from decades before, but had storytelling, characters, and choices so profound and memorable that they don't need all the bells and whistles. Luckily for RPG fans, there was something for everyone.

10 Fable 3

Simple Done Right

Fable 3 offers something very different from other RPGs in that it's essentially two stories in one — the rise to power as the hero, and a reigning monarch who needs to use different methods to save their country.

It's a different approach, but it's one that paid off, and even today Fable 3 gets praised for its story. Sometimes all we need from our RPGs is a good story told well, and that's exactly what Fable 3 delivers. It's a worthy addition to the Fable series, and well-worth playing to make the wait for the next game a little easier.

9 Divinity: Original Sin II

The Return of the CRPG

Divinity: Original Sin was a turn-based CRPG, but its sequel is what really made a case for the format. Turn-based CRPGs hadn't had a moment since Dragon Age Origins in 2009, and betting everything on it was a huge risk when Divinity: Original Sin 2 was released in 2017.

Its format and mechanics weren't the only thing that was a risk that paid off, though. It had a dark story that put every character at risk of death or worse. It presented a complex world and consequences that would shape even minor details in the endings. Larian knew what they were doing though, and its success paved the way for Baldur's Gate 3.

8 Undertale

Deceptive Complexity

Undertale is one of those games that shouldn't be on this list if you go by the checklist of what many think makes a great video game. It's an 8-bit, pixelated game with a fighting system that hails back to the games of the 1980s. And it's a fantastic RPG.

Undertale is a game where choices matter, down to the decision of whether to fight. Battling every enemy you come across in RPGs is par for the course, but if you do so in Undertale, you're met with the consequences of that decision, and the game will remember it. Choosing peace over violence gives you the best outcome, whether you convince your attacker to back down or if you run away, while violence gets you the Genocide Ending, a path that the game will remember in your subsequent playthroughs.

7 Horizon Zero Dawn

A Compelling New World

All but three of the games on this list are sequels. Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the three new IPs, and it's by far the biggest one in terms of scale. It became PlayStation's flagship game, and Aloy one of its most recognizable characters. For a completely new IP, this is a remarkable achievement, all the more so because Aloy is a female protagonist that carries her own story.

Horizon Zero Dawn's intriguing worldbuilding and lore, and Aloy's story and fighting style, are just some of the reasons it enjoyed so much success. New RPG IPs are always valuable, and to have one with a female lead at the helm makes it all the more meaningful in a space where they're altogether too rare. To start off with a female lead was a brave move, and one that paid off.

6 Dragon Age: Inquisition

Real Political Change

Dragon Age was one of those series' that reinvented itself with every game. The version of Dragon Age that was given to us in Inquisition was one of the best of them, and it brought in a lot of new fans, both to Dragon Age but also to RPGs.

The implementation of its open world can be debated, but its strength lies in its story, lore, and characters, especially with the Trespasser DLC. It paid off a conflict that had been set up behind the scenes in the previous two games, and let you fall in love with a god. Because of its incredible lore, relationships, and success in building an organization that genuinely felt like a force to be reckoned with, I remember Dragon Age: Inquisition as one of the best RPGs of its decade.

5 Mass Effect 2

An Iconic Protagonist and Team

Mass Effect 2 remains my favorite of the trilogy. Its story about team building, trust, and fighting against the odds is just one that hits hard, and I haven't experienced anything like it since. Shepard is at their best here, with moments of badassery and emotion in equal measure. The Normandy SR-2 had some of the best companions, including Mordin, a glowed-up Garrus and Tali from ME1, and Miranda, who I sorely missed in ME3.

This all culminated in the suicide mission, one of the most acclaimed sequences in video gaming. Successfully destroying the Collector base and leaving no one behind is a triumph of a payoff and a truly unforgettable moment.

4 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The One That Changed Everything

What's more to be said about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt? With its final expansion pack on the horizon over a decade after its release, many are returning to it to relive one of the great games of the 2010s. The Witcher 3 was one of those games that met every lofty expectation, and even exceeded them in some cases.

The Witcher 3's open world, but specifically the depth of it, changed a lot about what players could expect from video games. The consequences of the decisions you made were not always immediately apparent, sometimes only becoming clear dozens of hours later. It's one of those games with interlocking stories and systems, and everything an RPG should be.

3 Disco Elysium

RPG Storytelling in its Purest Form

Disco Elysium is one of the truly great RPGs of all time. It's a meditation on psychology, politics, trauma, interpersonal relationships, and society. It's extremely weird. It will make you laugh out loud, and it'll make you cry. It'll stay with you for years after you finish it.

With minimal combat, Disco Elysium forces you to think deeply about everything. You exist as a terrible person in a terrible world — there's not much going for Revachol, and it's filled with people who just can't cope. Beneath it all, though, is a story about hope, the little moments, and the light at the end of it all. It'll change you in meaningful ways, or even just simply show you sides of yourself you never knew existed.

Making Fantasy RPGs Mainstream

Skyrim has to be on this list simply because of the impact it made. It built on the foundation that Oblivion provided, and improved it in many ways. It became one of those RPGs that you could sink hundreds of hours in, all while never touching the main questline. There's so much to do, and the very real feeling that you can be anyone.

Its tens of thousands of mods, including massive projects like Skyblivion, have kept Skyrim in the popular imagination for over a decade now. It's hard to imagine what gaming, and popular culture in general, would be like if Skyrim did not exist. It may not be my favorite Elder Scrolls game (that one goes to Oblivion), but it's definitely made its mark.

1 Fallout: New Vegas

The Best Fallout

Fallout: New Vegas is a strange game. It's from the same family as Fallout 3, but isn't an expansion or sequel, nor does it have anything to do with it. It kind of just hangs in the periphery of the mainline Fallout games, yet is a big game on its own, and has its own identity that both is and isn't like the rest of the Fallout games.

Fallout: New Vegas is a fantastic meditation on politics, philosophy, trauma, and survival. Its faction system made for a shifting landscape where friends and foe were determined by your actions. It also included striking aesthetics, such as the Legion's mix of Roman armor with Fallout technology, and the Kings gang as a bunch of Elvis impersonators.