Best RPGs That Respect Your Time

RPGs are well known for being massive games that can swallow hours and hours of your time. There are some who view these as bloated messes that don't generally give you consistent content all the way through. These are the time wasters of the RPG world, and while some don't mind it, we're not talking about those games today.

Instead, we're talking about RPGs that are tightly woven, with concise stories that don't over-bloat themselves or demand things like grinding to level up and other things of that nature.

Here are a handful of RPGs that let you get in, get out, and not feel like you wasted your time at any point.

10 Alpha Protocol

Mission Improbable

Alpha Protocol may not look like an RPG, but it is at its core, and it's a one-of-a-kind game. That game is as janky as hell, thoroughly unpolished, but an endlessly intriguing spy RPG that has some outstanding ideas. They are all somewhat half-baked, so don't expect a sharp experience here, but rather one with endless lost potential.

If you want to dive into one of Obsidian's most ambitious projects, it's well worth it, and the combat is good enough to support an expertly told, thrilling spy tale. There is no open world here, just a simple mission-to-mission structure with plenty of agency over how the story plays out, with a dialogue system similar to Mass Effect.

The whole game takes about 15 hours to complete, and when it's done, you'll probably wish there was a sequel like many others have.

9 South Park: The Stick of Truth

Live the Show

South Park: The Stick of Truth is easily the funniest RPG of all time, but along with that is a damn enjoyable game too. It's only about 12 or so hours long, but within that is the equivalent of experiencing a full season of South Park where you're the main character.

It's got all the voices and characters you know and love, and while the story is absolutely bonkers, it's classic South Park from start to finish. The combat is also incredibly innovative, with tons of interaction during the battles that make you do a lot more than just mashing attack.

You can counter enemies, summon spells, and generally, anything you'd expect to do in a turn-based RPG, you can do here. There are countless hilarious moments and tough battles to fight, too, so there really is something for everyone. Everyone over 17, that is.

8 Undertale

The New Underworld

Undertale is one of the shorter RPGs available, but that doesn't mean it's not incredible; it's one of the more interesting games out there.

You play as a human child who gets pulled into a strange world full of monsters, both friend and foe. The story is a short one, at about 7 hours, but you can take on optional quests too, that considerably flesh out the weird and wonderful world you'll get to explore here.

The battle system is one of the more unique ones out there for an RPG, and the number of ways to get through battles is consistently more creative and interesting. As far as turn-based RPGs go, this one is an easy recommendation and one that won't waste your time either.

7 The Outer Worlds 2

Contained Space

The Outer Worlds 2 improves upon the original in several ways, but perhaps the best way is that it never feels like it's wasting your time. While the original game was solid, there were endless quests that just felt pointless, for lack of a better word. Here? Every quest matters, has multiple ways through it, and I rarely found a task to be menial.

The main quest is tightly paced, too, taking about 30-ish hours to complete. It's got multiple paths and plenty of reasons to replay it, but most importantly, you can go from start to finish without anything feeling bloated or overstaying its welcome. Even the companion quests are relatively short while being satisfying in the process.

6 Horizon: Zero Dawn

Uncovering Future's Past

Horizon: Zero Dawn is a game that is simultaneously gorgeous to look at, fascinating to explore, and a ton of fun to play. Discovering the origins of this mysterious world and how Aloy fits into all of it is amongst my favorite narrative journeys in gaming, and all the better, the experience is a brisk one.

You can finish this one in around 25–30 hours, and the main story never drags. There are side quests, but they are usually worth your time, and the optional content of discovering the vaults that lead to the secrets of your past is incredibly rewarding from a story perspective, and nothing ever seems out of place.

5 Assassin's Creed: Origins

The Ancient World

Assassin's Creed: Origins is an incredible experience that has you exploring Ancient Egypt as Bayek of Siwa on a quest to avenge your son's killer. This is the first of the RPG path the Assassin's Creed franchise would take in the following years, and it's arguably the best. It's got such a tight pace to it, and the fact that you can finish it in just 30 hours is a godsend compared to the bloated games that would follow in the franchise.

Exploring Egypt is a technical marvel, and everything about it is so beautifully authentic that it's hard not to get lost in it. Luckily, though, getting lost isn't a bad thing here. The map has its share of icons for sure, but it's not forced upon you, and even with the sidequests, you're not going to feel overwhelmed here. The combat is weighty and fun, the story has plenty of highs, and Bayek is one of the series' best protagonists. To me, Assassin's Creed is still chasing the high of this one.

4 Disco Elysium

One Hell of a Hangover

Disco Elysium is a unique RPG that has barely any combat. Instead, it offers a wild goose chase to figure out just what the hell actually happened to a detective the night before the game starts.

It's funny, irreverent, and full of interesting twists and turns. It's one of the most unique RPGs out there, where you build a character to not be better in combat, but rather to be better prepared for different dialogues and situations you'll come across. What starts as a seemingly normal Cyberpunk-style world gets weirder and weirder, and the characters are just so interesting and full of life that you never know what you'll find when you turn a corner.

It's wildly compelling stuff, and the first RPG since Planescape: Torment to do something like this so well. It's far from your typical RPG, but it's a short and incredibly thoughtful journey that respects your time throughout.

3 Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines

The Bloody Game

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is one of the more interesting vampire-themed RPGs ever made, and although it's in the style of an open world, or open city at least, nothing in this game is a time sinker.

The whole game can be completed in 20 hours or so, but in that duration, the content is as juicy as it gets. Every quest has brilliant dialogue, multiple ways through the game, and multiple endings. It's janky and unpolished in many places, but there is a reason the fanbase for this one echoed throughout the years until a sequel was made.

There is no purer vampire RPG out there, and the amount of variety in the quests, to the great character builds and multiple ways to play, if anything, you'll be playing through this one every year because of how quickly the time goes by when the content is all aces.

2 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

The Balance of Power

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a fantastic sequel that improves upon the first one in a ton of ways, but it's actually one of the shorter RPGs out there. Coming in at just about 20 hours for the main quest, you can breeze past this one in a couple of weeks or less without a problem. It's a great time too, with the best story for a Star Wars game in about 20 years and some amazing combat that makes you feel every bit the Jedi.

The best part of the game is how every quest has a purpose and how little busy work there is to artificially bloat your playtime. You get all the action, twists, and great characters from a Star Wars story, and it's done in a compact way that has you gripped from start to finish. It's the best Star Wars game since KOTOR, and it respects your time in the process.

1 Cyberpunk 2077

The City That Lets You Sleep

Cyberpunk 2077 might seem like one of those overblown games on the surface, but honestly, it's quite shorter than expected. You can easily finish the main story here in 30 hours or so, and while there are sidequests aplenty, none of them are required for the ending of the game.

Of course, the side quests spruce up the story in various ways, from exploring more characters to learning more about the story, but the fact that you can shortly finish this game while still having so much more to do if you so please is an incredible thing in the RPG world.

It actually makes sense within the story itself, too, because V is in a literal race against time. Checking off endless side quests really isn't in the cards if you're taking the role-playing seriously. Since its reinvention with the 2.0 update, Cyberpunk 2077 has become one of the best RPGs out there, and it respects your time in the process.