Best RPG games you can play right now

These are ten of the best RPGs you can play right now on modern consoles

Yes, we know that's 'best role-playing game games' in the title, but that's what people on Google search for, okay?

If you’re hoping to strap in for a gaming experience that can potentially last hundreds of hours, then you’re looking for a high quality RPG. Role-playing games typically include a lot of stats to keep tracks of, dozens of items, many characters, and often involve a journey across the world. Sounds great for making memories, right?

Whether you’re looking for an intense action RPG or a more casual turn-based story experience, we’ve got the games you need to play. In this list we’ve broken down ten of the very best RPGs you can play right now on modern hardware. Just be warned, getting through all of the games listed below will take you a while. Make sure your schedule is clean.

Monster Hunter Rise

If you’re looking for an action RPG with mountains of loot to collect and just as many monsters to fight, then you need Monster Hunter Rise. The latest entry in the Monster Hunter series has just landed on new consoles, and even without the Sunbreak expansion it’s one of the best value RPGs you can play. Hundreds of hours of monster-hunting action are out there waiting for you.

Persona 4 Golden

Another game that recently made its debut on the latest generation of systems, Persona 4 Golden is, in essence, a slightly darker and more absurdist take on Scooby Doo. You play as a group of teenagers attempting to find the reason behind a series of murders – spoiler alert, the origin turns out to be somewhat supernatural, therefore the police can’t do anything. A classic JRPG that still deserves to be played in the modern day.

Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins felt like the last bastion of the classic Western RPG for a while. In the modern day we have the likes of Disco Elysium and Divinity: Original Sin II, but Dragon Age: Origins still just might be the best in its series. The adventure of the Grey Wardens’ battle against the Archdemon and the Fifth Blight is incredibly memorable, and still worth playing in 2023.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

If you want to feel like you’ve been on a grand adventure, there are few better places to start than the Mass Effect trilogy. Across the trilogy you’ll visit dozens of planets and space stations, interact with hundreds of characters, and make key decisions that will impact your entire playthrough, from beginning to end. If you’ve never experienced the Mass Effect trilogy before, you should start now.

Undertale

Undertale does things that no other RPG does. It takes the idiosyncratic eccentricities of the Earthbound (Mother in Japan) series to the extreme, and Undertale even transforms the classic turn-based battle system, weaving a unique action mechanic into things. Every fight in Undertale is totally unique, and the outcome of each will impact how the rest of the game progresses. Truly, there’s nothing else on the market quite like Undertale.

Elden Ring

Elden Ring is the definitive swords and sorcery action RPG. The Lands Between is a massive setting, and the creatures and treasures you find inside will leave you with memories that will last a lifetime. We’ve already ranted about Elden Ring at length, and all you really need to know is that this is the best FromSoftware game ever made, and truly deserves to be in all lists of the best RPGs. Anyone telling you otherwise is a liar.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt did so much for open world RPGs when it launched. The cutscenes drew you into the characters and world, and it eschewed the previously popular moral choice system, instead just allowing the player to make the decision they think feels right. Those decisions can often come back to bite you in the butt, but that’s part of what makes playing The Witcher 3 so memorable and precious.

Xenoblade Chronicles

Xenoblade Chronicles was a sensation among the hardcore JRPG crowd when it launched on the Wii, but the Definitive Edition on Nintendo Switch is easily one of the very best, and worth playing right now. The story is as majestic as the sweeping landscapes and giant creatures you’ll encounter, and it has never been better than on Nintendo Switch. The perfect place to start with the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy.

Final Fantasy XIV

Now it’s time to dip into something a bit different. Yes, there are literally dozens of Final Fantasy stories that you could dive into, but few are as unique and interesting as Final Fantasy XIV. The second mainline MMO in the series, XIV has fostered an adoring community that is eager to get to grips with each new patch and game update that brings a swathe of new features. If you have some friends that already enjoying FFXIV, then they’ll be more than happy to teach you everything you need to know about the free trial.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

The Yakuza series is typically a weird and wonderful action RPG about Japanese gangsters, but Like A Dragon, the seventh mainline game, is a turn-based RPG instead. It’s still just as weird, mind, if not stranger than ever. Yakuza usually executes its attacks in a brutal yet flashy fashion, but in Like A Dragon the grandiose special moves involving a steel chair feel like an absurdist wrestler intro, complete with the soundtrack. Just fantastic.

Fire Emblem: Engage

Even though it looks like peak weeb content, Fire Emblem: Engage drastically cuts down on the amount of social management you need to juggle, and instead introduces some brave new combat mechanics that'll make you think each move through in detail. This is an excellent modern strategic JRPG, and the ideal game to play on Nintendo Switch.