The Greatest Epic Video Game Masterpieces To Play Right Now

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Though many games now focus on intimate, personal stories, a lot of players still love big, sweeping adventures with huge stakes. These can range from long journeys across massive worlds to stories that begin simply, with ordinary characters, and gradually build into epic quests to save the world. There’s no lack of truly impressive and large-scale video games that deliver these kinds of experiences.

We’re highlighting a selection of truly special games – titles that every gamer should experience at least once. These aren’t just critically acclaimed; they offer huge, immersive worlds without losing sight of compelling characters and meaningful stories. They’re guaranteed to leave a lasting, positive impression on players for years to come.

10. Dragon Age: Inquisition

Still Impressive After All These Years

Even after ten years, Dragon Age: Inquisition stands out as a highlight of the series. It skillfully combines the beloved qualities of the original Dragon Age: Origins with the features players expect from modern RPGs. The game offers stunning and varied environments, along with exciting fights against dragons and other powerful enemies, creating a grand fantasy adventure. It’s a classic story of an unlikely hero rising to become a world-saving leader.

Despite being an older game, Dragon Age: Inquisition still impresses players with its beautiful graphics, diverse combat, and epic story, finishing with a clever surprise. While the new expansion, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, sometimes has stronger individual quests and moments, it doesn’t quite match the overall scale and grandeur of Inquisition.

9. Shadow Of The Colossus

Empty World, Infinite Grandeur

Shadow of the Colossus perfectly demonstrates the idea that simplicity can be powerful. While it’s an open-world game, its focus is solely on one task: locating and defeating colossal creatures to gain their power and revive a loved one. It doesn’t try to distract you with anything else.

Despite its desolate setting, Shadow of the Colossus is a remarkably epic game, unlike most others. Every battle with a colossus is as breathtaking as the first. The recent remake by Bluepoint Games makes this timeless classic easily recommendable to modern players; its simple yet grand story is an experience you won’t soon forget.

8. The Last Of Us Part 2

Unmatched Craft Wrapped In Moral Ambiguity

While the original The Last of Us followed a classic road-trip story, The Last of Us Part 2 dares to be different. It tells a more intricate story by showing events from several viewpoints, ultimately bringing the characters’ lives crashing together in a deeply emotional way.

Okay, so not everyone loved where Naughty Dog took the story with The Last of Us Part 2, and it’s definitely a game that divides people. But honestly, the way it leaves things open to interpretation is what makes it special. You really need to play it yourself to feel the full emotional impact – it’s a real rollercoaster! And honestly, aside from the controversial story, the game is almost flawless. The graphics are incredible, the gameplay is top-notch, and the acting is just phenomenal. It’s a game you need to experience for yourself.

7. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Medieval Epic Without A Single Fantasy Crutch

As a fan of the first game, I was so excited to play Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and it totally delivers! It feels like the developers finally got to make the game they originally envisioned, building on everything they learned from the first one. They really doubled down on realism and historical accuracy, which is awesome. What’s surprising is that even without the usual fantasy elements you’d expect in a medieval setting, it’s still incredibly engaging and fun – a truly immersive RPG experience for anyone who enjoys the genre.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 masterfully combines a compelling, character-focused story with breathtaking, large-scale battles and thrilling castle sieges. It’s a truly memorable RPG experience, offering over 100 hours of gameplay and standing out as a rare gem – the kind of game players only encounter a few times in a generation.

6. God Of War

Sincere Beating Heart Meets Jaw-Dropping Spectacle

The God of War series has always been known for its huge, impressive games filled with gods, mythical beasts, and amazing settings. After God of War 3, which felt like the peak of the original style, the developers decided to change direction. They scaled back the scope and focused on a smaller, more personal story with the newer games, essentially restarting the series in a fresh way.

Despite its more focused story, God of War (2018) still delivers the epic scope of classic adventures. It features massive bosses, impressive environments, and diverse, beautiful worlds to explore. It’s a nearly perfect action game that skillfully combines heartfelt character development with the exciting action and grand scale that God of War fans love.

5. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Painterly Worlds Of Pure Creative Freedom

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is shaping up to be a standout RPG, and a potential Game of the Year contender for 2025. The developers have exceeded expectations with their first game, creating memorable characters and a deep, engaging combat system. The game also features beautiful art, immersive locations, fantastic music, and a story filled with surprising and impactful moments. Expedition 33 is a remarkable adventure that players won’t want to miss.

At its heart, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a deeply personal game, but it expands into something truly epic thanks to its incredibly imaginative and unique world. The developers have clearly had the freedom to create whatever they envisioned, resulting in massive bosses, fascinating creatures, and levels built around compelling themes. Expedition 33 offers a gaming experience unlike any other.

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Every Choice Echoes Through War-Torn Kingdoms

Without a doubt the best game in The Witcher trilogy, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt took everything players loved about the series and made it bigger. It featured a massive, war-ravaged world to explore, filled with memorable characters like kings and emperors, complex political plots, monster hunting quests, and a fight against an age-old, otherworldly evil. All of this was driven by a deeply personal story: the desperate search for Ciri, following the last clues to her whereabouts.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt masterfully balances lighthearted and serious moments, seamlessly shifting between funny quests and deeply dramatic events. This creates a believable world where your choices truly matter, and you constantly see the impact of your actions.

3. Red Dead Redemption 2

A Wild West Epic Bigger Than Any Film

Red Dead Redemption 2 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance share a focus on realistic, immersive depictions of the late 19th-century American West, putting you in the shoes of an everyday outlaw. Though fundamentally a very human story, Red Dead Redemption 2 is truly epic in scope, filled with memorable characters, compelling conflicts, and events that dramatically change the course of the game.

Spanning months and taking players on a journey across the vast landscapes of the American West (and beyond), Red Dead Redemption 2 is a captivating story of the Van Der Linde gang that many consider to be better than any Western film.

2. Mass Effect Legendary Edition

The Ultimate Space Epic

It’s absolutely not cheating to consider the entire Mass Effect Legendary Edition as one game. The Mass Effect trilogy is widely considered one of the greatest in gaming history, and the games are designed to be played consecutively, with choices impacting the entire story. Plus, each game builds upon the previous one – the developers didn’t just polish what was already good, they also improved what didn’t work.

When it comes to truly epic stories, the Mass Effect trilogy remains hard to beat. Few action role-playing games can compare to its scale, especially the way the entire galaxy comes together to battle the Reapers.

1. Elden Ring

Our Medium’s Lord Of The Rings

Elden Ring is among the greatest games ever created, offering an incredibly vast and epic role-playing experience. Its massive world, length, diverse content, and feeling of constant discovery make the initial journey into the Lands Between unforgettable. It’s a landmark title, destined to be remembered as a classic like The Lord of the Rings.

With its unique visuals, massive structures, extensive underground cities, towering mountains, and the breathtaking Erdtree dominating the landscape, Elden Ring truly feels like a grand spectacle experienced on a personal level. The game is filled with incredibly challenging bosses and enemies, countless areas to explore, and a stunning soundtrack. Elden Ring is a strong contender for the title of “greatest game ever made,” and anyone who hasn’t played it is missing out on something special.

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2026-01-30 22:07