Games That Fix the Problems People Have With Modern RPGs

People often think of the best RPGs as coming from the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s. Consoles like the SNES, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo DS offered a lot of creative and exciting games for RPG fans. However, when the Xbox 360 and other HD consoles arrived, RPGs started becoming more similar to each other and less diverse.

Many modern role-playing games feel repetitive and don’t quite satisfy longtime fans. These games, largely developed over the past ten years, aim to change that. They offer fresh experiences by trying new things, building on old ideas, or revisiting classic designs to address common frustrations with contemporary RPGs.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Flexible On Every Level

Baldur’s Gate 3 revitalized classic PC role-playing games while also offering the depth and complexity of modern titles, particularly through its emphasis on player choice. Players have extensive freedom to create unique characters, customizing everything from appearance and skills to their background, and these choices genuinely impact how the story unfolds through conversations and events.

Most games don’t factor in a character’s race when deciding how conversations unfold, but this one does. It features a large and well-developed cast of characters in a difficult, strategy-focused RPG where your decisions truly matter, encouraging multiple playthroughs.

Elden Ring

An Open-World Without A Checklist

Elden Ring offered a fresh take on open-world games, embracing the challenging ‘Soulslike’ style that doesn’t guide players too much. Once you start, you’re free to explore anywhere, without being forced down a specific story path, completing endless quests, or ticking off a list of tasks.

Elden Ring, released in 2022, is an open-world role-playing game focused on letting players explore and uncover its secrets. The game’s challenges are tailored by its RPG mechanics. It remains unique even now, and developer FromSoftware deserves credit for creating such an original experience.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Modern Old-School

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 quickly gained popularity as a surprisingly high-quality game for its price. It’s a turn-based RPG where you control a team of unique characters, and battles involve actively defending against enemy attacks.

The game brought back the classic RPG world map style, reminiscent of the PlayStation 1 era. Combined with a large world to explore and a solid battle system, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 showed that there’s still a demand for this type of turn-based gameplay, and that it can be developed and sold without a huge budget.

Cyberpunk 2077

Building Your Future Identity

Many role-playing games are set in fantasy worlds, and playing them one after another can become repetitive, even if they’re well-made. That’s what made Cyberpunk 2077 stand out – it was set in a futuristic world, but it wasn’t a utopia. It presented a gritty, realistic cyberpunk setting where wealth was concentrated at the top, and those struggling at the bottom had to fight for a better life.

The game stood out with its original themes, but it really shined by letting players create characters that matched their playstyle. You could be a tough fighter, a stealthy hacker, or anything in between. Plus, most missions were designed to be completed in a variety of ways, so any character build could succeed.

Sea Of Stars

A Return To The 90s

Sea of Stars shares a nostalgic charm with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, successfully capturing the spirit of classic 90s games for a modern audience. What sets it apart is its deliberate retro aesthetic, featuring beautiful pixel art that feels like a lost gem from the SNES era – and that’s exactly the look and feel the developers were aiming for.

The game featured a world map, conversations displayed as text, and a straightforward story path. What really stood out was the battle system, which was similar to Chrono Trigger. Players could combine their characters’ abilities, making combat more about teamwork and strategy than simply using your strongest characters. It’s a great example of an independent RPG appealing to fans of classic games.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Getting Closer To The Action

For a long time, Pokémon fans wanted a more open-world game with easier catching. Pokémon Legends: Arceus started to deliver on that, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A took it even further, especially with its more dynamic and engaging battles – another feature players had been hoping for.

While exploring the large city, players can try to catch Pokémon in designated areas. They can either weaken and capture them in battle, or simply throw a Poké Ball and hope it works. Pokémon still only know four moves, but now those moves have cooldowns, letting players use attacks more strategically and actively – and bringing Game Freak closer to creating a truly polished experience.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time

Make Your Life

You don’t need a grand, world-saving quest to enjoy a role-playing game, and Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a great example of that. It’s a relaxed game where you can explore dungeons and complete typical RPG tasks, either solo or with friends, choosing classes like Paladin. The combat isn’t very challenging, making it a more laid-back experience.

Players can also choose a quieter life and take on roles like a cook, tailor, fisherman, or lumberjack. The game even lets you decorate your home and build a life for your character, just as the title suggests.

Nobody Saves The World

Classes With A Purpose

Nobody Saves the World is an adventure game played from a top-down perspective, similar to the classic Zelda games. You play as a hero who doesn’t have a defined identity and gains the ability to transform into different classes using magic. As you play, you’ll unlock even more classes and customize your abilities through a branching skill tree.

Players can choose powerful combat roles, like knights or archers, or more unusual forms, such as a mouse to access hidden areas. It’s a refreshing change when a game’s class system helps with exploration and puzzles, not just fighting, and Nobody Saves the World deserves recognition for this creative, if quirky, approach.

Disco Elysium

An RPG Without Combat

Disco Elysium feels more like a tabletop role-playing game than a traditional video game, and many fans appreciate that. Like Dungeons & Dragons, it’s largely driven by conversation and player choices, letting you express yourself through dialogue rather than relying on complex button presses in combat.

The core concept of Disco Elysium is building a detective with unique strengths and abilities. Players customize their character through stats and skills, which directly influence their success in conversations – a dice roll determines whether a choice works out. It takes a little getting used to, but once you do, Disco Elysium offers an experience unlike any other.

2026-01-08 11:35