RPG, or Role Playing Game, is a game genre centered around the player or user, who takes on the role of a character in a fictional world.
Since the first RPG in 1974, Gygax’s TSR, there have been thousands created after, some better, some worse. However, just because it’s newer doesn’t mean it’s automatically better. So what makes the best RPG… the best? Depending on their gameplay, lore and reception, we’ll be counting down the top ten.

10. Neverwinter Nights
Placed number ten because it’s the first Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, or MMORPG, its story and gameplay don’t stand out enough to rank higher.

Similar to the acclaimed video game series Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter’s setting and lore is based on Dungeons and Dragons, specifically the Forgotten Realms campaign.
Neverwinter is the first and godfather of the graphical MMORPG. MMORP Games are story-driven online video games that allow the user to play their own story, while also interacting with an abundance of other players. If you’re ever playing a game and feel like it’s too empty (without any other players or NPCs, Non-Playable Characters), MMORP Games cover that for you. Across the server, players are fighting monsters, buying gear in town, or AFK, eating a sandwich before they start their next quest.

Since the first game in 2002, the company has been releasing new games related to the first, which has taken all attention away from the original. The fandom has diminished, and the lack of players and content make the game less appealing for new players and long time fans.
If you really want to experience Neverwinter, the best idea is to play the most current games like Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition Tyrants of the Moonsea.

Neverwinter is free on the platform Windows. Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition Tyrants of the Moonsea is $9.99 on Windows, Mac, Linux.

9. World of Warcraft Classic
Placed number nine because of the extensive lore for each race, the faithful recreation of the original and multiplayer functions.

Developed to run alongside the main game in 2019, World of Warcraft Classic is the game before the first DLC, The Burning Crusade.
The maximum level a player can be is 60, and the mechanics have been perfectly replicated to that of the original. Players can choose to play from one of the 8 original races, and one of the original 9 classes.

It’s no secret World of Warcraft’s story has deteriorated throughout the years. Releasing World of Warcraft Classic brought back a wave of old fans, filling the queues to the point players would have to wait to enter, making the modern game quite empty in comparison.
Critics called it a faithful remake, a snapshot in time, and a window to the past. WoW Classic won 2019’s PC Game of the Year for Golden Joystick Awards and was nominated for “Classic Game Revival” for the NAVGTR Awards.
In recent years, the company has added the first two expansion packs, The Burning Crusade Classic and Wrath of the Lich King Classic for players old to enjoy again, and new to experience.

World of Warcraft Classic is available on Microsoft Windows, macOS with an active subscription.

8. Icewind Dale
Placed eighth for its dynamic gameplay, intriguing story and Dungeons and Dragons mechanics.

Released in 20oo and developed by Black Isle Studios, similar to Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale’s setting is based on Dungeons and Dragons, but the story diverges from the campaign’s path.
This game, like Diabolo, is a dungeon crawler, (A game genre centered around the player going through lambriths, fighting large groups of monsters and looting treasures when they can.) The software keeps track of your statistics and controls the dice rolling as the main story leads the player into dungeons with dialogue playing as you reach certain points.

Once the player loads of the game, their first job is to create an adventuring party of six, deciding their race, gender, class (The role the character is assigned to, like Archer, Mage, Druid.) and alignment (Moral stances.)
In a tavern in Easthaven, the player’s party meets Easthaven’s town leader, who asks the group to join him on investigation to investigate reports of bizarre cases. The party, now accompanied by the town leader, is ambushed by frost giants that cause an avalanche, killing the town leader, and successfully blocking the path back to Easthaven. The adventures must continue onward, regardless of the leader’s death.
Most reviews were favorable, with constant 8/10s, but criticism was given over the occasional crashes, poor pathfinding, too combat-focused, and a lack of interactions.
In 2000, from late June to early July, Icewind Dale stood 4th on PC Data’s weekly computer game sales and in its third week, it dropped to sixth.
It sold 39,285 copies its first week and brought in around $785,000.00.
In 2014, Overhaul Games created a remake of Icewind Dale, called Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition, featuring bonus quests, 30+ character kits, new spells and gear and the player is able to upload characters from their previous game. They added a quick-loot bar and fixed bugs and allowed cross-platform play.

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition is $19.99 on the platforms Apple, Windows and Steam.

7. Diabolo II: Resurrected
Placed seventh because of the perfect remaster, the compelling characters, and thorough lore.

A remaster of the original, Diabolo II: Resurrected features upgraded models, remastered cutscenes and allows players to import files from their copy of Diablo II.
The story remains the same; The player meets the previous main character from the first game, now called the Dark Wanderer, who has been possessed by Diabolo. The Dark Wanderer searches for Diabolo’s brothers, Mephisto and Baal.
Wherever the Dark Wanderer goes, demons and minions alike follow, seeking destruction. The player attempts to contain the wreckage, saving innocent civilians and destroying the demons, till they eventually find the Dark Wanderer.
The game received mediocre reviews, with some gamers claiming it to feel outdated. Multiple critics argued this game is for diehard fans, who’d detest any changes, so of course it would seem old.
The game averaged about 80% from multiple sites like Game Informer and PC Gamer (US). Selling a million more than Diabolo II, Diabolo II: Resurrected sold 5 million since its launch.

Diabolo II: Resurrected is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S for $39.99.

6. Dragon Age: Origins
Placed sixth for the character interactions, the dark story and party combat.

Similar to other games on this list, Dragon Age: Origins has the player choose a race and class, although the choices are…limited. You can be a mage, warrior or rogue, an elf, dwarf or human. Depending on your combination between race and class, you will be considered one of the following; Dalish Elf, Dwarf Commoner, City Elf, Mage, Human Noble, or Dwarf Noble. Interestingly enough, based on your origin story, you will be discriminated against or treated with respect by different races.

The player joins the Grey Wardens, a long-time standing organization fighting against “Darkspawn”, the antagonist group planning to overtake the world Thedas, in a monstrous event called “The Blight.”
Bioware, the company who made both Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights, claimed Dragon Age: Origins to be their successor, and it sure lived up to that title.
Selling over 3.2 million copies and 1 million in downloadable content, multiple year-end accolades, several Game of the Year and Best Role-playing Game awards, and widely considered one of the greatest games ever created.

Dragon Age: Origins can be played on platforms Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Mac OS X for $29.99.

5. Baldur’s Gate II
Placed fifth because of party interactions, plentiful story and mechanics.

Just like the original Baldur’s Gate in 1998, Baldur’s Gate II takes place in the Forgotten Realms campaign as well. Unlike most games who’ll have the player start off with a new story and background, Baldur’s Gate II has the player be the same, starting off immediately where the last game ended.
The player controls up to six party members, including the protagonist. After player character creation, the player can bring up to five NPCs to join the party on their adventures. Depending on the NPCs, romance, arguments, conversations and side quests will occur.
The protagonist and their party are taken captive, and the player wakes up in a cage, with a wizard experimenting on them. Party members help the player escape, and with that, the party fights their way through the underground complex.
In Baldur’s Gate II’s first year, it sold 2 million units and topped at second place for game sales charts in early October.
The game’s reviews were never lower than an 8/10, with most giving it a 10/10. IGN, a famous gaming review site, gave Baldur’s Gate II the awards RPG of 2000, No. 25 in the Top 100 Games of All Time and No. 2 in the Top 25 Modern PC Games.

Baldur’s Gate II is available on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X for $29.99.

4. Fallout 3
Placed fourth because of creative story, fun gameplay and real-time combat.

Fallout 3 is set in a post-apocalyptic open world of the ruins of Washington, Maryland and Virginia, summed up as the “Capital Wasteland.” It’s an alternative timeline to our world in 2277, due to chemical warfare. The main character, later referred to as the Lone Wanderer, is a resident of Vault 101, an underground shelter created to protect humans from the nuclear fallout, hence the game’s name.
The game can be played either in third or first-person. Along with the string of main quests, the player can participate in side quests. The player will customize their player character, and divide their main attributes among seven traits: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck, also known as S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats.
Because of the open world gameplay, players can discover and explore ruined cities, settlements and important statues like the Washington Monument.
The player ventures out to find their father after he disappears from the vault for inexplicable reasons. The player must fight against the Enclave, the corrupt remains of the US government.
Almost five million copies were sold the first week, although met with controversies in Australia for the drug usage, India for the cultural sensitivities, and Japan because of the heavy depiction of nuclear weaponry.

Fallout 3 is available on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. $19.99 on PC including all DLC.

TOP THREE

3. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The prince of the RPGs.
Placed third for the discrete tutorial, open world aspects and skill system.

Following the second installment of the Elder Scrolls series, two games before Skyrim, Morrowind takes place in the continent Tamriel, just like every other Elder Scrolls game.
The main story’s plot is centered around the demigod Dagoth Ur, who used an ancient artifact to make himself immortal, and plans to break the province Morrowind from imperial reign.
The player character wakes up after a strange vision, on a prisoner boat to Morrowind. The player is led off the boat, to where a guard will ask who they are, prompting the player to personalize their player character. Heading inside the office the guard leads you to, the chief agent will ask you how you’d like to be released. The options are “Answer his questions, Give him the info,” or “Fill out the forms yourself.”
These options are actually a sneaky way to ask the player their class; “Answer his questions” will generate your class for you, “Give him the info” will have you pick from a class list, and “fill out the forms yourself” allows full freedom in personalization.
Upon being freed by the current ruler of the Tamrielic Empire, the player character is told to meet the Emperor’s secret organization. The player character is inducted into the origination, and the player sent off on multiple missions to uncover mysteries of disappearances and info about the Sixth House, led by Dagoth Ur.

Following its predecessors, Morrowind is open world, where the player can wander, explore, and discover. The player is in control of where they go, with little to no real force in where they must go, what they must do, which stats they need to hone and what armor they need.
The main plot has less urgency than many critics would have liked because of the free-form play, and the creators did acknowledge this, and moving forward, the next game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, had a stronger focus on the main story without losing the free-form play.
Other criticism came in the form of the glitch overlook, because of the programmers leaving large glitches throughout the entire game, causing average computers to not be able to run the game.
In Morrowind’s first month, it sold nearly 95,000 units, and by the time Oblivion came out, Morrowind sold 4 million copies. It reemerged on Xbox’s top 10 best-selling games of 2003, a full year after its release. Only one other game has ever been able to resurface a year after its release.
It won IGN’s RPG Vault’s Game of the Year, PC Roleplaying Game of the Year, and reader’s choice for Best Story and GameSpot’s Best Xbox RPG.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is on platforms Microsoft Windows and Xbox for $14.99.

2. Elden Ring
The runner up.
Placed second because of the stunning graphics, intriguing characters and dark story.

Elden Ring is played through a third-person perspective in the large world called the “Lands Between.” Using the player’s customizable character called the Tarnished, the player sets off to repair the Elden Ring to become the Elden Lord, a being with mass power. The player will come across thousands of allies, but even more enemies willing to beat them down.
This game is considered one of the hardest, only for the best of the best players.
Across the open world of the Lands Between, the player must defeat a bare minimum of 11 bosses to reach the end game, and the max is 207 bosses if they’re a perfectionist.
There’s a total of six possible endings, all altering the Lands Between for the better or worse, depending on who the Tarnished allies with.

The game was immediately met with praise, winning the Game of The Year 300 times from various sites including IGN, GameSpot and Eurogamer.
Elden Ring sold 25 million units two years after its release, becoming the second-best selling game of 2022, and its expansion pack released in 2024, Shadows of the Erd Tree, sold almost 5 million copies its first 3 days.

Elden Ring is on platforms PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S for $59.99.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The top of the top, the best of the best, the king on the throne, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Placed number one for the astounding storyline, playful character interactions, lore-filled sidequests, dynamic game mechanics, revised skill system and remarkable gameplay.

The fifth main installment of the The Elder Scrolls, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim takes 200 years after the previous game in the northernmost province of Tamriel, but rather than Cyrodiil, it’s set in Skyrim, hence the title.
The story follows a Dragonborne, a character with a dragon soul in their body.
The Dragonborne wakes up on a wagon with three other prisoners. A rebel, Ralof, claims all four of them are brothers and sisters now, and tells the player that their character, the Dragonborne, had crossed a border and walked straight into a fight between the empire and the Stormcloak Rebellion. The imperial guards assumed the Dragonborne was a rebel, and took them prisoner to be executed. All four prisoners are ordered off the wagon, and told to wait in a line. Seconds before the player is executed via decapitation, a dragon attacks the outpost, and with the help of Ralof or an imperial officer, the Dragonborne escapes through a large cave.

The player can choose first or third person to explore the Scandinavian-based open world, Skyrim. Perfect for explorer-type gamers, they can venture through tunnels, caves, towns, villages, cities and dungeons to explore and complete, weapons and armor to discover, spells to learn and potions to craft. The player can use their horse to travel the land, or utilize fast-travel to return to a location they’ve been to before.
The player chooses from 10 races, with mythical ones like a human-like cat and lizard, elves and orcs. Each race offers a different perk, like magic resistance or magic regeneration.
The player character’s appearance is not permanent, as an NPC will help alter you for a thousand gold.

Upon release of Skyrim, it received critical acclaim, shipping over seven million units its first week, and totaling 20 million units two years after its release. IGN and GameSpot gave Skyrim PC Game of the Year, RPG of the year and GameSpot also rewarded the game with Overall Game of the Year.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is available on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S for $39.99.

Sources: Wikipedia, IGN, GameSpot, Metacritic, PC Gamer (US), Game Informer, Steam and Reddit.