RPGs are designed to take tons of your time by absorbing you into an amorphous mass of narrative and gameplay. These titles are made to draw you in, so that you invest time and effort into the main character and the world around them.
8Stardew Valley
Farm life is calling for you, but monsters are totally real and they can drop special stuff to help make your cozy life a reality.Stardew Valleyis a game that seems like anybody can get into, but it is a commitment. You need to put in the work to build some kind of life in this game, but there’s something for everyone. If you want to spend your days tending to the farm and taking care of animals, go for it.
If you prefer to go spelunking and face certain doom every few floors, then hey,it’s your life. It’s a pet project game where you figure out what you want out of it, what you want to achieve, and the palaces you want to explore. There are also friends to make and potential partners to romance for the affectionate side of you.
7Disco Elysium
Do you ever have moments where you secretly wonder whether you’re a bad person? Well,Disco Elysiumputs those doubts to rest and confirms that you’re terrible. It’s a narrative trip, a long existential hallway probing into the depths of the human condition. It’s also a murder investigation story.
You play as a police officer in an alternate version of the world where every little thing can hold potentially valuable information. Since you wake up with no memory of who you are and what you’re doing, every little bit helps. Plenty of people are around waiting to talk, question, or chastise you, so it’s all about leaning into it, redeeming yourself, or just trying to do your job.
6Prey
John Carpenter instilled true terror with the plot and practical effects in The Thing, which laid some groundwork forPreyto walk upon. It’s the not-too-distant future when humanity is comfortably conducting experiments in space. You play Morgan Yu, a scientist studying the biology and potential of alien creatures called the Typhon.
Predictably, the Typhon escape and start killing everyone on the space station, and you need to figure out the best way to deal with them. Whether this means relying on your human ingenuity or evolving to use Typhon abilities, there’s more behind these experiments than at the first meeting. Don’t forget to collect everything that isn’t nailed down for recycling too.
5Skyrim
Who wouldn’t want to be Dragonborn? Assuming there are no negative side effects, being the main character inSkyrimseems like a pretty sweet deal. After dragons invade and save you from execution, you learn that their power flows through as well. This manifests as being able to speak powerful words that can have all sorts of effects.
When you aren’t going on a quest to slay dragons, the people of Skyrim have more than enough things for you to do and chances are they’ll net you some sweet rewards. If you’re seeking more direction than what the Quest Log provides, you can join one of the many organizations for various welcome packs and friend groups.
4Fallout: New Vegas
When Fallout went full FPS 3D, it was quite a large shift that worked out well. Fallout 3 set the stage and thenFallout: New Vegasstole the show. It starts off being one of the few entries that has you playing as a Wastelander instead of a Vault Dweller. Your motivation? Some jerk shoots you in the face, and you want to return the favor.
You’ll cross the transformed Nevada desert, get embroiled in serious conflicts, and recruit some of the best companions in the Fallout universe. Little do you know that your quest for revenge will shape the entire future of New Vegas and the land beyond.
3Undertale
Toby Fox struck diamond-encrusted space gold when he releasedUndertale. Although we’re eagerly waiting for more updates onDeltarune, it’s important to go back and appreciate what started it. This emotional and engaging pixel adventure follows the journey of a human child who falls into a vast underground world filled with monsters.
They’re revealed to be much more cordial and talkative than expected, but you’ll need to confront them all the same. Every battle is a chance to show what kind of human you want to be. You’ll be protecting your soul from myriad attacks as you attempt to handle the situation and learn more about human/monster history.
2Dredge
Fishing is a common activity in most RPGs, butDredgetakes it to the extreme. It doesn’t do so in the sense of making it super realistic, but in what you’re doing and why you’re out there. Mysterious artifacts have been scattered around various isles and have unusual effects on the surrounding water.
The nights are filled with haunting red mists and whispers of a dark nature while monstrous creatures lurk in the depths ready to hunt your tasty-looking boat. You’ll need to do a lot of fishing to fund your expedition, including catching eldritch mutations and fulfilling some of the disturbing whims of scattered beings. Filling your fish encyclopedia is enough reason to play, but the mysteries of the seas call to you.
1Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3did what every sequel dreams of doing: getting players super invested in a series they never knew about because the last entry was decades ago. It takes you to theDungeons & Dragonsuniverse where an epic story is unfolding. A brain parasite unlocks your hidden powers and suddenly everyone thinks you’re interesting.
You’re pulled into every major thing that’s going down, promised power beyond your wildest means, and taken on a journey across a vast and fantastical land. This is a CRPG for people who want to get into them and it does a great job of that with great mechanics, creative characters, and exciting battles.
