Throughout its lifespan, the RPG genre has experienced peaks and valleys in terms of quality. The past decade has been a high point for these kinds of video games, with titles that managed to wow fans worldwide and helped change the industry, like The Witcher 3 and Persona 5.
This list highlights the greatest RPGs that were released between 2015 and 2025, and games can come from anywhere in the world. As long as it has RPG mechanics, like turn-based fights, magic, monsters, character creation, jobs, or experience points, it can make the list. Oh, and one more thing: it has to be amazing. These games are the kinds of titles that people are still talking about after a decade.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon Turned Brawling Into Turn-Based Combat
Perhaps the most shocking entry on the list, or at least it would have been before launch. Before Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the Yakuza series was known for its beat ‘em ups and silly minigames. Yakuza: Like a Dragon changed everything, becoming one of the best JRPGs of its era. Starring Ichiban Kasuga, a mobster leaving prison and finding his former gang has changed, Yakuza: Like A Dragon skews its perception of the world to match his.
Being a massive Dragon Quest fan, Ichiban sees the world in terms of turn-based fights. This leads to a wacky adventure, where regular jobs are treated as character classes, weird residents looking for a fight become standard JRPG encounters, and a quest to straighten out the local Yakuza becomes an epic quest to match Frodo’s journey. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is completely unlike anything RPG fans have experienced, especially in a mainstream title, and it’s not to be missed.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Made the Franchise Mainstream
The growth of The Witcher franchise can easily be pinned on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It was such an incredible game that it put CD Projekt Red on the map and paved the way for Netflix’s wildly successful The Witcher TV show. Even though it was the third entry in the franchise, it served as a jumping on point for many gamers.
Wild Hunt throws the player in at the deep end, with a realm at war, and the apocalypse drawing ever nearer. This doesn’t mean Geralt can shirk his duties as a Witcher, with a world that’s crammed full of minigames to complete, all wrapped around an incredible main story. This is to say nothing of The Witcher 3’s amazing side quests, which have some of the best stories in gaming history.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Is a True Tabletop Experience in Video Game Form
A few games attempted to emulate the gameplay style of Baldur’s Gate 2, but only one managed to exceed it, which is no small boast. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous provides one of the most epic RPG experiences of all time, with a fantasy campaign that starts out with the player scrambling to survive in a city overrun by demons, which leads to the protagonist forming a crusade to wipe out the fiends once and for all.
The sheer number of character creation and progression options in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is staggering, to the point where it’s easy to get stuck within the opening minutes of the game and waste hours perfectly tuning the protagonist. Once they’ve finally crafted their hero (or villain), they’re ready to embark on one of the best fantasy stories in modern RPG history.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age Showed What the Series Could Do
It’s a shame it took Dragon Quest so long to catch on in the West. The series has some of the best JRPGs ever made, but for years, they were overlooked in favor of the flashier Final Fantasy games. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age really showed off how good the series can be and has one of the best stories in a modern JRPG.
This title delivers an epic adventure split across smaller story arcs, with a gameplay loop that works perfectly in short bursts. Of course, it’s going to take a lot of those bursts to see everything. Dragon Quest XI is a huge game packed with unlockables, tough enemies, and plenty of secrets for players chasing the best possible ending.
Elden Ring’s Lands Between Certainly Weren’t Mid
The older FromSoftware games had grand visuals that hinted at a great world beyond the horizon, but they didn’t actually have much scope for exploration. That all changed with Elden Ring, with a game that took the Dark Souls formula and stuck it in a massive open world, one jam-packed with enemies that are looking to stomp on the player.
The sheer size of Elden Ring’s world cannot be overstated, with few settings offering as much content to engage with. There’s also the customary brutal FromSoftware bosses to contend with, but unlike in the other games, if an enemy is giving the player trouble, they can always mount their horse and head in another direction in search of adventure. That way, they’re not stuck bashing their head against a brick wall, thanks to one boss that just won’t go down.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Showed the True Potential of the Remake Trilogy
The original Final Fantasy VII Remake could have made this list, were it not for the fact that its sequel eclipsed it in every way. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth finally left the city of Midgar behind and gave the Avalanche crew a massive world to explore, one with far more side quests and tons of fun minigames to experience.
Sure, the story of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth didn’t exactly end on a satisfactory note, but that’s because it’s building up to a third game. The rest of the experience is top-notch, with an amazing narrative and one of the best battle systems in any action RPG to date, especially when it comes to controlling an entire adventuring party in battle.
Undertale Is the Game That Broke RPGs Altogether
The RPG genre had been around for decades when Undertale launched, giving plenty of tropes and established concepts to be torn down. Undertale deconstructs RPGs completely, right down to the act of murdering monsters for experience points and cash, while exploring the more niche aspects of fan interest, such as hiding content in the game’s files.
Undertale is an unforgettable experience. Few games are as funny and witty, with dialogue that’s wrapped by arguably the best soundtrack in video game history. Even a decade later, fans are still obsessed with this game, with its quasi-sequel, Deltarune, eliciting the same level of devotion from players.
Persona 5 Royal Made Turn-Based Battles Exciting
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Undertale deconstructed RPGs, but Persona 5 refined them. The older Persona games introduced the schedule/dungeon hybrid, while Persona 5 tied it to an amazing story about corruption in society, one so engaging that it pushed the player forward, making it hard to put it down.
Persona 5 Royal updated nearly every aspect of the game, while adding an extra section to the end of the story that gave players a new foe to overcome. This new content complemented the incredible aesthetics, pace, and raucous soundtrack of the original game. Persona 5 set a new standard for Persona and Shin Megami Tensei in general, which might be why Persona 6 is taking so long, as it has a massive shadow to escape from.
Bloodborne Is FromSoftware’s Magnum Opus
Elden Ring proved how well FromSoftware’s style could work in an open world, but that experiment shines best on its own. When it comes to pure quality, the studio still hasn’t topped Bloodborne. Set in a gothic city crawling with monsters, Bloodborne abandoned the shields and cautious gameplay of Dark Souls in favor of something faster, more aggressive, and far more punishing. Players had no choice but to adapt, mastering its brutal combat to survive bosses that pushed the limits of skill.
As for atmosphere, Bloodborne has yet to be topped. Its haunting blend of gothic horror and Lovecraftian influence creates a world where every shadow hides something unspeakable. The sense that every struggle could be meaningless only deepens the sense of dread, yet players always come back for more.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Showed How Amazing D&D Can Be
The Baldur’s Gate name was unnecessary for Baldur’s Gate 3, as it could very easily have been a game set in any Dungeons & Dragons city. Larian Studios’ masterpiece is so far removed from Baldur’s Gate 2 that it eclipses it in every way, which is no small boast, considering that game’s also a classic.
Few games emulate the feeling of playing Dungeons & Dragons than Baldur’s Gate 3. The sheer number of options for dealing with problems makes every playthrough feel distinct, with the game rewarding players for their ingenuity. Throw in some of the best party members in RPG history, and the result is a masterpiece that shook up the industry, with a game that other entries in its genre will be unfairly compared to for years to come.