16 Best RPGs of 2025

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2025 was a fantastic year for role-playing games, offering a wealth of enjoyable titles. The best RPGs were visually stunning, told compelling stories, and featured satisfying combat. They quickly captivated us and kept us invested long after we finished playing.

We’ve chosen the most outstanding RPGs of 2025 – the games that truly captivated us – and now it’s time to reveal our top picks, including our overall winner. Here are the nominees for best RPG of the year:

1. Where Winds Meet

Everstone Studios created a remarkably detailed open-world RPG where the environment felt truly alive and responsive. Players had incredible freedom to explore, solve mysteries, fight battles, and experience the story in their own way.

With its promising building system, engaging combat, diverse character classes, fluid movement, and beautiful wuxia-inspired animations, this game is a truly immersive experience and a standout title of 2025. It’s packed with depth and ambition, and we’re excited to see how it develops over the next year.

2. Clair Obscur: Expedition

Sandfall quickly became a popular RPG, captivating players with its unique and exciting gameplay. The excellent voice acting and beloved soundtrack further enhance the experience, making it a game we’d happily revisit for some enjoyable exploration and battles.

What truly makes the game compelling are the characters. The heart of Clair Obscur lies with the Expedition team, who ultimately resolve the central conflict, making it an RPG that knows when to end, leaving a lasting positive impression.

3. The Outer Worlds 2

The Outer Worlds 2 successfully puts you in the role of an Earth Directorate Agent exploring Arcadia. It’s a well-done game that combines a lighthearted look at powerful corporations with a truly engaging story. The characters you meet along the way are memorable and unique, and the game features a really inventive gear system.

We especially appreciated how well equipment from certain companies worked with other products from the same brand. Given the amount of content and freedom offered in Arcadia, this seamless integration was a great addition to our collection of games for 2025.

4. The First Berserker: Khazan

Neople and Nexon successfully revisited the origins of the Dungeons & Fighter series with The First Berserker: Khazan. This action-adventure RPG stands out thanks to its engaging and well-designed combat system.

Driven by a quest for revenge, this game boasts a striking anime-inspired art style and fast-paced, impactful combat. It’s consistently engaging and is already being hailed as one of the best games of 2025.

5. Elden Ring Nightreign

FromSoftware kept its winning streak going with Nightreign, a fast-paced multiplayer game where players explore the world of Limveld. It’s a chaotic and unpredictable experience – you might find yourself laughing at mishaps or amazed by how other players tackle tough enemies.

Now that the new The Forsaken Hollows DLC is available, this RPG is likely to remain incredibly popular for quite some time.

6. Monster Hunter Wilds

The newest Monster Hunter game successfully delivers everything fans love about the series, with some fresh ideas and very few drawbacks. Set in the visually beautiful and dangerous Forbidden Lands, the game features impressive monsters to hunt and is so engaging that it’s hard to stop playing, even when other games come out.

Monster Hunter Wilds is simply a joy to play, offering smooth performance and a captivating gameplay experience.

7. Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Honestly, seeing the Shinbakufu’s grip on Japan finally start to loosen was so satisfying. Naoe and Yasuke really came through, and it felt like the game Assassin’s Creed fans – myself included – had been waiting for all along. It was a huge win for the story, and just a really good moment for the series.

Shadows was the first game in the series built for modern consoles, and it delivered. The revamped stealth system and Yasuke’s powerful, unpredictable fighting style made for a fantastic experience. The game’s beautiful Japanese landscapes were a joy to explore, and we found ourselves wanting to see every inch of the map – which is high praise for any role-playing game.

8. Borderlands 4

The latest installment in the popular Borderlands series, Borderlands 4, delivers the franchise’s signature humor and engaging gameplay. Exploring the world of Kairos as a Vault Hunter is a genuinely enjoyable experience, and the game’s combat is exciting and fun.

Whether you enjoy the main story is up to you, but the limited amount of extra content and the game’s constant emphasis on the Borderlands style make this a strong contender for the best game in the series.

9. Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Lumiose City is a fantastic place for Pokémon battles and a central meeting point for trainers hoping to become famous. Exploring the city is rewarding, and you’re sure to discover interesting things both on the streets and on the rooftops.

The battles are really engaging, pitting skilled trainers against each other and offering great rewards upon completion. It’s a true RPG experience that stays with you even when you’re not playing.

10. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

This RPG is one of the most creative games of 2025, offering a wonderfully balanced and engaging gameplay experience. Playing as the mysterious Sleeper, we found ourselves completely lost in the story and losing track of time.

This game puts you deeply into the main character’s shoes, and its impactful choices can stay with you long after you finish playing. It’s a truly well-made role-playing game.

11. Digimon Story: Time Stranger

I was completely hooked by this new Digimon Story game! The story was really touching and well-done, and I found myself totally invested in what would happen to the main character. Exploring the world and building relationships with the other characters and Digimon was a blast, especially knowing we were trying to figure out the source of a huge problem that was coming. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next!

Wow, this game just swept me away to another world! Thinking back on it, I can’t help but smile at all the amazing moments and how fun it was to play. Seriously, if you haven’t checked it out yet, you absolutely should!

12. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Okay, so this sequel really delivers on everything I loved about the first Kingdom Come game. It continues Henry’s story and honestly, it just gets what made the original so good. I was totally pulled back into that world – it’s so immersive, and the people you meet are just… wonderfully weird and memorable. It’s exactly the RPG experience I was hoping for.

This game is genuinely funny, with lots of amusing dialogue and content to enjoy. Once the story gets going, it’s incredibly engaging and difficult to stop playing.

13. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

One of the biggest surprises of 2025 was the chance to revisit Cyrodiil in a completely new way. It was incredibly enjoyable to return to this classic game with all the improvements of modern technology, and Oblivion remains one of the best role-playing games available.

As a huge fan, I can tell you this is the way to experience a truly legendary game. It’s become so amazing over the years that even people who don’t usually play RPGs absolutely love it!

14. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Following Bai Wuchang’s quest to find her sister led us through strange and dreamlike places filled with unusual creatures. The game’s world, based on the lands of Shu, proved to have a rich and detailed history, and the exciting combat system we’d seen previews of was clearly a central part of the gameplay.

We really love Wuchang as a silent character – she only speaks a few times – and her story is a thrilling, though harsh, adventure set in a unique version of ancient China.

15. Mandragora Whispers of the Witch Tree

We really enjoyed playing as the Inquisitor and exploring the game’s dark fantasy world. The action-RPG combat felt great alongside the side-scrolling adventure, and the story was just as compelling as the battles themselves.

This game is a strong contender for one of the best RPGs of 2025. We were hooked from the beginning and enjoyed it all the way through the main story.

16. Trails In the Sky 1st Chapter

This game is a fresh take on the beginning of an epic story, and it’s an RPG you won’t want to skip. It expertly combines classic RPG elements into a compelling narrative that’s enjoyable for both longtime fans and newcomers alike.

The game features a fantastic combat system that cleverly mixes fast-paced action with strategic turn-based elements, creating a truly engaging experience. The story is heartfelt and charming, effectively placing you within a beautiful open world and making you feel like a meaningful part of a larger kingdom. It’s a strong entry in the genre and easily one of the best games of 2025.

Although all of these titles were great, one stands out as the best of 2025. It truly delivers a unique and unforgettable experience thanks to how seamlessly all its parts come together.

And our winner of 2025’s best RPG is:

Clair Obscur: Expedition

Gustave, Maelle, Luna, Sciel, Monoco, and Verso are a charmingly vulnerable team with amazing abilities, and they’re tasked with the daunting job of stopping the Paintress from terrorizing Lumiere. This RPG stands out with its compelling story, dark humor, well-developed characters, exciting battles, and smooth gameplay – it’s easily our top pick for 2025.

That concludes our list of the most anticipated RPGs for 2025! We’re already looking forward to seeing what 2026 has in store, and we’ll be here to cover it when it arrives.

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2026-01-02 22:50