Some of the best-reviewed RPGs of all time have tons of sequels or are in fact a sequel too. For example, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the third game in the series about Geralt. There have yet to be any prequel games starring Geralt as a younger lad but maybe there should be.
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The rest of these RPG franchises do have prequels. Some of them tie directly into the games that came before and some of them are set so far back, that it doesn’t tie directly into the earlier games at all. It’s two sides of the same coin that explore how to make a good prequel. For safety, players should expect some spoilers.
6 Tales of Berseria
If Suicide Squad Was A JRPG
Tales of Berseria
- Released
- January 24, 2017
- Developer(s)
- Bandai Namco Studios
- Genre(s)
- JRPG, Action
- Metacritic Score: 80
Like Final Fantasy, most of the Tales games take place in their own universes except the games with direct sequels like Tales of Xillia. Fans may not know that Tales of Berseria is a prequel to Tales of Zestiria l as it takes place a thousand years in the past. It’s set in the same world and that’s about it, although Eagle-eyed fans can probably spot some Easter Eggs.
The game follows one of the few leading ladies in the series, Velvet, who travels with a band of misfits trying to change the world for the better. The thing is, they are not the nicest protagonists in the series and it would be easy to call this game Suicide Squad but in a JRPG format save for the whole explosive device gimmick. It's not filled with gore and extreme language though, it's just a different take on the hero/villain dynamic. Despite the darker tone, the combat is as action-packed as ever, and a bit more open too which would evolve more in Tales of Arise.
5 Assassin's Creed Origins
Back To The RPG Drawing Board
Assassin's Creed Origins
- Released
- October 27, 2017
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Open-World
- Metacritic Score: 85
Assassin's Creed Origins is the game set furthest back in the series as it explains the origins of how the Assassin’s Creed was born. It begins with Bayek, a peacekeeper within Egyptian society who eventually gets cast out during a conspiracy against his family and country. With nowhere else to go, Bayek is ushered into another secret society which then becomes the Assassin’s Creed thanks to some time travel shenanigans which is a bit high-minded and hard to follow.
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This is also the first game to introduce full RPG elements into combat. Characters could fight enemies, level up, get loot to equip onto Bayek like in a Diablo game, and the world was huge. Most games following this would copy the same design choices although most recently Assassin’s Creed Mirage was a throwback to the classic Assassin’s Creed games.
4 Hogwarts Legacy
Before Harry Potter, Magic Was Raw
Hogwarts Legacy
- Released
- February 10, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Avalanche Software
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
- Metacritic Score: 85
Hogwarts Legacy gave the developers at Avalanche Studios some leeway to work with in the world of Harry Potter. The only ties it has to the books is Hogwarts itself. It was an RPG that was begging to be made since the book series began in 1997. Every kid dreamed of becoming a witch or wizard and Hogwarts Legacy was a step in the right direction.
Players could not only live out the daily life of a student, but they could also explore the surrounding landscape from Hogsmeade to the Forbidden Forest. It showed that the series does not need Harry Potter, as a character, to succeed even more so than the Fantastic Beasts films. Hopefully, it is not the last action RPG WB allows Avalanche Studios to develop in this world.
3 Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
The Darkside Is Strong In This One
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Metacritic Score: 86
Like Hogwarts Legacy, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic does not tie directly to any of the films. Instead, it is a prequel to the greater universe that is Star Wars, set centuries before anything in the film franchise began even the Star Wars prequel trilogy about Darth Vader. This gave BioWare a ton of room to play with as they didn’t have to worry about messing up canon.
It was the height of the Jedi wherein Sith were just as strong and vigilant too. Players joined a force of Jedi after suffering a bout of amnesia. The core villain was Darth Malak, the apprentice of a more powerful Sith Lord, Darth Revan and there is a big twist related to them in the plot. The gameplay offered players tons of choices, both light and dark, and combat was similar to an MMO. It was better than anyone could have hoped for as a Star Wars fan.
2 Yakuza 0
Japan’s 80s Boom And Kazuma’s Beginning Doom
Yakuza 0
- Released
- January 24, 2017
- Developer(s)
- Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
- Metacritic Score: 90
The Yakuza series was popular among a niche group of fans in the West but Yakuza 0 was the game that brought the franchise to the forefront of gaming pop culture. It was an easy jumping on point as it took place decades before the first game during the height of Japan in the 80s. It was an economic boom for the country but that also meant the Yakuza were thriving too.
It starred a younger Kazuma Kiryu, the franchise’s golden boy, who was just learning the tricks of the trade. That said, the game showcased that he was still the badass Dragon of Dojima even in his early days. It was just as fun beating up thugs and leveling up as it was chasing chickens around for a mini-game. The game thrived because it embraced the silliness just as much as it embraced the brutality of being a Yakuza member in the 80s.
1 Divinity: Original Sin
Tactically Unbound
Divinity: Original Sin
- Released
- June 30, 2014
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Metacritic Score: 94
Larian Studios truly made it big when they released Baldur’s Gate 3 in 2023. They couldn't have gotten that hyped momentum if it wasn't for their two prequels to the Divinity series which began in 2002. Divinity: Original Sin was a prequel set hundreds of years before the original, giving the developers some breathing room like BioWare got with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
This also allowed new players to jump in without having any knowledge of the other games although old fans were rewarded with little Easter Eggs and other nods. The gameplay was dense, offering players multiple dialogue paths to traverse, open-ended gameplay with tons of exploration, and a tactical combat system that demanded perfection. For those that missed this and Divinity: Original Sin 2, but loved Baldur's Gate 3, it's worth going back to check out both of these games now.
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