The evolution of gaming has progressed from simple side-scrolling adventures to creating an entire world for players to explore and learn. RPGs specifically take players into mystical worlds filled with unimaginable wonders and treacherous challenges as they progress through a narrative that allows them to immerse themselves in the game's environment.
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The worlds of RPGs can vary by experience, but some take to creating a living, breathing, and dating world that puts players through the ringer. Unseen threats, harsh weather conditions, and roaming bosses all make for challenging and entertaining gameplay. An entire world with no danger makes for an uninteresting adventure; Here are RPGs where exploration feels dangerous.
8 Cyberpunk 2077
A Border-to-Border Deathtrap
Cyberpunk 2077
- Released
- December 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
Cyberpunk 2077 is a futuristic RPG that immerses players in a bleak future where technology has begun to overshadow humanity. Night City is a gorgeous and vast map where dreams go to die as players trek all across the city to complete missions as they progress the story.
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There are dozens of threats in Night City, from Cyberpsychos to dirty cops who won't hesitate to shoot first and ask questions later. Venturing down a dark alley or walking the border of the badlands could prove fatal. Additionally, random attacks by factions are a common occurrence when players make enemies along their path.
7 Ghost Of Tsushima
A Tension-Filled Warzone
Ghost of Tsushima
- Released
- July 17, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
Ghost of Tsushima does a brilliant job of immersing players in the war-torn country of Japan and brilliantly depicts the Mongol invasion. Players take on Jin Kasai's mission of vengeance after he and his clan are decimated in battle by the Khan and his forces. The Mongols take full occupancy of the nation, and it is up to the player to liberate the world map.
In doing so, the player must explore the massive open world for resources, new techniques, and fend off waves of enemies along the way. Ghost of Tsushima features dozens of patrols, enemy camps, and bosses throughout the world, keeping the player in a constant state of danger which Ghost of Yotei is sure to measure up to.
6 The Witcher 3
Always Be On The Lookout For Threats
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
The Witcher universe is a dark fantasy world filled with some of the most terrifying cryptids in myths and legends. The sole guardians between humans and monsters are Witchers. In The Witcher 3, players take on the dark world as Geralt and must fend off werewolves, demons, and even the occasional bandit from time to time.
From traveling from place to place, the open lands of the open world map can be extremely treacherous, with danger lurking over every hill. However, the quiet setting of the game always led players to feel a creeping darkness over their shoulder, even while enjoying the countryside.
5 Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
An Immersive Medieval Experience
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Released
- February 4, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action-Adventure, Open-World
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is a breakout success that has just recently been released, providing an immersive experience through an enormous medieval world set during a great war. Players take on the world as Henry, a vengeful adventurer seeking retribution for his murdered family.
The game takes players across multiple regions, where rival factions will not hesitate to attack at a moment's notice. Players will have to dodge assassins' blades, escape groups of bandits, and defeat skilled knights that are scattered all across the map.
4 Dragon Age Inquisition
Powerful Creatures At Every Turn
Dragon Age: Inquisition
- Released
- November 18, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Dragon Age: Inquisition is the fourth installment in the Dragon Age franchise and one of the largest undertakings, offering an enormous fantasy world for players to explore. Dragon Age: Inquisition follows the hero's journey as an interdimensional rift erupts in the middle of the country and sends the world into chaos as aggressive creatures invade from the rift.
Players must take on the mission of dealing with the rift, and many other threats like it, around the game's world. While traveling in a party, players are subject to encountering enemies in the wild, from undead thralls to mighty dragons.
3 Horizon Zero Dawn
A Constantly Changing Environment
Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Released
- February 28, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the most innovative games of the fourth-generation consoles, which meshed historic genres by combining prehistoric, dystopian themes with a highly advanced technological age. Aloy serves as the main character, living in a world overtaken by Jurassic-designed machines that roam the Earth.
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Aloy seeks out the truth, and while doing so, must traverse the dangerous overgrown lands and fend off the mighty mechanical monsters that now reign supreme. Players will always have to be on the lookout for tech-beasts in Horizon Zero Dawn, which are always lurking, lying in wait to pounce, along with rival tribes that will attempt to kill Aloy.
2 Fallout: New Vegas
Lethal Torrents At Every Turn
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- RPG
The Fallout franchise is one of the most compelling stories, boasting a highly dedicated fan base that cherishes the titles. Fallout: New Vegas takes place in a post-nuclear apocalypse world and centers around America, where the remnants of the country try to survive.
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In Fallout: New Vegas, players take on the wild and weird lands of New Vegas, which is currently tangled in a war between multiple factions. Players take on the role of a courier who gets caught in the middle of the conflict and must think strategically to survive. Fallout: New Vegas' environment is incredibly harsh, making exploration one of the most dangerous things in the game, with radioactive areas and mutant creatures all around.
1 Elden Ring
A Desolate Fantasy World Inhabited By Horrors All Around
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
Elden Ring is one of the most vast productions by FromSoftware in terms of scale, narrative, and challenge. The game takes the best elements of souls-like games and turns the dial up to eleven. Players begin a dire journey as a lowly tarnished, banished warrior forsaken by Marika, and set out to claim power, restore balance, or set the world ablaze.
Elden Ring features an incredibly volatile open world where every living thing poses a threat. Each area the player explores is more dangerous than the last, with rotting wolves, armored knights, giant dragons, and demi-gods all wishing to turn the player into ash.
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