The open-world RPG space has quickly grown into one of the most stacked video game categories in the entire industry, but out of all the epic fantasies and action-packed narratives, many players consider Elden Ring to be the best of the best. It is an incredibly beautiful, impressive, and mind-blowing experience that is all contained within a single title, and it is easy to see why so many players regard it as FromSoftware's Magnum Opus and a new high point for the gaming world.
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However, as enjoyable as it is to gallop across The Lands Between, there are a few other open-world RPGs that are just about as good, if not better, in a few ways. Some place a bigger focus on role-playing and thus make the player feel slightly more in control over their playthrough, while others capture a different kind of gameplay style, which proves to be more fun in a lot of cases, but at the end of the day, their advances are still pretty slim, mainly due to the stiff competition that comes from the perfection that is Elden Ring.
Cyberpunk 2077
The Future Never Looked So Good
Details:
- Deep role-playing options and character arcs
- Branching paths dictated by the player
Cyberpunk 2077 earns its place alongside the greats in the RPG space by offering an open world that reacts constantly to player decisions, no matter how far into the story they may be. Night City isn’t just large, but also layered with quests that branch in subtle and dramatic ways depending on how players approach them.
In terms of gameplay, build paths fundamentally alter how players can engage with the enemies in the world, as options like stealth hacking completely disrupt the traditional flow of combat. Where Elden Ring emphasizes mystery and environmental storytelling, Cyberpunk leans heavily into a more personal narrative that is tied deeply into character identity and one's place in the wider world.
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
The Next Big Fantasy Epic
Details:
- Progression is tied directly to decisions
- Weighty combat and engaging survival mechanics
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon offers a bleak, oppressive open world where choices actively reshape the land. Unlike The Lands Between, which are mostly static from start to finish, Avalon evolves based on moral decisions, faction allegiances, and survival choices, many of which have far longer-term impacts than they initially appear.
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On the gameplay side, the combat is deliberate and grounded and feels very similar to other iconic RPGs that paved the way in the early 2010s. Its darker tone and emphasis on consequence make it an ideal alternative for players who value narrative weight and world reactivity over pure mechanical challenge.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Trading Fantasy For Realism
Details:
- Grounded progress rooted in historical accuracy
- Behaviour dictates more than raw stats
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 doubles down on the realism that the original focused on so heavily, giving players an open-world RPG where knowledge and social awareness matter about as much as combat skill. There is a big emphasis on vulnerability and growth through experience, as players can't just run straight into any fight and will instead need to prepare and plan in order to come out unscathed.
Also, the quests often have multiple solutions that each come from a different style, some favoring aggression and others careful observation. Without any real fantasy elements, the overall pace feels a lot slower, but it is significantly more immersive than virtually any other RPG ever made.
No Rest for the Wicked
Soulslike Combat From A Different Perspective
Details:
- Smaller but densely packed world
- Isometric Yet Deeply Immersive
No Rest for the Wicked blends Souls-like combat fundamentals with a traditional RPG structure, creating a tightly designed open world where every encounter matters. The world being on a much smaller scale than most others in the space may seem like a bad thing, but it just means that there are fewer empty spaces in between the engaging action sequences and compelling questlines that player will find along their journey.
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The fights feel great, rewarding patience and positioning, and in a lot of ways, the game is far more interested in quality over quantity for just about every aspect of the gameplay. Even before the full release, there is enough content for players to feel fully lost in without being overwhelmed by scale or sheer numbers.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Remaining The Gold Standard For RPG Design
Details:
- Side quests rival main ones in other games
- Complex morality options
The Witcher 3 has remained a mainstay at the top of the RPG world ever since it launched, and despite so many great games following in its footsteps, it is still a cut above the rest. The storytelling is the biggest draw, as the game's narrative focuses so much on character relationships and interactions that it can be hard to even remember that there is a whole open world outside of the emotional moments of pause.
Rather than letting players choose between dozens of different weapon combinations, they are instead given enough choice to satisfy their needs, but way more options in terms of dialogue and actual story decisions. The overall package just feels far more well-rounded, ticking every box from story to gameplay and outclassing nearly every open-world RPG that has ever existed.
Where Winds Meet
Scale On Another Level
Details:
- Wuxia-inspired movement and combat
- Large-scale open-world with engaging traversal
Where Winds Meet is still very much in its early days, but it has already proved to be one of the best RPGs available right now.
Movement is the standout feature, as players are able to glide, wall-run, and fly through the skies with cinematic grace, never once feeling bound to reality or the laws that govern it.
Because it is an MMO, there are way more opportunities for players to work with and against each other, adding a huge amount of replay value to an already expansive loop. There are very few other open-world games pushing into new ground quite like it, and it has already become a household name in the RPG community for those who really adore long-term progression and deep gameplay systems.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
Returning To A Classic
Details:
- Open-ended quest design
- Flexible character builds for maximum choice
Oblivion Remastered revitalizes one of the most open-ended RPGs ever made. The world is entirely driven by the player, as not only can they complete quests in virtually any manner, they are also free to experiment and approach objectives in a variety of ways, even breaking them with the right set of skills and know-how.
The guild storylines remain some of the most memorable in the genre, offering an insane amount of depth and player agency that is rarely seen elsewhere. The combat may be more traditional than the more action-heavy soulslikes, but it still manages to feel incredibly modern thanks to a few QOL changes and subtle fixes that keep the original gameplay mostly intact.
Monster Hunter Wilds
Strategic Fights That Require Planning And Skill
Details:
- Expansive ecosystems full of intriguing creatures
- Progression tied to player skill
Monster Hunter Wilds is one of the few RPGs that can actually compete with Elden Ring in terms of combat and fighting mechanics. The hunts themselves feel like drawn-out boss battles that require a lot of thought and coordination to take down, and the progression that comes after is tied heavily to the monsters and the environments that they live in.
Every time they encounter a new enemy, players will feel like they are tackling a unique puzzle with specific techniques and strategies that are needed in order to make it through alive. With a heavier focus on individual encounters, the game sets itself apart from many other RPGs like Elden Ring, but matches or even overtakes them with regard to the actual action.
Fallout: New Vegas
The Blueprint For True RPG Greatness
Details:
- Branching faction narratives
- Endings shaped by countless smaller decisions
Fallout: New Vegas is still considered by many to be the gold standard for RPG missions and NPC design. Nearly every quest has an intricate web of solutions and consequences, many of which are largely shaped by faction allegiances and the path the player chooses to take in the world.
Where Elden Ring gives players a chance to join specific groups and complete longer-term goals, the faction choices in New Vegas actually fundamentally change how the world reacts and ends. FromSoftware may win out on the fighting side, but it is pretty hard to match the level of role-playing depth that players can experience in the beautiful Mojave wasteland.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Reaching For The Skies
Details:
- Vast, vertical open-world
- Deep lore slowly revealed through exploration
Xenoblade Chronicles X throws away almost any limit placed on the player's exploration, giving them all the tools they need to traverse high above the ground and into the skies. The first time players get to fly their mechs is truly an amazing feeling, as suddenly, every inch of the gorgeous world becomes accessible all at once.
In line with the exploration comes the progression, as many of the paths forward come from discovering new areas and locations that players are free to approach head-on or return to much later. The level of scale is pretty hard to even describe, and as large as Elden Ring's world is, it is no match for the immense size of Mira and the amount of content within it.
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