The main charm of RPGs is undoubtedly the freedom to define who you are as a protagonist. That doesn't just mean character customization, even if it's a big part of it. It's also about the choices you make, and whether the game even allows you to truly influence the course your adventure takes. When a playthrough looks and feels unique, with multiple branching paths and plenty of dialogue choices that reflect your character, that's when you're playing a quality RPG.
8 Best Open-World Games That Offer Freedom In Playstyle
These great open-world video games offer players peerless freedom in playstyle, allowing a variety of ways to carve a path through their unique world.
Unfortunately, only a handful of games out there really let you dive deep into roleplaying. In recent years, the focus has been mainly on providing players with a ton of content in the form of lengthy quests and main campaigns that feel the same from one playthrough to another, but there are a couple of games that deliver exceptional opportunities through dialogue, builds, tradeoffs, and freedom of choice to truly roleplay whatever character you feel like playing. These are all mostly open-world, though some are bigger and more immersive than others, and we'll focus mainly on the role-playing aspect.
The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
The Best In Series For Roleplaying Potential
The story, factions, and lore of the third installment in The Elder Scrolls franchise, Morrowind, are easily its greatest strengths. It drops players into an intriguing world of politics among the great Dunmer houses, and compared to other games in the series, with very little direction as well. This makes it fertile grounds for players to define their own path, with skills handled a little differently than in a later entry, Skyrim. You see, unlike in Skyrim, where it's much easier to be the jack-of-many-trades and the hero of all things, your choice of skills in Morrowind is always a tradeoff and introduces weaknesses. A low value in a skill will get you punished, whereas in Skyrim, having a low Speech skill doesn't doom you to a situation where NPCs might dislike you or bar you from progressing in the quest line of a specific guild.
You might argue that this is restrictive, but I'd argue it's these tradeoffs that make a playthrough feel fully unique. Your choices truly do matter, and it makes you consider your build more than once, as it affects everything from combat to how the world perceives you. And that's all without even getting into all the other things that Morrowind gets right, that enhance the role-playing experience, such as not being seen as anything special for the majority of the game by anyone, and the staggeringly deep lore that still has fans gushing about it today. If you weren't impressed by the depth of roleplaying in Skyrim or even Oblivion, I highly recommend giving this one a chance, despite its age and arguably punishing start.
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord
Medieval Simulation And Sandbox At Its Finest
If you're looking for a more grounded medieval experience but still have a ton of freedom to determine your path in the world, the Mount & Blade games are where to go next. Warband is fantastic, still, but we'll focus on the newest one, Bannerlord. While the campaign is a bit more restrictive, with its own story and somewhat set protagonist, the sandbox gives you complete freedom in Calradia to do absolutely whatever you want.
8 Most Open RPGs Of All Time
Open-world RPGs are one of the most popular genres in modern gaming, and these games take the concept of "open exploration" very seriously.
Choose who you are, and then out into the world you go, either as a conqueror looking to get it all to themselves, as a traveling paladin who helps those in need, or as some truly evil bandit overlord who just brings destruction wherever they go. Gather up some companions, and watch what happens. There are some nifty features to increase the role-playing potential, too, with personality traits on your character and NPCs adding some depth in how you might make decisions, how you fare in dialogue, and what kind of tactics to employ.
Fallout: New Vegas
Be The Courier You've Always Wanted To Be
Obsidian Entertainment's take on the Fallout universe is fondly remembered as some of the finest in the realm of RPGs. Yes, it's an old title, and yes, the world is quite limited by today's standards, so exploration-wise, you might not get the greatest experience. However, where New Vegas shines is its attention to detail in storytelling, quests, and character interactions. Everything begins in the character creation screen, where your stat and skill choices will directly affect what kind of dialogue options will be available to you. Your build is meaningful, and the goal isn't just to be strong or overpowered, but to play a specific role in the Mojave wasteland.
Create a low Intelligence Courier, and you'll be able to play the part of one with some hilarious dialogue options. NPCs might also comment on some of your skill choices, complimenting your stealth, and some actions are even locked behind skill checks, such as fixing a radio. But beyond just skills, your actions in the wasteland will lower or increase your Karma, and depending on who's at the other end of your scope, some factions will either hate or love you. This actually makes every playthrough feel unique, because there's so much nuance and detail baked into the game's role-playing that it doesn't even matter how old or underdeveloped the actual exploration aspect of New Vegas might be.
Kenshi
Define Your Own Direction From Start To Finish
If you're not afraid of a game with a learning curve and punishing gameplay that preaches patience and resilience, Kenshi is easily the perfect open-world RPG out there. It's not a traditional game by any means, because it doesn't sport any quests or point you to any specific direction when you first spawn in. You're a nobody in a harsh world, but the great thing about playing a tabula rasa character is that you get to choose exactly what your adventure looks like.
8 Best Open-World Games That Offer Freedom In Playstyle
These great open-world video games offer players peerless freedom in playstyle, allowing a variety of ways to carve a path through their unique world.
You can go anywhere and do anything you like, within reason, of course. Engaging in specific activities will level up your skills. For instance, if you're getting constantly beaten down, sure, you suffer, but you'll become tougher as a result of it. You'll most likely meet some resistance early on in the game, given that you lack skills in specific fields and have no gear to speak of, but if you stick with it, you'll start to develop a unique protagonist and an entire squad around them. You could become a raider yourself, a lowly thief, the liberator of slaves, or friends with one of the factions you discover on your journey and spread their message across the lands as their right hand. In essence, Kenshi feels more like a sandbox simulation than an open-world RPG, with how little direction and few restrictions it places on you. That means only the sky's the limit. Whatever you can imagine, it's probably possible to accomplish in the world. Just remember, some goals are easier to achieve than others in a game as brutal as Kenshi.
Disco Elysium
Builcrafting The Kind Of Cop You Want
Disco Elysium doesn't shy away from dark, controversial themes. As Harrier Du Bois, a detective with a bit of a drinking problem, you have no memory of recent events, which is the perfect opportunity for players to come in and define what kind of man he ends up being. With Kim at your side as a companion, the game lets you explore a small, contained open-world environment (some spots are locked behind progression, granted) and tackle various side goals as you investigate a murder and try to remember who you are. Skill checks and lengthy dialogue are what drive the story forward, and also branch out your possibilities as you dive deeper into your unique playthrough.
Choices matter, as they define who you are, and who you are defines what you can do. Someone with great strength might be able to take on a man like Measurehead and survive, but if not, you'll have to find a different strategy for dealing with each obstacle. While a lot of RPGs have skills for weapons and combat, Disco Elysium has virtually no combat (technically, none), and most of its progress is within the mind and personality of Harrier Du Bois. By the end of the game, you'll get a nice summary of what kind of cop you ended up becoming, which is essentially a summation of all your choices and how you handled certain people and situations. It's truly a unique RPG that just needs to be experienced in order to be fully appreciated for how deep it goes into a character's mind, and just how malleable each dialogue and interaction is.
RPGs Where Role-Playing Matters More Than Stats
Good stats are nice, but the real deal is in the big choices and dialogue options in these RPGs that emphasize role-play.