Best Role-Playing Adventure Games Of All Time

In a way, every RPG is a bit of an adventure. Players will often be given a quest to stop some ancient evil or to go rescue someone. Whether combat is turn-based or in real-time doesn’t matter. That said, the following games incorporate the idea of going on an adventure better than most, thanks to things like gameplay and world design.

There is a turn-based example like Etrian Odyssey 4: Legends of the Titan, along with a great open-world example like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, which has action combat. How do those games imbue that sense of adventure, and what other games make the list? It’s time to check them out.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Great Since 2011

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim starts a bit slow, but once players can break out of their confinement, they are looking at a massive world to explore and one with great variety too. They can roam around plains and get chased by bandits, monsters, or even giants. They can hug roads and find little altars that bestow them with boosts, or perhaps a set of ruins will be lurking off the beaten path.

There are towns to peruse, quests to take on, caves to explore, and more. It is the perfect fantasy world with a good variety of weapons and magic to use in first-person combat, too, as any adventurer knows they must be prepared on the road.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

On The Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a more modern example of a fantasy world and one that is more focused on its story. As a bounty hunter/detective of the fantasy world, players can take their skills to NPCs in big, elaborate towns and offer their services.

Side quests will often lead to interesting scenarios, from saving children from monsters to settling disputes in a mountain keep to sparing an army deserter. The combat is satisfying too in third-person, between the brutal slashes that can cut through monsters like they were butter, and the magic that can ignite them into piles of dust. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt does not disappoint.

Mass Effect 2

A Cool Space Opera

From fantasy to a sci-fi epic, there are few space RPGs that have a status as high as the Mass Effect trilogy, with the middle chapter, Mass Effect 2, having a particular level of prestige. As their player-created version of Commander Shepard, players can explore the galaxy by hopping into abandoned ships, moons, or planets.

The game is not open-world, so areas are more linear based on quests taken on, but between short moments of exploration, there will be epic battles against bandits and androids out to kill the party. Shooting and the squad-based design of the real-time combat are good, plus the decision-making can really give players a sense of ownership in their journey, whether they want to be a good or more chaotic space explorer.

Assassin’s Creed Origins

A Desert Paradise

Assassin’s Creed Origins was the first game in the series to incorporate RPG elements into the game design. Players had a bigger world to explore than ever before, complete with quests, and they could fight in a bit more drawn-out real-time action battles since enemies had HP and stats.

Enemies dropped loot between weapons and armor, so it was no longer just a game about going on assassination missions with hidden blades because there was more to collect. Players also had a greater ability to climb and explore a rich world through ancient Egyptian culture, which was a real treat for history buffs, and it still is today.

Elden Ring

Dark And Satisfying

Elden Ring is not an easy game, despite it being one of FromSoftware’s more accessible Soulslike games. Players need to be wary of the weapons they find, the class they start with, and the stats they level up. That said, something is alluring about an open world devoid of a real story or direction, with danger lurking around every corner.

Even NPCs are untrustworthy. Should players help a mysterious NPC in a cave, or a large pot? This sense of mystery players can get from the game is addictive, along with the amount of customization options players can get for their character to play this action RPG their way.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Bouncing With Beans

The Mario & Luigi RPG series is the perfect blend of classic 2D Mario games for fans who like platforming and turn-based gameplay of classic RPGs. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is the first game, which was released for the GBA and is still accessible thanks to the Switch. In this adventure, Mario and Luigi travel to the Beanbean Kingdom to help cure Princess Peach.

Players can get exploration powers to reach new areas of the world, like a glide ability, which can also be transferred into combat. In battle, combat is active, meaning players can dodge and counter attacks in real time, even though it is turn-based, so again, it’s a good blend of genres.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Going Beyond Midgar

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth reimagines a good portion of Final Fantasy 7 into an even more epic adventure post-Midgar. Each region is distinct and full of quests and unique terrain. A particularly interesting area that was upgraded in the remake is the Junon region, which has scrap from the war floating around, along with a giant shipwreck.

The world is distinct and fun to explore on foot or on the back of a Chocobo. Like the first remake, the action combat is great too, with a good amount of improvements like dual attacks and even more characters and Materia to play with. Fun for beginners, a dream for fans: that’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth in a nutshell.

Etrian Odyssey 4: Legends Of The Titan

Taking The Adventure Outside The Dungeon

Etrian Odyssey 4: Legends of the Titan is both the same experience as previous entries, along with a big upgrade. Firstly, this game is a turn-based dungeon crawler at its heart, where players can create their team of five, go into a big labyrinth, and map out the terrain manually.

Unlike the previous games, the labyrinth is not just in one location accessible from a city. Players can take their airship outside to fly to other sections of the dungeon. This small feature gives players an ever greater sense of adventure, which is what all RPGs should strive to do.

Dark Cloud 2

A Time Traveling Duo

Dark Cloud 2 is an action RPG that goes between the present and the future as the two characters, Max and Monica, try to restore time. In each region of the game, players can go into dungeons, fight monsters, level up their weapons, and find shells containing NPCs and pieces of their lost civilization inside.

Players can then try to rebuild towns in each region and get bonuses for adhering to NPC needs. Nothing says adventure like a good romp through time, and even as an older PS2 game, the action and town-building hold up.

Brave Fencer Musashi

Mini Samurai Adventures

Brave Fencer Musashi is an even older example, and one that is hard to play today thanks to its unavailability on modern consoles. That said, anyone who can get a hold of this PS1 classic should. As the titular Musashi, they can go around a kingdom, fight enemies, and steal their powers.

The game is equal parts platformer and action game, complete with a lot of silly humor that makes it feel like a Saturday Morning Cartoon. It’s a lighthearted and fun little short adventure that is just a good example of why the PS1 was the golden era for Square.