Role-playing games’ core features cover a broad spectrum, including but not limited to choice-based progression, upgradeable skills and attributes, quests, and discovery; in essence, you’re assuming the role of a character and evolving them to your whim. As such, the breadth of RPG-alike experiences is vast on PlayStation 5, a platform which has championed single player games for generations. Here’re fifteen of the most amazing to grace Sony’s current-gen console.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Thrust into feudal throes of 15th century Europe as Henry of Skalitz, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II builds upon many role playing games that came before it with even more realism which, for better it must be said, forgoes constant action in favour of thoughtful exploration through glistening countryside and medieval structures. Henry’s a blank slate too, mouldable to whatever brand of knight you wish him to be. How he fights, the impression he leaves on others, the clothes he wears, player choice drives it all.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Colossal, off-the-scale Baldur’s Gate 3 is simply put one of the best games of 2023. Baldur’s Gate 3 is inviting and exciting, replete with intricate questlines, gorgeously crafted biomes, enveloping characters, engaging combat, over-numerous plotlines and conclusions. The game has thought of everything; hands down, Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the best RPGs you can play on PS5 or anywhere.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Is it DLC? Is it a full game? Okay, technically it’s an expansion but at this point who cares. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is an immensely expansive open world experience beyond what was already perfected by its forbearer, surpassing Elden Ring proper with enlarged freedom through the oil painted bleakness of The Realm of Shadow, itself a dark and intense world kept apart from The Lands Between, harbouring newfound horror and challenge.
Dragon’s Dogma II
One of Dragon’s Dogma II’s best features is its limited fast travel. Oftentimes, with no option but to trek on foot players will learn the lay of the land in tandem with their customisable hero whom, upon embarking on the game’s expansive world , possesses that extremely video gamey of traits: amnesia. However, it’s effective here. Everything is a learning experience: methods to approach diverse situations, strategies to take down the game’s looming beasts. Each journey in Dragon’s Dogma II is an odyssey of surprise and discovery.
Lies of P
Amongst the best of a growing number of Soulslikes not produced by FromSoftware, Lies of P has you journey through the Belle Epoque era city of Krat in command of wooden puppet-slash-real boy Pinocchio. This sinister take on the already twisted tale has you forge past imaginative enemies in search of creator Geppetto via winning gimmick: the puppet boy’s Legion Arm, providing a host of excellent tweaks to fighting style and exploration via its selection of augmentable skills, weapons, and upgrades.
Hogwarts Legacy
Any concerns prior to Hogwarts Legacy were thoroughly quashed upon release. This is the Harry Potter game fans of the franchise have dreamed about. The game’s replication of Hogwarts is masterfully authentic, but the star of the show here is the highly customisable combat which, despite starting slow, builds to encompass the entire range of a wizard’s oeuvre. By game’s end, your wizarding student will be one with the wand: deflecting attacks, levitating enemies, and summoning powerful ancient magic finishers with effortless skill and fluidity.
Diablo IV
Gripping and excellent co-operative multiplayer combat underline Diablo IV’s eventual success, but what elevates the dark fantasy RPG to arguably the best in the genre is its wonderfully addictive gameplay loop which wolfs down time so that hours feel like minutes. It’s all about building up your character through swathes of randomly generated loot, drip feeding progression just enough to keep you engaged whilst navigating the ginormous, plunder-filled map.
Black Myth: Wukong
More an action adventure with RPG elements perhaps, but there’s no denying Black Myth: Wukong deserves a place on this list of amazing games whether it’s RPG focused or not. Incredibly immersive graphics, a world dense with lore, complex characters, and ferocious combat make this video game, one of the best ones out there, a must play.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Released alongside Cyberpunk 2077 update 2.0 – an expansion which added much to player-character V’s progression capability – the steaming sprawl of Night City in Phantom Liberty becomes the backdrop to doggedly desolate Dogtown, a walled-off haven of ruthless oppression and lawlessness. What begins as a thrilling shootout-come-rescue mission, Phantom Liberty expands into tense covert espionage operations whilst a central narrative unfurls in surprising direction. Essential PS5 playing for anyone with a modicum of enjoyment for Cyberpunk 2077 proper.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
A bit of a sleeper hit this one. For whatever reason, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden didn’t attract a large audience, but those who’ve played will sing its praises. Whilst it’s another action game with RPG elements on this rundown, one of the genres principal elements – narrative choice – is deployed to excellent effect here. The two central characters, their love intertwined between life and afterlife, harbour multiple choice-led endings, each as haunting as the ghost-filled landscape they’re working to cleanse.
Demon’s Souls
This PS5 launch title, crafted by remake extraordinaire studio Bluepoint Games no less, is still one of the platform’s best RPGs. Releasing to little fanfare during PlayStation’s PS3 era, the game which birthed an entire genre and transformed FromSoftware into world-renowned innovators has grown from cult status to one of the best the sub-genre has to offer. Awe-striking visuals elevate the game’s still-ruthless combat to an artform.
Horizon Forbidden West
A similar blueprint to its predecessor Horizon Forbidden West may be, but this open world RPG sequel bettered its forbearer in almost every way: a more engaging cast of side characters, intensified combat, broader traversal – including the excellent grapple hook – and a mist-hewn west coast landscape somehow more jaw dropping than Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West is the pinnacle of Aloy’s adventures and is crucial playing for anyone who owns a PS5.
Clair Obscur: Expedition
Clair Obscur: Expedition is a narrative-heavy, character-driven adventure from new and fresh studio Sandfall Interactive, and as debut projects go, you’ll rarely see more accomplished than this. The beating heart of the game is its Unreal Engine 5 based stunning visuals, excellent art style of the world, which are enough to keep long-time players of the genre on their toes.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
A modern take on the classic RPG formula, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes blends retro stylings with an inventive battle system, highly customisable party members, and an exceptional story superbly written, the latterly point deserving extra praise given that it weaves the tales of hundreds of characters from numerous cultures and nationalities into one unified whole.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
New lead character notwithstanding, Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s switch to turn-based combat – a system more commonplace in other games of the genre – was a risky choice by Ryu ga Gotoku Studio but the result was a thoroughly revitalised franchise. Soap opera drama acted via a cast of quirky, memorable characters cements Yakuza: Like a Dragon as a worthy turning point in a series which arguably didn’t need reinventing at all.
