What Are The Most Fun Action RPGs?
Action RPGs are fun and brutal. Developers usually put in dozens of hours of content for every player to enjoy and get immersed in the role-playing experience.
What is difference between an RPG and an ARPG? ARPGs are usually a little bit more focused on combat rather than dialogue and exploration; however, this doesn't mean that you will have no dialogue or a quality story. Every game in this list has those, and a fair bit of it.
So read on to find out about what the ARPGs are, in my opinion of course.
15. Cyberpunk 2077
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjF9GgrY9c0&ab_channel=Cyberpunk2077
While it wasn’t the game the world wanted from CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077 still offers a quality role-playing experience; well, mostly. Released in 2020, you play the protagonist that resides in the Night City, the neon-colored, futuristic city of the future. Crime, corruption, and all kinds of other crime are commonplace in Night City. You have to trudge through all these things to fix the problem that you may have with a certain Keanu Reeves lodged into your head.
The graphics of the game are the best yet. Even though optimization isn’t there yet, if you have a beefy computer, you can experience Night City with all its glory from its next-gen texturing to breathtaking RTX. The gun mechanics are fun, customization is there for your character, skills, and weapons. Even though the role-playing mechanics were not as detailed and in-depth as people expected, there is still a lot of moral quandaries in the game, and you may have to make difficult decisions in your journey in Night City.
14. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LA68CT7dvg&ab_channel=Zephyr
Here it is. Some people love it, some people hate it. However, no one can deny the impact of Skyrim on the RPG games that has been released after it. Released in 2011 by Bethesda Game Studios, you construct your character and traverse through the land of Skyrim as you slowly discover that you possess the powers to save this realm from devastation. There are countless enemies that will try to stop you, from elves to dragons. With countless dungeons and different factions that can help you shape your character; this game is a must-play for RPG lovers.
Bethesda has re-released the game about a million times by now. You can find the new The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: The Mega OMG GOTY Special Platinum New-gen Remastered Remake in the nearest BestBuy. However, if you are keen on modding, and this game has a really big modding community, you might want to play the version that is compatible with those mods. The modding community is on the same level as Minecraft, and you can completely change the game into something new by downloading dozens of mods. So, it is fair to say that even after your 100th playthrough, you will still find new things to do in this game, with our without mods.
13. Dark Souls 3
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZwioBJ3-lk&ab_channel=Shirrako
Alright, I don’t want to riddle this list with From Software titles, so I’m just going to stop myself at just one game. Dark Souls III is one of those games that carry the legacy of Dark Souls 1 on its shoulders. The games are difficult, with new, innovative mechanics. Released in 2016 by From Software, the game only helped cement the legacy of From Software and the quality of their games. You play as the Ashen One. Your goal is to bring back the Lords of Cinder to light the fire that keeps the kingdom of Lothric from turning inside-out, literally. And I mean literally. You will find out what that means as you progress through the game.
The game is immensely fun but difficult. You will get killed by the same enemy a few dozen times, don’t worry, that is by design. You have hundreds of armor pieces and weapons to customize your character's abilities and strengths. Collect souls and use them to level up different attributes to give yourself an edge, however small of an edge it may be. Pick this game up, it will definitely be worth your while.
12. Borderlands 2
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxHMcDTr7g4&ab_channel=Throneful
Released in 2012 after the success of Borderlands 1 by Gearbox Software and published by 2K games, Borderlands 2 offers something integral to ARPGs: fun. With enjoyable shooting mechanics, you can go through hordes of enemies with thousands; yes, thousands, of weapons choices which are on the chart from really fun to OMG-I-love-this-game fun. As the vault has opened up in Borderlands 1 and revealed other vaults in different planets, you play as vault hunters looking for the vault on your planet. With multiple characters that are amazingly fun to interact with and talk to, a lot of different monsters, companies, and vagabonds will try to stop you in your journey. Your best answer? Shooting.
The game is quirky, and fast on its feet. If you think you are too old for the humor, the game pulls a fast one on you and you catch yourself laughing. The writing is superb, absurd, and made to be fun. Also, the game has good New Game+ mechanics and end game bosses and raids, which keeps the G in RPG. The looting mechanic and the rarity of the guns and how those mechanics are constructed might be the best in business. And you can even play co-op! A must-try.
11. Dying Light 2 Stay Human
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17ZQjpMxmV0&ab_channel=SwiftyUnknown
Released in 2022 by Techland, Dying Light 2 Stay Human is a case study of how it could possibly be this fun to go through hordes of zombies. Well, "go through" has two meanings here. You can grab a gun and try to kill every single one, but that might not go too well for you. With state-of-the-art parkour mechanics, you can now fulfill your fantasy of being much faster than brainless zombies. The game’s focus is on survival and going through the city of Villedor to fulfill your goals will be very difficult with the hordes of zombies at every corner and the people that will try to stop or hinder you; or worse.
This might be the best parkour game out there. While it doesn’t look like it, the game is really fast-paced, and you can traverse the city any way you want. You can spend a good amount of your time in Dying Light 2 on the roofs and the sides of buildings, never really going down to the ground where most of the zombies reside. The game’s looting system and engaging story are also one that keeps you on your toes and is a page-turner. Frame-turner? Pixel-turner? I don’t know. Give it a try though, it’s really, really fun.
10. Tyranny
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpt-Lccd-BY&ab_channel=Lacry
Ok, what counts as an Action RPG? If I didn’t include a high-quality Classic RPG here that can also be classified as an Action RPG, many great games would lose their highly deserved spots on this list. Tyranny, released in 2016 by Obsidian Entertainment is an RPG that follows in the footsteps of the classic RPG giants like Baldur’s Gate. The game is difficult and unforgiving, and even when you get a grip on combat, the decisions you need to make always leave you in a difficult spot. The world of Terratus has two factions working together to conquer the land; however, only the most successful faction will gain authority over the land, and you need to choose your side in this battle.
The game is not as long as games like Pillars of Eternity, but the tightly written lore and over-achieving text that is worth a few novels and is literally long as a series of novels more than make up for it. You can choose between the Disfavored or the Scarlet Chorus, choose none of them, or choose to overthrow everything. You can choose to be fair and kind, or an absolute menace to everything and everyone around you. You can have several companions that will follow you throughout the game and have their own questlines and additions. The game is rich and replayable, and every choice matters, some way or another.
9. Nier: Automata
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKd3BnRJxaM&ab_channel=RajmanGamingHD
Released by PlatinumGames in 2017, Nier: Automata is absolutely insane. In the world of Nier, you can expect a convoluted and mind-blowing story with 4th wall breaking elements and an innovative game design with everything you love about RPGs that come out of Japan. Playing as both 2B and 9S, you have to complete quests to clear out the mechanical threats for the Resistance. The game is fast-paced with a lot of customization for innovative gameplay and better combat.
The game is long and once it got you in its grasp, you cannot let go until you are done with it. The first playthrough is with 2B, the main protagonist and the character you see at every poster for the game. To follow the extreme story of Nier: Automata, you might want to play or read about the first game: Nier. However, you can still enjoy a lot of the game without playing the first game, which is quite a lot different than this one.
8. Hades
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2b7GGWNz54&ab_channel=SilentLongplays
Hades is also not a regular game for the ARPG genre. Well, it has action, and role-playing, so why not? Hades has been developed by Supergiant Games and released in 2020. It took the world by storm when it first came out. While we saw other rogue-like games that iterate on the same short gameplay cycle these games usually have, meaning that you play the same, short game that takes less than an hour every time, but the game iterates, changes, and upgrades as you play more. Your main goal as Zagreus is to run away from your father Hades and return to the surface, away from the Underworld. To do this, you need to slash through Hades’ minions with amazingly fun weapons and skills.
As you die, the game resets, sending you back to the starting point. However, some things you collect and some of your interactions change the story and the gameplay. You open new weapons, and skills, and get stronger altogether. Will you be able to reach the surface with the help of the Gods of Olympus, or will you give up and be content with staying in the Underworld? And what will happen when you reach the surface to find your mother?
7. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou6UsEf1J_o&ab_channel=EncryptedDuck
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been released in 2017 by Nintendo. One of the release titles for the Nintendo Switch, the game slashed through the hearts of all the critics and Nintendo-lovers alike. You will go through Hyrule as Link and slash through enemies, do puzzles, and explore the ground-breaking game design and gameplay Nintendo is known for.
The world is vast and absolutely open. When we say, “open world”, we know that we might have to progress a little bit before some things are open to us. However, in Breath of the Wild, you can simply go to the endgame from the moment you start it up. The game seemingly gives complete control to you to shape your destiny and have all the fun you can.
6. Fallout: New Vegas
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cHIlLqgZAk&ab_channel=Lacry
Released in 2010 by Bethesda, and developed by Obsidian, Fallout: New Vegas is the epitome of a “choose-your-own-path” RPG that we all love to see. When Cyberpunk 2077 was getting a lot of hype before its release, a lot of people made parallels to Fallout: New Vegas in its game design, and role playing mechanics. You are in New Vegas in the year 2281. The nuclear fallout has made it so that many things did not survive on the surface, or survived too much. You are a courier for Mojave Express that was betrayed, and you seek revenge, or you don’t, it's up to you.
The game is a free-for-all. With a single decision, you can kill dozens of people, destroy cities, and break up factions. After the linear Fallout 3, the original developers of Fallout 1 and 2 came back to create Fallout: New Vegas and its branching-path filled story filled to the brim with twists, goofs, and difficult decisions. Play your character and explore the vast deadlands of New Vegas. Just try to not venture too far, as things have been laying in these toxic vast lands for too long, waiting for an unfortunate soul to come their way.
5. Diablo 3
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcEfEDilthg&ab_channel=ZephyrMantis
Oh, here it is. The successor to Diablo 2. Released by Blizzard in 2012, the game has been long awaited by all ARPG fans around the world. With a top-down view, you get the classic Diablo experience of fighting through hordes of enemies that spawned from the pits of hell to get that good loot. Yeah, that good loot: the thing we crave as we farm for hours. Playing as the Nephalem, you arrive in New Tristam to explore a prophecy that can lead to the return of something ominous, something world-ending, straight from the belly of the hellfire beneath our feet.
You go around, doing quests and killing thousands of enemies using your set of skills. You can choose between classes such as the Barbarian, the Wizard, the Demon Hunter, the Necromancer, and other classes that fit your playstyle. You loot the corpses of your enemies to get loot and become even stronger, so you can fight against the terrifying bosses and the dungeons the game will throw at you. With the anticipation of Diablo 4 releasing in 2023, it might be a good idea to give this one a try to freshen up on your demon-slaying skills.
4. God of War
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRMX9Rzq1AA&ab_channel=Gamer%27sLittlePlayground
Released as a soft reboot for the classic God of War series we all know and love, God of War 2018 has changed the formula a bit. Rather than the hack-and-slash we all know, God of War gives us a deeply bonding and intriguing story with Action RPG elements in a carefully designed world. Instead of Greek Mythology, we delve into Norse Mythology. As Kratos, our goal is to spread the ashes of our deceased wife to the highest peak in the realm, with our son, Atreus. However, that may not be as easy as one would think at first.
The game looks amazing and plays even better. You have the Leviathan Axe as your new weapon, which you can throw, do combos with, and use to slash through enemies as you explore the different realms of the Norse Mythology. There are puzzles to solve, enemies to beat, and secrets to uncover. You might come into contact with some gods along the way, so the best bet is to tread carefully. Pick this game up; like, pick it up, please. It’s an amazing experience with infinitely more maturity than we’ve seen with the previous titles.
3. Path of Exile
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD3vNHmXf1Y&ab_channel=Throneful
In my opinion, this is the best experience an MMO ARPG can give you. Path of Exile, released in 2013 by Grinding Gear Games, is a top-down gameplay experience not unlike Diablo 3. However, I would argue that it is much more than that. Playing as an exile that has been cast to Wraeclast for your crimes, you are determined to come back to Oriath to seek revenge and find out more about the dark world you live in, discovering countless dark secrets along the way.
The game is fun and addicting, maybe too addicting, honestly. Looting and overall gear are everything, and the game has the most extensive and over-the-top skill tree I have ever seen. Like, look it up. It is an actual skill “tree”. You probably can count every leaf individually. You can customize your character with unique skills and create a different character that plays completely differently every playthrough. The game has a new expansion around every 3 months which completely resets the game and adds new content, which keeps things fresh. There is a living economy inside the game and the MMO experience is there, for sure. With extensive minigames and a highly detailed endgame with more content than you can imagine, no wonder people can easily dump more than 1000 hours into the game.
2. Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn_taKva-AQ&ab_channel=Lacry
Witcher 3, released in 2015 by CD Projekt Red, has created a new era for RPGs. Things like rich stories, quality graphics, and great voice acting, along with branching paths in the story have never been the same after the release of this masterpiece. With more than 100 hours of content, the game never feels old or stale. Playing as Geralt, you are tasked with finding Emperor Emhyr’s daughter, Cirilla. To do so, you will need to interact with the dark and unrelenting world of the Continent, filled with monsters or people that are even worse than those monsters.
The “RPG” in ARPG really shows in this game. While the combat system is nothing to write home about, the story is. The dialogues are extensive, and as you complete contracts as a Witcher, tasked with killing monsters for the right pay, you can choose the outcome of a lot of people, depending on your morals and the character you are playing as. You can follow the main story or go into the depths of the world and its intricately designed side quests, with two amazing DLCs to boot. One of the most integral ARPG experiences, I cannot recommend this game enough.
1. Bloodborne
Watch the gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJyc-sD1DiY&ab_channel=SourceSpy91
Okay, I lied. There is another From Software game in the list, and it is at the top of the list. Bloodborne, released in 2015 by From Software for the PlayStation 4 is, in my opinion, the very best video game ever made, at least from the ones I’ve played. You play as a nameless hunter, coming into Yharnam for an unknown reason. Probably the unluckiest chap, you choose the time to come into Yharnam in the night of the hunt. Tonight, beasts of every caliber will come out from the shadows to terrorize the entire place; and your job is to hunt them while exploring this nightmare you’ve found yourself in.
The game is difficult, but you already know that. Anyone who ever played a From Software game knows the infamy these games have. You will die to the same boss a few dozen times, but as your instincts sharpen, you become a more effective hunter and will overcome your prey in the end. Gothic roofs fill the horizon and as you progress, you will realize that Miyazaki also likes to read a bit of H. P. Lovecraft. Well, not a bit; but a lot. As you slay werewolves to find the answer, you will dive ever deeper into the world of Yharnam to find yourselves against Old Gods and the terror they bring with them. Will you barely survive, or will you be granted eyes to see beyond the veil of reality? Will you ever be the same after you’ve done so? Play, and find out (Play the DLC as well, it’s amazing).
