The Best Single Player PC RPG Games of the Last 10-ish Years

[Vayra86]

No love for Divinity OS1 ?. AI is much better in the 1st one.

Kinda loved ME but they seemed to improve some thing and mess up some thing else that was good in one of the other(s).

I liked OS1, but it was also... I don't know. It felt a bit too indie and some sequences were just horrible to play. OS2 felt like AAA goodness, while still being original and improving on part 1 with new tricks.

 

[Deleted member 158293]

I should get back to playing it, got distracted playing another game.

It's worth it IMO, fun to play & relax to a good story.

 

[Vayra86]

I'm probably going to catch some flack for saying this but Skyrim was overrated. The best ES game was Morrowind and a close runner up was Oblivion.

Yes, I know neither were in the list.

I agree completely. I finished Morrowind, Oblivion's main questlines, but Skyrims... tough as old boots. I also didn't quite like the whole setting and world compared to the others. Not quite as exotic. And on top of that, the engine, a graphics update but still the same crap underneath while killing most of the interesting skills and builds. Combat is utterly boring and what you can actually do is pretty limited. No spellcrafting, for example...

 

[moproblems99]

The problem I have with TW3 is the hand holding.

I don't disagree with you on that.

 

[Vayra86]

I don't disagree with you on that.

Yeah its pretty brainless a game, really. I think the strength of TW3 is the immersion. In that sense I much prefer the actual gameplay that for example, Divinity offers. It truly invites you to get creative, not just in controlled moments, but at every step of the way. And its still a controlled environment of sorts, every outcome makes some sort of sense.

 

[Wattery Fowls]

Ive been playing a new vegas mod known as New California and i just think its great that this game still has the support it has and they are still to finish the mod (story is good though).

 

[moproblems99]

I agree completely. I finished Morrowind, Oblivion's main questlines, but Skyrims... tough as old boots.

My biggest problem was that it sounded like the story was written has a seven year old's school assignment asking what kind of super hero they would be. I felt like I knew everything that was going to happen before it happened. Morrowind was my favorite game ever until TW3.

I think the strength of TW3 is the immersion.

When I was in the middle of the story, I felt like I could call up Triss or Zoltan and ask if they wanted to go get toasted and crack some skulls. They had absolute fantastic story telling which has ruined nearly every other game I have played. since.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I'm probably going to catch some flack for saying this but Skyrim was overrated. The best ES game was Morrowind and a close runner up was Oblivion.

Yes, I know neither were in the list.

Wow, Skyrim was trash compared to TW3. It wasn't even better than Morrowind that came 8 years before it.

I agree completely. I finished Morrowind, Oblivion's main questlines, but Skyrims... tough as old boots. I also didn't quite like the whole setting and world compared to the others. Not quite as exotic. And on top of that, the engine, a graphics update but still the same crap underneath while killing most of the interesting skills and builds. Combat is utterly boring and what you can actually do is pretty limited. No spellcrafting, for example...

In the meantime despite modding up Morrowind to be more modern, after trying the ancient game engine and mechanics without mods, it just feels like an exercise in clumsiness, like going to work at a soul-sucking job. Oblivion I loved, played about 500 hours back in the disc-based days.

Skyrim meanwhile is fully modded up. I have full graphics mods, and the max number of mods (255) perfectly balanced and stable. I have dozens of extra dungeons, 4 new world areas, additional towns, castles and an appropriate amount of npc’s of all types to fill the world that Bethesda didn’t think needed any people. Mods affecting behavior and speech. Dozens of quests weapons and crafting plus the king of all mods, the most realistic npc ever probably in a game: Inigo.

In short, I can’t help but feel you all have shortchanged yourselves and missed out on the experience it can be. It’s given me 1,089 hours so far.

 

[biffzinker]

In the meantime despite modding up Morrowind to be more modern, after trying the ancient game engine and mechanics without mods, it just feels like an exercise in clumsiness,

There is Skywind to look forward to when it's done.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_Renewal_Project#Skywind

 

[rtwjunkie]

There is Skywind to look forward to when it's done.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_Renewal_Project#Skywind

You’re right! I AM looking forward to it! If they EVER finish.

 

[moproblems99]

In the meantime despite modding up Morrowind to be more modern, after trying the ancient game engine and mechanics without mods, it just feels like an exercise in clumsiness, like going to work at a soul-sucking job. Oblivion I loved, played about 500 hours back in the disc-based days.

Skyrim meanwhile is fully modded up. I have full graphics mods, and the max number of mods (255) perfectly balanced and stable. I have dozens of extra dungeons, 4 new world areas, additional towns, castles and an appropriate amount of npc’s of all types to fill the world that Bethesda didn’t think needed any people. Mods affecting behavior and speech. Dozens of quests weapons and crafting plus the king of all mods, the most realistic npc ever probably in a game: Inigo.

In short, I can’t help but feel you all have shortchanged yourselves and missed out on the experience it can be. It’s given me 1,089 hours so far.

I have been waiting for Skywind but I think Start Citizen will be in beta before that happens.

Keep in mind, my feelings from Morrowind are when it was cutting edge. I tried playing it a year or so ago and even with mods I couldn't get the graphics where I wanted them, unsurprisingly. I probably put 200hr or so in Skyrim so it isn't like I didn't play it and enjoy it at the time. It just doesn't hold candles to TW3. I was also REALLY excited about TES6 but that all flew out the window when they announced their development plans.

I bought ESO: Morrowind too and jsut couldn't get into it either. Not as a solo player.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I have been waiting for Skywind but I think Start Citizen will be in beta before that happens.

LOL! Yeah, it’s beginning to feel that way.

 

[moproblems99]

LOL! Yeah, it’s beginning to feel that way.

I was all set to contribute on the project but I have enough trouble sitting down to read so I didn't want to be a scapegoat for delaying the project

 

[Vayra86]

In the meantime despite modding up Morrowind to be more modern, after trying the ancient game engine and mechanics without mods, it just feels like an exercise in clumsiness, like going to work at a soul-sucking job. Oblivion I loved, played about 500 hours back in the disc-based days.

Skyrim meanwhile is fully modded up. I have full graphics mods, and the max number of mods (255) perfectly balanced and stable. I have dozens of extra dungeons, 4 new world areas, additional towns, castles and an appropriate amount of npc’s of all types to fill the world that Bethesda didn’t think needed any people. Mods affecting behavior and speech. Dozens of quests weapons and crafting plus the king of all mods, the most realistic npc ever probably in a game: Inigo.

In short, I can’t help but feel you all have shortchanged yourselves and missed out on the experience it can be. It’s given me 1,089 hours so far.

I've tried it many times, reinstalling Skyrim, scouring Nexusmods for a crapload of mods, spending an evening sorting it all out... and then getting bored in the game after a few hours. I want to lose myself in the world, but it just doesn't appeal to me. At the same time, I clocked over 600 hours in ESO...

 

[AsRock]

Yeah its pretty brainless a game, really. I think the strength of TW3 is the immersion. In that sense I much prefer the actual gameplay that for example, Divinity offers. It truly invites you to get creative, not just in controlled moments, but at every step of the way. And its still a controlled environment of sorts, every outcome makes some sort of sense.

The part that helped TW3 was the fact that you could always walk in to some thing way more powerful than your self, keeping you more alert.

I liked OS1, but it was also... I don't know. It felt a bit too indie and some sequences were just horrible to play. OS2 felt like AAA goodness, while still being original and improving on part 1 with new tricks.

The ai in OS2 were bs half the time doing shit like spamming. but i have not played it for a good while now and did notice a few patches since i last played it so maybe they made it better since then.

 

[bbmarley]

Rage, GTA V, Bioshock not on the list

 

[siluro818]

The Witcher 3 & Skyrim are classics for a reason, so can't ignore those. But the best are Divinity & Dark Souls - and by a large margin at that. These games achieved things previously thought unthinkable. Or at least their original releases did. Which begs the question - why put DS3 in and not the first Dark Souls which is the far superior title? You put ME2 instead of ME3...

 

[EntropyZ]

Skyrim>Dark Souls 3>Mass Effect 2

Diablo 3 didn't hold a candle to Diablo II, the only improvement was graphics and quality of life things, in fact I think you got less content overall. I never played TW3 and any FO:NV playthrough with mods starts and ends tragically when the game keeps crashing, although I would say story/quest-side FO:NV smashes Skyrim completely, even Oblivion quests were funnier and had more thought put into them, I could still enjoy the game as janky as it was. I think they were taking Skyrim way too serious and didn't experiment as much.

 

[Metroid]

no borderlands in that list? Strange.

Fallout new vegas and skyrim are my top games in your list. I myself like more old jrpg's, jrpg's nowadays are very different.

 

[Vayra86]

Rage, GTA V, Bioshock not on the list

Minesweeper and Patience also missing. Are you aware of what RPG means?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I will name the very underrated Alpha Protocol.

And my disappointment that it isn't listed but it is more of an action RPG than a traditional RPG.


The Witcher 3...It's a good game but I struggle to call it the best. One thing that comes to mind is how useless the crossbow is. It's only purpose, really, is to bring flying enemies to the ground. Also saw bugs aplenty especially associated with water. I'm not a real fan of fantasy games because they tend to rehash the same concepts over and over. I found that true to be true of Witcher 3 but the Heart of Stone expansion did really stand out for its writing--it was almost...poetic. Music is excellent. Bringing in Percival to add some authentic Polish flare was a stroke of genius. There really isn't enough of symphonic cultural movements and Witcher 3 has one of them. A Celtic Link is the only other that comes to mind. I think I would name Witcher 2 over Witcher 3 simply because it has so little filler and so much main narrative. That's a perpetual price of open-world games that Witcher 2 struck a good balance on.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim...Also a good game but I struggle to call it the best. The game is so buggy without the unofficial patch, and the autogen'd quests suck. I think the main problem I have with Skyrim is the world is too big for its own good (just like Fallout 3/NV/4). Get too far off the beaten path and everything feels samey. The autogen'd quests amplify the sameiness instead of masking it. The main story, like Witcher 3, is quite meh, but like Witcher 3, Dawnguard stood out to be for writing. It's not as good as Heart of Stone but it was a diamond in the rough, I thought.

Divinity: Original Sin 2...Haven't played but will eventually. I really liked Divinity: Original Sin. The co-op take on story-driven RPGs was novel.

Pillars of Eternity...Haven't played and...don't really want to. Not sure why.

Dragon Age: Origins...This game is actually very, very, very tempting to say it was the best. I replayed it so many times and every time, found stuff I missed before. Yeah...it's samey RPG fantasy material but this game has the immersion factor that most others on this list don't have. Pretty much everything about it is memorable for me and the only bad thing I really have to say about it is how bad the loading times got in the mines. It has so many plot twists and they all matter in their own way.

Dark Souls...Never played and never will.

Neverwinter Nights 2...A game released in 2006, seriously?

Mass Effect 2...Mass Effect 2 was the worst of the trilogy so...hell no.

Diablo III...I can't stand dungeon crawlers.

Fallout: New Vegas...Probably still the best Fallout game to date but like Witcher 3 and Skyrim, I struggle to call it the "best" RPG.


There's three games not mentioned that my brain is sticking on: Shadowrun: Dragonfall (Shadowrun: Hong Kong deserves honorable mention...Duncan is so grating) and Seven: The Days Long Gone (on sale now for $18).

 

[64K]

Rage, GTA V, Bioshock not on the list

GTA V was an action adventure game. Bioshock and Rage were First Person Shooters.

 

[moproblems99]

Heart of Stone expansion did really stand out for its writing--it was almost...poetic.

I loved the Heart of Stone.

 

[droopyRO]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution i would add that to the list. Witcher 3, Mass Effect, Dragon Age Origins, NWN 2 i sunk hundreds of hours in this games.

 

[Fizban]

Diablo III either shouldn't be in the list, or Path of Exile should be.

I'd be fine with neither being listed as ARPG's aren't really "RPG's" in the technical sense, but of the two I'd definitely consider Path of Exile to be the superior ARPG.

Wow, Skyrim was trash compared to TW3. It wasn't even better than Morrowind that came 8 years before it.

Terrible mindset. Games don't need to be better than predecessors to be good.

Almost no game ever has been better than Morrowind, it doesn't make 99.9% of games trash.

I liked OS1, but it was also... I don't know. It felt a bit too indie and some sequences were just horrible to play. OS2 felt like AAA goodness, while still being original and improving on part 1 with new tricks.

OS 2 is still a very Indie feeling game. I like the game, I am not saying it is bad - but it has flaws I'd consider unacceptable in a game that had a larger budget.

Its tooltip damage for numerous skills is just flat out wrong. Slowdown Arrow and Knockdown Arrow for example show absolute bogus damage, to get your real damage you have to take what is displayed and divide by your warfare bonus. Similarly the infusion skills show what benefit you'd get if you had 0 in summoning rather than what you get with your actual summoning.

If you need 3 pyro to memorize a spell and you have three, and remove a piece of gear that gave +1, and replace it with a different piece of gear that also gives +1, it un-memorizes spells that required 3 pyro.

Its inventory management is terrible.

There's just a lot of small gripes with the game that I am happy to tolerate because the game has a 2-3 million dollar budget, but that I'd consider completely unacceptable if it had a proper AAA budget.