The best RPGs for PS5

If Final Fantasy 7 was the most important JRPG for the genre, Final Fantasy 14 is no doubt the most important MMORPG. The story of this game’s rise from broken mess to critical acclaim and top of the MMO genre as a whole is not one we need to repeat here, but well worth at least acknowledging. Not only was it a massive risk to make a mainline numbered Final Fantasy game an MMO, even after Final Fantasy 11 did decently, but not particularly well, but to make it work on consoles as well as PC was another thing entirely. Somehow, the team was able to translate one of the most complex genres there is onto a controller in such a way that it is not only viable but even preferable for a good portion of the player base. Just because Final Fantasy 14 is an MMO doesn’t mean it isn’t just as much a Final Fantasy game. Sure, there are your mindless grind quests here and there, but the main story content, of which there is now dozens upon dozens of hours worth, is considered to be among the best the series has ever told. Unlike other MMOs, Final Fantasy 14 put just as much time and care into crafting the game’s story over essentially a decade without sacrificing quality at any step. You will really feel involved in the events unfolding in ways other MMORPGs just don’t allow for. This is all not even mentioning all the races, classes, and jobs you can take on. Final Fantasy 14 is stellar in so many ways we simply don’t have time to go through it all.

Technically the seventh mainline Yakuza game, Yakuza: Like a Dragon smartly rebranded itself to appeal to new fans because of the massive change in gameplay. While the Yakuza games have always been RPGs of sorts, with more action brawler combat, the latest game tossed all that out in favor of a turn-based combat system. Not only that, but the game introduced a brand new protagonist, leaving Kazuma Kiryu, the star of the previous six mainline games, to rest and acquainting us with Ichiban Kasuga. What remains is the combination of an incredibly serious, gripping, and often dark story set in the familiar Kamurocho, set side by side with some of the most wacky, off-the-wall, and hilarious characters, dialogue, and side quests ever depicted in games. Initially being shown as an April Fool’s joke, the turn-based combat of Yakuza: Like a Dragon ended up being an amazing fit for the series and incredibly satisfying to play. The new protagonist and story make it a perfect entry point for RPG fans looking for something wholly unique in the genre. What other RPG is set in the modern day, following middle-aged men using umbrellas and bats as weapons and throwing birdseed at enemies to summon pigeons as spells? Aside from the lengthy main story, the amount of content in this game easily matches any traditional JRPG. Plus, the developers have already confirmed that moving forward, the Yakuza series proper (which will now simply be called Like a Dragon) will stick to this turn-based style of combat, with improvements and changes, obviously — but it will be a safe investment for RPG fans looking for a new series to dig into.

Initially, Disco Elysium was a PC exclusive title back in early 2019. It was kind of a cult hit, earning incredibly praise from everyone who played it, but didn’t quite reach the wider audience. Fast forward to the release of Disco Elysium: The Final Cut for PlayStation 5, and this already immaculate game became even better. The base game’s main strength was its writing, and that remains true in the PS5 version. There are lines written for everything. Not only does every character have something to say — and of course, they’re all deep and well written — and your character has multiple options for what they will say or do, but every skill you have also talks to your character. Depending on what you invest in, you will only see a fraction of all the writing in this game in a single playthrough. If that sounds like a ton of reading, well, it is. But, the final cut pulled off what might as well have been a miracle in voicing every single line of dialogue in the game. Considering how wide open this game is in terms of how you build your character, skill-wise and personality-wise, and how adaptive the game is to all of those choices, you could play this game at least two or three times and get essentially unique experiences every time. There is a mystery at the center to solve, but the way you go about it is totally up to you. There’s nothing else quite like Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, and odds are there won’t be anything like it ever again.

Not only were we blessed with a fantastic, yet brutal, RPG right at the PS5’s launch, but it also just happened to be a remake of the cult hit that essentially birthed the souls-borne genre. Demon’s Souls Remake is both the most accessible, and inaccessible souls game for different reasons, but stands as a must-play for just about everyone. Yes, if you know what type of game a Souls game is and aren’t into it, this game probably won’t change your mind. If you love the difficult, slower, and more methodical style of RPG then this is the perfect one to start with, or experience for the first time if you missed it on PS3. Obviously, this game is a remake of the old 2009 game, but BluePoint didn’t just give it an almost unbelievably good-looking new coat of paint but also sanded down some of the original’s sharper edges. Gameplay-wise, Demon’s Souls Remake is nearly identical to the original, save for multi-directional rolling and a few other minor tweaks. As an RPG, this one fits the genre more for how it allows you to build your character. Sure, you can influence the story in numerous ways, in fact, more ways than you would think or even know without a guide, but the gameplay is the main draw here. You can build yourself to be a quick spear user, smash enemies with a giant two-handed sword, or cast spells or miracles from a distance. The world is such a beautifully bleak place, and designed so specifically, that you’ll want to give a new build a try just to go through it all again.

Ubisoft took the Assassin’s Creed series in a new direction starting with Assassin’s Creed: Origins. Rather than sticking to the same combat formula the series had been iterating on since the beginning, they revamped it by injecting many more RPG systems, such as leveling, gear, and skill trees. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is the third game to follow that new design philosophy and is the best one you can pick up on your PS5. The combat is slick, brutal, and satisfying, the world is vast and beautiful, and new management systems help make your character feel like a true Viking leader. The main story itself is on the weaker side, unfortunately, but you can still get dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of enjoyment just exploring everything else the game has to offer. If you’ve played Origins or Odyssey, the basics of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla will be familiar to you. You fight to level up, learn new skills, get new gear through exploration and as rewards, and slowly expand across a massive map with increasingly strong enemies. While this game probably has the lightest RPG elements on the list, you essentially just need to worry about your character level and gear to make it through, it’s everything surrounding the core system that make it a great RPG. The amount of work and detail packed into this historic setting, and as much adherence to real history as you could expect from a game, really sell the feeling of being a Viking.

We already mentioned one FromSoftware game, but Elden Ring is an entirely different beast. This game took the world by storm when it was released, captivating fans of the Souls genre and newcomers alike with its impeccable design. Yes, it is still based in the tough, methodical combat sensibilities of a Dark Souls game, but that’s paired with the freedom and open-ended nature of an open-world RPG. What this results in is a game that allows you to have much greater control over the difficulty than a normal Souls experience. If you’re finding a boss too hard, there are at least a dozen other places to go, bosses to fight, items to find, and secrets to uncover while you get stronger. The addition of Ashes to summon for help and the return of co-op further increase accessibility. This is also by far the largest, longest, and most content-rich experience the studio has ever created. With so many build possibilities, this is one game that absolutely lives up to the hype.

We’ve branched out to a lot of genres with RPGs, mostly action-based, but Outriders is the strongest pick for an RPG shooter. Sure, even Call of Duty has had RPG elements for years now, but that doesn’t count. Outriders is as much an RPG as it is a third-person shooter. You choose your class, each with its own skills, skill trees, strengths, weaknesses, and appearance. Guns are your most consistent form of damage dealing, but your abilities are where things really get fun. The Pyromancer, for example, has tons of flame-based attacks, while the Trickster bends time and space to deal highly damaging attacks at close range. The story is lackluster, we won’t even pretend it’s not. This is an RPG you’re playing because you want to play an RPG. That means you like leveling up, building your character, and finding and upgrading loot. Guns and armor are the other main component of this game, like a Destiny 2, but unlike a live service game, Outriders wasn’t made to keep you playing forever, and we appreciate that. You can hit max level, do everything in the game, and actually feel accomplished at the end of it. Thankfully the game has been patched since launch and runs much better, and has basically all the bugs fixed, plus can be played co-op. If you’re looking for some mindless fun in a somewhat Diablo-like style of game, Outriders doesn’t waste your time.