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Fantasy role-playing games have been around since the early days of gaming, with classic games like The Legend of Zelda, Ultima, Final Fantasy serving as a blueprint for the genre. These games are either set in a fantastical setting or have such elements in their story and gameplay.
From classic dungeon crawlers and adventure titles to massively multiplayer online role-playing games, fantasy RPGs are one of, if not the most played video game genres around the globe.
With a number of pre-established and upcoming titles to choose from, it gets understandably difficult for newcomers to pick the perfect fantasy RPG for themselves. So, to make the task a little easier, we have compiled a list of some top-tier fantasy role-playing games that players should try out in 2022.
5 best fantasy role-playing games to sink countless hours in
1) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Based on books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher 3 is one of the best role-playing games out there. With a unique blend of quests and open world design, the game is bound to keep players hooked from the get-go.
In Witcher 3, there is more quality storytelling in even the most mundane of side quests than what some games have in their main storylines.
Players take on the role of Geralt of Rivia, a witcher trained in the art of slaying monsters. Geralt is reviled by most of the townsfolk of this mythical land, due to him being a mutant.
At the same time, he also seems to be required by every other person in need, be it to either kill a noonwraith and put its soul to rest or to find a lost rusty-old frying pan.
There’s a ton to be done and discovered in this game. Players can spend hours either going out to hunt legendary monsters or seeking out hidden armor sets and weapons tucked away in hard-to-reach areas.
With an exceptionally great mix of tough but fair combat, a variety of quests, and an amazingly well-written story with some very difficult choices, the Witcher 3 will keep players immersed for hours on end.
Once the main story is done, there’s even more content waiting for players with the addition of two major story expansions that rival the quality and quantity of most full-priced games. Suffice to say, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one fantasy role-playing game players should not miss out on.
2) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
At this point, one has to be living under a rock to not know about or have played Skyrim. It is one of the most influential role-playing games of the seventh console generation. So much so that this very game has been adapted and re-released on almost every modern gaming platform till date.
Yes, the visuals of the vanilla game are quite dated and the game can feel a little buggy at times. That’s something that comes with the game being almost a decade old now. Looking past these shortcomings, however, players can find one of the best role-playing experiences that any video game can provide.
Skyrim is the poster child of role-playing games that lets the players be anyone, do anything, and go anywhere in the game’s world. Players can assume the role of anyone, a warrior, a wizard, a mercenary or even a thief, and go on an adventure of their own.
The game actively encourages players to explore the world of Skyrim rather than funneling them into a linear story. Players are free to complete seemingly endless quests in the game in whichever order they desire.
Skyrim offers a wide range of armor sets and weapons for players to personalize their own experience. This comes with a nifty combat system that compliments whichever class the players decide to roleplay as.
With all this added to an amazing storyline, players can entirely skip past the first 30 to 40 hours, should they choose to do so. Skyrim, hands down, is one of the best fantasy role-playing games out there, and is well worth playing while waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6.
3) Monster Hunter World
Monster Hunter World is the fifth mainline installment of Capcom's long-running Monster Hunter series. In these games, as the name suggests, players are tasked with hunting various monsters occupying the game’s world. The franchise, despite having a very positive critical reception as well as featuring an amazing depiction of role-play, never sold that well.
This was in part due to the very steep learning curve, and at times, unforgiving difficulty of these games. However, with Monster Hunter World, Capcom decided to make substantial changes to the gameplay and accessibility front with the hopes of attracting a broader audience.
For the most part, it paid off really well in favor of Capcom, as Monster Hunter World became the single best-selling game in the company's history.
It has plenty of monsters for players to track and hunt, with every monster having its own unique strengths and weaknesses. Players are also given a large assortment of weapons to choose from, with each weapon having its own associated playstyle.
Experimenting with different weapons and taking down huge, snarling beasts will keep players engaged for hours. Add to that the numerous armor sets and weapon upgrades to craft, Monster Hunter World is sure to get them excited for every hunt.
There is also a massive expansion to the base game of Monster Hunter World called Iceborne that adds a boatload of new monsters, weapons, and armor.
The game also has the added benefit of having a seamless multiplayer mode that lets players enjoy hunting with their friends in co-op, making it the perfect role-playing game to try out with friends.
4) Divinity Original Sin 2
Divinity Original Sin 2 is a love letter to fans of classic pen-and-paper RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons. The game boasts a rich cast of characters and a gripping narrative where every choice has its consequences. Despite being a sequel set in the same universe as the original game, the title is a standalone experience.
The game has several preset characters to choose from or players can instead choose to create their custom avatar with a choice for their stats, gender, race and backstory. There is also the option of creating an undead character for any of the available races.
The combat is turn-based with nuanced mechanics to make every encounter feel fresh. In combat, the environment plays a key role as it can be used to influence or hinder the potency of attacks and spells.
For instance, if the player chooses to use electrical attacks in the presence of water, it would amplify the base damage of the attack. Similarly, there are many other such interactions that players can use to their advantage.
The game also features both local and online multiplayer, for competitive and cooperative game modes. Divinity Original Sin 2 is the ideal game to relive the classic D&D adventures and is a must-play role-playing game.
5) Elden Ring
Elden Ring is undoubtedly the best Soulslike game ever made. Coming from developer FromSoftware and sharing a lot in common with the Dark Souls trilogy of games, it took the world by storm. With overwhelmingly positive reception from both critics and players alike, Elden Ring quickly became the company’s fastest and best-selling game to date.
Integrating the Dark Souls formula with the open world is just ingenious. Elden Ring took everything the previous FromSoftware games did, evolved certain aspects from them and took them into an open-world setting. The amount of things to do and discoveries to make in this game is staggering to say the least.
Players are free to explore these vast lands as soon as they finish creating their custom Tarnished. The sense of freedom in this game is unparalleled. Paired with a visceral and satisfying combat system and a diverse array of weapons to choose from, Elden Ring is the quintessential action-RPG to play for any role-playing game aficionado.
Elden Ring also houses a very intriguing story regarding the titular Elden Ring’s shattering and the demigods of the Lands Between.
In keeping with the FromSoftware tradition, most of the lore in the Elden Ring is explained using item descriptions and NPC interactions. Thus, a second or even a third playthrough of the game comes highly recommended to piece the story together.
Elden Ring is the natural evolution of FromSoftware’s Dark Souls games, and it will be interesting to see how they expand upon these ideas in their future projects. Until then, players interested in a quality fantasy role-playing game should definitely try the title.
