Best RPG PC Games – Top 10 PC RPG Games
In a previous article, I talked about the 10 Best RPG Games for consoles and PCs. This list was obviously comprised of games that were solely released for consoles, or solely released for PCs, or released for both. It was also a top ten list that I saw that was created by someone else. Here is my own personal list of the top 10 PC RPG games. For this list, I used the following rules:
- The game must be available on the PC.
- The game must not be an MMORPG.
- The game must be considered an RPG.
- Only one game per game series can be chosen (i.e. There cannot be three Final Fantasy games on this list)
Here is my own personal list of the top 10 PC RPG games.
10 – Might & Magic 6: The Mandate of Heaven – This game is considered to be one of the best of the long-running Might & Magic series. The game came out in 1998 and was praised for its interactive and detailed game world, user-friendly premise, non-linear game play, and bug-free initial release.
9 – Planescape: Torment – Released in December 1999, the game won RPG of the Year and Game of the Year by several different reviewers. The game is considered one of the best implementations of an evil character in RPGs up to that point. Although not a significant commercial success, the game received high acclaim upon release.
8 – Baldur’s Gate – The game received top scores from nearly every gaming publication upon its release. It won both Game of the Year and RPG of the Year in 1998. Baldur’s Gate was the first in a three title series before the story arc was concluded.
7 – Neverwinter Nights – NWN won E3 awards in 2000, 2001, and 2002. It met with very positive reviews and was praised as “having something for everyone”. The game was originally built on a model similar to MMORPGs but allowed the end users to host the servers.
6 – Diablo – Blizzard released this title in 1996. It received extremely high ratings from nearly all game reviewers and was even named Game of the Year by several game reviewers. Diablo has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.
5 – Fable: The Lost Chapters – Released in 2005 and published by Microsoft, the game received critical acclaim from the very beginning. It was the top selling game upon its release and ended up selling over two million copies in just over two years.
4 – Final Fantasy VII – FFVII has been credited with allowing console role-playing games to find a place in markets outside of Japan. This game is considered the most popular in one of the most popular game series ever. Although some consider it overrated, the game was both a critical and commercial success.
3 – Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – The third installment of the Elder Scroll series was released in 2002. It sold more than four million copies and won more than sixty awards, including several Game of the Year awards. The game had high review scores and spawned multiple expansions and follow-up games.
2 – Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – One of the highest scoring RPGs ever, Star Wars: KotOR won numerous awards including Game of the Year, best console RPG, and best computer RPG. The game is considered to have of the best video game plot twists of all time.
1 – Fallout 3 – An action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios. Fallout 3 sold over 610,000 units during its initial month of release. It has won awards for Game of the Year, Best PC Game, Best Xbox 360 Game, Best RPG, and many more awards. It definitely is one of the top RPG games recently, if not the best RPG game ever.
Overall, this is a very solid list for the category of ‘Best RPG Games For PC”. As I stated in the beginning of the article, it doesn’t include the best online RPG games, such as MMORPGs like World of Warcraft. In my opinion, that is another list entirely. In the end, each player will have to choose what they consider to be the best RPG games.
Fable – 5, ahead of planescape torment and baldur’s gate
Fallout 3 – 1, while fallout 1 and 2 aren’t even on the list, and ahead of all the other genre-defining rpgs in the list
Something’s dramatically wrong with this list
@ Boris – I created a rule that only one game per series could be chosen. That is why Fallout 3 is on there, while Fallout 1 & 2 aren’t. Fallout 3 is the newest game on this list, but I think given time you will see a lot of other games follow what it has done.
As for the placement of Fable versus Planscape: Torment and Baldur’s Gate, I think Baldur’s Gate could definitely be higher. Planescape: Torment, while a great game, is one that a lot of people actually haven’t heard of or played even as good as it is.
Since when did fable come out in 1996? The xbox wasnt even out in 1996, and fable was an xbox exclusive title for a long time
@ Will – That was a typo, thanks for catching that. The actual release date was in 2004. There actually was a Fable game though that came out in 1996. Definitely not the one we’re discussing on the list though.
Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t the original Fable only for the Xbox still? You should change that entry to the expanded version, Fable: The Lost Chapters, which widened its platform coverage to include Windows PCs. The expanded version was released the following year, 2005.
@ Ian – You’re not wrong, Ian. Totally correct. I added “The Lost Chapters” to make sure there was no confusion between the non-expanded Xbox version and the expanded PC version.
MM6 Indeed ,Either number 1 ,or at least in the top 5
for sure. The other might and magic games do not even come close to MM6 its a great game.
Ultima under world + Ultima 4 – 7 great games too
Lands of lore is another game it has a lot to offer when your in the dungeons you will feel them shake when the earth tremors.
Planescape Torment very good game
Never winter nights
Something went wrong in modern games they concentrated too much on 3 d graphics and not on the game play and design.
I’d rather play a 2 d great game than a modern 3 d game that has poor game play and or poor game design,which it appears most of them are stricken with.
If the game does not include high adventure and lots of dungeon crawls. Most of all lots of surprises as in Lands of lore it just isn’t as fun. the screen should shake when the earth tremors.
monsters should come from the dark to surprise you.
the people making games today are doing it as a job and the greatness is lost today.
Lands of lore and Ultima underworld stand as my favorites with Might and magic 6 close behind as it too had lots of hidden places to discover ,though much less so than the aforementioned .
@ David – Thanks for the comments. I try to keep an open mind with newer RPGs, but I definitely think older ones have some intangible aspect that I can’t put my finger on. Maybe it is just nostalgia. Might & Magic and Ultima are the true old school RPGs to me.
fallout 3 and kotor? u didnt play enough rpg’s -_-
@ McGiLL – They both won RPG of the Year and Game of the Year in their respective release times. Do you have suggestions?
Hello there
I have to thank you for including Baldur’s Gate 1 there. I still play that game to this day, and love it. In my opinion only, the best game ever made. No mather how old a game gets, Great Games are immortal, and will stand above forever.
But i’m a little sad you chose Fallout3 over 2. Surely, you have played 1 or 2? The story, gameplay, and atmosphere of those 2 are incredible, have them in original, love them.
I agree with some of the titles. MM6 was indeead a great game, though I enjoyed 5 and 7 aswell. Kotor was indeed a great game. I’m also a huge fan of the AD&D RPG’s and Baldur’s gate was indeed a masterpiece (Shadows of amn and ToB too).
However, I don’t agree with Fable. I played it, it was a good game and a nice RPG, but nowhere near other titles.
As a few suggestions: Jagged Alliance 2 as one of the older masterpieces, although it’s not a 100% pure RPG.
The Witcher as one of the best RPG’s i’ve put my hands on lately.
I also recommend TES: Morrowing, and Vampire: The masquerade (Bloodlines was a bit dissapointing for me).
NWN wasn’t a bad game, but it wasn’t as good as other titles in the genre.
I also think Icewind Dale is worth mentioning, and for those of you that remember, The Eye of the Beholder.
Not a bad list though
I don’t agree with you. On this list should be Icewind dale, lionheart, gothic, witcher, dragon age, sacred, dungeon siege, morrowind, neverwinter nights, fallout
@ luc – Baldur’s Gate rocks. As for Fallout, I think which one you prefer is definitely up to the player. I think they’re all great, but if I could only play one I’d choose Fallout 3.
@ Syrocc – I like the additional suggestions that you made, although I haven’t played them all. So you’ve given me a few more games to put on my list of RPGs I need to play.
@ bobeczak – Thanks for the suggestions. That’s definitely a solid list that you’ve created as well.
FF7 was not an RPG
@ John_hat – I would disagree. Unless you are talking about a different FF game than I am. Sometimes the different numbering in the Japanese versions versus the North American versions can get twisted up.
John: The whole Final Fantasy series is made up of RPG’s. It’s actually impossible for any FF game to this day to not be an RPG.
Great list, Loved fallout 3 and KoTOR. But (and I know people are going to hate me for this) why isn’t pokemon on here. Like pokemon red or blue. Pokemon games that follow red and blue are considered RPGs.
I’d probably remove FFVII from that list, considering that it has made it’s name as a console RPG.
Diablo deserves to be in the list because the impact it made at the time was huge and certainly had the greatest influence on how RPGs would be developed on the PC in the future.
In retrospect, the pre-Diablo PC RPGs that are notable include the Ultima Series and the SSI/TSR Games. These were the typical PC RPGs, which tended to be a little time consuming when doing menial tasks. I was raised on those games, well when they were ported to the Commodore 64, mostly in the late 80s.
I haven’t played FallOut or Star Wars, mostly because I’ve tended to favour Medieval Fantasy type settings.
A great list
Firstly why is Roleplaying the only genre where you can add other genres? And is it because there are so few real RPG’s that the media don’t even know what an RPG is?
So firstly, Diablo is a hack’n'slash RPG. That is a different genre.
Secondly, just because Fallout 3 uses laser guns does not mean it’s an Action-RPG. It is just an RPG set in a Sci-Fi universe! Has anyone called Oblivion or Fable or Witcher a ‘RPG-Sworder’, like some have called Fallout 3 an RPG-Shooter’?!!
The lack of knowledge of what a real RPG get larger everyday. And that means we will get less real RPG’s. This was how the Adventure genre disappeared by pretending Action-Adventures were really adventures. Now we have got to the point were Assassins Creed is called an Action-Adventure!!!
That’s how they do it. Dilute a genre until it disappears.
great point, will we ever get another myst or grim fandango?
Diablo sold 2.5 million copies. Think how many ppl used computers in 1996 and compare that to 2009…
David replied on the 12th and summed it perfectly. I would like to see a combination of MYST puzzles with lots of slashing.
What’ so great about Fallout 3? Personally i found it fun, but nowhere near as good as Oblivion. It was too easy to complete and the map was too deserted.
P.S. The best console RPG ever is Shadowrun on the SNES.
UK_John Adventure games aren’t dead. They are actually doing quite well, some of the best ever made have been in the last couple years. It’s just that most of them are released around 10 bucks. Dreamcatcher in particular is well known for supporting the adventure genre.
can’t see gothic2 here ?
fallout 3 is no question best game ever made oblivion is good though
The Witcher shoud be in the top 5 on this list, but I don’t see it!!!
demon’s souls tops all rpg’s i have ever played. definitely should be on the list. Fundamental fighting mechanics are not rivaled by any of the other games mentioned. Also won game spot’s game of the year. Truly Unique…
I have played every game on the list except for KoToR and M&M 6 (although I did play M&M 8 and it was one of my favorite PC games ever), so I can’t comment on those, but everything else on the list seems good. But I didn’t enjoy Fallout 3 too much. I played it on the X-Box and it just seemed too repetitive… too much walking around. And, am I the only one here who absolutely hated The Witcher? For me personally, the list would look like: gothic 3, diablo 2, elder scrolls 3 morrowind, neverwinter nights, dungeon siege, fable the lost chapters [in no particular order]. My favorite RPG’s were all SNES games though (like lufia 2, shadowrun, secret of evermore, mario RPG, etc) so don’t take my opinion to heart
Funny how you say “but I think given time you will see a lot of other games follow what it has done.” when Fallout 3 is practically Oblivion in the Fallout setting. Doubly so when Oblivion isn’t even on the list, I agree however that Morrowind is the better one.
About the list, you have some solid titles, order is a bit messed up. I’d have liked to see some mention of Arcanum, Wizardry. Vampire: Bloodlines is perhaps a bit too buggy to be included but with the community patches I’d count it in any top 10. Also, no Fable.
Surely Bioshock or Bioshock 2 is another example of an epic modern rpg?
This list is a fucking disgrace. Fallout 3 was barely an RPG. The stats are useless, SPECIAL is broken, there are no consequences to your choices, and all moral choices are black and white. It’s honestly the worst WRPG I’ve ever played. Only casual gamers who don’t even like WRPGs would like it.
Massively fucking overrated.
My list
1 Final Fantasy 7 [the only FF beside 9 that has no annoying elements such as blicball or juntion or Vaan and is pure fun and it had to be one right ] the Japanese make better games than westerners period.
]
2 Diablo [It's Diablo
3 Dragon Age [A final fantasy 12 clone merged with a Mass effect aproach to storyteling]
4 Mass Effect [A revamped KOTOR with ala Final Fantasy kinematics and superb sci fi script
5 Lionhart Legacy of the crusader [I truly enjoyed this game]
6 Fable [Is what games like Oblivion and Morovind ,Fallout 3 even the Witcher lack, a large world in a third person perspective with easygoing and pleasant interaction with world and characters and refined combat [Bow and Arow shooting done right] whiteout GRIND and for that i salute it even thou it has it’s drawbacks]
7 Borderlands [Why you ask ??? Well first of i can say i like the hole first person shooter RPG i think it has potential and while Fallout 3 was an absolute bore fest from start to finish I absolutely enjoyed this game even thou it lacks basic rpg elements ]
8 Deus Ex [exelence]
why not sacred gold edition not sacred 2
Fallout 3 doesn’t deserve to be up there. Either of the originals would’ve been a better choice. Tactics would’ve been a better choice (even though it technically isn’t an rpg). Hell, even New Vegas (buggy as it is) is a better representative of the franchise than 3.
3 has no charm, no soul. It’s empty, a husk with a PipBoy.
Zork. Anyone?
A lot of interesting points here; firstly here’s my list…
10. Fable (Why? Because despite the MANY issues with this game (missing content in particular) it made a bold and, I would say, successful addition to the Genre at a time when RPGs where pecariously under-represented in the market. It rejuvinated the Good vs. Evil and character development aspects of the game.)
9. M&M 6
8. Diablo (Now I don’t particular care for Diablo, but as has been mentioned it had a major impact of RPG development. It is a hack and slash (like Dungeon Siege); it does have some story telling and character development this is secondary and not particularly engaging. Nevertheless, I would class it as a RPG. That does not condone the games which followed its success with ever more action orientated ‘RPGs’)
7. Ultima VII (The Ultima series is owed a great debt, not just by RPGs but for bringing us the first truly successful MMORPG. But tracking back a few titles to 7 we find the crowning gem of Lord British and the Avatar’s adventures. The mere size of the game, and the first develope use of a party in RPGs mae this a standout game.)
6. TES: Morrowind (The Elder Scrolls are a tough one to pick. The vast, rich game worlds are beautiful and awe-inspiring. In fact sometimes they are a bit overwhelming, especially after a 30 minute hike by foot across the island. The stats system, where experience was gain by using certain skills, is interesting and allows for good character development, and the very free form design allows for good replay value. But ultimately there is a distinct lacking – NPCs and story seem flat and more part of the scenery than truly engaging characters.)
5. Final Fantasy VII (The game to brought the JRPG to the world, and still probably the best written one. Powerful, engaging story, convincing characters, vareity in gameplay (strat elements, turn based combat, etc) – FFVII is a great game. The only reason it only comes in at 5 for me is that, like many JRPGs, it is very linear and thereby not so replayable.)
4. Betrayl at Krondor (Here’s an oldie but a goodie! Essentially just a highly engaging, story driven game, with innovative combat, puzzles, and interactions. I played this game as freeware and couldn’t stop – proving again that gameplay trumps graphics)
3. Fallout 1 (If you haven’t played Fallout 1, you should. The major draw factor of Fallout for me was the unique post-apocalyptic world and gritty game play. The character development and interactions are fantastic and who didn’t love the gore factor? I rate this game better than Fallout 2, as I found the story in 2 a little weak and overall the world less engaging, and 3 suffers from the cardinal sin that I feel plagued its engine predecessor, Oblivion; that is the style (freeform world) over substance (character development and storytelling) arguement.)
2. Mass Effect (This is probably a debatable pick, but I loved the cinematic interactions and powerful story/NPC relationships which were developed while still maintaining a fairly non-linear and replayable game. Mass effect, as mentioned above, is the spiritual successor of KOTOR and it pushed the Sci-Fi RPG to new heights. Mass Effect 2 carries on the tradition, though I feel the mission structure (particularly the reports) somehow dulled the magic. However with Sheppard back in Mass Effect 3 there are bonus points for the feeling that your not done yet.)
1. Baldur’s Gate II (IMO this game took all the best of BG1 and made it better. Extremely rich story-telling and game world, without constricting the player to a linear game. High replay value, still excellent art/graphics and voice acting. Wide variety of character statistics to tweak for customisation – basically this game was the best evolution of all the work of RPGs before it and can been shown to lay down so many innovations that shape RPGs today)
Anyway, just my thoughts.
I’m alitle disapointed that Morrowind isn’t higher up, but atleast it’s there!
Fallout 3? Are you serious? Best RPG EVER? It’s BARELY an RPG. Where’s the great, deep story? The great and memorable characters? The actual roleplaying? It’s an insult to all the other games on the list which are amazing, but I disagree on the ranking. Change Fallout 3 to Fallout 1 and then we’ll take this list far more seriously.
I have played the MM6, MM7, MM8 and MM9, but for no doubt MM6 is the best i first played it in 1999, but i have been playing it overtime again and again and last i played it in 2011. it is no doubt the best game ever, apart from this i have played Titan Quest 1 and 2 both its music is so pleasing that i also become a good game and i loved it moreso tomb raider legend and anniversary are also too good games that one loves.
Fallout 3 rocks specially the goty edition.