The Best RPGs for 2024

Baldur’s Gate 3 represents a new peak for tabletop-inspired CRPGs. The game’s extensive flexibility in the face of countless potential player choices makes it the truest adaptation of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign we’ve ever seen, and its gorgeous presentation brings Faerun to life. It’s the kind of game you can put 60 hours into, beat, and then play again with a different character and have an almost completely different experience. It’s a worthy successor to Baldur’s Gate 2, and an Editors’ Choice winner for RPGs.

Set many years prior to Final Fantasy VII’s events, Crisis Core follows Zack Fair’s rise through the ranks of Shinra’s private military. Reunion is a single-player action RPG that features radical visual improvements compared to the PSP original, as well as greatly overhauled combat. You now have free-flowing combos, redesigned boss mechanics, and extensive voice work. The game has many of the silly narrative quirks and odd mission structure of Square Enix’s PSP RPGs during that era, but the snappier gameplay and new visuals certainly make up for it. Whip out your Buster Sword and learn the price of freedom. 

Based on Mike Pondsmith’s tabletop role-playing game, Cyberpunk 2077 is a bleak game that sees corporations, both foreign and domestic, keep a stranglehold on military tech, health care, cybernetic advancements, drugs, and virtually anything that the common person could want or need. You play as a mercenary, V, a person caught up in a job that has lasting repercussions throughout the story campaign. As a result, you must shoot, hack, and slice your way out of trouble in this sprawling, open-world action-RPG. This highly anticipated title offers thrilling gameplay, atmosphere-oozing sights and sounds, and hours of story-heavy missions, but it feels a bit undercooked due to small and large bugs.

Dark Souls returns to the PC, and it’s every bit as terrifying as you may have heard. Don’t worry, Dark Souls II avoids the missteps of its predecessor’s infamous port, allowing you to focus on the rich, gloomy action-RPG world and fantastic, unforgiving gameplay. Dark Souls II is a relentless barrage of demonic enemies and enraging boss encounters that will test your reflexes—and your patience. This is not a game for the faint of heart or quick of temper, so clear your desk of ceramics, take the framed pictures off the walls, and prepare to enter the dark world of Drangleic.

With Dark Souls III, developer From Software returned to the Souls series after crafting the eldritch madness that is the PlayStation 4-exclusive Bloodborne. In fact, Dark Souls III borrows gameplay and design elements from Bloodborne and other From Software action-RPG titles. As a result, Dark Souls III has an action-focused flavor and gorgeous, haunting graphics.

That said, Dark Souls III has its own feel, particularly when it comes to battling monsters. The improved combat mechanics add more fighting depth, making the skirmishes more challenging and rewarding.

In a future where cybernetic augmentation is the norm, a host of medical, social, and political issues arise, which threatens to divide the known world. Play as Adam Jensen, an augmented counter-terrorist super soldier, tasked with investigating terrorist cell activity in Prague, while also playing nice with violent gangsters and militaristic cops. These tough city streets are your playground, where you sneak, hack, and fight to your objectives to uncover the truth behind the terrorist activity erupting across the world.

Adam is an incredibly versatile protagonist. He excels with firearms, as well as melee offense, but he is as stealthy as a cat when he needed. With numerous side quests to undertake, each with open-ended solutions, there is no right way to play the game or customize Adam: build a charismatic talker, computer-hacking wizard, guns-blazing war machine, or cybernetic ghost.

Blizzard seems to be one of the few companies committed to sticking with old-school expansions for its games and not just DLC packs. World of Warcraft received several large, and full-priced expansions, as did Diablo III, with Reaper of Souls. The add-on contains a good chunk of content that, with some much-needed tweaks to the base Diablo III, make the whole game feel fresh and fun.

The series that defined hack-and-slash loot-collecting returns. Diablo IV is a big, gruesome adventure with the same addictive gear-grabbing gameplay loop as its predecessors, plus many character customization options and a huge, open-world environment. Despite the mechanical and visual upgrades, this is pure Diablo through and through.

In DIG: Deep in Galaxies, you must save several planets that have been conquered by evil forces. The roguelike lets you liberate star systems by blasting, cutting, and plowing through environments with powerful weapons. The side-scroller features fun, fast-paced gameplay that’s highlighted by tactically destroying the scenery to get in a better position to fight some more. Although Deep in Galaxies’ central mechanics are mostly the same from character class to character class, DIG is a well-designed title that has a good amount of gameplay variety.

If you don’t think video games should have politics, don’t play Disco Elysium – The Final Cut. If you don’t think games should aspire to say something, this detective-RPG isn’t the game for you. That’s not to say the game is a manifesto. The way it cynically, yet thoughtfully, criticizes a range of ideologies reveals the game’s politics aren’t nearly as narrow you might expect.

But this isn’t wishy-washy centrism. Disco Elysium’s sympathies ultimately lie with working people and movements that center their best interests, despite asking you to play as cops on the other end of that equation. The brilliant role-playing mechanics and richly realized world would be impressive no matter the story, but Disco Elysium’s beating, thematic heart makes it the best PC game you can play at this moment in history.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen may be an RPG, but it features action-driven gameplay not unlike Capcom’s Devil May Cry and Monster Hunter series. It draws inspiration from classic fables and myths, setting the game in a world burdened with the return of a destructive red dragon. 

Dark Arisen’s combat is flashy and engaging, and the open-world environments are rich with detail, but the quest-driven plot and sparse character development weaken what would otherwise be an interesting story. The RPG leveling stalls combat, as well, so you won’t fight at your full potential until you’ve leveled your class sufficiently. These issues may turn off less patient players, but those hoping for a grand, long-lived adventure across an action-packed open world will find plenty to discover and enjoy.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 builds upon the foundation laid down by the action-dense original game to create a thrilling open-world RPG packed with superb combat and excellent exploration. This single-player RPG is heavily inspired by Monster Hunter, with a smattering of Devil May Cry. Dynamic quests and monster spawns mean there’s always something new to do.

Techland’s sequel to Dying Light builds on everything that made the first game work so well. It has a bigger open world, a darker story, and almost 500 hours of content. In that regard, Dying Light 2 delivers, but it’s hardly Techland’s magnum opus. The zombie-bashing game has so much open-world filler and technical issues that you might find yourself wondering what the last four years of hype were all about. Still, there are moments of greatness that permeate Dying Light 2’s open-world action.

With its ancient Chinese setting, dark fantasy atmosphere, and demanding 2D action combat, Eastern Exorcist is a side-scrolling RPG like no other. As you travel the land slaying demons, you’ll encounter fascinating, thoughtful stories of greed and retribution. If you can put up with some difficulty spikes and bland levels, this is a spirit worth confronting.

FromSoftware reimagines the brutally challenging Souls formula as an open-world RPG, producing one of the developer’s most acclaimed titles to date. Elden Ring is an unforgiving action-RPG packed to the gills with unrelenting enemies, labyrinthine dungeons, and astounding character build variety. It also delivers an engrossing open world playground to explore, with impressive freedom. Your magical steed, Torrent, possesses supernatural agility, letting you move around in ways no other Souls game has allowed before. The game suffered from stuttering and frame issues at launch, and while these have not been entirely corrected to date, they have been notably improved. Nonetheless, Elden Ring is an excellent RPG to consider adding to your library.

Joke all you want about Bethesda’s bug testing, but the developer’s Elder Scrolls series has consistently pushed the RPG immersion envelope. The wonderful world design that began in 2002’s Morrowind continues in Skyrim, a title that delivers one of the most impressive action-RPG settings to date.

It’s a fine place to tell the tale of Skyrim, a land torn apart by an ongoing battle between the two leaders who want to fill a power gap. You play as a prisoner who is spared execution, and you can customize the protagonist as you see fit. It’s no challenge to set yourself up as a warrior, wizard, or pickpocketing miscreant.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is an excellent reimagining of the iconic, JRPG classic. Featuring impressive visuals, addictive combat, amazing music, high frame rates, and the Yuffie DLC, Cloud Strife’s adventures are even better on PC than on console.

Paired with a lengthy story that’s dense with optional content, there was a lot to love about the remake. Sure, it may only be a portion of the original game’s story that covers the Midgard arc, but what’s on offer here is shockingly good.

Square Enix’s Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster combines the beloved 10th installment of the main Final Fantasy line and its sequel into one package that series fans will adore. As the collection’s name implies, both turn-based RPGs have been blessed with a graphical overhaul that adds a better pixel resolution and facial animations during cutscenes. If you are a fan of these games’ original PlayStation 2 release, consider Final X/X-2 HD Remaster a must-buy bundle.  

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Hoyoverse’s sprawling adventure is about as flattering as games come. In 2019, Genshin Impact made a splash in the video game world with open-world, action-RPG gameplay that’s heavily inspired by Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. That is not to say it’s a cheap knockoff, however. The free-to-play game features numerous unique, element-based gameplay systems, charming story beats, and multiple playable characters that set it apart from its inspiration. Genshin Impact also receives frequent story expansions and seasonal events, giving you plenty to do whenever you log back in.

Hades is a roguelite–a less punishing variation of a roguelike–which might be the most-annoying video game genre due to its emphasis on constant death without tangible progress. Though Hades can’t hide the genre’s flaw, its endlessly replayable combat and storytelling that takes advantage of the looping structure elevate the format like no game before. The Greek myth-inspired tale is highly entertaining, too.

Developer Avalanche Software took a stab at the first big-budget Harry Potter game in a decade with Hogwarts Legacy, and created an engaging and surprisingly rich action-RPG. The game offers an open-world spin on the beloved Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that lets you create a magician and cast spells until your heart’s content. Frame rate issues sully the experience in some areas, but Harry Potter fans won’t want to miss this title (if they can ignore series creator J. K. Rowling).

With Honkai: Star Rail, Hoyoverse embraces the turn-based roots of classic RPGs. This sweeping space opera sees you pursue the dangerous Stellaron, planet-corrupting artifacts that have cropped up across the universe. Combat is a turn-based affair, and each character you recruit has two abilities and an ultimate move to unleash during a scrap. Battles are tactile and snappy, giving the game a unique action feel. Team synergy is vital, as elemental weaknesses and combos play a major role in how battles play out. Honkai: Star Rail is free to play, but features gacha elements for character recruitment, meaning you draw them from an in-game lottery. Remember to play at your leisure and not get pressured into FOMO spending.

Horizon Zero Dawn stood as one of the best PlayStation 4 exclusives, right up there with Bloodborne, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and the God of War reimagining. Now you can also enjoy its open-world, monster-slaying action on PC, thanks to this Complete Edition. This PC game contains the base game, plus The Frozen Wilds DLC (an additional area featuring more story content and collectibles). It easily holds up as a huge, dense, worthwhile adventure in the post-apocalypse.

Legend of Mana, the fourth entry in the Mana action-RPG series, has been remastered for modern consoles and PC. The charming, 2D game now features vastly improved visuals, arranged musical tracks, regions not included in the PlayStation release, and a wealth of improvements that make it significantly more enjoyable than the original version. It still has a handful of flaws, such as balance issues, obtuse quest progression, and frame rate problems, but this PC game is full of nostalgic charm and stunning visuals that impress just as much now as they did more than 20 years ago.

With Mass Effect: Andromeda, developer BioWare promised a game that would feature a compelling story, fantastic visuals, tight gameplay, and hot alien romance—unfortunately, the action-RPG delivers on only a few of those fronts. On the upside, the space opera has several sizable open-world environments to explore and a thrilling combat system. On the downside, it has infamously awkward animations, tedious menus, and performance issues. Nonetheless, if you’re looking to blast aliens with zany space magic or woo an exotic space lady or gentleman, Mass Effect: Andromeda is a game that has some entertaining elements that are worth your time.

This epic trilogy takes you on an intergalactic journey to stop an alien threat from eradicating all known life. Remastered visuals and rebalanced gameplay makes the series as accessible as it’s ever been, so if you missed the boat the first time around, the Legendary Edition is the perfect way to catch up.

The Mass Effect games are third-person shooters, with a liberal dose of space magic to spice up the action. You have various telekinetic and abilities to complement your gunplay, such as firing shockwaves from your hands or psychically lifting your target from the ground to make it easy target practice. Aside from action, you decision and dialogue choices shape how the titles unfold, often leading to significant changes between games that foster friendships and betrayals.

The BioWare-developed Mass Effect 2 picks up exactly where the original space opera left off. In fact, one of the great things about this RPG, beside the incredible character development, is that you can upload your character from last game directly into this one. In terms of fresh features, there’s a new cover system, and a revamped health recovery system lets you heal most wounds by camping out of harm’s way. Although Mass Effect 2 is much more shooter-like than the original, role-playing is still at the game’s core.

The excellent Monster Hunter Ruse impressed with its streamlined, creature-fighting systems and fresh mobility options when it debuted on Nintendo Switch. Now making the jump to PC, Rise impresses even more with its increased graphics fidelity and high frame rates. It lacks cross-save and cross-play support, but Monster Hunter Rise is the best way to play Capcom’s long-running action-RPG.

Even the most die hard Monster Hunter fans admit that there’s a certain level of gameplay jank that you must overlook in order to enjoy the creature-slaying series; a jankiness that has turned many people away.

With Monster Hunter World, developer Capcom overhauled animations, streamlined gameplay, and made numerous adjustments designed to appeal to core and casual audiences alike. The changes work—big-time. Tracking and battling huge, snarling beasts with a variety of crafted armor and weaponry is an absolute joy, especially while doing so with friends in multiplayer mode.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a heartwarming adventure that resurrects the wonder and chibi-world aesthetic of old-school Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy titles. Developed by Level-5, in collaboration with former Studio Ghibli character designer Yoshiyuki Momose and composer Joe Hisashi, Ni No Kuni II is an audio-visual treat that leads you through a world seemingly crafted from a child’s imagination. The story, one involving a boy-king who’s ousted from the throne, sees you recruiting people from neighboring lands to unite the nations. 

If you’re looking for a challenging experience, you’ll probably want to skip this game. But if you’re new to RPGs, want to share this whimsical experience with young gamers, or simply seek an light adventure through a beautiful world, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a worthwhile purchase.

Nier: Automata is an action-RPG that combines Yoko Taro’s outside-the-box storytelling with Platinum Games’ excellent combat chops. You play as 2B, an android tasked with defeating a robotic menace, and assisting other androids living in Earth’s wastelands.

Automata lets you earn 2B-enhancing computer chips by completing quests, defeating enemies, or simply buying them from shops. These help you take down the mechanical monstrosities by boosting a variety of offensive or defensive skills. If you dig the world that Taro created, you’ll be happy to know that you’re rewarded for multiple playthroughs with new revelations that further flesh out the game’s story.

Nioh represents developer Team Ninja’s first action-RPG, and the game shares a few superficial similarities with From Software’s influential Dark Souls series. The player-summoning cooperative gameplay, corpse-run death system, shortcut-rich levels, and enemy-respawning checkpoints will all feel familiar to Dark Soul aficionados.

However, Nioh is very much its own beast, and is filled with highly technical action and stronger narrative elements than the Souls titles. This Complete Edition includes the original console game, as well as all of the DLC content, so newcomers have dozens of hours of action to master.

Nioh 2 is a fantastic sequel that takes challenging combat, stat-allocating RPG elements, and gear-based character builds, and frames it within a Sengoku-era story that marries real historical figures and Japanese mythology. The original game’s thrilling, technical action returns, but adds four new weapon types, yokai abilities that let you summon supernatural attacks, and an incredibly useful counterattack mechanic. If you like hardcore action and tweaking character builds, pick up Nioh 2 without hesitation.

Persona 4 was hailed as the best RPG in the franchise before the phenomenal Persona 5 came along. Arguably, it still is. Originally released at the end of the PlayStation 2’s life cycle, it received an enhanced port called Persona 4 Golden on the PlayStation Vita that eventually found a home on the PC. Persona 4 combines social-sim elements with turn-based combat, and follows a group of Japanese high school students investigating a supernatural TV channel that distorts its viewers’ psyche. Grow with your companions, keep your grades up, and the battle evil that is merging reality with the illusory TV world.

Atlus’ RPG masterpiece has gone multiplatform, finally finding a home on PC. In it, you play as Joker, a delinquent high school student who’s haunted by his criminal past. You are swept up into a supernatural adventure that takes you into Tokyo’s psyche, where the anxiety and negativity of society manifests itself as labyrinthine, demon-riddled Palaces. Juggle school, hang out with friends, and dungeon crawl as you work towards graduating, while also working to heal the destructive elements that have taken root in the populace. Relish the snappy turn-based combat, stylish presentation, and addictive music that enraptured PlayStation fans, now on your PC.

Persona 5 Royal is the definitive version of the game. Not only does this PC version include the new characters, story elements, and music, but it also comes bundled with all previously released DLC. If you like gaming on the go, Persona 5 Royal is a superb RPG to download on your Steam Deck.

At a glance, Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth shares much in common with Konami’s classic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The games are similar, visually and tangibly, which is great if you’re looking to fill the undead-slaying void that Konami left behind once the developer shelved the Castlevania franchise.

Wonder Labyrinth features excellent 2D visuals, tight controls, and clever element-swapping mechanics that expands the combat and exploration. The action-RPG is a bit short due to its linear progression, but it’s a satisfying Castlevania homage that tweaks the gameplay enough to feel fresh.

In Rune Factory 4 Special, you play as an amnesiac who tries to salvage his life, while citizens from a small town named Selphia mistake him for royalty. This remastered, fantasy-based spin-off of the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons farming/dating series encourages you to farm, meet a spouse, and start a family, as one does in those games. And, as expected from a RPG, you battle through dangerous, monster-filled dungeons.

RymdResa is a fascinating PC game that features a narrative structure, music, and environments that play out like an art-house drama. While drifting through the emptiness of space, collecting resources and materials to survive, your character occasionally drops poetry gems via diary entries, while reflecting on the loneliness that vastness represents—as well as the depression, hope, and desire that comes with it. RymdResa features nearly zero in-game interactions, but the roguelike adventure game uses a single character and simple graphics to dissect the human psyche in a story that flirts with the possibility that we are one with the universe in more ways than we imagine.

A love letter to classic, 16-bit role-playing games like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG, Sea of Stars is an absolute delight. This Sabotage Studio-developed title features gorgeous pixel artwork, engrossing turn-based battles, an excellent soundtrack, and a fantastic world to explore. It has bland protagonists, but the RPG has enough uniqueness to stand apart from its inspirations.

Yacht Club Games’ Shovel Knight became an indie icon, appearing in sequels and guest-starring in other games after his titular debut. With the Nitrome-developed Shovel Knight Dig, the helmeted hero grabs his tool and adventures into a roguelike spin-off. The gameplay swap leaves this title a bit less fulfilling than the side-scrolling original, but it’s still an enjoyable, endless journey to the center of the Earth.

Soundfall is an action-RPG that combines looter-shooter and rhythm game elements into something wholly unique. In it, you control a heroic party that seeks to free the land of Symphonia by blasting monsters to the soundtrack’s beat. You’re free to move about environments as you wish, but shooting on beat dramatically increases your attack power.

The sequel to The Stick of Truth, The Fractured But Whole is a turn-based RPG filled with South Park‘s topical, highly satirical, and utterly absurd comedy. It’s a refreshing RPG, if only because the gameplay, adult language, ridiculous scenarios, and show references will keep fans of the show smiling until the end.

Fractured slips up once in a while; the superhero-themed exploration elements utilize some highly tedious menu switching and quick time event (QTE) mechanics, and the game is surprisingly buggy. However, if you can look past these issues, you’re in for an enjoyable time.  

Star Ocean is a troubled series that’s been around for decades, but developer Tri-Ace aims to clean up legacy jank with The Divine Force. With this entry, the space opera smooths a few rough spots with its cool, new movement options and balanced combat mechanics. The result is an energetic PC game with snappy action and satisfying movement and exploration systems. It still suffers from a clichéd story and cloddish visuals, though.

Packed with ambition, Bethesda’s far-reaching Starfield is a massive space-based RPG with a galaxy of content to explore. Its deep customization options extend to your ship, a vehicle that you can outfit with new engines, weapons, or habitats that impact its stats.

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a farming simulator/RPG hybrid that looks and plays much like the classic Harvest Moon games. That’s because it is Harvest Moon. A licensing spat between publishers forced a title change in 2014, but the game’s heart and soul—ranching in a quaint town filled with quirky characters—remains the same. In fact, Friends of Mineral Town is a remake of the series’ first Game Boy Advance entry, one that boasts new graphics and a remastered soundtrack. The polygonal visuals are a bit bland, and the controls are a touch clunky, but the PC game is wholesome, farm-sim fun about building businesses and relationships.

Arise puts the Tales series back on the map, injecting fresh action and thoughtful side quests into what was becoming a stale and formulaic series.

Tales popularized action combat way back on the Super Nintendo, and Arise improves on the old formula with greatly expanded, combo-centric combat that looks and feels great. Featuring a large cast of unique playable characters, quirky story interactions, streamlined quests and progression, and more anime clichés than you can shake a stick at, Tales of Arise embraces its cheesy tropes while also elevating the series to new heights.

Trials of Mana, an action-RPG from the Super Famicom’s heyday, receives the remake treatment. Despite its fresh coat of paint, Trials of Mana is unabashedly retro and doesn’t shy away from 1990’s-esque dialogue and the vibrantly cartoonish world that made the Mana series a stand-out franchise among Square’s 1990s RPG lineup. Trials of Mana has a few faults, mainly spotty voice work and no co-op multiplayer action. Nonetheless, Trials of Mana is an excellent action-RPG that oozes charm and has enough content to keep you playing for some time.

The core of any good role-playing game is choice, and InXile Entertainment’s Wasteland 2 wholeheartedly embraces this gameplay element. Set in an alternate universe where America and USSR exchanged nukes, Wasteland 2 lets you choose from a list of pre-made characters or create a more specialized and customized party by allocating skill points and attributes. There is no single protagonist; instead, you control a party of Desert Rangers that seeks to solve a murder mystery.

Wild Hearts is an action-RPG that deftly implements Capcom’s Monster Hunter formula while introducing refreshing ideas. This is par for the course for developer Omega Force, a studio that created the monster-hunting Toukiden games for various PlayStation platforms. Like those titles, the thoroughly Japanese-centric Wild Hearts pits feudal-era hunters against monstrous supernatural fauna. Wild Hearts won’t slay Monster Hunter, but it’s a fine, polished alternative featuring excellent action and map design.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the final installment in CD Projekt Red’s action-RPG series. In Wild Hunt, Geralt of Rivia slays mythological monsters, collects bounties, and protects the child of destiny.

Developer CD Projekt Red builds upon the preceding Witcher game by introducing a ridiculously large open world filled with evil of both the monster and human varieties. Witcher 3 also greatly improves the series’ combat by streamlining alchemy and tightening crafting. The Wild Hunt’s rich narrative—one of the best stories in video game history—drives the game’s tragedy, folkloric horror, humor, and intrigue.

Craving some wuxia? Check out Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, developer Team Ninja’s fantasy-fueled take on ancient China. The action-RPG contains elements from the studio’s Nioh games, but focuses on parries, counters, aggressive play, and a new leaping mechanic. In terms of pure gameplay, Wo Long improves on the Nioh formula, but suffers from bland stages and a weak narrative.

Nihon Falcom’s Xanadu Next is an action-RPG that features basic keyboard-and-mouse controls and PlayStation One-era visuals. The simplicity, however, isn’t detrimental to the game.

Xanadu Next makes excellent use of its uncomplicated systems to deliver a fantastic dungeon-crawling experience that’s well worth checking out. In fact, Xanadu Next’s point-and-click gameplay makes it structurally similar to Diablo, with its crypts and treasures. Still, Xanadu Next carries its own identity thanks to its interconnected, winding pathways, and excellent soundtrack.

Sega’s Yakuza franchise is the spiritual successor to two of the publisher’s beloved series: Shenmue and Streets of Rage. Like Shenmue, Yakuza lets you explore and live in a virtual Japan where you can eat authentic Japanese meals, play classic arcade games, and aid fellow citizens. Like Streets of Rage, Yakuza sees you knuckle up roving bands of street thugs.

Traditionally, the Yakuza series has successfully married both game design philosophies, but with the series featuring six mainline entries, many people wondered how the franchise would evolve. Enter Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The newest series entry takes the basic Yakuza beat-’em-up formula and gives it a welcome, Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) shake-up. Despite the genre change, the PC game is excellent.

Memories of Celceta is a Ys IV reimagining that sees longtime series hero Adol emerge without his memories from a forest that was previously said to have claimed the lives of all who entered it. Thankfully, Adol is still a skilled warrior who, along with a handful of uniquely skilled party members, is willing to hack and slash his way through hordes of monsters. This action-RPG may not have reliable party AI, but its combat, sense of exploration, and rocking tunes are excellent.

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim is an excellent top-down hack-and-slash RPG by Japanese developer Nihon Falcom. Originally released exclusively for PCs in Japan, Ys VI was ported to the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable by Konami in 2005 and made available around the world. This newer version of Ys VI features an XSEED localization that includes an improved translation, a more challenging game mode called Catastrophe Mode, enhanced graphical settings, and Steam support—features that more than make up for the missing content that was in the Konami-published port.