Best RPG & Roguelike Games 2016

The Best PC Games of 2016

Topten RPG & Roguelike Games

1.Dark Souls III

Dark Souls III is developer From Software's return to the Souls series after the eldritch madness that was Bloodborne. In fact, the newest Souls game incorporates gameplay and design elements from virtually all of the team's recent titles. As a result, the gorgeous and action-packed Dark Souls III feels highly familiar, yet fresh and content-rich at the same time. Like all of From Software's launches, however, the game is in need of a few patches to adjust weapon balance. Nonetheless, Dark Souls III is easily one of the best games in the series.

2.Dark Souls II

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.

3.The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the final installment in CD Projekt Red's action-RPG series. Geralt of Rivia sets out one last time to slay beasts, collect bounties, and protect the child of destiny. CD Projekt Red changes the game formula by introducing a massive, open world filled with monsters to hunt and quests to undertake. But it also greatly improves the series' combat by making alchemy more accessible and tightening the action controls. The rich story narrative that drives the game is rife with tragedy, folkloric horror, humor, and intrigue, keeping you on your toes every step of the way.

4.Mass Effect 3

When the fate of the galaxy is in your hands, how often does it feel like it's really in your hands? It does in Mass Effect 3. Picking up where Mass Effect 2 left off, Mass Effect 3 thrusts you back into the persona of Commander Shepard, who's standing at the brink of one of the most daunting challenges ever. He's tasked with nothing less than rescuing the Earth, and the entire Milky Way, from the clutches of the all-consuming Reapers that are threatening them as never before. Packed with action, character development, and customizability that transcend what you find in most games, Mass Effect 3 is an entertaining and frequently engrossing trip into the psychology of helplessness, if one that doesn't realize all of its towering ambitions.

5.Mass Effect 2

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.

6.Diablo III: Reaper of Souls

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.

7.Wasteland 2

Wasteland 2 is a return to the classic computer RPG conventions that have been largely absent in the contemporary gaming scene. CRPGs have seen a recent resurgence with the release of Divinity: Original Sin and Shadowrun, and developer InXile Entertainment has followed suit with a proper sequel to its 1988 classic. The core of any good CRPG is choice, and Wasteland 2 embraces this wholeheartedly. You can either choose from a list of premade 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. Wasteland 2 isn't without flaws, however. The combat in particular is a tad underwhelming, but it's still an enjoyable return to post-apocalyptic Arizona and California.

8.Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is a single-player RPG, with action-driven gameplay akin to Capcom's Devil May Cry and Monster Hunter franchises. It draws inspiration from classic fables and myths, setting the game in a world burdened with the return of a destructive red dragon. Its 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 be an otherwise 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.

9.The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series has consistently been on the front lines of RPG immersion, giving you ever bigger and more elaborate realms to explore. The quantum strides made in Morrowind (2002) and Oblivion (2006) continue in Skyrim, which provides the most delicious perspective to date on this fascinating world over which you have almost complete control. It's no challenge to set yourself up as a warrior, a wizard, or a pickpocketing miscreant, of either gender, of any of ten species, and with just the physical and facial characteristics you desire.

10.RymdResa

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.