The 10 Best Action-RPGs, According To Ranker

With video games becoming more and more complex, the RPG genre has evolved and branched out into a variety of subgenres. As a whole, RPGs’ greatest strengths have included telling sprawling stories, detailed worldbuilding, character progression, and player choice when executed well.

Many classics are known for turn- or queue-based action, but real-time combat has become one of the most accessible ways for players to get hooked into it the greater genre. With all the games this subgenre has spawned, the Ranker voting community has compiled an overall list of the greatest RPGs, with several widely considered elsewhere within the action-RPG category.

10 Fallout: New Vegas

Like Mass Effect, the Fallout franchise has been in a poor state in recent years. Though not one of the mainline entries, Fallout 76 was the most recent major endeavor and it launched disastrously. In retrospect, fans have generally accepted Obsidian’s Fallout: New Vegas as the series’ best.

The game received a strong critical reception but was admittedly riddled with bugs. Meanwhile, it was praised for its expanded improvements over gameplay, story, and amount of engaging content compared to Bethesda’s Fallout 3. The modding community has also ensured that New Vegas continues to age gracefully.

9 Diablo II

One of the major classics from the “good old days” of Blizzard by fans, Diablo II was an action-RPG hack-and-slash that was a big evolution for the subgenre at the time. The 1997 original already established a hit cult following, and the sequel built on its foundation to succeed it in virtually every way.

Diablo II took the opportunity to improve the addictive combat mechanics, gameplay loop, intricate character progression, and a more focused story. It’s a particularly impressive feat given PC gaming was more niche decades ago. A remaster of the original and its expansion titled Diablo II: Resurrected was released this year, garnering a strong reception for modernizing the experience on current consoles and PCs.

8 Mass Effect

In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 generation of gaming, Mass Effect cemented itself as one of the best modern RPG series. The franchise has seen better days, but Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is one of the best current remastered games. With that remastered collection having recently been released, it makes the 2007 original all-the-better in 2021.

It created the gaming equivalent of the Star Trek franchise, with an expansive, rich sci-fi world with a roster full of compelling characters and branching questlines that reward player choice. All the while, it tastefully wrapped all these elements in a third-person shooter/action-RPG package.

7 Kingdom Hearts II

As a sort of offshoot to the massive JRPG Final Fantasy games, Kingdom Hearts spawned its big successes beginning in the early 2000s. Though the games’ world can get admittedly bizarre and convoluted, it created a new story and characters that have engrossed countless fans while blending classic Square Enix properties with Disney’s.

The first game was particularly revolutionary for the action-RPG subgenre, as it was published/developed by a primarily JRPG company for mainstream consoles. Its successor built off the original’s foundation, garnering praise for its emotional storytelling and characters, as well as mechanical and graphical improvements.

6 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

While Skyrim is commonly regarded as the franchise’s most iconic game, many die-hard fans agree that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was Bethesda’s best work with the series. The game has been frequently cited as among the industry’s best in general, as well as one of the best open-world action RPGs.

Oblivion featured a dense, layered high-fantasy world filled with side quests and lore for players to discover, along with a customizable protagonist. It was certainly an impressive feat at the time for its technological capabilities and overall scope. As far as the parent genre and subgenre are concerned, it was a landmark title and exciting proposition for the possibilities going forward.

5 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Even in the face of other RPGs/action RPGs, CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in 2015 already made a strong case for being the best fantasy RPG. If The Elder Scrolls is the Tolkien/The Lord of the Rings-like high-fantasy series, then Sapkowski’s adapted The Witcher world is a dark-fantasy world that fans of Game of Thrones would feel at home with.

The Continent is a gritty, grounded, and vast world with engrossing characters and enthralling storylines. Suitably, the world is characterized by the exploration of moral grays, fearsome creatures, and complex political intrigue. Fans will surely be looking forward to next year’s next-gen remaster of The Witcher 3 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S consoles, and new PC hardware.

4 Final Fantasy VII Remake

Square Enix’s 1997 JRPG Final Fantasy VII is an acclaimed classic that tops many gaming publications’ lists of the best games ever. Fans clamoring for a top-to-bottom remake of the PS1 original practically started in the PS2/3 generation. Even though it’s one of the best Final Fantasy stories with solid turn-based combat, other aspects aged poorly as technology advanced.

Some fans were apprehensive of the narrative Kingdom Hearts-like liberties (and turning into a Remake series) but Final Fantasy VII Remake proved to be a stunning reimagining on PS4. The action-oriented combat was a perfected version of what XV tried, and the story was overall fleshed out tastefully. More character development and charming voice acting made the experience both nostalgic and refreshing.

3 Kingdom Hearts

The franchise opener was game-changing for several reasons. Kingdom Hearts was an inventive blend of real-time combat with core RPG aspects and was published/developed by a Japanese company for mainstream consoles. Square Enix (then Squaresoft) was still primarily known for turn-based JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

The likes of the aforementioned Diablo started pushing action RPGs forward but were still more so cult hits rather than mainstream ones. This subgenre is more ingrained in gaming now, but Kingdom Hearts was an important cog in the greater action-RPG machine.

2 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

Ranker’s overall RPG list features several entries from Nintendo’s revered The Legend of Zelda series. Though whether any of them qualify as RPGs (let alone an action RPG) is still a contentious topic. But in terms of this subgenre, Breath of the Wild fits the action-RPG bill better than the rest. The game is arguably still the Nintendo Switch’s best title nearly four years later.

Despite the lack of the conventional Zelda dungeons, it featured a stunning open-world ripe for dozens of hours’ worth of action and exploration. For the most part, its survival elements also worked well to immerse players in this iteration of Hyrule. While certainly unconventional, how Breath of the Wild implemented its character progression mechanics can make the case for it being an open-world action RPG.

1 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Even if its incessant re-releases have become a tired meme, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim stands as one of the overall genre’s biggest achievements. Though the game still retains the series’ wonky combat, it still holds up as fun along with its addictive gameplay loop.

Skyrim had a good story to add to its already-deep lore and worldbuilding, but it had even more compelling stories told in its countless side quests. And rather than sticking to the RPG-classic class system, it opted for a fluid character build system that makes the game endlessly replayable. These different elements of the game combine to make Skyrim among the best RPGs in general for beginners.

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