The best role-playing games are coming in 2023 –

Just as we did recently with Racing Games, it’s time to look ahead to the rest of 2023 and see what the year has in store, specifically for those who love a deep and lengthy RPG adventure. We looked at the biggest and most exciting releases scheduled for 2023 and compiled this list of the year’s best RPGs.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Release: March / Platform: Multiformat

There are surprisingly few games that explore the rich and vast Chinese mythology, but in the upcoming Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty we get to do just that. The game is being developed by Team Ninja’s Nioh corridor, which gives an indication of the kind of action-RPG we can expect. Among other things, we are promised plenty of opportunities to create your own protagonist, who can be made in the way that best suits your play style. To top it off, there’s also support for co-op, so you can explore the seemingly mighty game world together, and it’s included with Game Pass as of launch day.

Octopath Traveler II

Release: February / Platform: Multiformat

Octopath Traveler stormed onto the scene in 2018. For anyone who thinks Square Enix has gone too far with their pixel RPGs that are now mostly action titles, it felt liberating to see that they still have the magic left if they want to explore it. And instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, they return next month with a sequel in a more classic style, that is, an adventure that follows in its predecessor’s footsteps and offers more of what was already good, complete with just the right amount of novelty.

Final Fantasy XVI

Release: June / Platform: PlayStation 5

We love the Final Fantasy series and have played almost everything it has to offer. Of course, and of course we will also play Final Fantasy XVI, which we hope will surprise us in a positive way and offer an epic adventure, despite seemingly outdated graphics and a boring presentation.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

Release: 2023 / Platform: Multiformat

People begged and pleaded for years for Konami to make a new Suikoden. However, Konami refused (they refused to make games at all, basically). After seeing how well Castlevania legend Koji Igarashi did with his spiritual Castlevania: Symphony of the Night sequel Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night on Kickstarter, the Suikoden heads decided to do the same. And it was apparently a stroke of genius, because Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes raised insane amounts of money, and from what we’ve seen of the adventure, it looks like it will be downright criminally good. If you missed epic adventures and the ability to create your own gang from a huge ensemble, this is probably the one to go for.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Release: 2023 / Platform: Multiformat

Things certainly did not go well for CD Projekt Red with Cyberpunk 2077, the only game we know of that went gold and then was delayed and released in a terrible state. The studio had to pick up the gauntlet and try to fix the adventure, something that took nearly two years. These days Cyberpunk 2077 is quite entertaining, and around the corner awaits the Phantom Liberty expansion, which the developers say is the biggest DLC they’ve ever made – which in turn means it’s more extensive than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s add-ons. In short, bigger than most modern games, and with all the criticism CD Projekt Red has received and their vindictiveness, we can reasonably expect something pretty spectacular.

Baldur’s Gate III

Release: August / Platform: PC

It feels like the hype for Baldur’s Gate III has waned somewhat as a direct result of it actually being available via Early Access since 2020, but it’s hard to ignore the powerful and semi-unreal fact that the 23-year-old Baldur’s Gate II (one of the best role-playing games of all time!) is getting a sequel this year. August is launch time and once again it’s time to explore the fantasy world, this time with a combat system based on D&D’s 5th Edition. The Early Access version has been gradually improved thanks to player feedback and all indications are that developer Larian Studios has a real treat in store.

Lies of P

Release: 2023 / Platform: Multiformat

There has been an awful lot of Pinocchio lately, mostly in movies, and this year the trend continues with Lies of P. A game that was hugely hyped after its first trailer in 2021, it offers a much darker version of the classic story than we are used to. Here Pinokkio must search for the missing Geppetto in the town of Newspaper, and is also forced to lie, which has further consequences for the story – most of which you can influence yourself. Lies of P offers plenty of exploration, seemingly fine action and a hopefully matching ingenious story. An incredibly promising adventure that has also been included with Game Pass from day one.

Diablo IV

Release: June / Platform: Multiformat

Our first introduction to Diablo was walking into a classroom during computer science in high school. It was completely silent and all that could be heard was the sound of a lot of maracas. Something that on closer inspection turned out to be an entire computer class playing Diablo and clicking mouse buttons like crazy. And the love has endured ever since. Diablo combines action and loot in a beautiful gameplay loop and a first-rate design that never gets boring. The start of a new adventure in Diablo IV in June will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the year.

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

Release: Winter / Platform: PlayStation 5

We’ll be honest and say that we don’t actually think this will be released this year. Officially, however, it’s coming this winter, which could be late 2023 or early 2024. We’re hoping for the former, even though we weren’t actually completely sold on the action setup in Final Fantasy VII: Remake (no, we didn’t like the strategy mode) and what they did with the story, but no matter. Final Fantasy VII is one of the best gaming experiences to date, and just the thought of hanging out with Cloud and the other heroes again is actually enough for a spot here.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Release: May / Platform: Switch

Of course, we can have a discussion about whether The Legend of Zelda is a role-playing game or not, but the answer must reasonably be that some parts are – others are not. Among the role-playing games we find The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, as well as, of course, the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. And considering how awfully good its predecessor was, it’s actually enough if this one is even half as good to fit into this article. However. our expectations are much higher than that, and we think this adventure will be at least as good as its predecessor and a solid candidate for Game of the Year as well as one of Link’s most impressive adventures to date.

Starfield

Release: Summer / Platform: PC & Xbox

It is somewhat surreal that Bethesda’s first new game series in more than 25 years is almost here, and is also by far their biggest title to date. It has been described as a Han Solo simulator, Skyrim in space and NASA punk, all of which of course sound almost too good to be true. We are promised many planets (both inhabited and completely abandoned), opportunities to create your own life among the stars, space action, huge amounts of side missions, incredible setting options and what’s more; all of this seems to be wrapped in really cool graphics. Since Bethesda is now sleeping with Microsoft’s wallet under their pillow, there is no need to rush the adventure, which has thus been given development time, and this suggests that we can look forward to something really special when it premieres. It has also been included in Game Pass from day one, as if to make everything a little bit better.