Xbox players can look forward to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Microsoft Flight Simulator later this year. Beyond that, there's a whole host of first-party offerings on the horizon, including titles like Avowed, and then the new Fable game.
The best RPGs on Game Pass in 2024 include some heavy hitters from the genre, as well as a few underrated gems, too.
When it comes to role-playing games, Xbox Game Pass has plenty to offer, including many of the best story games and the best single-player games. Below, you'll find classics from veteran studios like BioWare and Bethesda as well as plenty of indie greats. Plus, thanks to Xbox Cloud Gaming, a bunch of these titles can even be played over the cloud, meaning that you can give them a go on almost any PC.
Xbox Game Pass may be a great deal, but we at TechRadar Gaming want to make sure that you get the most bang for your buck. With that in mind, we've played thousands of hours of Game Pass RPGs to separate the wheat from the chaff. Below, you'll find out everything you need to know about what Game Pass has to offer for RPG fans. Read on to discover hundreds of hours of content available across some of the best RPGs.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the definitive way to enjoy the Mass Effect saga. One of the first series to popularize carrying saves over from previous games, giving the series a sense of continuity which, in turn, allowed players to develop a special sense of ownership over their characters.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a compilation of one of the most influential and game-changing RPG series of all time. Easily one of the best RPGs on Game Pass, in Mass Effect, you take on the role of Commander Shepard, a spaceship captain in the 2180s. Humanity has taken its first steps onto the galactic stage and finds itself surrounded by alien civilizations – some friendly, and others not so much. As Shepard, you'll be tasked with navigating this strange new galaxy. On your journey, you'll discover friends, enemies, and ancient secrets that may spell the doom of civilization.
The Mass Effect trilogy is rightly famous for its branching storylines. As Shepard, you'll be asked to make choices that directly affect the narrative. For good or ill, you will have to live with the consequences of those choices. To this day, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a story full of brilliance that you can make entirely your own.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is highly immersive, bathing you in the dystopian horror of its far-flung sci-fi setting with bold confidence. Ruined megacities, immense gothic cathedrals, and intriguing characters give this title plenty of flavor.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide straddles the line between first-person shooter (FPS) and RPG wonderfully, allowing you to craft a character that's entirely your own. In this co-op shooter, you and a team of three other expendables carry out missions for the Inquisition - Warhammer 40,000's sinister secret police. Your mission is to clear out Hive Tertium - an immense sci-fi megacity infested with cultists, demons, and renegade soldiers.
Not only does the title boast character customization trees that rival Diablo 4 with their complexity, but there's also a mind-boggling array of modifiable weapons, too. From rifles that fire rocket-propelled grenades to literal shovels, you can make your way through Darktide's bleak levels in a way that suits you. Plus, with crossplay now available, it's easily one of the best RPGs on Game Pass at the moment, allowing you to seamlessly drop in with friends on Steam.
"Bethesda Game Studios’ latest RPG will feel familiar to fans of Fallout’s 3D outings and even perennial fantasy favorite The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. The offering here is much more polished, and there are notably fewer bugs than many meme accounts would have you believe. Ultimately there’s a whole universe here for players to dip into. " - Jake Tucker, TechRadar Gaming reviewer.
One of the best RPGs on Game Pass when it comes to sheer scale, Starfield is Bethesda Softworks' latest RPG offering. Though sometimes overambitious in its desire for scope and breadth, Starfield delivers on the spacefaring sci-fi fantasy in a big way. In typical Bethesda fashion, Starfield character creation allows you to craft almost any sort of space traveler. From a swashbuckling pirate to a softly-spoken diplomat, Starfield allows you to take your adventure in almost any direction.
What's more, Starfield has oodles of quests for you to stick your teeth into. Want to become a space sheriff? Hop on down to Akila City in the Freestar collective and sign up for the Rangers. Want to do some smuggling? Head over to the Den and start selling some of that contraband. In Starfield, the galaxy is your oyster.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a sneaky love letter to Japanese role-playing games of the past and is full of Easter eggs for fans of the genre. Ichiban himself is reminiscent of the heroic characters of the Dragon Quest games, protecting the innocent and beating up bad guys.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon has it all: dramatic highs, staggering lows, and hilarious middles. You play as Ichiban Kasuga, a Yakuza grunt who, having lost everything, has to rebuild his life with the help of his friends. Where previous Yakuza games were more action-oriented, Like a Dragon is a turn-based RPG, offering a loving homage to the likes of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
While the game deals with heavy themes of family, regret, and tragedy, Like a Dragon is also laugh-out-loud funny, reveling in the absurdity of its characters. There are also oodles of minigames, too, ranging from picking up trash on a bike to some surprisingly catchy karaoke setpieces. To sleep on Like a Dragon is to sleep on one of the best RPGs on Game Pass.
Darkest Dungeon takes the thrill of XCOM, adds a good helping of occult horror, and serves it up in a dark fantasy package. As your warriors develop quirks, you'll swiftly find yourself bonding with them - a sword that cuts both ways once they start dying at the hands of the game's numerous monsters.
No list of the best RPGs on Game Pass would be complete without this gothic gem. Darkest Dungeon is a dark fantasy take on XCOM where you take charge of a band of grim adventurers as they delve through dungeons full of Lovecraftian horrors ranging from sinister cultists to fish demons. It's an aesthetic worthy of the best horror games. The punishing turn-based combat keeps you on your toes while dwindling resources ensure that you never truly feel safe.
What really distinguishes Darkest Dungeon, however, is your consistent band of adventurers. As the game plays out, your named characters can gain new qualities, some bad, some good. Your mission count will continue to tick up, causing your party members to be shaped by their experiences, resulting in interesting quirks with their own mechanical effedts. In Darkest Dungeon you will need to manage the strengths and flaws of your people just as effectively between missions as you would mid-battle.
Wild Hearts is a monster-hunting RPG that bends the rules in a big way by allowing you to build structures in the middle of a fight. There's nothing quite like hitting an enemy monster with a well-placed giant hammer.
Wild Hearts' experimental and refreshing approach towards monster hunting makes it one of the best RPGs on Game Pass. From Omega Force, the folks behind the Warriors franchise, Wild Hearts combines the joyful 'kill-loot-craft-repeat' game loop of the Monster Hunter series with Fortnite-esque construction. This results in a bizarre, bombastic but loveable title with plenty to offer.
In addition to its mechanical pedigree, the game is stunning to look at. Beautiful, eye-catching vistas frame sumptuous environments. The monsters themselves are gorgeous and look like they just stumbled in from a book of ancient myths. Beating them up feels just as epic. Though not a perfect title, Wild Hearts is an underrated joy and well worth a look if you have a Game Pass subscription.
Citizen Sleeper takes simple mechanics and uses them to tell complex stories. Pulling few punches, this dystopian sci-fi tale forces you to confront the necessities and sacrifices required for survival in the ruins of late-stage capitalism. It's grim, heartfelt and deeply satisfying.
Citizen Sleeper firmly secures a spot on our list of the best RPGs on Game Pass by being one of the best indie games on the service. You play as an android who, having escaped from the corporation that built you, must eke out a life on a ruined space station. You'll need to keep your mind and body whole with a constant supply of food and medication or else you will die. You choose how to spend your days, taking on gig work and rolling dice to determine how well you do. The game is as compelling as it is brutal.
Citizen Sleeper challenges you to live an extremely difficult life. Odd jobs on the station quickly open up into fully-fledged stories of their own, throwing memorable characters and gripping twists your way with impressive regularity. As with any great work of science fiction, Citizen Sleeper has a great deal to say about our own society, how workers are treated, and how the corporate paradigm of "unlimited growth" isn't sustainable. This indie gem has a lot to say and says it well. Plus, with Citizen Sleeper 2 on the horizon, it looks like developer Jump Over The Age is only just warming up.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey joyfully captures the spirit of high adventure, sending you on a quest to solve a conspiracy that threatens the very heart of Classical Greece. With fluid combat, simple yet responsive stealth, and meaningful dialogue choices, Odyssey sets a high bar for open-world RPGs everywhere.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey is an ambitious synthesis of RPG elements, sporting the gripping third-person action that the series is known for. In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, you step into the shoes of a mercenary who quickly becomes embroiled in a vast, Pan-Hellenic conspiracy. As you adventure through the gorgeous islands of Ancient Greece, you're not only able to customize and equip your character as you see fit but also make meaningful story decisions during cutscenes.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a proper RPG through and through, immersing you in its rich and vibrant world. Go where you will, take on side quests, and solve the esoteric mysteries at the heart of the conspiracy that threatens you. I personally spent over 100 hours with this game and didn't regret a single moment. For fans of the best RPGs on Game Pass, this absolutely isn't one to miss.
Pillars of Eternity offers a deep and rewarding RPG experience. Offering a novel setting that departs from Dungeons & Dragons orthodoxy in several ways, Pillars puts you at the center of the story while never neglecting to shine a light on supporting characters.
Pillars of Eternity is a modern take on the old-school CRPG genre. For those not in the know, these games provide a top-down, isometric vantage from which you can control a party of characters. These games tend to use deep, turn-based combat alongside strong writing and voice acting to tell their stories. Pillars of Eternity is a love letter to this tradition and stands as one of the best RPGs on Game Pass when it comes to games of this kind. Taking place in an expansive setting full of rich lore, Pillars lets you set off on the fantasy quest of your dreams.
Pillars boasts strong storytelling and detailed character customization, allowing you to build a character's backstory and abilities to your exact specifications. It is uncompromising in some respects. The occasional puzzle will crop up that requires lateral thinking and the game will not hold your hand. However, if you're looking for a traditional fantasy adventure to lose dozens of hours to, Pillars of Eternity has you covered, especially if you can't afford to splash out for Baldur's Gate 3. The sequel, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, is also on Game Pass, for those who want to take to the high seas on a nautical adventure.
"Whether you’re wandering around the vibrant Iwatodai Strip Mall to grab a beef bowl, hanging out with quirky characters, or fighting fierce battles in the dead of night, it’s hard not to get fully absorbed into Persona 3 Reload. Atlus’ remake of its 2006 turn-based role-playing game is a triumph that successfully updates a slightly dated adventure into something that fans new and old won’t want to miss." - Catherine Lewis, TechRadar Gaming reviewer.
Persona 3 Reload brings the cult favorite RPG into the modern age. Not only have the visuals been significantly updated, bringing it into line with Persona 5, combat and gameplay have been improved too. Many Persona fans consider the third game to be the pinnacle of the series, and for good reason. It offers a darker story, with excellent boss battles and some seriously great twists as the story unfolds.
Whether you've played Persona 3 to death already, or looking to check out more Persona games after playing more recent releases, Persona 3 Reload is well worth your time. You can play the whole thing on Game Pass right now, including some extra difficulty settings, and plenty of schoolyard angst. Check out our Persona 3 Reload review to hear more of our thoughts.
Best RPGs on Game Pass: FAQs
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Are there any RPGs on Game Pass?
There are plenty of great RPGs on Xbox Game Pass. This very list of the best RPGs on Game Pass is full of fantastic titles, including Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Though this list is as comprehensive as they come, it only just scratches the surface of all the RPGs available on the platform.
Fantasy classic Dragon Age: Inquisition and puzzling card battler Slay the Spire are also both available on Xbox Game Pass, not to mention entries from across the Persona and Yakuza series. Our list of the best RPGs on Game Pass is broad, but there are plenty more great titles out there for those keen to look.
Does Xbox have RPGs?
From Starfield to Baldur's Gate 3, Xbox consoles have plenty of RPGs to choose from. As well as modern greats, there are also plenty of top-tier classics for you to enjoy, too, like Mass Effect Legendary Edition and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.
When it comes to the best RPGs on Game Pass, plenty of these titles are also available on Xbox's subscription service. Though Baldur's Gate 3 isn't slated to arrive on Game Pass, Starfield, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, and a whole range of other excellent games are available as part of the Game Pass package.
How we made our best RPGs on Game Pass list
Our best RPGs on Game Pass list comes as a result of painstaking research and consideration. Xbox Game Pass offers an impressive selection of games, but, it is by no means comprehensive. In order to find the best RPGs in Microsoft's ever-shifting games library, we've had to keep our finger on the pulse as to which games are coming and going from the subscription's roster.
The list also required a knowledge of what makes the very best role-playing games, something we've cultivated over years of experience with the genre. Not every game on this list is perfect, but they are each, without a doubt, examples of some of the finest RPGs on offer in gaming today.
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