MMORPGs are more plentiful and accessible than ever. The internet is in more homes than before and the choices are endless, from free-to-play titles like RuneScape and Star Wars: The Old Republic to popular subscription models like Final Fantasy 14 and World of Warcraft.
However, if you do not feel like jumping into a server with thousands of other people, you might want to check out any of the games below. They share similarities to MMORPGs in one way or the other, whether it be the giant narrative or near-endless endgame content. Some have multiplayer components, but they can all be played solo.
Updated on September 19, 2021 by Damien Lykins: Whether you're having to hang offline or you're simply not in the mood to potentially interact with hundreds of real people, there are plenty of video games out there that scratch the MMORPG itch without mass connectivity. We've re-curated this list with a couple of additional selections for your single-player consideration!
11 Final Fantasy 12
Of all the Final Fantasy games, the twelfth mainline entry feels the most like an MMO. It eschews a world map in favor of large expanses of traversable terrain you must trek on foot. There are also a decent amount of side quests, including a hunters guild to join. It is simply a massive game. Just going through the story alone takes 60 hours, but doing extra content extends this to potentially 100 or so hours.
10 Elder Scrolls Series
If you were to play all five mainline Elder Scrolls games from start to finish, you would be sitting at your computer for years. The older games are admittedly quaint, but everything starting from Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind and onward is still impressive to behold. The idea of creating any character you want and developing them in countless ways is the series' main draw. The MMORPG spin-off, Elder Scrolls Online, can also be played mostly solo at your own pace.
9 Borderlands
While marketed as a cooperative shooter experience, there is no harm in going through Borderlands alone. It essentially plays like Diablo with guns. You do quests - most of which involve mowing down hordes of enemies - and collect progressively better weapons and armor to improve your character's stats and abilities.
The guns are particularly impressive, with limitless firearms to loot from enemies and crates. With numerous DLC campaigns and new game plus, there is a lot to do after beating the game.
8 Fallout Series
Granted this is an assumed quantity alongside the Elder Scrolls, but Fallout is a definite consideration if you're in the mood for bullets and irradiated mutants in lieu of swords and dragons. New Vegas and Fallout 4 are the primary suggestions here — New Vegas provides a more immersive, thoughtful, and mechanically complex avenue where Fallout 4 packs in a more polished graphical sheen and tighter combat mechanics. Where they meet and deliver for MMORPG enthusiasts, however, is in provisioning vast open worlds ripe for exploration and mountains of content, side quests, and activities to chip away hour after idle hour with action-packed post-nuclear adventure.
7 Dragon's Dogma
This action-RPG has had fans clamoring for a sequel for years. The best they got so far was an anime, though the reception to this series was mostly negative. Taking place in an open-world, players travel with three AI companions, two of whom are taken from other players' worlds. This unique online functionality and the overall gameplay and story has elevated this game to legendary status. You probably know someone who has played it because they won't stop talking about it.
6 Persona 5
Persona 5 might be the longest linear game on this list. There are no two ways around it, playing this game will take well over 70 hours. When including the bonus content added on for Persona 5 Royal, this time extends to over 100 hours. Much of this time will be spent in dialogue and going from place to place to further the story, much like doing quests in an MMORPG. The Persona games are certainly an acquired taste, but so are MMORPGs.
5 Kingdom Come: Deliverance
This RPG's systems and quest structure are more complicated than the typical western RPG. It might not be wholly appropriate to call it a western RPG, though, since it was developed by Czech game developer Warhorse Studios. It is also based on a real historical conflict and does not take place in a fantasy world. The only drawback to this in-depth RPG is the plethora of technical issues one might run into while playing.
4 Red Dead Redemption 2
RDR2 might not seem like the most obvious consideration for scratching an offline MMORPG itch, but when looked at objectively, it ticks a whole lot of boxes. The open-world that Rockstar crafted for this wild west adventure is bursting with random encounters and side content, and the game rarely (if ever) really pushes you to advance the storyline. You're essentially free to linger, explore, or grind as you please. The immersion factor at play here is also beyond noteworthy — Red Dead Redemption 2 really does an ace-level job of making the world Arthur Morgan's exploring feel truly alive, successfully stop-gapping the "living world" aspect MMORPG fans might be missing out on.
3 Xenoblade Chronicles
Before Monolith Soft made this impressive Nintendo first-party title, they made the Xenosaga trilogy. Even before then game designer Tetsuya Takahashi directed and wrote Xenogears while a part of Squaresoft. Xenoblade Chronicles is significantly larger and more open than those prior games. The original Xenoblade Chronicles came out on the Nintendo Wii and was recently remastered for the Nintendo Switch. The developer also helped out on the development of Breath of the Wild.
2 Dragon Age: Inquisition
Developer BioWare has created some of the most celebrated RPGs of the past 20 years. Their last great work is so far considered 2014's Dragon Age: Inquisition. Afterward, the developer has some rough patches with Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem.
Dragon Age: Inquisition features large open areas to explore with countless side quests. It is easy to spend hours upon hours lost on these maps before heading back to the central hub to meet and talk with your party.
1 Monster Hunter: World
Before Monster Hunter: World, the series was mostly reserved for a niche audience. World changed up some things about the formula to make it more accessible in addition to making it more beautiful than ever before. After this the game blew up in popularity. While it is playable cooperatively, you can do many hunts by yourself. It is certainly far from an MMORPG, but fans of the genre will appreciate the gameplay loop of hunting monsters to craft better equipment. Switch owners can also get in on the action with Monster Hunter: Rise.