Roleplaying games (RPGs) can be polarizing. What defines a role-playing game? A long time ago, roleplaying video games were riffing off of the success of Dungeons and Dragons, so the genre was defined by the similar traits: companions traveling with you, skill trees to develop, a unique character to play. These days, the rules are much blurrier.
It's all for the best. No industry or creative medium stays the same forever! We have tons of new games with fresh, exciting mechanics to explore now, and games that mix genres in order to create something wonderfully new. No one is better at pushing boundaries and trying out new things than indie developers. In this article, we'll detail some of our favorite indie RPGs that you should definitely consider picking up.
8 Divinity: Original Sin II
Divinity: Original Sin II is a sequel, but don't let that scare you away; players say that they can understand the fantastical plotline of the game just fine! The premise is that you are a captured sorcerer who has been sent to an island prison. Things are about to get way more complicated. Don't they always? In fact, it's actually a great choice to introduce someone to the action-RPG genre.
It was developed and published by Larian Studios, receiving some of the highest praise that a video game has ever gotten! It sold more than a million copies in two months. As for gameplay, you're in for a top-down experience, where you control a main character with up to three companions at your side. They can be controlled individually, which makes for incredible strategy when it's called for. There are also multiplayer modes, online and local, competitive and cooperative!
7 Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is a game you can't have avoided if you've been in gaming spaces on the internet recently. It's an open-world action RPG that's developed and published by miHoYo. It's free to play, with in-game 'gacha game' mechanics that you can spend money on. In its first year, it made more than $3 billion in revenue.
It truly is beautiful, there's no denying that. As the protagonist, you explore a world rendered in an anime art style; there are vast forest, mountainous valleys, open plains, and more! The story asks you to search for your missing twin sibling, gathering friends to help you along the way.
6 Darkest Dungeon
Darkest Dungeon, developed and published by Red Hook Studios, takes dungeon crawling to a whole new level. It's a roguelike, which basically just means that you'll be going through procedurally-generated levels that are different every time you explore them; and you will explore them a lot, since roguelikes also involve permadeath. Newcomers will need to prepare themselves for a tough game with plenty of trial and error.
The art style is absolutely stunning; a gothic setting awaits you, where you'll deal with psychological stresses on top of everything else. The story involves recruiting and training heroes to reclaim an ancestor's estate, now overrun with monsters.
5 Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
Bug Fables is a platformer RPG that is often compared to Paper Mario, thanks to its similar art style and gameplay mechanics. The gameplay involves balancing three characters' special abilities from a side-scrolling point of view to adventure around a world known as Bugaria.
Developed by Moonsprout Games, Bug Fables is a great choice for any RPG fan. It follows three pals, Vi, Kabbu, and Leif (all bugs, of course) who are on a quest to find the Everlasting Sapling, which is said to grant immortality! As you journey along you'll need to solve puzzles, defeat your foes, and stay fearless in order to find your prize!
4 To The Moon
To the Moon is a lesser-known title, but just as good as any other game featured here. The story is what everyone loves so much about it; it follows a pair of doctors - Eva Rosalene and Neil Watts - who have a special job. They meet an old man, Johnny Wyles, whose dying wish is to go to the moon. The doctors can't really send him to the moon, but they can give him memories of doing it.
At its core, To the Moon is a 16-bit 2D adventure game. You spend your time investigating Johnny's memories, solving puzzles and discovering secrets to delve deeper into his mind and discover the root of his obsession with visiting the moon. The experience is brief, but it'll have you on the edge of your seat.
3 Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley may be one of the most well-known indie success stories around. If you don't know, the entire game was made by one man, Eric Barone (known online as ConcernedApe). He did all the coding, made all the art, composed all the music, and so much more!
The plot of Stardew Valley follows you, a big-city office worker who has decided to move out to the countryside and refurbish your grandfather's old farm. The game is as cozy as games get. In fact, one of your first missions is literally just to meet everyone in the nearby town! You spend your time raising animals, growing crops, investigating local mysteries, and making friends.
2 Hades
Gamers all over the world just can't get enough of Hades, made by Supergiant Games. The story, inspired by Greek mythology, centers around Zagreus, the son of Hades and Persephone. Zagreus is fleeing his father in the Underworld and trying to reach his mother up above. Other Greek gods and mythological figures make appearances and help Zagreus on his journey.
Since it's a roguelike, the game is procedurally generated and always new, as mentioned previously. Gameplay asks you to fight your way through various dungeons and environments with a hack-and-slash combat system and a touch of magic.
1 Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium asks you to take on the role of a detective when you wake up in a strange world, called Elysium, with no memory of who you are or what brought you there. One thing's for sure, though: you need to solve a murder.
This game is an unforgettable experience from start to finish. In it, you are allowed to explore an open world at your leisure. The gameplay is dialogue-focused, with tons of decisions to make as you go - some will be mistakes, others will be strokes of genius. Whether the amnesiac detective is a world-saving hero or a total disaster is all up to you.
Disco Elysium was made by the company ZA/UM, but is largely the brainchild of a novelist, Robert Kurvitz. Kurvitz and his team worked on the world of Elysium for years; Elysium has six thousand years of established history.