The year 2022 was one of the best years for large-scale RPG games. Keeping up with those already-released titles will be a challenging task. However, the year 2023 doesn’t fall short. With some up-and-coming titles, this year will indeed mark this genre.
The following titles are sure to pique your interest. They range from small-scale creative indie games to some of the most popular and well-known tags in the RPG genre.
We will start from the ones we deem the whole package, including expected popularity, immersion, and quality.
Diablo 4
One of the most popular game franchises is the upcoming fourth installment of the Diablo series. So naturally, all the fans hope this part will return the glory for Activision.
The game will include some good old-time PC-style RPG gameplay, which never gets old. You’ll be able to explore various dungeons and maps and fight more deadly and terrifying enemies, with the option to master some unique and exciting abilities. The game will offer everything the last games had but on a larger scale.
The release date is set to be June 6th, 2023.
Final Fantasy 16
Violence, gore, excellent combat mechanics, giant monsters, and some killer music will be just some of the other great things in the upcoming Final Fantasy 16 game. In addition, the game will introduce players to the magical land of Valisthea. The excellent map, filled with deadly creatures, magic, epic battles, and exciting story, will be divided into 6 Realms.
The protagonist will be able to explore and learn everything about this war-torn land and will be enjoying another excellent example of the popular Final Fantasy franchise.
The release date is set to be June 22nd.
Baldur’s Gate
One of the most iconic RPG series of all time, the long-awaited Bladur’s Gate III, is also coming to PlayStation 5 and PC. The game will take place in a massive open world which will be explorable solo or with the help of friends in co-op.
The developers plan to build a great gaming experience with tons of customization, good gameplay, interesting lore, and much more. As time proceeds, the game seems more and more promising, and will it be able to justify all this waiting? We will see.
The official release date is set for August 31st, 2023.
Starfield
Having the chance to build your own spaceship and base and explore planets and Solar Systems sounds promising.
The Upcoming space exploration game called Starfield gives off some good feelings. The first-person shooter is set to allow the player to explore over 100 star systems and around 1000 unique and explorable planets. Being such a large-scale game doesn’t mean it doesn’t pay attention to detail.
After finding a suitable planet for colonizing, you will also get to customize and build your home, ship, and weapons; overall, the game does promise a lot.
The release date is set to take place on September 6th.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Hopefully, the follow-up to the original Final Fantasy 7 remake will further follow the original entry’s story. In addition, the sequel offers some ambitious things that made the remake so famous.
The fast action-leaning combat, world exploration, and building are just some of the things that make the game so popular. It’s also confirmed to launch on PS5.
The official release date wasn’t given. It is expected to be somewhere around the summer of 2023
The Lords of the Fallen
The long-anticipated sequel to the Lords of the Fallen has an official release date. This Soulslike style action RPG where you build up your Dark Crusader character and fight many dangerous and terrible foes promises a heck of a time.
The warn-torn land will be filled with many challenging bosses and monsters to fight; the combat also will be more detailed and tactical. In addition, the map will be five times bigger than the previous game. It’s up to you to overthrow and destroy a Daemon God.
The release date is set to be October 28th.
Sea of Stars
This turn-based RPG adventure offers nostalgic and classic gameplay and a battle system. It’s mostly for people who love classes and the old-fashioned way of turn-based games.
The game looks aesthetically pleasing, giving the player a sense of comfort and coziness during playtime. Besides the looks, the gameplay and lore offer fascinating elements, and they are based on the story of saving the world by using the powers of the sun and the moon. Overall a great classic RPG title that’s highly recommendable.
The official release date is set to be August 29th.
Greedfall 2
The sequel to the underrated GreedFall game will take place a couple of years before the events of the Original title. In this installment, instead of being the colonizers, the story will focus more on the natives of the land.
The players will take up the role of the people living peacefully on the Old Continent and trying to survive and fight back the group of colonists who want to rip the land from them. This time, you take the fight back to the oppressors. The gameplay will focus more on being diverse, not fully turn-based.
Management of your party and giving controls through combat will also be added. In addition, the developers promised to make the combat more exciting and immersive. Overall, a significant upgrade to the first game, also with much more elements, sounds really promising.
The official release date wasn’t set. It’s believed to happen around the end of this year; some complications indicated that it’s possible to happen the following year. Let us hope that won’t happen.
Darkest Dungeon 2
This interesting roguelike turn-based RPG looks more than fascinating. The game doesn’t have the elements of the usual games, and that really makes a big difference. Instead, the game relies on thinking, turn-based combat, and beautiful visuals. It’s a significant upgrade on the first game.
The characters are more detailed, and the famous choice system is even more critical. Yes, you heard that right; everything you do impacts the game’s later course. The status effects and stress system make this game unique and worth playing.
The Offical release of the whole game is set to happen on May 8th, 2023.
Black Myth Wukong
This game is one of the most highly anticipated RPG indie game titles. Being created in Unreal Engine 5 makes the visuals and gameplay impressive and promising.
The developers plan to put some authentic elements of Chinese Folklore we don’t see much in other games. The big accent goes to the combat mechanics, which really look attractive. The combat will rely on tactics and complexity, creating a unique experience for the player.
The release date is set to be the end of 2023.
Dragon Age DreadWolf
The long-anticipated action RPG game Dragon Age DreadWolf will finally mark the sequel to the last Dragon Age title. The game will feature fully real-time combat with elements like the combat mechanics in God Of War.
But one of the essential mentions about the gameplay is that party control is being removed, which means you won’t be able to switch between party members like in the past games.
But, besides the fact that party control is being removed, everything else seems like a hundred times upgraded version of the past games.
Players can expect a grand fantasy RPG game from Bioware Charm that will make them enjoy every second of playing it.
The official release date wasn’t given yet. However, it’s expected to be released around the Summer or end of 2023.
Octopath Traveler 2
Talking about some great and exciting titles, we can’t forget our switch fans, which can expect a tremendous already-released title called Octopath Traveler 2.
It’s the follow-up to the first Octopath Traveler. The game will feature new characters and a new story, which won’t require playing the previous game. It’s a great classic JRPG-style game that promises more engaging and immersive gameplay than the original game.
The combat is upgraded, and the maps are better and more extensive. The visuals also look better than ever.
The release date was February 24th. The game is available in the official stores.
Lies of P
NEOWIZ Steam
This game essentially follows the dark and soul-like story of Pinocchio. You read that correctly: playing as Pinnochio from the classic Italian novel.
You don’t get much of the fairytale atmosphere here, though. Instead, it’s set in the Victorian era, with elements and looks that are similar to Bloodborne and the other soul-like games. You will have the option to customize and develop skills and weapons, abilities, and many more. The atmosphere and visuals look awesome and unique. Who would love to make Piccochio a serial killer in this grim and dark Town?
The release date is set to be somewhere around the summer of 2023.
14. Forspoken
Set in the beautiful and magical lands of Athia, the upcoming Forspoken game title offers many things for players who love parkour, magic, an open world, and stunning, breathtaking views.
As the protagonist, you will easily traverse the open world and explore the unique map filled with canyons, mountains, high castle walls, and landscapes. The combat relies on many powerful and mystic ranged magic spells.
However, the game mainly depends on parkour and traveling through the map since the traveling system is exciting and unique. While Forspoken didn’t resonate with everyone, the game does have its fans.
The official release date was set on January 24th, so the game is available in stores for all interested.
15. Cyberpunk 2077: The Phantom Liberty Expansion
The enormous expansion for Cyberpunk that fans have waited for will hopefully hit the stores soon. The so-called “Spy Thriller” will have some classic and new RPG-style options for how to enjoy the game. The expansion will include new characters, loot, weapons, and good old-fashioned RPG upgrades to make the gameplay more exciting and immersive.
After the release of the first one and all the shortcomings, the standard and expectations for this DLC are pretty high. So let’s hope it will live up to that level.
Conclusion and Honourable Mentions
This year will surely be a good one for the RPG genre, especially for Soulslike games; as we can see, many of the titles in the article are games based on that atmosphere and gameplay. But of course, besides those titles, many interesting and unique games look very promising.
Besides these games on the list, there are also some honorable mentions which include already-released games and some more upcoming ones:
- Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection – April 14th, 2023.
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – May 12th, 2023.
- Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End and the Secret Key – March 24th, 2023.
- Atlas Fallen – End of 2023
- Miasma Chronicles – May 23rd
- System Shook – May 25th
