Best Xbox RPGs

Huge open worlds, well-written characters, and expansive lore can be found in RPGs of all sorts and settings — if you're looking for your next fix, here's our list of some of the best RPGs available on Xbox!

Role-playing games are as popular as ever, and for good reason. The best RPGs are only getting more ambitious and the genre has come to be almost synonymous with vast open worlds, fully realised characters, and hugely detailed stories. Many RPGs embrace greater complexity and moral ambiguity, building on the idea that there’s no good or bad choice — you can’t be 100% the hero, and you’re going to make choices you regret. A complex story backed up by extensive side missions and an over-arching depth of world lore, coupled with a massive open world, intricate dialogue, and agonising player choices make for games that you can get lost in for hundreds of hours. We thought we’d go back through our list and update it with the best Xbox RPGs available now — these are only some of the hundreds of great RPGs out there, based on TrueAchievements ratings, site review scores, and personal opinions, so if you don’t see your favourite on there, why not tell us about it and why you love it, in the comments? Check it out below and let us know what you think!

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt sits at the top of the list of highest-rated RPGs, as it should; The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt takes the bar for the standard of RPGs, runs off with it, and disappears with it into the stratosphere. Its story is unbeatable, and backed up by intricate side quests, contracts, encounters and activities, with the whole thing tied up neatly in one of the most immersive game worlds there is, and supported by an in-depth lore and mythology which sets the game apart all over again. The after-effect of the “Witcher slump”, which puts you off all other games, is well worth it — you actually can’t go wrong with this one. Its DLCs again set a new standard — Blood and Wine in particular is like a whole new game by itself, while Heart of Stone adds a brilliant new storyline. Plus, the arrival of the Xbox Series X|S update gives you an excellent reason to head back to the Continent.

Elden Ring

There are some grey-bearded veterans on this list of the best Xbox RPGs, so it's interesting to see how quickly Elden Ring shot to near the top of TA's highest-rated Xbox RPGs. Elden Ring sees you head into the Lands Between on a quest to become an Elden Lord — over 100,000 TrueAchievements members have picked it up since it launched at the start of 2022, and it already sits with an impressive rating of 4.8/5. The estimated completion time is around 80-100 hours, so Elden Ring will clearly take up a good chunk of your time, as most excellent RPGs do.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Mass Effect Legendary Edition did once sit at the top of TA's highest-rated RPGs, but has since been overtaken by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Elden Ring, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition. Nevertheless, it has a highly respectable rating of 4.8/5, and the rating really does fit the bill when it comes to this awesome trilogy, which includes Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3, all remastered and optimised for Xbox Series X|S. Stepping into the shoes of Commander Shepard, Mass Effect Legendary Edition offers up all of the games' single-player content and over 40 DLC packs, making it a must-buy for any fan of the original trilogy — or a must-try for those that are yet to experience it.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition has already established itself as one of the best and most beloved RPGs — in the years since it launched, it’s already on its way to becoming one of those grey-bearded games of legend that new-fangled RPGs try their best to live up to. The Anniversary Edition adds a whole heap of new content on top of the massive graphical upgrade and mod support that the Special Edition brought to the table. New side quests, fishing, a survival mode, and Xbox Series X|S enhancements all make an appearance in this edition of the game — more proof that the only way Skyrim can be made any better is to just have more Skyrim.

Divinity: Original Sin 2

It’s been a few years since Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition was released, and this excellent RPG is still just as highly rated both by TA community votes and by our own Divinity: Original Sin 2 review: at 4.5/5 from TA members and at 4.5/5 by the review, which sings its praises, and calls it “one of the best tactical and role-playing experiences you'll ever have on any platform”. It’s “a game about choice in every aspect... It's an RPG where it truly is your story, with no two playthroughs being alike thanks to the vast number of ways to tackle any given situation… There are few RPGs I'd dare to call essential, but Divinity: Original Sin 2 stands out among all others as deserving of that accolade.”

NieR: Automata Become as Gods Edition

Rated at 4.4/5 by the TrueAchievements community and 5/5 from the site review, which says “NieR: Automata is without a doubt one of the best games of the generation,” it’s clear the game is one of the most beloved RPGs available. The review adds that NieR: Automata Become as Gods Edition's gameplay is "sensibly designed to ensure you're always having fun,” while “the story has impact on both a base level and philosophically, and will no doubt leave you with questions to consider for days after you finish if you enjoy that kind of thing… it's only so often a game this excellent comes around.”

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition straddles the RPG, action, hack 'n' slash, and dungeon crawler genres, and seems to do so with massive success, if its 4.5/5 rating is anything to go by. It’s no easy challenge, with an estimated completion time of up to 100 hours, but it’s kept itself on our list of the best RPGs during the years since its release, and has therefore fought its way onto our consolidated list of the best RPGs available on Xbox.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

The TrueAchievements community rates Assassin’s Creed Odyssey just under Assassin’s Creed Origins, at 4.52/5 as opposed to Origin’s 4.55/5, but in our opinion, it’s Odyssey that most deserves to be on here, in terms of what it offers and what it tries to achieve. Odyssey is a huge game — while there is an end in sight if you stick to the main story or DLC and side quests, you can otherwise get entirely lost in the map and the endless side content. Sometimes Odyssey’s ambition can run away with it, and this can play against the game somewhat — something we ran into in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, too — but it also offers a lot of content to invest your time in. The story, world-building, and background of Greek mythology, coupled with Ubisoft’s extensive attention to detail and the level of choice offered to the player, make Odyssey a must-play.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

We may have quite the wait for Dragon Age 4 ahead of us, but in the meantime, 2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition remains as beloved as ever. It’s rated at 4.4/5 by the TA community, and likewise at 4.5/5 by our Dragon Age: Inquisition review. Given it’s years since Inquisition launched, and that Dragon Age 4 news seems to still be a way off, it’s likely that Dragon Age: Inquisition will hold its place on the list of the best RPGs on Xbox One.

Persona 5 Royal

Persona 5 Royal has already shot to the top of TA's highest-rated RPGs, even though it only arrived for Xbox in October. Rated at 4.7/5, Persona 5 Royal sees us sent to a high school in Tokyo, where life becomes split between being a student during the day and a Phantom Thief at night, fighting against corruption.

The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds is wacky, weird, hilarious, and a lot of fun. It’s rated at 4.2/5 from TA community votes, and our Outer Worlds review put it at 4.5/5. Developed by famed RPG studio Obsidian, it’s seen as something of a spiritual successor to Fallout: New Vegas, but it’s still entirely its own thing. There’s a distinctive contrast between irreverent humour and some really dark themes, with you caught in the middle, faced with which path to pave. The game follows its own pace and sweeps you along with it — you’re woken up by a mad-scientist type who bombards you with a lot of information at top speed, before dumping you on one of many dangerous planets, with a vague idea that you’re on a mission to take down an evil corporation — and with that, you’re off on the weirdest adventure you might have been on for some time. The Outer Worlds is also available with Xbox Game Pass.

That’s just a short list of the many, many fantastic RPGs out there. What do you think of our list? Let us know in the comments, and if you’re not seeing your own favourite, you can head over to its game page and rate it, review it, or chat about it in the forums, or else share your thoughts in the comments below too!

Written by Heidi Nicholas

Heidi tends to lean towards indie games, RPGs, and open-world games on Xbox, and when not playing Disney Dreamlight Valley, happily installs every new wholesome game that appears on Xbox Game Pass, before diving back into favorites like The Witcher 3. She's looking forward to Age of Mythology Retold, Everwild, Fable, and Avowed on the Xbox horizon. Heidi graduated with an MA in English Literature before joining the TrueAchievements team.