Some games ask you to play a character. RPG games ask you to become one. Every choice shapes who you are. Every battle tests what you are made of. Every story unfolds differently depending on the decisions you make, the skills you build, the world you choose to explore. Step into Bandai Namco's RPG games and discover worlds built to pull you in and never let go.
Action RPG
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THE BLOOD OF DAWNWALKER
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ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition
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Code Vein II
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ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN
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SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada
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SAND LAND
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ELDEN RING
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SCARLET NEXUS
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CODE VEIN
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DARK SOULS TRILOGY
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GOD EATER 3
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DIVINITY: ORIGINAL SIN 2 - DEFINITIVE EDITION
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DARK SOULS REMASTERED
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GOD EATER 2: RAGE BURST + GOD EATER RESURRECTION
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DARK SOULS III
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DARK SOULS II
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DARK SOULS
Open World RPG
RPG video games : a world where you matter
At its core, a role-playing game puts you in control of a character, or an entire party, whose growth and story are shaped by your choices. Character progression is central. The more you play, the more powerful, nuanced, and uniquely yours your character becomes.
RPG video games combine mechanics with narrative in a way few genres can match. Stats, abilities, equipment, dialogue trees, moral decisions, faction allegiances. Everything feeds into a living system that reacts to what you do. The world changes. Your character evolves. The story moves forward.
That blend of mechanical depth and emotional investment is what makes RPG games so enduring. Players do not just complete quests. They live inside entire worlds for dozens, sometimes hundreds, of hours.
Different journeys for your style
Role-playing games are not a single experience. They cover an enormous spectrum of mechanics, pacing, and player engagement. Understanding the different styles helps you find the one that suits you best.
Action RPG games, when every second counts
Action RPG games put reflexes and real-time combat at the centre of the experience. You do not wait for a turn. You act, dodge, strike, and adapt in the moment. The tension is immediate. The skill ceiling is high.
This is where some of the most iconic names in modern gaming live. Elden Ring defines the format. A vast open world, brutal and beautiful, where every encounter demands everything you have.
Turn-based RPG games, think before you strike
Turn-based RPG games slow things down without reducing the stakes. You think. You plan. You anticipate the enemy's next move before executing your own. Combat becomes a strategic puzzle rather than a reflex challenge.
The depth here is remarkable. Team composition, ability combinations, resource management. Victory belongs to those who think further ahead.
Strategy RPG games, victory is earned before the fight begins
Strategy RPG games take the turn-based formula and expand it across a tactical grid. Positioning matters as much as stats. A flanking move can change an entire fight. A misplaced unit can cost you everything.
These games reward patience, precision, and the pleasure of a perfectly executed plan.
Japanese RPG games, where story becomes legend
Japanese RPG games carry a distinct identity. Rich storytelling, memorable characters, emotional depth, and combat systems built layer by layer. The JRPG tradition is one of gaming's most beloved.
Bandai Namco has been central to that tradition for decades. Tales of Berseria Remastered is a landmark in the genre. A story about conviction, revenge, and what it means to fight on your own terms. Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom offers something rarer still, a JRPG full of warmth and wonder, built like an animated dream.
Every world has a soul
The world you step into matters as much as how you play. RPG games are defined by their settings, and the diversity across the genre is extraordinary.
Fantasy RPG games, worlds built to last forever
Fantasy is the genre's natural home. Dragons, ancient prophecies, crumbling empires, and heroes shaped by destiny. Fantasy RPG games build worlds that feel mythological in scope and deeply human at their core.
Elden Ring stands as one of the most ambitious fantasy worlds ever constructed in gaming. The Lands Between is not just a backdrop. It is a civilization in collapse, told through every ruin, every boss, every fragment of lore buried in an item description.
Horror RPG games, when survival is never guaranteed
Horror and RPG mechanics are a natural combination. Vulnerability, scarcity, dread. When survival is uncertain and resources run thin, every decision carries real weight.
Horror RPG games use that tension brilliantly. The atmosphere closes in. The narrative becomes unsettling. And the systems beneath the surface, health, sanity, equipment, amplify everything the story is trying to make you feel.
Cyberpunk RPG games, the future has never looked this dangerous
Neon cities, fractured societies, and characters living on the edge of a world that no longer has room for them. Cyberpunk RPG games explore identity, power, and the cost of survival in futures that feel uncomfortably plausible.
The aesthetic is sharp. The storytelling tends to be sharper. These worlds reward players who want lore as dense as the rain-soaked streets they walk through.
Medieval RPG games, history with blood on its hands
Swords, kingdoms, politics, and the slow burn of history. Medieval RPG games ground their stories in a world that feels tangible and earned. No magic required. Just conflict, ambition, and consequence.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt sets the standard. A world of moral grey, impossible choices, and characters whose lives feel genuinely at stake.
Play it your way, anywhere
Great RPG video games are built to reach players wherever they are. Each platform brings something different to the experience.
RPG games on PC
The PC is where many of the best RPG games have found their audience. Modding communities extend playtime indefinitely. Performance headroom sharpens every visual detail. And the breadth of the library is unmatched.
PC RPG games also tend to push mechanical complexity further. More build options, deeper systems, richer customisation. For players who want to go as deep as a game will let them, the PC is the place to do it.
RPG games on Nintendo Switch
RPG games have thrived on Nintendo Switch in ways that surprised even dedicated fans of the genre. The ability to play a 60-hour adventure on the go, picking it up and putting it down without losing momentum, has changed how players relate to long-form RPGs.
Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure Pack shows Bandai Namco's commitment to bringing memorable experiences to Nintendo's platform. Playful, inventive, and full of the kind of charm that makes the Switch feel like its own world.
RPG games on PlayStation (PS4 & PS5)
PlayStation has been home to some of the most cinematic and technically refined RPG experiences in gaming history. The hardware brings ambition to life. Vast landscapes render without compromise. Combat animations flow with precision. Sound design wraps you inside the world.
On PS5 in particular, the leap in loading speeds transforms RPG exploration. Open worlds open instantly. The immersion holds.
Solo or together: how you play RPG games
Role-playing games span every style of play. Alone in front of a vast world, or side by side with friends, the experience shifts depending on who you bring with you.
Solo RPG games
Solo RPG games are about immersion and identity. You make every choice. You carry every consequence. The story belongs entirely to you.
This is the most traditional form of the genre, and still the most powerful for narrative-driven experiences. When the world reacts to your decisions alone, the investment runs deep.
Co-op RPG games
Co-op RPG games transform the experience entirely. Strategies are discussed. Roles are divided. The joy of a well-timed combination or a clutch save becomes a shared memory.
Some of the genre's most memorable moments happen when two players bring very different approaches to the same problem.
Online RPG games
Online RPG games expand the world to include every other player inside it. Guilds, rivalries, economies, community events. The game becomes a living space rather than a fixed story.
The scale of what can happen in an online RPG is fundamentally different from any solo experience. The world never stops.
What separates a good RPG from one you never forget
Not all RPG video games reach the same level. The ones that endure, the ones players return to and talk about for years, share a few qualities that cannot easily be replicated.
A character that is truly yours
The best RPG games give you meaningful options, not just many options. Every upgrade, every skill point, every piece of equipment should feel like a deliberate expression of how you want to play. A build is not just a stat sheet. It is a personal statement.
A world that existed before you arrived
A great RPG world feels inhabited before the player arrives. History, culture, conflict, geography. The best role-playing games make you feel like a visitor inside a place that exists independently of your presence.
Lore rewards curiosity. Hidden stories live in item descriptions, environmental details, and the conversations no one forced you to have.
Meaningful choices and their consequences
Decisions that matter change everything. When a choice shapes the story, alters relationships, or closes off an entire path, the player feels the weight of agency. The best RPG video games never let consequences feel cheap.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 represents exactly that kind of ambition. A world where the choices you make carry genuine emotional cost, and the story is never indifferent to what you decide.
New and upcoming RPG games
The genre is constantly moving. New RPG video games bring fresh mechanics, unexpected worlds, and stories that push the format further. Upcoming RPG releases regularly redefine what the genre is capable of.
Staying informed matters. The next great RPG could arrive when you least expect it.
Subscribe to the Bandai Namco newsletter to get news about upcoming RPG games, new releases, and major updates across platforms.
RPG games from Bandai Namco
Bandai Namco's catalogue in the RPG genre spans decades and every style the genre has to offer.
Elden Ring stands at the summit of the action RPG format, a collaboration with FromSoftware that redefined open-world design. Tales of Berseria Remastered and Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom represent two very different expressions of the JRPG tradition, one fierce and emotionally raw, one luminous and full of heart.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 points toward the future of the genre, ambitious, visually extraordinary, and built around choices that leave a mark.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remains one of the most celebrated RPG video games ever made, a benchmark for open-world storytelling that few have matched.
Together, these titles represent the full scope of what RPG games can be.
FAQ - RPG games
No. Most RPG video games are designed to welcome new players. Tutorials, adjustable difficulty settings, and natural learning curves mean that the depth is there when you want it and out of the way when you do not.
It depends entirely on the game and how you play it. A focused playthrough of a narrative RPG might take 20 to 30 hours. An open-world action RPG with deep side content can run well past 100 hours. Most RPG games are honest about their scale early on.
Branching choices, missed content, different builds, and unexplored paths. A great RPG rarely shows everything in one run. The second playthrough is an invitation to experience the same world from a completely different angle.
Absolutely. Build theory is one of the most satisfying dimensions of the genre. Understanding how abilities, stats, and equipment interact often transforms a good experience into an exceptional one. That said, there is rarely a single correct approach. Experimentation is part of the joy.
Yes. Many narrative RPG games use voice acting, cinematic presentation, and environmental storytelling to carry the story without relying on text-heavy dialogue. The immersion does not require reading. It requires attention.
Turn-based RPG games pause during combat to let you plan and execute actions strategically. Action RPG games unfold in real time, demanding reflexes and immediate decision-making. Both formats offer deep mechanical engagement, but the rhythm and feel are entirely different.
Western RPG games tend to emphasise open worlds, player agency, and moral complexity. Japanese RPG games typically prioritise character-driven stories, distinctive visual aesthetics, and carefully designed combat systems. Both traditions have produced some of the most beloved games ever made, and the line between them continues to blur.
Not necessarily. Difficulty varies enormously across RPG video games, from approachable narrative experiences to brutally demanding action RPGs. Many games in the genre allow players to adjust challenge levels. The depth of the systems does not automatically translate to difficulty.
Think about what appeals to you most. Storytelling, exploration, combat, world-building. Then find a game that leads with that strength. A game like Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a warm and welcoming entry point. Elden Ring is for players who want the genre at its most demanding and rewarding. Neither answer is wrong. Start with the experience that excites you most.
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