Roleplaying games have been on a roll lately, with 2024 joining 2023 as a standout year for the genre. The sheer volume and quality of RPG releases this year make selecting just five games extremely difficult. Each release brought something interesting, from new takes on classic formulas to faithful remakes and new evolutions of established series.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (9.5)
The release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon marked a turning point for the franchise, transitioning into the roleplaying genre. The turn-based combat and class systems of the seventh main entry have been further refined in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, making the adventure of Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu more compelling.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth serves as the real bridge between the Yakuza and Like a Dragon series into one cohesive experience. It’s the perfect sendoff for Kiryu and a passing of the torch to the plucky Ichiban Kasuga.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (9)
Following Final Fantasy VII Remake, there was skepticism about the second part of the Remake project. However, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth proved to be an amazing game with huge open-world environments, an improved combat system, and an incredible recreation of well-known sequences.
If there’s one word to describe Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, it would be ambitious. Players will feel more intimately engrossed with the story and routinely have their fond memories of playing the original tickled with delight. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an absolute must-play for fans of the series.
Dragon's Dogma 2 (7)
Dragon's Dogma 2 aimed to realize Hideaki Itsuno's vision of a living world with consequences for player actions. It delivered an enhanced version of the original with improved visuals, a beautiful open world, engaging combat, and interesting systems.
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a highly enjoyable fantasy action/adventure with RPG elements that will provide you with about 40 hours of pure fun. Its peerless sense of exploration, meaty combat system, and stunning visuals will motivate you throughout the entire playthrough.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (7)
BioWare returned to its roots with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, moving away from open-world and live service pretensions. The game presents a tighter mission-based experience with an excellent combat system and impressive customization.
With Dragon Age: The Veilguard, BioWare has largely returned to its roots... Veilguard is a great mission-based RPGs with a memorable story that will leave Dragon Age fans enthralled by the revelations.
Metaphor: ReFantazio (8)
After a long development, Metaphor: ReFantazio successfully combines mechanics from the Persona series with a fantasy setting. It rejuvenates the original Persona 3 formula, offering an engaging story and a compelling class system.
Those who are willing to embrace what very well could be the sixth Persona title in all but name alone will experience one of the most stylish Japanese roleplaying games of 2024.
Honorable Mentions
2024 has been an incredible year for RPGs, making it difficult to select just five. Here are some of the other excellent games released:
- FANTASIAN: Neo Dimension
- Ys X Nordics
- Granblue Fantasy: Relink
- Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
- Unicorn Overlord
- Persona 3 Reload
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
- Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
- Visions of Mana
- Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Path of Exile 2
- Hades II
