VOTE NOW! The Tom's Hardware Community Choice PC Games: Best RPGs

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Jsimenhoff

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The Tom's Hardware Definitive List of PC Games: Best RPGs

To help navigate this brave new world for gaming, Tom's Hardware is in the process of assembling the definitive list of PC games in a number of genres. We've already put a few lists together, but the number of titles is lacking. While the Tom's Hardware Editorial team is few in number, the Tom's Hardware Community is legion.

With your input we hope to assemble a list of the best and worst PC games that can truly be called definitive. Over the next few weeks we'll be collecting Community feedback across multiple categories. Once we have a sufficient number of submissions, we'll have the Community vote on the most popular, with a showcase of the winning games on the Tom's Hardware homepage.

This thread will decide the definitive list of best PC RPGs.

To help get you started here are the Editorial Team's list of best PC RPGS:


We know this list is just a start. Do you have any suggestions? Comment below and give us your best picks!
 

Garrek99

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If you haven't played Divinity 2 you really ought to not say that there aren't any good games out now.
It sets a new very high bar for what an RPG can be like.
I've been playing RPGs since the times of Final Fantasy 3 and Divinity 2 is top notch.
 

Assmar

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KOTOR, duh. But I'm a JRPG fan, so I'll throw in Tales of Symphonia as well. And although I couldn't get into the games, the STALKER series has tons of fans.
 
BEST
Fallout 3 - Not quite as good an RPG as New Vegas, but a better story.
Fallout New Vegas - Simply amazing. Mods out the wazzu for it too.
Baldurs Gate - I think this might be the greatest RPG ever made.
Never Winter Nights - A better version of Divinity 2.

Kinda suck as RPGs
Divinity 2 - is not a very good game. I own it. According to Steam I've played over 400 hours playing it. More like 150-200 with the rest being logged in but away from the PC. I would give it a 5 (on a scale of best to worst RPGs 1 being worst, 10 being best). There are many issues with the game. The biggest being an unbalanced difficult level. It is basically a new version of Neverwinter Nights, but not as good. The controls are not very responsive. The world itself feels small and largely uninteresting. There are bugs in the quest lines which have been documented for months and remain unaddressed (the shoddy sort of issues that are easy to fix). Parts of the story are just stupid. Every monster knows you on sight. Even some lame haunted scare crows. So why am I playing it? Because while "not great" it is average for the genre and the best of the newest ones. I would recommend it only if you are jonesing for a old-school turn based RPG and are willing to put up with some limitations.

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - is another I just can't get in to. I don't like the limits in the character development. The "hero" who you will be playing is not up to you. You will instead just play a very well defined pre-gen. I think it is better than Divinity. It is a good game overall. It is not at all interesting as an RPG in large part because I can only play the character they built for me, that and I find the overall story and mix of humans and monsters to be boring. Also the decision to include a fair bit of crudely done pixel porn means I can't play it when the kids are around. Pandering to the the teen boys demographic I guess.

Fallout 4 - a great game with really shoddy RPG elements compared to the predecessors. Graphics are good. Animations are nice. Good open world. Interesting story elements.

 

Medallish

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I've only played 2 of the games on this list, so that of course limits my perspective, those two being The Witcher 3 and Fallout NV, and I'm pretty biased, Fallout NV was my favorite "game of games" until I finally got into Witcher 3, which admittedly took some time.

Fallout NV obviously has the advantage of letting you create your own character, and it's by far the best "modern" Fallout game, except in certain gameplay elements that Fallout 4 has been improving. It also does something almost no other game does, and that's allow wildly different outcomes to feel natural, I remember realizing this when I was tasked to protect someone important from being assassinated, and I realized I'd likely be on the complete opposite side had I chosen a different faction, and would probably have been tasked with the assassination, just felt unique for an RPG at the time, because even good RPG's, had you doing the same regardless of the choice you make, like Mass Effect, wonderful game, but your choices really didn't change much.

The Witcher 3 is the kind of game where you need to be in the right mood to get in to, I had played maybe an hour or so, and kind of getting stuck, then I was feeling really patient one day, and I wanted to see what the game was about, so started a new game, and paid attention. Witcher 3, for me, is without a doubt the best game there's been, gameplay is good, graphics are good, and the story it's based on is fantastic, and since I finally got into Witcher 3, I went back and played Witcher 2, and listened to all the books, and while the Witcher 3 certainly isn't completely true to the books, but it felt way better written than Witcher 2, which I liked, but in certain aspects, felt like fan fiction that wasn't quite as well written as the books.

I think these two games show two interesting aspects of the "RPG" genre.
Fallout NV is the RPG for people who like to make up their own characters and set your own path.
The Witcher 3, uses a well written character and puts you in his shoes, allowing you to make some of your own choices along the way.

TL;DR I think Witcher 3 is the best game.

Honorable mentions: Dragon Age Inquisition, and Prey.
 

Colif

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Fallout NV was fun as you could roll play in many different ways with a character you make yourself, and be bad if you want to. Fallout 4 only lets you play as a choice of 2 characters and is more shooter than rpg now. I played NV far more than F4. Not sure Bethesda will let Obsidian make another one as they probably don't like it when they are out shined with their own IP. Pity as NV was closer to the 1st 2 games. 4 just felt like they were living off the legends name.
 

willz06jw

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Nov 4, 2013
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Ultima 7 is still on top as the best RPG made. That being said, Divinity Original Sin 2 is a masterwork and a very close #2.
 

WINTERLORD

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Well on the MMO front id suggest Guild Wars 2, and Bless Online is looking really good.

---- as far as RPG Skyrim Oblivion was probably the best RPG of all time,
 
G

Guest

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Would Paper Mario count as an RPG? That was one was one of my favorites :)
 

mwryder55

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I really liked Deus Ex Human Revolution, but I play Skyrim far more. Even without using any mods there is so much to do in Skyrim. The only thing I wish they would have done is make the dungeons and quests random like those in Daggerfall where you never found artifact X in place Y.
 

haemophile

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lets go seriously oldschool

the dungeons of moria had terrible graphics but still i consider this the best rpg for gameplay.

i still play it now and again and still have never got anywhere near the balrog
 

Jsimenhoff

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Buy more games :p
 
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