Best Turn-Based RPGs From The Modern Era

RPGs can come in many forms. Some are extremely detailed with a focus on character building, some are more action-focused with more of a concentration on story, and some find a mix of these traits to create new and unique experiences. But, the classic format of RPG gameplay that has stood the test of time are turn-based RPGs.

Dating all the way back to games like the first Final Fantasy in 1987, or Dragon Quest in 1986, the turn-based format, where you control a party of characters and take turns with enemies during combat, is a staple of the genre, and still finds its way into the best RPGs of today.

10 Wasteland 2 And 3

• Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut

  OpenCritic

  Top Critic Rating:78/100 Critics Recommend:65%

  Released

  October 13, 2015

  Developer(s)

  inXile entertainment

  Metascore

  87

  OpenCritic Rating

  Strong

  Expand

• OpenCritic

  Top Critic Rating:86/100 Critics Recommend:96%

  Released

  August 28, 2020

  Developer(s)

  inXile entertainment

  Metascore

  85

  OpenCritic Rating

  Mighty

  Expand

The Wasteland series is like the spiritual successor to the old-school Fallout games. In this series, you command a squad of Desert Rangers, traversing post-apocalyptic Colorado and fighting bandits, mutated creatures, and even giant robotic scorpions.

These games have all the usual RPG systems you love, with character creation, classes, party members, choices on story points, as well as different ways to solve problems and explore the environments. If you are a fan of the Fallout series, and want to experience something similar to its roots (by the same original producer, no less), then the Wasteland series is for you.

9 Octopath Traveler 1 And 2

The Octopath Traveler games are a beautiful time capsule into the old days of 2D JRPGs, but with an absolutely gorgeous art style that mixes 3D and 2D elements, along with its fantastic pixel art.

The series also features classic turn-based combat, with some added features like building up charges to then use all at once and increasing your damage on a target’s weakness significantly. The games are also unique in that the title, Octopath, refers to the eight different characters you can choose from to experience their stories, while still recruiting the other characters to your party in that playthrough. This makes for fantastic and worthwhile replayability, which is always a plus.

8 Yakuza: Like A Dragon

For a long, long time, the Yakuza series was an action-adventure series known for its flashy heat moves and combos. With the creation of the seventh game, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the series completely changed to a turn-based combat style, while still retaining the wacky/serious combination of main plot and substories that fans have come to love from the series.

Some fans were not happy with this change to the combat, and frankly, some still aren’t. However, there is no doubt that this overhaul gave the long-running series a fresh coat of paint and even brought in a new audience. At its core, it’s still Yakuza, and the new style will bring more longevity to the series as it evolves with Ichiban at the helm.

7 Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous

Developed by Owlcat Games, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is the sequel to Pathfinder: Kingmaker, but really in name only. This is a great game to enter into the series with, and while it’s not turn-based by default, it has the option to use turn-based combat instead of the default real-time with pause.

With Pathfinder: WOTR, you’ll take part in a demon-hunting adventure with a lot, and we mean a lot, of character creation options. It might take you a while to narrow down a choice of class and subclass, but once you do, you will find yourself in a detailed world with a cast of creative and interesting characters, side quests, and even Life Path options that make every playthrough different.

6 The Legend Of Heroes Series

The Legend of Heroes series requires a lot of commitment. However, if you choose to take on all 17 (and counting) games, you’re in for a completely unique adventure spanning across an entire series.

It’s a continuous story with different arcs and plotlines, spanning across all the games, with characters and threads returning sometimes after years and still being relevant to the story. Unlike any other series, the Legend of Heroes series rewards your investment and time getting attached to the cast and learning the lore. It’s like reading a long-running fantasy book series, but you control the characters.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is both familiar for fans of Atlus’ other games and refreshingly unique. Set in a fantasy setting full of magic, monsters, various races, and political intrigue, the game is sure to become a classic.

The turn-based combat is also both familiar but different. You still have your party of four, attempting to exploit enemy weaknesses with elemental or physical attacks, but there are no ‘all-out attacks’, and enemies are much tougher than you may be expecting. There are also Synthesis skills, powerful abilities that use two or more party members, and you’re able to freely switch around party members’ Archetypes to give them different spells, strengths and weaknesses.

4 Divinity 2: Original Sin

With Divinity: Original Sin 2, Larian Studios improved upon the first game in nearly every way, and it instantly became a classic among RPG lovers. Divinity: Original Sin 2 offers freedom of choice in more ways than just the story. Combat in the game is as open to interpretation as you want to make it, with tons of ways to interact with the environment to solve puzzles, kill enemies, or complete quests.

The game also introduces the origin system, which allows you to play as one of the many companions in the game as your main character, allowing you to experience their stories (they all have stories) first hand, rather than having your own create-a-character with no backstory. Divinity: Original Sin 2 also paved the way for many of the features that would come to define Larian’s blockbuster next game, Baldur’s Gate 3.

3 The Persona Series (3 Reload, 4 Golden, 5 Royal)

• OpenCritic

  Top Critic Rating:88/100 Critics Recommend:96%

  Released

  February 2, 2024

  Developer(s)

  P-Studio

• OpenCritic

  Top Critic Rating:88/100 Critics Recommend:96%

  Released

  December 9, 2008

• Persona 5 Royal

  OpenCritic

  Top Critic Rating:94/100 Critics Recommend:98%

  Released

  March 31, 2020

  Developer(s)

  Atlus , P-Studio

The Persona series is the perfect blend of dungeon-crawling RPG action mixed with life-sim adventures. For a long time, the only entry widely-available on most platforms was Persona 5; however since then, Persona 4 Golden has been added to major platforms, and Persona 3 saw a full remake in Persona 3: Reload.

This series sees you take the role of a teenager in Japan, trying to navigate teen life, school, relationships, and part-time jobs, alongside a supernatural plotline that finds you and your friends commanding ‘Personas’, which are supernatural manifestations of your soul. With the hundreds of hours it will take to make your way through the games, with engaging and stylish presentation, combat, school life and minigames, the Persona series is well worth your time, and truly an experience like no other.

2 Dragon Quest 11: Echoes Of An Elusive Age

The Dragon Quest series, created by the late, legendary mangaka Akira Toriyama, is a long-running series of JRPGs from Japan. Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age launched to wild success in the West as well as the East, putting fresh new eyes on the series.

With a colorful, nostalgic art style with characters and creatures designed by Toriyama, a beautiful open world, and a continent-spanning adventure filled with treasure, monsters, and a party of friends, this entry in the series is one of the best ways to either get into JRPGs as a whole or dip your toes in the series for the first time.

1 Baldur’s Gate 3

Winner of the Game of the Year for 2023, developed by Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3 made waves in the gaming community for multiple reasons. The game is immense, with a range of classes and subclass options to choose from, creating interesting builds, or going for something simple if you are new to RPGs.

There’s a cast of colorful and endearing characters to join your party, romance, or even play as, as well as an engaging story that does not overstay its welcome, while still managing to be quite long (in a good way) and filled to the brim with side quests and a world to explore in three acts/locations.

On top of that, the combat system is both simple to learn for those who are new to the genre, and incredibly versatile in the ways you can play. Want to play a wizard that specializes in making watery surfaces and then electrifying that water? Go for it! Or perhaps you prefer to play a Dwarf Barbarian that throws party members at the enemy like a discus. The choice is truly yours, and that is what makes Baldur’s Gate 3 so great.