The annual Game Awards ceremony is nearly here, as 2024 gradually comes to a close. There are dozens of titles up for big awards — like Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, and Best Score and Music — but the Best RPG category has some of the highest-rated games of 2024 as nominees in this year’s Game Awards.
2024 has been a great year for RPGs, and the Best RPG Game Awards nominees are clear evidence of that. While there are five nominees for Best RPG, only one can claim the award in the end, and it may very well be a tough fight, as some of the best games of 2024 go head-to-head in a battle as epic as the gameplay and stories they have to offer.
2024 Best RPG Nominees
- Dragon’s Dogma 2
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
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Dragon’s Dogma 2
The 2024 release of Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma 2 was over a decade in the making, with its predecessor now long behind it in 2012. Nevertheless, Dragon’s Dogma 2 captivated modern audiences, despite still being a bit more niche than most games, and it is more than deserving of a nomination for 2024’s Best RPG award. Apart from its uniqueness, the other thing that might hold Dragon’s Dogma 2 back from winning Best RPG is the poor technical state of its launch, which featured noticeably low frame rates, stutters, and dozens of bugs and glitches. It is also one of the lowest-rated games up for Best RPG (with a Metascore of 86), but it arguably still belongs on the list.
Set forth on your grand adventure, Arisen!
Dragon’s Dogma is a single player, narrative driven action-RPG series that challenges the players to choose their own experience – from the appearance of their Arisen, their vocation, their party, how to approach different situations and more. Now, in this long-awaited sequel, the deep, explorable fantasy world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 awaits.
On your journey, you’ll be joined by Pawns, mysterious otherworldly beings, in an adventure so unique you will feel as if accompanied by other players while on your own adventure.
All of these elements are elevated further through physics technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and the latest in graphics, to create a truly immersive fantasy world in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
- Franchise
- Dragon’s Dogma
- Released
- March 22, 2024
- Engine
- RE Engine
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 30 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is a major outlier in the 2024 Game Awards, due to it being a DLC and not a game. It’s unclear why Shadow of the Erdtree was an exception to the Game Awards this year, but its success can’t be denied. In fact, Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is the best-rated video game DLC of all time, offering one of the most fulfilling and rewarding open worlds ever designed, satisfying and brutally challenging combat, and plenty of player power for the role-playing enthusiast. Shadow of the Erdtree currently holds a Metascore of 94, making it one of the best gaming experiences of 2024.
Shadow of the Erdtree is the first and only DLC expansion for FromSoftware’s groundbreaking Elden Ring. It takes players to a whole new region, the Land of Shadow, where a new story awaits the Tarnished.
- Released
- June 21, 2024
- Developer(s)
- FromSoftware
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op , Online Multiplayer
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the second game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, and another major piece of evidence to suggest the developer knows what it’s doing when it comes to remakes. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth didn’t just continue the pattern set by its predecessor in terms of visuals and gameplay, but it also improved upon those aspects to produce a truly nostalgic and memorable experience. It even managed to make a name for itself with its Queen’s Blood mini-game, which has been universally praised, right up there with The Witcher 3‘s Gwent. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is also one of 2024’s highest-rated games, with a Metascore of 92.
Discover a vibrant and vast world in this standalone entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project.Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct games.Iconic heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII have escaped from the dystopian city Midgar and are now in pursuit of Sephiroth, the vengeful swordsman from Cloud’s past who was thought to be dead.This new adventure can be enjoyed by all players, even those who have yet to play Final Fantasy VII Remake or the PlayStation original. Expect a new standard of cinematic storytelling, fast-paced combat and rich exploration across a vast world.
- Released
- February 29, 2024
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 40 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
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Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is more than deserving of a spot on the list for 2024’s Best RPG nominees, sitting comfortably at a Metascore of 89. Ultimately, where Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth differs from several of the other nominees is in the range of activities it offers, from randomly generated dungeons to bucket list challenges to a plethora of mini-games. It isn’t just the sheer amount of content Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has that makes it stand out, but the variety of that content. Of course, this is all in addition to a fun and engaging narrative, plenty of character development, and the game’s ability to deal with heavy subjects.
EPIC EMOTIONAL DRAMA
Two larger-than-life heroes brought together by the hand of fate, or perhaps something more sinister…
Ichiban Kasuga, an unstoppable underdog who’s no stranger to crawling up from rock bottom, and Kazuma Kiryu, a broken man facing down his last days.
BEST-IN-CLASS RPG ACTION
Experience one-of-a-kind combat with dynamic, fast-paced RPG battles where the battlefield becomes your weapon, and anything goes. Adapt your party’s skills to the situation with outlandish jobs and customizations to strategically subdue enemies with over-the-top moves.
INFINITE ADVENTURE
Live it up in Japan and explore all that Hawaii has to offer in an adventure so big it spans the Pacific. Unforgettable moments await at every step of the journey with a unique mix of quests and activities to enjoy at your leisure.
- Released
- January 26, 2024
- Engine
- Dragon Engine
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Simulated Gambling, Strong Language
- How Long To Beat
- 60 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
It’s almost safe to say that the success of Studio Zero and Atlus’ Metaphor: ReFantazio isn’t really a surprise, as those familiar with Atlus’ Persona series would expect nothing short of excellence from the developer and publisher. With a Metascore of 94, Metaphor: ReFantazio has more than proven the validity of its nomination as one of 2024’s Best RPGs.
Additionally, as Atlus has shown in the past with its Persona series, Metaphor: ReFantazio is truly an authentic RPG experience, placing an immense amount of power into players’ hands as they play a significant role in determining the outcome of the story. Apart from Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, Metaphor: ReFantazio is the highest-rated nominee for Best RPG, giving it a significant advantage against the others.
From the creative minds behind Persona 3, 4, and 5 comes Metaphor: ReFantazio, a unique fantasy world, where your protagonist will journey alongside his fairy companion, Gallica, to lift the curse from the kingdom’s lost prince.
- Released
- October 11, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Studio Zero
- Engine
- GFD
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 65 Hours
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 104 hours
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 81.15 GB
- Number of Players
- 1
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- PC Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- October 11, 2024
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- October 11, 2024
Final Prediction
While every nominee for Best RPG in 2024 has its merits, Metaphor: ReFantazio seems the most likely to go home with the award. Not only is it an excellent RPG, but it’s also one of 2024’s best games overall, with a Metacritic score of 94. Ultimately, this has earned it a spot in the list of nominees for 2024’s Game of the Year award, and this is a large part of what could contribute to it winning Best RPG as well. Arguably, Astro Bot is the only other Game of the Year nominee that could keep Metaphor: ReFantazio from winning, thereby all but ensuring its acquisition of the Best RPG award.
Elden Ring
‘s Shadow of the Erdtree winning Best RPG would also be a controversial win due to it being a DLC, so the Game Awards may choose to avoid that.
On the other hand, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth could very well put up a tough fight with Metaphor: ReFantazio for Best RPG, as well as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. However, since FF7 Rebirth and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth are not Game of the Year nominees for 2024, this automatically gives Metaphor: ReFantazio an advantage when it comes to Best RPG in 2024. In any case, there is plenty of reason to believe Metaphor: ReFantazio will leave the 2024 Game Awards with the Best RPG award, even if it doesn’t topple Astro Bot for Game of the Year.