10 RPGs That Future Developers Will Study For Decades

Out of all the video game genres, RPGs are arguably the most stacked. Countless GOTY winners, a long list of 100+ hour experiences, and many industry-defining titles that developers inside and outside the space will be taking notes from and using as an inspiration for future projects.

It is common to see a dev or a team of devs draw heavily from a previous game or set of games, and when it comes to RPGs, they have a lot of great examples to choose from. From turn-based masterpieces to grand open-world epics, both players and developers have been treated to a wide array of titles that all deliver on the promise of true role-playing freedom in their own special way.

Elden Ring

Changing The Open-World Game

• Huge world, but no guidance.
• Soulslike combat on a larger scale.

Elden Ring didn’t just change how RPGs are perceived; it fundamentally altered the entire gaming industry. The game offers a gigantic world full of loot, enemies, and countless bosses, all without any quest markers or real guidance, yet it manages to feel far more engaging and alluring than virtually any other open-world experience on the market.

Another important concept is how it handles storytelling, which, in typical FromSoftware fashion, is about as vague as possible. The narrative unfolds through snippets and small details that players need to piece together and interpret, a very different approach to the more streamlined storytelling seen in other RPGs, but a welcome change that many future devs will certainly take note of.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Morality And Politics Intertwine

• Focus on character relationships.
• Complex storytelling across an expansive world.

Few RPGs have influenced the genre quite like The Witcher 3. What makes it so important isn’t just the scale of its open world, but the way its quests are written. Even seemingly minor side quests often feature layered characters, moral dilemmas, and consequences that ripple throughout the world. This dedication to smaller content pieces demonstrates how complex storytelling can exist outside the main plot.

Also, choices rarely feel like obvious “good or evil” decisions, and outcomes often reflect the messy nature of human behavior and the complications that come with it. The Witcher 3 set a new benchmark that will be hard to clear any time soon, and despite being over a decade old at this point, Geralt still manages to reign supreme.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

More Real Than Ever

• Blending RPG mechanics with true realism.
• Grounded systems that keep things in line with the era.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 takes the first game’s concept of a fully realized medieval world even further, adding more complex RPG elements and letting players fully immerse themselves in a hyperrealistic experience. The biggest standout comes from the progression. Instead of just adding numbers to a skill tree, players need to actively get better at certain skills to have a chance further down the line.

This level of depth extends to the story, where several character arcs and plot points all intersect at once, forcing players to pay close attention to lines of dialogue and interactions throughout the entire narrative. As far as realism and immersion go, it is pretty hard to find a contemporary, and for that reason alone, it will go down in the history books for people to study video games for many years to come.

Cyberpunk 2077

A New Sci-Fi Lineage Is Born

• Diverse cast of engaging characters.
• Unique story progression through side contracts and missions.

While its launch was controversial, Cyberpunk 2077 ultimately became a fascinating case study in long-term game development. Over time, updates and expansions transformed it into one of the most detailed RPG worlds ever created, with a dense urban setting that feels alive and interconnected quests with multiple ways to approach every single objective.

From a design standpoint, the game’s biggest contribution may be its flexibility. Players can build radically different playstyles, from stealth-focused hackers to aggressive cybernetic fighters. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses that can be leveraged at every point in the playthrough, making it feel incredibly personal and tailored to each individual’s tastes.

Fallout: New Vegas

Choices Done Right

• Faction-based world design.
• Decisions have meaningful consequences.

Fallout: New Vegas remains one of the clearest examples of meaningful player choice in an RPG. Nearly every quest allows for multiple approaches, whether its through diplomacy, combat, stealth, or a clever use of skills. Entire factions can rise or fall depending on how the player interacts with the world, transforming playthroughs from a linear path into a series of constantly evolving branches.

What makes the game particularly influential is how it treats consequences. Narrative choices are rarely isolated, and many early decisions can easily come back around much later, even impacting something as large as the ending. This shows just how much the game trusts the player to guide their own path, rather than forcing them down a specific route.

Kenshi

Entire Stories Unfold Over Time

• Few safety nets or easy paths forward.
• Organic encounters that exist regardless of the player.

Kenshi embraces player freedom in a very interesting way, dropping players into a harsh sandbox world with almost no guidance, where survival itself becomes the first challenge. Characters begin weak and vulnerable, often losing fights badly before gradually building up their skills and forming alliances, until they can comfortably traverse the world and become a real force to be reckoned with.

The brilliance of Kenshi lies in its systemic storytelling. Instead of scripted narratives, the game allows stories to emerge naturally through gameplay. Entire factions wage wars, and player-built settlements can rise or collapse depending on the choices made. For developers interested in true emergent gameplay, the game is the perfect example of how open-ended systems can generate memorable experiences right from the get-go.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Bringing The Tabletop To Life

• Cinematic turn-based battles.
• Unmatched depth in story and customization.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is the culmination of several decades of game design crammed into a single, cohesive package. Taking many concepts from the D&D tabletop game, BG3 manages to merge turn-based gameplay with a far cinematic presentation that brings the action and characters closer to the player.

On top of that, the game is built with role-playing in mind, so everything from individual storylines to the player’s build can be bent and tailored in whatever direction they see fit. This dedication to a personal experience goes well beyond any other game in the genre, and despite being one of the newer titles out there, it has already made a massive impact on the gaming world forever.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The Next Big RPG Name

• Gorgeous set pieces throughout.
• Satisfying active turn-based combat.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 brings in at least one concept from every kind of RPG, from turn-based to real-time, and ties them all together to give players a true once-in-a-lifetime experience that they will never forget. The world-building is remarkable enough on its own, both in terms of style and substance, but the gameplay manages to match it in quality, letting players feel like they are really part of a heroic expedition.

The gameplay is where things start to get interesting. Mechanically, it is very reminiscent of classic JRPGs, only with a more modern approach that forces players to be active and tactical at the same time. To cap it off, the game was made by a very small team of talented developers, showing that, with enough drive and some pretty good ideas, a genre-defining masterpiece can be brought into existence by anyone.

Disco Elysium

Enter The Mind Itself

• Psychological warfare instead of traditional combat.
• Distinctive storytelling approach that leans heavily into philosophy.

Disco Elysium completely changed what RPG mechanics could look like. Instead of focusing on combat, the game is built entirely around dialogue and internal character development. Skills represent different aspects of the protagonist’s psyche, constantly influencing conversations and decisions while players are taken on a journey not of power, but of psychological torment.

The result is an RPG where the player’s thoughts become mechanics. Internal voices argue, and individual personality traits change how the narrative itself unfolds. Because it refused to play by the book, Disco Elysium has quickly become a case study proving that deep role-playing systems don’t need to follow conventions, and that some of the most interesting stories come from within.

Mass Effect

Still Referenced To This Day

• Companions drive the narrative.
• Choices carry over between games.

The original Mass Effect trilogy remains one of the most influential RPG sagas ever created. Across three games, players shape the fate of the galaxy through decisions that carry over from one installment to the next, with relationships, major political choices, and even small moral decisions carrying long-term consequences that may only become clear towards the very end of the story.

Zooming in on the characters themselves, a big reason why the series is so well-loved is because of how deeply personal the interactions feel from player to companion. These characters become bigger or smaller focuses depending on where players place their attention, and their stories become more interwoven as the games progress, resulting in an emotional and ambitious yet well-executed adventure that now stands as a cornerstone in the RPG world.