Does an RPG have to be heavily story-driven to be a good game? In a word, absolutely not (okay, that’s two). A game with a singular purpose is not a recipe for a boring RPG. Instead, the emphasis is placed on action and, in the case of Monster Hunter: World, fighting monsters. Monster Hunter: World proves that having a single focus in a game can be quite entertaining.

World has to be one of the few video games out there with a title that says exactly what it’s about. The story of World is little more than a pretext - you are tracking (okay, hunting) an enormous, volcanic monster called Zorah Magdaros, that’s pretty much it. But, what makes World a great game is that the simplicity of the story is enhanced by everything that surrounds it. The monsters in World are varied and intricately designed, and the adrenaline-pumping, action-packed battles are a natural highlight of the game. There is no leveling-up in World; you advance by killing monsters and crafting armor and weapons from your conquests. That may sound tedious (and it can be), but the variety of monsters and how you are able to learn their strengths and weaknesses makes each encounter an interesting hunt unto itself. The backdrop for World enhances the experience with highly detailed and gorgeous ecosystems from lush foliage-dense forests to desolate wastelands to a vibrant, sprawling metropolis forged from the hulls of ships.

Monster Hunter: World is not afraid to be what it is, a monster-hunting, monster-killing RPG. It proves that simplicity, at least in story, can be entertaining.

Having the ability to make choices during a game is a hallmark of RPGs. But sometimes, there can be an overwhelming number of choices to make, turning the gaming experience into a chore rather than an enjoyment. While Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire has the proto-typical choice paradigm, it also offers customizations that won’t find you weighed down by having to make an incessant number of choices.

In the seafaring Deadfire, you play as the Watcher who is fortunate or tormented with the ability to gaze into the soul of the dead and talk to them. You are thrust into action to stop the god Eothas from destroying the Deadfire Archipelago. Your journey is one of adventure, discovery, and swashbuckling sea battles. You have the choice of how you play, a seafaring rogue or people’s champion with all the relevant decisions to go along with that choice. Where Deadfire sets itself apart is the customization it offers. At the beginning of Deadfire, you are able to choose whether your combat will be real-time with pause or turn-based. In addition, the game offers a set of pre-histories that will help you decide the make-up of your character, whether dastardly, gracious, or anything in between. Such customization lets you decide how you want to play the game and encourages you to be swept up in the story instead of being bogged down by it. Regardless of your chosen customizations, Deadfire offers exciting ship combat, immersive character interactions, and an expansive pirate-esque world.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a throwback to the heady days of the CRPG and is a great example of an RPG that doesn’t overburden the player to the point of being unenjoyable.

A good RPG is one that instills a sense of freedom in the player. Certainly, a good story is crucial to a good RPG, but a great RPG will have a good story and player freedom so as to convey the feeling of ownership playing the game. That sort of “it’s up to you” undertone and foundation of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is what makes it a great RPG.

Skyrim is a wintery, mountainous, northern land beset by civil war and dragons. You are a Dragonborn, the soul of a dragon is within you, and you’ve been sentenced to death. You emerge with the overall quest to destroy Alduin the World-Eater, a dragon who is prophesied to destroy the world. From the opening set-piece of the story, the rest is up to you. In Skyrim, you can play any type of character you want, and you can do whatever you want; it's a game that epitomizes freedom. What makes that freedom exhilarating is the wondrously vast and infinitely fascinating world of Skyrim. The treacherous, snow-capped mountains, the mysterious ice caverns, and the multitude of meticulously detailed environs do more than set the backdrop for your adventure; the landscape is the story. It is through making your way in the world of Skyrim that you progress as a player and develop as a character. How you interact with Skyrim is completely up to you, the player. The main quest will be there for you when you’re ready, but until then, there is a whole world to explore and make your own. Though the fights with dragons may be somewhat lackluster, they’re still fights with dragons!

There is a lot to Skyrim, but it doesn’t forget the most important element to any RPG, the player. Skyrim is a game that is centered around you as everything is ultimately about you and what you do. That in itself should be the goal of any RPG, and Skyrim is one of the best examples of that around.

If you want to take on the persona of a character in a game, everything about the game has to be believable. What good is it to don the raiments of a hero or villain, but there's nothing about the world in which you exist that makes any sense to your character. The Witch 3: Wild Hunt is an RPG with not only a fascinating main character, but also a believable world setting that will fully immerse you in the game.

In The Witcher 3, you play as rough-voiced, monster-killer Geraltm, who at the start is hunting for his adopted daughter and the woman he once loved. That may seem like standard RPG game fare, but where The Witcher 3 excels is how Geralt's character develops as you progress through the game quests. Rich characters to interact with, a world that exudes a sense of place, and even a combat style are some of the factors which engross you as Geralt and give you a sense of meaning and development as a character in the game. This believable world makes the choices made as Geralt all the more personal and believable. The fact that The Witcher 3 is a massive open-world game adds to the depth and development of Geralt as exploring outside of the storyline offer more opportunities to transform and evolve your character and make him your own.

The Witcher 3 is what an RPG is supposed to be; a game where you not only lose yourself in your character but also has a believable world that assists you in developing that character. The game may be a little long in the tooth by today's age standard, but The Witcher 3 remains one of the best RPGs out there.

There can be all sorts of debate about what is or what is not an RPG, and no argument is right or wrong. From my perspective, if a game engages you to play a character and develop with that character as you play the game, then it’s an RPG. My perspective invariably adds The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as an RPG, though there will certainly be argument to the contrary.

Yes, Breath of the Wild is an action-adventure game, but in the game, you play as the protagonist Link, who is out to free and save the beautiful and intriguing fantasy-land, Hyrule. There is no guidance, and you start merely with a sword and a vast world to explore and develop in en route to your destiny. How you go about Breath of the Wild depends on how YOU go about the game, or how you play the role. There is the RPG-typical cooking and crafting trope, but it has a more personal feel in Breath of the Wild because mastering those tasks impact how you are able to traverse the sprawling Hyrule. But, there is also something non-RPG about Breath of the Wild; progress in the game is not tied to experience. In many ways, not being tied to a certain level, which will be suited to your experience, makes Breath of the Wild more of an RPG than proto-typical RPGs.

Overwhelmingly, Breath of the Wild is about you playing the role of Link. From the start, the direction of the character and your adventure is all yours, making The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild an immersive and engaging RPG.

There are many franchise RPGs out there, from Final Fantasy, to Fallout, to The Elder Scrolls, and many others. What makes the latest iteration of any franchise meaningful is if it improves on the previous games in ways to not only set itself apart from, but also staying true to, the game’s history. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey is a franchise offering that does what none of the previous versions did, offer you the choice of characters to play.

The Assassin’s Creed franchise has eleven games under its belt (the twelfth is on the horizon) with various historical settings from Renaissance-era intrigue, American Revolution drama, swashbuckling, seafaring pirate days, and more. For the first time in the franchise, you have a choice of which character to play, either Alexios or Kassandra, both mercenaries during the Peloponnesian War of Ancient Greece. Thanks to the plentiful in-game choices, you are able to truly make the character your own. And those choices, which will, of course, have an impact on how the game plays out, culminating in great RPG fare. Having outstanding and gorgeous visuals of the vast Aegean Sea as a backdrop and engaging characters to interact with make Odyssey a great RPG and excellent continuance of the franchise.

Odyssey may not have been the first take at Assassin’s Creed as an RPG (that distinction belongs to Origins), but with its new innovation, it does signal AC as a franchise that continually tries to improve itself with each new iteration. That means continued interest and fun for gamers.

Not only should an RPG allow you to take on a game-world persona, but it should also make you think as you do so. The genre is replete with versions having you do little more than slash and dash your way through quests without engaging your own feelings about it while doing so. Nier: Automata is an RPG that will have you thinking while playing the game and after you’ve completed it.

Nier: Automata is set in a dystopian world with the remnants of humanity bunkered on the moon after fleeing an alien invasion fueled by a robot army. You initially play as 2B, an android sent down to earth to work with the remaining resistance to battle the alien machines for “the glory of mankind.” The story in itself is tinged with sadness, which is enhanced by the vast and hauntingly beautiful scenery of the game, from a crumbling, devastated city to a lush forest that seems idyllic in a post-apocalyptic world. The combat system of the game is fluid and engaging and is surprisingly an entry point for how the game forces you to think. You will encounter enemy robots that appear in many ways more human than your handlers. Therein lies the mental conflict as you come to the realization that the enemy are not merely mindless killing machines, and with more and more such encounters, you begin to wonder about the ethical nature of your mission.

Nier: Automata is a deep game that might find you wondering about your own philosophical psyche. The stylish design of the game and engrossing characterizations only increase the chance that you will look inward as your play. Now that’s true role-playing in an RPG.

Every RPG should strive to encourage an emotional connection to the main character. If you feel emotionally attached to a character, playing the game will be all the more enjoyable. Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an RPG that will find you, the player, all-in emotionally as you find yourself immersed in its story.

Unlike many RPGs, Kingdom Come: Deliverance isn't full of dungeons, dragons, magic spells, and the like (who said RPGs have to be completely fantasy-based, anyway?). Set in Bohemia of the 15th century, you play as Henry, a blacksmith's son, who is basically a nobody in a cruel, dirty, and unforgivable world. The brutality of the time is heightened when Henry's mundane life is upended when an army attacks his village and kills everyone he holds dear and ends up embroiled in a vicious war between kings. Because Henry is so likable, possibly owing to the fact that he doesn't wield some magical sword or is on a quest to fulfill a prophecy, you as the player find yourself emotionally tuned in and maybe even moved by the tragic beginning of the game. Without the fantasy trappings, Kingdom Come: Deliverance puts excellent focus on realistically depicting the era with authentic-looking, diverse characters, costumes, and locales. And what invests you even more in Henry is that non-player characters' interaction with you is dependent on how you live your life as Henry (hint, take a bath).

Without the typical RPG distractions, your focus in the game will be on the character you play, Henry. And because of the emotional, if not eventual personal connection bolstered by the era-realism of the game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a captivating RPG.

Most RPGs are a solitary affair; you play as one character in particular whether you get to choose it or there is only one to play. But, gaming is in many ways, a social affair that can be more enjoyable with others by your side, fighting for the same quests as you. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a team sort of RPG joint that morphs the genre into a teamwork affair.

WotWW is a conventional RGP game following the same formula as others, a chosen one to save the world from evil. You play as Oliver in a story that starts off light-hearted enough, but tragedy ensues as Oliver’s mother dies, leaving Oliver distraught and alone. Where WotWW is different is it adds in other cohorts into the story, so while you’re playing as a single character, you’re also involved and indelibly tied to others. Oliver learns of his destiny from a toy his mother made for him (brought to life by Oliver’s tears). The character’s name is Drippy, and he will remain as Oliver’s cohort throughout the game with his quirky, fast-talking, Welsh accent. The dynamic duo of Oliver and Drippy lend a sense of connection to WotWW, making role-playing all the more enjoyable. But, WotWW doesn’t stop there. Oliver and Drippy assemble a team, including familiars that you control in battle via command-based and real-time control to assist with their quest. Though single-player, the structure of WotWW gives you a sense of team and togetherness as you make your way through the world. And the world of WotWW is visually appealing and gorgeous with quality cut-scenes and great narration.

WotWW is a game of many tried and true RPG tropes, but the sense of team and togetherness makes it a unique experience. Truly, teamwork makes the dream work.

Sometimes, games can take themselves too seriously. That can especially be the case with RPGs, which can pack in message elements while emphasizing the importance of the decisions you make and their impact on the world you’re playing in. The Outer Worlds is a title that isn’t afraid of having a laugh at itself.

The Outer Worlds is set in an Earth-colonised solar system, called Halcyon, which is ruled by sinister corporations whose Board whose business interests are subjugating everyone under their control. You are the lone passenger who is revived from cryostasis aboard a ship full of colonizers. Once you choose your sex, appearance, and skill tree abilities, you’re off on an adventure to save Halcyon from the Board. The Outer Worlds treats you to an irreverent romp through the galaxy with its sharp satire and sometimes dark humor. Corporate feudalism can be a serious topic, but The Outer Worlds uses it as the backdrop and not a message delivery system with biting humor and colorful characters with their own particular witticisms. It may not be a massive open-world game, but The Outer Worlds is made up of vibrantly stylized planets with expansive enough areas to keep you interested and eager to explore. Even combat is lampooned in The Outer Worlds with cartoonish weaponry and hilarious takedowns. But, also at the heart of its satire, the Outer Worlds is a captivating RPG that is strong in the element of player choice that reverberates throughout.

By not taking itself too seriously, In a word, The Outer Worlds is entertaining. It sets a stage of satire and irreverence that culminates in an unforgettable RPG experience.