Community The RPG Codex's Top 101 PC RPGs (With User Reviews!)

[Jacob]

One of the best blobbers of the last 20 years, in my opinion. Not that we had that much to choose from, aside from the weeboo anime JRPG's.

Roqua used to shill it as the best M&M game. For a while. Well, it sure has a more tactical combat than the most well-known M&M games (Xeen & VI).

 

[HeatEXTEND]

So oblivion is actually on the list.......fagots.

 

[tenki]

Was there a text list? If not:

Spoiler

001 Planescape: Torment
002 Fallout
003 Baldur's Gate II
004 Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
005 Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
006 Fallout 2
007 Fallout: New Vegas
008 Deus Ex
009 Gothic II
010 The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
011 The Age of Decadence
012 Dark Souls
013 Pathfinder: Kingmaker
014 Jagged Alliance 2
015 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
016 UnderRail
017 Gothic
018 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
019 Baldur's Gate
020 Wizardry 8
021 Neverwinter Nights 2
022 Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar
023 System Shock 2
024 Icewind Dale
025 Betrayal at Krondor
026 Pool of Radiance
027 Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven
028 Shadowrun: Dragonfall
029 Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
030 Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
031 Ultima VII: The Black Gate
032 Divinity: Original Sin
033 Divinity: Original Sin 2
034 Kingdom Come: Deliverance
035 Dark Sun: Shattered Lands
036 The Witcher
037 Ultima Underworld I: The Stygian Abyss
038 ELEX
039 Mount & Blade: Warband
040 Might and Magic IV-V: World of Xeen
041 The Temple of Elemental Evil
042 Realms of Arkania II: Star Trail
043 Dragon Age: Origins
044 ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game
045 Pillars of Eternity
046 Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
047 Wizardry I: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
048 Darklands
049 Battle Brothers
050 Alpha Protocol
051 Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
052 NierR: Automata
053 King of Dragon Pass
054 The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
055 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
056 Dark Souls II
057 Arx Fatalis
058 Knights of the Chalice
059 Elminage Gothic
060 Mass Effect
061 Dark Souls III
062 Dungeon Master
063 Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor
064 Anachronox
065 Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
066 Kenshi
067 Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World
068 Icewind Dale II
069 Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge
070 Diablo II
071 Neverwinter Nights
072 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
073 Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny
074 The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
075 Sengoku Rance
076 Diablo
077 NEO Scavenger
078 Deus Ex: Human Revolution
079 Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness
080 Prey
081 Geneforge
082 Star Control II
083 Expedition: Vikings
084 Wasteland
085 Drakensang: River of Time
086 Space Rangers 2: Dominators
087 Heroine's Quest: The Herald of Ragnarok
088 Tales of Maj'Eyal
089 Wasteland 2
090 Divine Divinity
091 Gothic 3
092 Realms of Arkania I: Blade of Destiny
093 Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds
094 Undertale
095 Tyranny
096 Might and Magic X: Legacy
097 Ultima VI: The False Prophet
098 Lords of Xulima
099 Wizards & Warriors
100 Pools of Darkness
101 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

 

[BEvers]

felipepepe Double check that title

 

[Naraya]

Still waiting for someone to "explain" to me why fully patched and modded Oblivion is such a bad game.

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That's right - you just can't and you know it!

 

[Themadcow]

Wizardry VI waaaay too far down the list, no doubt due to the kids preferring the sandboxy shit in Wiz 7 and 8. Fuck the weak graphics - it's still the best in the series.

Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky in there but no Suikoden 2? Fucking twats. Don't you know it came out on PC in... err... China.

Pools of Darkness shits all over Pools of Radiance. Getting through the body of Moander is probably the tricky bit (without a guide) tbh, but otherwise it is a sprawling masterpiece with some of the best maps/settings I've ever seen in a game.

Shame not to see the Bards Tale Trilogy Remasters on there, but I guess it's tricky to make a strong case for any of them individually.

 

[Danikas]

Still waiting for someone to "explain" to me why fully patched and modded Oblivion is such a bad game.

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That's right - you just can't and you know it!

 

[ZagorTeNej]

I like Arcanum but I'm always surprised to see it score so high. Its turn-based mode is fucking garbage and so many parts of it are sooo slow. But it's very nostalgic for many people -- one of the first highly anticipated RPGs to be developed and released during IRC/early forums internet. One of the first games I know of where developers were communicating with the plebs.
It does have some good qualities though, it's not just all nostalgia.

Has almost nothing to do with nostalgia. Arcanum simply does things that no other RPG does, it's an extraordinarily ambitious game that still fullfils a good part of its potential which is why people overlook the flaws.

It has a giant world to explore yet still is chock full of dialogue checks, near unparalled reactivity (to anything basically, from race/background to high magic/tech aptitutude), alternate ways of completing quests and it's all held together by some stellar writing and quest design. It's also set in an uncommon (for video games) setting and uses it very well instead of letting it go to waste. Not to mention the sheer freedom and variety present in the character creation. By variety, I don't mean your dps, tank, crowd control MMO crap that is utterly prevailent in modern RPGs but coming up with interesting thematic characters and being able to roleplay them to a degree that arguably no other game allows.

To put it simply, Arcanum does the role-playing part of RPG arguably better than any other game ever made. By that virtue alone, it deserves a spot near the top (ahead of BG2 atleast, as much as I love it). It's one of the best examples of a flawed gem you'll ever see, the type of game that no one would even dare attempt to make today. Speaking of Troika in general, there's no doubt in my mind that the game industry lost something irreparable by its demise.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

So where's the butthurt from the rest of the internet about the list?

 

[Lemming42]

It's bold of you to assume anybody cares about this site enough to rehost the list.

 

[Rahdulan]

So where's the butthurt from the rest of the internet about the list?

As if general population ever got around to playing even half of these games. You'd just get basic bitching about why their favorite game isn't in spot X or Y. It would be interesting to see how someone could spin this list to portray the Codex as misogynistic or whatever. Because you know someone will do it.

*paging ResetEra, paging ResetEra*

 

[rusty_shackleford]

It's bold of you to assume anybody cares about this site enough to rehost the list.

So where's the butthurt from the rest of the internet about the list?

As if general population ever got around to playing even half of these games. You'd just get basic bitching about why their favorite game isn't in spot X or Y. It would be interesting to see how someone could spin this list to portray the Codex as misogynistic or whatever. Because you know someone will do it.

*paging ResetEra, paging ResetEra*

first response would be "where's skyrim"?

 

[Maculo]

For the most part, I am not surprised by the list, but I am surprised by some of the placements. Specifically, I am still amazed that Dark Souls, Witcher 3, and Pathfinder: Kingmaker are so high on recent Codexer lists (granted, I enjoyed those games). I find it interesting that the Codex scored Witcher 2 so much lower than Witcher 3. It has been many years, but I do not recall Witcher 2 being that much of a dip in quality compared to W3. Also, no System Shock 1

Glad to see Battle Brothers on the list though.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

For the most part, I am not surprised by the list, but I am surprised by some of the placements. Specifically, I am still amazed that Dark Souls, Witcher 3, and Pathfinder: Kingmaker are so high on recent Codexer lists (granted, I enjoyed those games). I find it interesting that the Codex scored Witcher 2 so much lower than Witcher 3. It has been many years, but I do not recall Witcher 2 being that much of a dip in quality compared to W3. Also, no System Shock 1

Glad to see Battle Brothers on the list though.

Novelty factor. Look at many of the newer games in the 2014 version(~5 years within 2014) vs now, nearly all of them fell like a rock.
AP -21 ranks
DA:O -10 ranks
KotC -31 ranks
Witcher 2: -32 ranks
Deus Ex HR: -22 ranks
Drakensang TRoT: -33 ranks
Risen: -55 ranks(!)
Skyrim: -17 ranks
Path of Exile: -40 ranks
Grimrock: -66 ranks(!)

 

[smaug]

I will never understand PST beating Fallout.

:informative:

 

[Sigourn]

I personally believe this could be done better if everyone voted on every game that's there. It doesn't feel right that games like Might & Magic II are above many others just because its nominators scored it higher. Especially because it wouldn't be uncommon for someone to assign less played games a higher score just to increase their visibiliity.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I personally believe this could be done better if everyone voted on every game that's there. It doesn't feel right that games like Might & Magic II are above many others just because its nominators scored it higher. Especially because it wouldn't be uncommon for someone to assign less played games a higher score just to increase their visibiliity.

That's what I did. I didn't necessarily think they were the best games, but 4/5 of them were games that I knew weren't going to get very many votes.

5:
Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
Technomancer
Enderal
Mass Effect
Fallout: New Vegas

 

[Zer0wing]

Fallout 3 is a serviceable shooter, and roguelikes are optimized for autistic munchkins, but Morrowind falls into an uncanny valley in between that leads nowhere. It's that thing that just exists between Daggerfall and Oblivion, not fitting in anywhere, despite being so promising looking at first glance and honestly for quite a few glances before one realizes how hollow it is. At least it had interesting art direction...

Eh, on TES you are kind of right (because morrowind is valued not because of its connection to TES but for its rich lore, main quest and cool unconvential almost middle-eastern outlook. It's nothing like TES and Oblivion moves even further away from Morrowind, while Skyrim is again not even a Morrowind title) but with Fallout 3, you'll have your shits and retards fully deserved, or will if continue like that. Fallout 3 is not in any way serviceable shooter or serviceable rpg or serviceable anything. It's a missing link between a real gamebryo rpg (Fallout New Vegas) and serviceable diablo fps with sims elements (Fallout 4, though I don't agree with even that personally). Its rpg system is barebones and underused, its content is not enough to fill all of the worldspace with no radiant quests to fill the gaps, the writing quality is legendary. You DO know what I'm talking about but will you choose to pretend you don't and continue to act like someone who really deserves all those retards and shits?

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Wow, what a shitty list. Should just burn it and pretend nothing happened since top 70.

Oblivion and NWN 1 on the codex list.. There is no hope.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I will never understand PST beating Fallout.

:informative:

Enough people believed it was the best RPG, and therefore it was so

 

[Doktor Best]

felipepepe

I am honored that you picked my review, but i have written a revised version of it as the original was a smartphone post from another thread and had really questionable grammar

Ill just leave it here if you happen to give enough of a damn to replace it

When Wasteland 2 got released in 2014 after an extraordinarily successful Kickstarter campaign and a long winded development process with several delays, it unfortunately failed to live up to its expectations. However, Inxile released a revamped Directors Cut version which fixed many of the base game's flaws and is now a really fun mix between Fallout1 and regular combat oriented turn based S-Rpgs like X-Com or Jagged Alliance. The game is more linear and structured as its spiritual successors, but also a much larger one and you could even say that the different setpieces contain as much branching game progression as other rpgs in total. The different paths to solve a quest each pose various skill checks, though you can pass most of them easily if you skill your squad appropriately. The writing is decent and like Fallout filled with references and over the top trash movie charme like in Mad Max, Badlands or Solarbabies. The combat is fun, the itemization works, the perk system leads to some pretty interesting and unique playstyles, the quests are well crafted and filled with interesting C&C. So while you can argue wether or not Wasteland 2's still not stellar reputation among the codex is justified, you should also recognize that the few who did take a second look at the DC almost univocally came to the conclusion that it has much improved.

 

[conan_edw]

But where are the cool charts and the customized rankings?

 

[Strange Fellow]

Fun to see my own name in prestigious Codex official content.

Great job felipepepe!

I personally believe this could be done better if everyone voted on every game that's there. It doesn't feel right that games like Might & Magic II are above many others just because its nominators scored it higher. Especially because it wouldn't be uncommon for someone to assign less played games a higher score just to increase their visibiliity.

How would you vote on every game on the list when the vote determines the makeup of said list?

 

[Sigourn]

I personally believe this could be done better if everyone voted on every game that's there. It doesn't feel right that games like Might & Magic II are above many others just because its nominators scored it higher. Especially because it wouldn't be uncommon for someone to assign less played games a higher score just to increase their visibiliity.

How would you vote on every game on the list when the vote determines the makeup of said list?

We have a very good selection of 101 that people considered worthy enough to be nominated and there was some form of consensus that got us these 101 games.
Now all we would need to do is ask each mamber to rate each game on the list, and stack up the results. It's essentially what I did on my two polls, look at my signature. First I made a thread of nominations, and then asked members to rate each game.

I also appreciate my review on the results, even if I never made it 1/4 of the way into ATOM RPG. Still knew enough about the game to recommend it.

 

[Strange Fellow]

I personally believe this could be done better if everyone voted on every game that's there. It doesn't feel right that games like Might & Magic II are above many others just because its nominators scored it higher. Especially because it wouldn't be uncommon for someone to assign less played games a higher score just to increase their visibiliity.

How would you vote on every game on the list when the vote determines the makeup of said list?

We have a very good selection of 101 that people considered worthy enough to be nominated and there was some form of consensus that got us these 101 games.
Now all we would need to do is ask each mamber to rate each game on the list, and stack up the results. It's essentially what I did on my two polls, look at my signature. First I made a thread of nominations, and then asked members to rate each game.

That would make for a much more boring list than this one. Instead of popularity contest at the top, then further down some less played games that a few people feel very strongly about, you have popularity contest all the way down. Yours would be a more accurate popularity contest, but I prefer that there be some hidden gems, which is both more informative and more entertaining.