Summary
- Players love RPGs with minimal hand-holding to foster discovering their own path and progression.
- Titles like King's Field and UnderRail challenge players to strategize and learn through trial and error.
- Games like Kenshi and Darkest Dungeon punish greed and inexperience, rewarding slow but steady progress.
Modern games have a bad habit of spoon-feeding everything to players, hoping that they don't miss out on anything. While this has helped new people get into the medium, hardcore players hate how most games treat them like they've never played a video game before.
8 Best RPGs Where Players Don't Need To Think Too Much, Ranked
Not all RPGs have to be dense or complex. These ones allow players to kick back and turn off their brains for a bit.
This is why players love titles that force them to find their own way and give them minimal information on how to proceed. This is especially true in the case of RPGs that aim to appeal to a hardcore audience and include as little hand-holding as possible.
King's Field
A Classic FromSoftware RPG That Lets Players Find Their Way
King's Field
- Released
- December 16, 1994
- ESRB
- Teen // Animated Violence
- Developer(s)
- FromSoftware
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Before Dark Souls, there was King's Field. While this game may show its age, players who love modern FromSoftware games will love just how similar this first-person dungeon-crawling RPG feels in many ways.
Combat is hard and progression is far from straightforward, but players will love connecting the dots and making slow but steady progress. Death may be frustrating, but players will soon figure out the importance of circle-strafing and how powerful magic is in the game as they go through this retro RPG.
UnderRail
Players Must Learn The Art Of Min-Maxing And Combat Tactics On Their Own
UnderRail
- Released
- December 18, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG
UnderRail is the perfect game for fans of classic CRPGs, especially the two Fallout games that this game is clearly inspired by in more ways than one. However, UnderRail is not for impatient players, especially given how little direction this game gives and how overbearingly challenging this game can be.
Players will soon learn that min-maxing and exploitable combat strategies are a must to survive in the game's challenging combat encounters. It's easy to be overwhelmed in this game early on, and it will take a while before players slowly understand the best way to enjoy this game.
Kenshi
Players Are Unceremoniously Dropped Into A Hostile World With Little To No Direction
Kenshi
- Released
- December 6, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- nr
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Open-World, Survival
Kenshi is one of the most challenging open-world RPGs that players can check out. Based on their background, players are dropped into a hostile world with no direction.
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For players who love to bend and even break the rules of a given game, these RPGs are the perfect titles to play around with.
It's up to them to carve out an epic story for their character, but deaths against the weakest enemies early on can make this game challenging to get into. Eventually, players will learn the importance of grinding out combat stats, amassing a small fortune, and travelling with a bunch of competent companions.
Darkest Dungeon
The Game Will Beat Into Players That Greed And Stupidity Will Be Severely Punished
Darkest Dungeon
- Released
- January 19, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Alcohol Reference, Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Darkest Dungeon is one of the hardest and most punishing RPGs of all time. The turn-based combat is punishing, and a single mistake will lead to players losing some of the best heroes they invested a lot of time and resources into.
These failures will serve as a learning experience as players figure out the optimal strategy to explore the game's dungeons. This ensures that players learn on the go in a title without any hand-holding, enhancing the sense of satisfaction players enjoy from making slow yet steady progression in this title.
Gothic
Players Must Figure Out How To Fend For Themselves From The Very Moment They're Dumped Into This Prison
Gothic
- Released
- November 23, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- RPG
From the moment the Nameless One is unceremoniously dropped into the world of Gothic, they'll learn just how helpless they are. Even the lowly Scavengers can only be fought one at a time, since players will lose their health in no time if they're mobbed by these foes.
Over time, players will reach a camp and finally figure out where they can invest their experience to become stronger. The sense of progression players enjoy as they unlock combos and are able to take on tougher foes is unmatched and ensures that Gothic's lack of hand-holding enhances the sense of satisfaction players enjoy as they make meaningful progress.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
The Game's Tactical Combat Is Hard And Takes A While To Get Used To
Divinity: Original Sin 2
- Released
- September 14, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of the hardest modern CRPGs players can get their hands on. The inclusion of Physical and Magical Armor seems simple enough to handle, but players will be truly up against the ropes when they realize how a lack of powerful equipment can screw them over in no time.
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This is why it's important for players to figure out the best way to tackle early-game encounters, which is done mostly via trial & error. Players learn on the go instead of being spoon-fed information, making it all the more rewarding when players finally make it out of Fort Joy and embark on their heroic journey.
Dark Souls
A Game That Became All The Rage After Channeling The Spirit Of Old-School Hardcore Games That Gave Little Direction
Dark Souls
- Released
- September 22, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure
Almost every modern FromSoftware game makes it a point to give players minimal information, forcing them to figure out the rest of the journey on their own. Dark Souls is the game that popularized this approach, with its hardcore gameplay and patented combat forming a whole new gaming genre of its own.
Dark Souls is notorious for giving players the knowledge of basic gameplay mechanics before dropping them in a tutorial area that has no problem smacking players with a challenging boss fight. They must improve their environmental awareness, grab their equipment, and land a plunging attack on the Asylum Demon, helping them learn everything they need before reaching Firelink Shrine and embarking on an epic adventure.
Deus Ex
Liberty Island Serves As An Organic Tutorial Area That Shows What This Game's All About
Deus Ex
- Released
- June 23, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, FPS, Stealth
Deus Ex is one of the best action RPGs players can get their hands on. The immersive sim gameplay is tantalizing and familiarizes players with how the game works from the moment they reach Liberty Island.
Players are left to their own devices in this level after a brief interaction with Paul. A few deaths will make it clear just how important stealth is, with JC being encouraged to play it safe and explore the map to figure out the best way to hunt down the NSF terrorist on the premises.
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