Summary
- RPGs immerse players in fantastical worlds with epic combat, making them feel like their characters.
- Games like Monster Hunter Wilds and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt perfectly deliver a monster-hunting fantasy.
- Games like Dragon's Dogma 2 and Final Fantasy 16 feature larger-than-life monster encounters that don't fail to amaze.
Part of the allure of an RPG is its ability to immerse players in a world that is far more fantastical than ours. Be it through an expansive setting or a well-written story, a good RPG will keep players from reality for hours on end.
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For the more action-oriented titles, that immersion also comes from a game's combat. Epic battles that make players feel like their character provide an endless amount of fun. And what's more epic than fights with gargantuan-sized monsters? The games below are some of the best RPGs that pit players against all manner of larger-than-life beasts and ghouls.
8 Diablo 4
Fighting The Forces Of Hell
Diablo 4
- Released
- June 5, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Although Diablo 4 still proves to be a divisive title among fans of the series, especially with its recent slew of content delays, running through its main story content remains an excellent dark-fantasy adventure. Upon creating their character, players enter the world of Sanctuary, where they must fend off the ever-encroaching forces of hell.
Between the waves of demon fodder thrown at them, players will encounter the expected dungeon bosses as well as fearsome world bosses. The latter is a feature unique to Diablo 4, which sees players teaming up with one another to take on enormous bosses that spawn at various locations across the game's map.
7 Dragon's Dogma 2
Monsters So Big You Can Climb Them
Dragon's Dogma 2
- Released
- March 22, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2 takes a page out of Shadow of the Colossus's book by pitting players against monsters large enough to be scaled during combat. From griffins to cyclops, during their adventures across the lands of Vermund and Battahl, players will come across a wide variety of towering beasts they can make obstacle courses of in a fight.
On top of the ability to climb these monsters, players can - in Monster Hunter fashion - lop off parts of them by focusing on specific areas of their bodies. In tandem with the game's Pawns, AI companions that can join one's party, Dragon's Dogma 2's monster battles have a surprising tactical element to them.
6 Final Fantasy 16
Control Giant Summons
Final Fantasy 16
- Released
- June 22, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Final Fantasy 16 differs from previous entries in the long-running franchise by fully transitioning into an action RPG. Gone are the turn-based mechanics, replaced instead by fully-fledged hack-and-slash gameplay.
Across the game's 40-ish high fantasy story, players will face off against many monsters in real-time fights. The true highlights, however, are the boss fights with Dominants. Channeling the power of Eikons, god-like monstrous beings, Dominants can perform magical feats or transform into the beasts themselves. With protagonist Clive also being a Dominant, these boss battles lead to epic clashes of kaiju proportions.
5 Horizon Forbidden West
Hunting Robot Dinosaurs
Horizon Forbidden West
- Released
- February 18, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Guerrilla Games
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
In Horizon Forbidden West, Aloy's journey across a post-apocalyptic world will see her and the player facing off against robotic wildlife. Based on the animals of today as well as dinosaurs of the past, these machines can range from the cattle-like Striders or the more monstrous Thunderjaws and Slaughterspine - resembling the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Spinosaurus, respectively.
With the machines of Horizon's world mirroring these real-life giants and acting as standard enemies the player can encounter at any time, a simple trek into nature can lead to encounters that feel like their own boss fights.
4 Monster Hunter Wilds
Hunter Of Monsters
Monster Hunter Wilds
- Released
- February 28, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
The Monster Hunter series is renowned for its gallery of beasts and the challenges they pose to players out on the hunt. Monster Hunter Wilds, the latest installment to the franchise, is no different, setting players off into the Forbidden Lands to track down monsters - both new and old.
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With each monster defeated, players can make use of unique materials harvested from them to make better gear. This gear - to the surprise of no one - allows players to take on even tougher monsters, in a cycle of violence that doesn't ever really seem to get old!
3 Elden Ring
Epic Boss Fights
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Elden Ring places players in The Lands Between, a world shattered by war and filled with danger around every corner. This danger manifests as a menagerie of monsters roaming the land.
Even without looking at the game's many epic boss battles, pitting Tarnished against the likes of Dragonlord Placidusax or Astel Naturalborn of the Void, players can come across towering creatures outside boss arenas. From Trolls and Golems to mini-bosses like the Ulcerated Tree Spiritis, there are many threats players will have to avoid being squashed by.
2 Baldur's Gate 3
The Monster Manual Brought To Life
Baldur's Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Based on the tabletop RPG, Dungeons and Dragons, developers Larian Studios had a wealth of monsters to draw from when creating Baldur's Gate 3.
Outside The Lord of the Rings, D&D is a foundational fantasy setting that most people think of when the genre is mentioned. With that high regard, the franchise is naturally associated with goblins, Liches, and - of course - dragons. Baldur's Gate 3 includes these iconic monsters and more, pulling from D&D's more alien side to bring to life the tentacle-ridden Mindflayers, the grotesque floating eyeballs that are Spectators, and so much more.
1 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
A Bestiary Of Monsters
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, players take control of Geralt, a magical monster hunter called a Witcher, as he travels the Pontar in search of his adopted daughter, Ciri.
With Geralt's job title, players naturally encounter many monsters and ghouls along their journey. A pseudo-side-quest system called Witcher Contracts actively encourages players to seek them out, rewarding players for each monster trophy they collect. It's a system that plays into the Monster Hunter fantasy perfectly, allowing players to take a break from The Witcher 3's excellently written story to simply duke it out with some monsters.
Inspired by Slavic folklore, these monsters are not only challenging but are conceptually and visually fascinating. The game stretches the concept of the vampire with creatures like the Bruxa and ghostly Leshens - just to name a couple of examples from its impressive bestiary.
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