Summary
- Overcoming tough bosses in games like Elden Ring makes players feel legendary.
- In Persona 5, players reform society by stealing distorted desires, feeling like heroes.
- Playing RPGs like Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect allows players to save worlds and feel like epic heroes.
Role-playing does just as the name suggests, placing the player in the shoes of the protagonist and thrusting them out into the world, following a chain of quests as they work their way up to the big bad at the end of the game...after hours spent procrastinating by completing side-quests, of course.
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There's nothing sweeter than the victory that follows after finally beating a game after overcoming great evil, and sometimes, that accomplishment is accompanied by feeling like a true hero, as they might have just saved the entire world (or worlds). So, for those wanting to feel like a true hero, these are the best RPGs for being epic.
8 Elden Ring
Finally Overcoming The Difficult Bosses Will Make Players Feel Legendary
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Soulsborne games have a reputation for being some of the most challenging titles available, as they pit the player against bosses that are bullet sponges while also dealing devastating damage that can kill the player in mere seconds. As such, it might be easy to feel beaten down as the Tarnished dies over and over to those bosses they come across, but this also comes with a benefit.
Once the player finally learns to strategize around the boss giving them a hard time and deals that killing blow, they will feel strong, epic, and nothing short of an actual hero, as they have overcome a mighty foe. And this rush is the reason players keep returning to these unforgiving games, as they make the player feel like a real hero through and through.
7 Persona 5
Reform Society By Stealing Away Distorted Desires
Persona 5
- Released
- September 15, 2016
- ESRB
- m
There is no denying that there are some truly despicable people in the world benefiting from the suffering of others, and if they could just change their ways, the world might be a little brighter, and this is exactly the goal of the Phantom Thieves in Persona 5. By infiltrating the palaces of these people, they can steal their treasure, enacting a change in heart that will make them change their wicked ways, and work toward righting the wrongs they have committed.
It is refreshing to play an RPG that involves helping little people, though the game does ratchet up its stakes toward the end, seeing the Phantom Thieves face off against a less-than-benevolent god. As the game goes on, the thieves gain more popularity, becoming the heroes that society truly needed, making the player feel like they are making a difference.
6 Baldur's Gate 3
Embark On An Epic Quest
Baldur's Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, macOS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
One of the greatest elements of the TTRPG Dungeons and Dragons is the fact that it makes every player feel like a hero. They set out on an epic quest that will take them across the land, facing dangerous threats and even saving a few NPCs along the way. Baldur's Gate 3 is a largely successful game as it perfectly encapsulates this feeling, putting the player in epic battles and a fight against the legendary Mind Flayers.
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Escaping the Nautiloid, saving the Grove, exploring the House of Grief, and fighting against the Elder Brain all help the player character feel like an epic hero that will ultimately save the land, just as they would in an actual D&D game.
5 The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
Become The Legendary Hero Of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- Released
- November 21, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 64, GameCube
The Legend of Zelda is one of the longest-running action role-playing game series of all time, each game bringing back Link, and normally Zelda or an equivalent Princess, and Ganondorf or an equivalent villain. In each game, Link must recover a legendary sword that will equip him to face dangers and save the land.
Ocarina of Time is perhaps one of the best, and quite literally shows Link go through great growth to save the land. Beginning the game as a child, Link must become an adult to become the hero of time and save Hyrule from the evil rule of Ganondorf. He succeeds in thwarting evil and saving the entire land, becoming the legendary hero he was destined to be.
4 Fable 2
From Zero To Hero
Fable 2
- Released
- October 21, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Language, Sexual Content, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Lionhead Studios
- Platform(s)
- Xbox 360
Set 500 years after the original game, a young child called Sparrow and his sister Rose are both battling poverty, hunger, and the cold, wishing they could be rich and live up in the big castle that lords over the city. Their wish seems to come true when they wish for it using a magical music box, but their dream quickly becomes a nightmare when the evil Lord Lucien fears a hero will rise and kill him, deciding to kill those he suspects could be them before they have the chance.
Of course, Sparrow survives, and they spend years preparing themselves to face the evil Lucien to avenge their sister and free the lands from his tyranny. This alone would make them a hero in the eyes of those buckling under his regime, but they can further their renown as a hero by wishing to resurrect all those that died at the end of the game rather than choosing Rose, their dog, or spouse, not that anyone could blame them for those latter choices.
3 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
The Dragonborn Is The Only One Who Can Save Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
The opening of Skyrim has become famous, often used as a meme, as the player character finally awakens on a carriage, taking them to be executed. Luckily for the player, a great black dragon interrupts the proceedings just as the player's head is on the chopping block. Known as the World Eater, Alduin is the most feared dragon of all, and only the Dragonborn can kill him, who just happens to be the player character.
To gain enough power to kill Alduin, players need to learn more shouts, which are powers the Dragonborn shares with dragons. The fact that the player starts as a fabled hero already makes them feel like one of the most powerful warriors in all of Skyrim, and they only get more powerful as the game progresses, until they are more than a match for Alduin, and kill him to save Tamriel.
2 Dragon Age: Origins
The Hero Of Ferelden Becomes A Renowned Figure In Dragon Age Lore
Dragon Age: Origins
- Released
- November 3, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
The first Dragon Age saw the Blight reemerge, which is when an Archdemon rises, and leads the underground-dwelling creatures known as the darkspawn to the surface, spilling across the land and indiscriminately slaughtering all they see. The Grey Wardens are the only faction truly capable of ending a Blight due to the ritual all Wardens must undergo, and the player is their newest recruit.
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Even though they are a rookie, they end up saddled with the burden of calling upon the Warden's allies to cobble together enough manpower to stop the Blight before it wipes out all life on Thedas, facing down the Archdemon themselves. Doing so is no small feat, and by the time they have slain the dragon with their own hands, they will feel like an epic hero, earning themselves the title of the Hero of Ferelden. This name is mentioned in the games' sequels, as their fame spread across the world.
1 Mass Effect Trilogy
Save Not Only A Single World, But The Entire Galaxy
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
- Released
- May 14, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
The space-faring shooter RPG introduced players to Commander Shepard, a soldier working in the human military with an already impressive service record, who will become an even greater hero. With the threat of the Reapers, a race of sentient alien machines, bearing down on the galaxy to continue their cyclical culling of all advanced species, Shepard pulls together the entire galaxy to defeat them, even those hesitant to believe in their existence.
They succeed in uniting all races and forming an army big enough to face them on the final frontier--Earth. Despite it being a joint effort to win, there is no denying Shepard is the true hero, as without them, the army would have never been formed, and there never would have been anyone to use the Crucible to end the threat once and for all. In certain endings, Shepard even dies to kill the Reapers, the sign of a true, brave, and selfless hero.
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