Summary
- RPGs offer endless replayability due to unique quests, character perspectives, and multiple endings.
- Games like Nier: Automata and Undertale provide multiple story paths and endings for players to discover.
- Customizable RPGs like Cyberpunk 2077 and Fallout: New Vegas reward exploration and multiple playthroughs.
Games are synonymous with replayability, especially when those games are customizable RPGs. Thanks to the genre's open-ended quest design, no two playthroughs of these games are the same, keeping the content of RPGs evergreen.
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This topic celebrates this style of game, recommending different titles people can play, and then play again. That said, this list has forgone mentioning New Game+, which encompasses things like the Master Quest in Zelda, since a list ranking new game+ versions could be an article of its own. (Spoilers for Nier: Automata and Undertale below!)
1 Nier: Automata
Ending (A) Is Just The (B)eginning
NieR: Automata
- Released
- March 7, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Starting with the most unique pick, Automata flips the script after finishing the game, changing the perspective from protagonist 2B to deuteragonist 9S. Though the plot through route B is mostly the same, playing as 9S changes the gameplay style and his character offers a unique perspective on the events of the story, wholly different from 2B's.
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And after that, there are still three more endings to keep gamers replaying. Ending C blindsides players with new content and new characters, marking the halfway point through the game, until Ending E - the true ending - is reached. However, gamers can still discover bonus endings for F-Z if they choose to.
2 Dragon Age: Origins
Choose Your Story
Dragon Age: Origins
- Released
- November 3, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content
- Genre(s)
- RPG
While Dragon Age might be considered typical BioWare RPG fare, what gives Origins an edge over the sequels is its very own origin system. Not only are players free to choose from a human, elf, or dwarf form, but they can choose one of six backstories that associate with the avatar's race and class.
Though the origin system has had its imitators, none have done it as successfully or as extensively as Origins. Each origin is a two-hour-long prequel to the story to come, and the decisions made in these first few hours frequently dovetail back into the main plot, meaning players are at the very least guaranteed six wildly different playthroughs.
3 Undertale
The Game That Ends Thrice
Undertale
- Released
- September 15, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Tobacco
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Toby Fox draws on the genre conventions of JRPGs to nudge players into finding the Pacifist ending after finishing the Neutral route. From here, most players would be satisfied with the "True Ending" that so many RPGs have, where everything becomes clear.
However, Toby Fox pulls off a double twist. There's another ending beyond the Pacifist ending, which is a commentary on player agency, branching story choices, and violence in video games. It's complete with a final boss that's so iconic it's eclipsed gaming culture itself. Readers already know him - he doesn't need to be named!
4 Fallout: New Vegas
War Never Changes, But Fallout Does
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- RPG
To this day, New Vegas might be one of the most open-ended RPGs ever created, rivaled only by Baldur's Gate 3. Any RPG fan knows why this game is so replayable. Customizable characters, multiple factions, open-ended quest design, and a reactive open world are just some of the tricks that Obsidian's New Vegas pulls off.
It's a game that rewards the player for exploring and engaging with its story. The more knowledge they acquire of the fictional world, the better it becomes. Special mention must go to the ingenious open-endedness of its main questline, which not only allows players to skip the tutorial but also skip half the game if they so choose. This choice makes it so that experienced returning players can skip past the fluff of early-game quests.
5 Disco Elysium
Choose Your Copotype
Disco Elysium
- Released
- October 15, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Disco Elysium offers a more unique approach to replayability by embedding it within the game's prose. For example, if the player's avatar has invested points into physique, voices will chime in on the narration, encouraging the player to find a physical solution to a problem, while if the avatar has focused on intellect, more voices will chime in, offering a cerebral solution to the detective's problem. No two read-throughs are going to be the same.
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Its other strength is simple. The writing is so good that players will want to replay it anyway, searching for even a single line of new dialogue. While doing so, they might as well give the amnesiac detective a different set of skills, different types of thoughts, and perhaps even a different name.
6 Mass Effect Trilogy
Paragon Or Renegade?
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
- Released
- May 14, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
The Mass Effect Trilogy is very specifically better on the second playthrough due to the paragon/renegade dichotomy. Instead of making lots of little choices, BioWare allows players to pick from two vastly different choices: paragon or renegade. Due to the way the skill system was set up, players had to commit to this decision too, meaning players were very often 100% paragon or 100% renegade.
Though this type of choice has been met with criticism, there's no denying that paragon and renegade playthroughs feel distinctly different from one another. And, while replaying the game, players might as well choose to play as the other gender. And maybe even pick a new romance option.
7 Cyberpunk 2077
The Game That Was Saved In The Edit
Cyberpunk 2077
- Released
- December 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
While it's true that Cyberpunk 2077 has an extensively customizable combat system, an origin system, and a lot of different choices, none of these things are truly unique to Cyberpunk. Other RPGs have done this before. What makes it special is its redemption story.
For those who played it during its disastrous 2020 launch and replayed it during Phantom Liberty's 2023 release, this was the only game that is, unquestionably, better on the second playthrough. During the three-year time gap, its bugs were fixed, its combat was balanced, and wholly new content was added. Cyberpunk 2077 is a testament to the best and worst games have to offer and provokes a grander question about the nature of editing art. Nowadays, people regard New Vegas and Cyberpunk 2077 as the greatest in their genre, but forget how buggy they were upon release. But, when critiquing the medium, should these events be forgotten?
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