So you got an Xbox One for Christmas. Awesome! Prepare to enjoy hundreds of hours of gaming on your new console, especially if you’re into role-playing games. Yes, the infamous RPG allows you to take escapism to the next level by pretending to be someone you’re not and acquire skills and abilities to become a powerful warrior, a cunning thief, a mystical wizard or really anything you can imagine. RPGs are magic, and if you’re into them (or just want to see what they’re all about), you can get started here.
We’ve gathered five excellent RPGs available for the Xbox One right now. Read on to see which ones pique your interest.
1. Dragon Age: Inquisition
If you’re into RPGs and don’t own Dragon Age: Inquisition, you’d better have a good excuse. Not only is Inquisition Game Awards 2014’s game of the year, nor is it only one of BioWare’s best titles to date, but it’s a landmark product in the entire role-playing game sphere. In the latest Dragon Age, you play as an inquisitor who must form alliances and battle baddies in order to rid the world of evil. It sounds thin on paper, but Inquisition features a vast, rich world; deep, intricate characters; a thrilling story and some of the best role-playing mechanics around. This is worthy of every role-playing gamer’s attention.
Price: $39.99 (33 percent off MSRP)
Buy Dragon Age: Inquisition here.
2. Child of Light
The first thing you’ll notice while playing Child of Light is undoubtedly its amazing graphics. The game’s watercolor-like visuals look like they were painted right onto your screen. Child of Light features unconventional characters and a unique story that defy genre standards while still paying them tribute, which is no easy feat. All of this aside, Child of Light still features robust and interesting combat mechanics that mix real-time and turn-based strategy into one fluid system that’s nothing short of satisfying. If you can get past the rhyming pentameter characters are forced to speak in, you’ll find an excellent game, even if its RPG elements aren’t as deep as they could be.
Price: $16.56
Buy Child of Light here.
3. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition
Blizzard is a master when it comes to worldbuilding and creating role-playing fantasies, and that talent shines just as brightly with Diablo III. In this game, you play as one of a handful of classes and roam deserts, dungeons and hell itself in a quest to rid the planet of Diablo’s evil. As you kill literally thousands of enemies, you find powerful loot that feeds into the grind for more powerful characters and, well, more loot. It’s an addictive loop you and your friends can enjoy for dozens of hours, and the fun is multiplied considering couch co-op is a viable option.
Price: $51.19 (15 percent off MSRP)
Buy Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition here.
4. Destiny
Destiny may be a first-person shooter on the surface, but it’s a role-playing game deep down, and for that, it makes our list. You’ll spend hours shooting aliens and robots as your crawl around Bungie’s new sci-fi universe, but as you do so, you’ll level up your character, acquire new skills and find or purchase different weapons and armor. That sounds like an RPG to me! With its shared world experience, you’ll never be far from friends or strangers alike as you take on quests, giving the game a mini-MMO vibe.
Price: $39.99 (33 percent off MSRP)
Buy Destiny here.
5. Costume Quest 2
The simplest game on our list has to be Costume Quest 2, the adorable Halloween-themed game in which you and a party of trick-or-treaters travel through time to make the spooky holiday, which is illegal in the future, legal once more. For combat (and yes, there is fighting), you don different costumes to change your attacks and stats, which is an interesting way of handling a traditional role- or job-switching mechanic. The game is adorable and charming thanks to Double Fine’s excellent style, but people have a problem with the healing mechanics and stale ideas left in from the original game. Still, Costume Quest 2 is a great introductory RPG.
