Best PC-Only RPGs

It’s rare to see a game of any genre restricted entirely to a mouse and keyboard setup, given that the hardware pretty much matches up between consoles and PCs these days (and that publishers are keen to sell the developer’s game to as many people as possible). One of the main strains of the RPG genre did begin with the letter “C” for a reason (although today, it may as well mean “classic” as much as “computer”).

That isn’t to say that there aren’t any great modern cRPGs wholly exclusive to the PC, and only some RPG developers are still holding off porting their games to consoles. That’s either because their games require more pointed precision or use complex moves only a keyboard can pull off (or because of some kind of irrational dislike of console peasants). Whatever the case, RPG fans have an ocean of roleplaying to experience, customize with mods, and champion to non-PC-pilled onlookers, to their hearts’ content.

6 Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines

A Dark And Ambitious (If Flawed) First-Person Vamperience

• Considered a flawed masterpiece
• Much better with unofficial fan-patches

Although birthed after a long, troubled development, Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines (at least after applying some miraculous fan patching) still stands today as one of the most interesting and ambitious RPGs ever produced. It’s clear from the start that the team behind the game was given pie-in-the-sky space to dream about what they’d like to see in the game. Although this does leave gaps and cruft, it’s still well worth checking out, in part thanks to dedicated fan fixes.

All the edginess of the era oozes out of V: TM: Bloodlines, as anyone who lived through the era might expect: secret societies, conspiracy theories, cults, and murder, but all of which are maturely explored throughout the story and delivered with expert writing, extensively thorough dialogue trees, and ambient world-building.

5 Kenshi

A Real-Time Action RPG Sandbox That Allows For An Outrageous Amount Of Player Freedom

• Dense UI that can get even denser the larger the player’s party size
• A richly-realized setting with an insane number of ambient systems that even react to the player

This indie RPG sandbox masterpiece took almost 12 years to make and was developed primarily by one person, which hammers home how much of a labor of love it was to make. The reason that Kenshi is not available on consoles becomes obvious after glancing at its UI. The player is able to build the character any way they like and later recruit others in their cause. Doing so will fill the screen with more UI windows than there are buttons on even a Nintendo 64 controller.

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The world (or, more accurately, the moon) of Kenshi is a fully realized ecosphere of its own. NPCs are governed by their own interests. Combat is brutally realistic, with missing limbs being common. But under the harsh exterior is fascinating lore, a compelling, player-driven emergent story, and a ludicrously detailed environment. There is quite a high difficulty curve for understanding how everything works, and while there’s no denying that Kenshi adds a lot of spice to the RPG buffet table, it is still an acquired taste.

4 Guild Wars 2 / World Of Warcraft

The Two MMO Heavyweights That Never Branched Out To Consoles

• WoW boasts years of content, a competitive guild community, and a seamless world
• GW2 looks and feels handcrafted with gameplay that emphasizes cooperation

It’s almost impossible to rate one of these MMORPGs above the other, and in the interest of keeping the peace, they take the same spot. Both Guild Wars 2 and World of Warcraft have something different to offer, but only to PC users. WoW is more of a classic-style MMO with more of an emphasis on competitively cooperative group dungeon runs and raids, while GW2 leans more toward cultivating friendly communities and casual play. Although both MMOs have been thriving for over a decade, World of Warcraft has an immensely long history and a massive, loading-screen-free world packed with content.

WoW does, however, still require a subscription. Guild Wars 2 is free to play (besides its expansions), and all of its content can be played solo (for good or for bad). World of Warcraft might appeal more to those looking to make long-term, meaningful choices, explore a huge, deep world, and fall in with a tight guild. Guild Wars 2‘s action combat might attract those who aren’t great fans of the massive multiplayer online experience but are still craving a no-nonsense epic adventure filled with wonderful, handcrafted views and wild magic.

3 Fallout 1 & 2 / Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

The Ultra-Dense Classics Of 90s RPGs

• Both have highly novel settings and uniquely expansive worlds full of interesting choices
• Buggy (Arcanum in particular), but can be fixed thanks to fan patches

For anyone only now emerging from a vault door after living deep below the earth, Fallout is an irreverent, post-apocalyptic series (probably the most famous of its kind) that started as a third-person isometric RPG. Only lucky PC users can play the first two, as they never got a console port. Like an ancient Pip-boy, these games still surprisingly hold up. Also folded into this recommendation is Arcanum, made by the same creators behind the first Fallout, Tim Cain et al. (although he would insist that every one of his games came out of a team effort).

While the second game is still an absolutely great experience, Cain and Co. were burned out on Fallout after producing the first and were more interested in developing another title: Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. It’s an RPG set in a typical Tolkien / D&D world, but one that is currently undergoing an industrial revolution. There is an incredible amount of possibility packed into this forgotten gem, and while still buggy, a great unofficial Arcanum patch (UAP) by “Drog Black Tooth” deals with some of the more annoying issues and also updates the game for modern sensibilities.

The Immersive Blockbuster With A Game World The Size Of England

• An ambitious classic made (highly) playable through Unity conversion
• One of the deepest systems in The Elder Scrolls or cRPGs in general

Even though there aren’t many truly “exclusive” games on the PC, many gamers will cite one reason to pass up the console version: mods. Playing a game like Skyrim with a mod list loadout is almost like playing a completely different game (and in some cases, full conversion mods became their own games). Speaking of Skyrim, one of its predecessors, Daggerfall, has seen a huge resurgence in popularity over the last few years thanks to the Unity overhaul.

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The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall is perhaps most well-known for its map size (as large as real-world England), expansive and immersive systems (from weather to politics), and an unprecedented ambition to give the greatest possible player-freedom in an open-ended world. As well as making the game palatable for modern gamers, the open-source Unity remake also adds more options for completing quests, improves the terrain and dungeon generation, enhances NPC and enemy AI, and greatly expands the draw distance.

1 Planescape: Torment

A Cult Classic That Might Still Hold The Spot As Greatest CRPG

• There are few games that can boast to be this influential on gaming and game development
• Great for fans who enjoy deep lore, conversations, and a grimdark setting

There is a reason why this game still has an enormous cult following and is often considered by old-school gamers as the greatest RPG of all time. Although even the enhanced edition of Planescape: Torment still shows its age, there is a wealth of mind-bending, soul-affirming experiences to have from this 1999 dark fantasy classic.

Planescape: Torment opens with the visions of an immortal god waking up in a nightmarish morgue with a mysterious message scarred on his back. The game takes place in one of D&D‘s most intriguing dimensions and delves into a plethora of philosophical topics. Anyone who played Disco Elysium (perhaps on console) or its spiritual sequel, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and is craving more should check out their direct inspirations.

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