The 2010s were a haven for great RPGs; however, it was a little different from the decades prior. That was due to a few reasons, including the fact that development time started to take much longer, leading to fewer games in specific series. Plus, developers started to add elements of RPGs to games that previously didn’t have them, giving the genre new life through new gameplay styles. Fortunately, a few series were able to release multiple games, giving fans plenty to play through during the decade.
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Here are the five biggest RPG series from the 2010s.
5) Fallout
The Fallout series started in 1997, but the 2010s was it’s most prolific period. The decade started with Fallout: New Vegas. For many fans, that’s the series at its peak. The open-ended RPG set in post-apocalyptic Las Vegas is a blast to explore, thanks to quests that are equal parts hilarious and harrowing. Five years later, fans were treated to two different types of games with Fallout Shelter and Fallout 4.
The former is a neat management game on mobile, letting you take Fallout on the go. The latter is the most recent major game in the Fallout timeline from developer Bethesda. It didn’t quite live up to New Vegas, but the addition of basebuilding was undoubtedly impressive. Plus, getting to run around post-nuclear fallout Fenway Park was a treat. Bethesda then took the series online with Fallout 76 in 2018. Again, it wasn’t exactly what fans wanted, but the developers have continued to build it out over the last several years.
4) Xenoblade
Xenoblade is an offshoot of the larger Xeno series, which had several games launch in the 2000s. When the team at Monolith Soft turned to Xenoblade for the Wii in 2010, it kicked off a decade of great games. That first game was a hit on the Wii, earning acclaim for its story, combat, and music. Especially in North America, it came out toward the end of the Wii’s lifespan, which means plenty of players missed it, but it later came to the 3DS and Switch, making it readily available.
The Wii U’s Xenoblade Chronicles X was also well-received, largely thanks to its storyline and over-the-top mission design. However, no one owned a Wii U, so it also went overlooked by many until it came to the Switch a decade later. In 2017, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 launched on the Switch. With that release, the series finally got its due, selling nearly three million copies and exceeding all expectations.
3) Dark Souls
Dark Souls is a modern RPG, mixing action-heavy combat with careful stat allocation. No longer are you flipping through menus during bass battles. Instead, you’re holding your breath and trying not to sweat as you dodge around attacks, looking for an opening to launch your own strikes. Of course, FromSoftware’s Soulsborne “series” kicked off with Demon’s Souls in 2009, but the Dark Souls series proper didn’t start until 2011.
That first Dark Souls was a revelation, introducing just enough quality of life changes to please the masses who were scared off by Demon’s Souls‘ difficulty. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still tough to master Dark Souls‘ systems, but it’s a little friendlier about getting you there. Dark Souls II followed in 2014, taking the formula and cramming in even more systems and boss battles. Dark Souls III hit two years later and upped the speed of combat, taking a few cues from FromSoft’s Bloodborne. No matter how you slice it, Dark Souls was massive during the 2010s.
2) Final Fantasy
As I mentioned in the introduction, several series went from pumping out a new release every few years to dropping just a few games during the 2010s. The best example of that might be the mainline Final Fantasy series. There were only two new games in the main series during the 2010s, but one of those turned into a complete game-changer for the company.
Technically, Final Fantasy XIV launched in 2010, but it was a failure and had to have a complete reboot, which took the world by storm in 2013. It’s become one of the few MMORPGs to legitimately challenge World of Warcraft for the top spot in that genre and a massive hit for Square Enix. Final Fantasy XV wasn’t quite as big a deal, but it was still a fun entry in the long-running series. Toss in a few spin-offs, and you have another banner decade for one of the best RPG series of all time.
1) Mass Effect
Mass Effect kicked off its epic tale in 2007. At least as long as you were an Xbox 360 player. It didn’t come to the PlayStation 3 until 2012. That doesn’t mean I’m counting it here, but it’s worth noting that a chunk of the audience didn’t start playing the sci-fi epic until the 2010s. That all said, Mass Effect 2 launched in 2010. For many, that’s the best game in the series, thanks to its epic scale and memorable cast. It delivered on the promise of seeing your choices from the first carry over, and built upon the original in every way.
The third game wasn’t quite as memorable, but it’s still an ambitious finale for the best-selling series. While developer BioWare didn’t quite land the ship perfectly, it was a valiant effort that established one of the best RPG series in modern memory. Then, it blew all that goodwill out the window in 2017 with Mass Effect: Andromeda. BioWare wanted to start a new trilogy, but the first effort was a total miss, filled with technical issues and poor design choices. Still, you can’t deny that the original trilogy was phenomenal and deserves a spot on this list.
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