2025 Was an All-Time Great Year for RPGs

Now that 2026 is here, I can finally say it out loud: 2025 was the kind of year RPG fans dream about. After finishing Baldur's Gate 3 in 2024, I spent months trying to scratch that same itch. That game wasn't just a great CRPG, it became the measuring stick against which everything else felt a little too thin.

To be fair, 2024 wasn't empty. Metaphor: ReFantazio deserved more of my time, but I never managed to give it the attention it asks for. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth had moments of brilliance, yet its stop-and-start rhythm, linear here, open-world there, rinse and repeat, left me tired. Dragon Age: The Veilguard had enjoyable combat, but it kept forgetting the role-playing part of the role-playing game equation. By December, I found myself returning to Obsidian's older CRPG, Tyranny, just to feel that familiar spark again.

That's when the calendar did something wonderful. Obsidian, a studio I already trust with my spare hours, had two big games lined up for 2025: Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2. The whole situation felt like a Spielberg '93 moment, one developer flexing two major swings in a single breath. I couldn't help but lean forward.

Avowed looked especially inviting. Previews showed expressive, colorful combat that didn't just sit there waiting for you to press buttons. Side characters had voices and opinions. Dialogue grew naturally out of role-playing choices, and exploration was built around environmental puzzles rather than marker chasing. I had a soft spot for Pentiment, and Grounded was fun even if I didn't stick with it long, but Avowed felt like Obsidian putting its Xbox resources behind a big, choice-driven RPG. That's exactly the kind of meal I had been hungry for.

Then came The Outer Worlds 2, completing the one-two punch. I loved the first game, even though I could see the corners that had been trimmed. That wealthy planet Byzantium, for instance, never let me wander as much as I wanted. When the sequel's trailer promised more sci-fi comedy, weighty choices, depth, and polish, I was sold. It sounded like the first game after a growth spurt, still funny, still sharp, but more confident in its own skin.

Beyond Obsidian, the RPG buffet kept piling up. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 arrived in early 2025, and I was stoked. The first game charmed players with its well-considered world, deep mechanics, and a heaping helping of jank. The sequel seemed ready to double down on all of it, rough edges and all. Then there was Playground Games' Fable reboot. I had only played a bit of the original Xbox game, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Still, if the full game carried even half of that very funny, very British trailer energy, I knew I would be grinning.

Here is the short version of why 2025 had my full attention:

Some less crunchy heavy-hitters rounded out the year. Assassin's Creed Shadows promised the same kind of freedom I enjoyed in Valhalla, Odyssey, and Origins, letting me shape my characters while sneaking through history. Monster Hunter Wilds started doubling down on story, which felt like the series tiptoeing from RPG-adjacent into full-on RPG territory. And then there was Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, moody, atmospheric, and perpetually uncertain. As someone who had expected that long-awaited sequel to arrive every single year this decade, I refused to hold my breath. But if The Chinese Room could deliver something even half as strange and striking as the first game, it would be a worthy dessert for an already stuffed table.

Looking back from 2026, the year didn't just look promising on paper. It reminded me why I fell for the genre in the first place: choices that matter, companions with messy personalities, worlds that push back, and the occasional janky charm that makes everything feel handmade. If 2024 left me hungry, 2025 served a feast. And now, honestly, I'm still picking crumbs out of my keyboard. 🎮