Five RPGs you might have missed in 2021

If you like RPGs with a 90s nostalgia feel, then Eastward is worth your time. Between the pixel art style, whimsical atmosphere, and the lovable relationship between the main characters John and Sam, there’s a lot to love. The quirky adventure is full of surprises as you unravel the secrets of this strange world, using frying pans to cool enemies and bombs to blast past obstacles. It’s two equally weird and heartwarming parts and pays homage to Earthbound with its own arcade game called Earth Born for you to play when you need to divert from the main story. If you want an RPG with simple mechanics and a unique setting, look no further. Read our review for more.

The Ys series continued to shine and proved that they weren’t afraid to take some risks along the way with Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. The series still follows the iconic red-headed hero Adol, but he gains supernatural abilities and the power to repel monsters for this entry. During his adventures, he meets other people endowed with these powers, and they all have their own specialties to help you traverse the city and confront the bad guys. Unique methods for traversing and increasing verticality make exploration a success, and the massive bosses and fast-paced action won’t let you down. Plus, the story goes to some wild places. View ours New game today for more.

With a stunning and compelling aesthetic, Cris Tales captures your attention and provides plenty of reasons to keep going. Ultimately a love letter to classic RPGs, Cris Tales takes good stories across genres, such as time travel, and makes them more than just a gimmick. For example, Cris Tales’ time-jumping mechanic allows you to see the past, present, and future simultaneously, which makes for not only exciting exploration but also exciting combat opportunities. Think: cast water magic on an enemy’s powerful shield and then travel to the future to make it rust, lowering its defenses. It’s exciting to see the impact of your actions across different timelines, and if the game proves to be anything, no future is guaranteed. Read our review.

This procedurally-generated, character-driven tactical role-playing game has earned its acclaim, but still manages to fly under many people’s radar. Its PC exclusivity may be part of the reason, but you should find a way to play it, especially if you enjoy immersive tabletop experiences. Just like running your own Dungeons & Dragons campaign, you set up a team, make decisions that affect their story, and take on hordes of enemies in various turn-based combat settings. While each campaign is self-contained, the cool thing about Wildermyth is that you can include the characters you develop into subsequent campaigns, complete with all of their stats. Our Dan Tack said it best in his review: “If you’ve always wanted a stylized XCOM game of Dungeons & Dragons, then Wildermyth might be exactly what you’re looking for. Designing a game around random storytelling is hard, but Worldwalker pulls this off with gusto and intrigue.” Read full review here.

If you like strategy/RPGs but like a little wild and over-the-top antics, a new entry in the long-running Disgaea series debuted this past summer. The entry is a bit more streamlined, but still retains a humorous and fun strategy strategy that allows you to string together ridiculous damage numbers. This time, you will play as a lowly zombie named Zed, who uses the power of Super Rebirth to come back to life every time he dies. Zed’s persistence to be better all the time and improve those around him has made for one of the better storylines in the series. Graphics upgrades and new autoplay, though divisive, have added some embellishment to the series. If you’ve played the other entries, you’ll probably enjoy this one. And if that’s your first Disgaea game, this is also a great place to start.