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Action RPGs have been around for a long time, with different styles and design choices to pick and choose from.
Whether isometric RPG games like Diablo or full 3D open world games like Witcher 3, there’s a lot to choose from. What makes an ARPG an ARPGs though? Time to find out!
Action RPGs are a genre that focuses on more active and real time combat with RPG mechanics thrown into the mix. Players are expected to use their personal skill along with equipping effective gear and creating efficient builds to tackle various challenges designed by developers.
There’s often an incorrect assumption that ARPGs “dumb down” story and interaction with NPCs, which isn’t true for every title. The stories can still be very gripping and well written, it varies from title to title like in any other RPG genre.
As RPGs started to branch off into different genres, games like Diablo popularised the concept of real time combat with RPG mechanics.
The idea of being able to attack enemies in real time wasn’t revolutionary in itself as other games implemented the idea before. The atmosphere, enjoyable gameplay loop, character progression, music, real time combat with large groups of enemies and procedural generation of levels created a phenomenal game.
The core mechanics are still being replicated in games till this day. Since then, video games have evolved exponentially, allowing fully 3D real time combat open world games, in which ARPGs really thrive.
ARPGs have action in its name for a reason! The combat takes place in real time without active pausing (unless via skills/abilities/spells/ or options), giving the player more intense experience as opposed to more tactical turn based style combat in CRPGs and classic JRPGs.
“Personally” swinging a weapon or casting powerful spells creates a really empowering feeling. This combined with the reliance on players' personal reflexes and skills creates a more exciting experience for the player as it relies on both the character and the player himself to succeed.
The uniqueness of the story and the world itself helps players to immerse themselves into the world. Doesn’t mean it has to be something never seen before of course.
The setting can be rooted in our own history with some twist to it. Creating a completely new world can be challenging but often opens new possibilities for storytelling and interesting worldbuild lore. The options are virtually endless but their success relies on how well written the story is.
Atmosphere, themes and tone can greatly affect how the player interacts with the world within the game, since ARPGs are role-playing games at its core.
Finding cool gear, picking the most effective builds possible and looking cool while doing it. Most ARPGs are designed to include it all, some even go the extra length to pick from literal hundreds of skills to further customize the character.
These are more of an exception rather than the rule though, as most ARPGs focus on keeping it simple enough to learn but quite complex to master.
A well designed character customization system is a must, especially in less story focused titles.
Not every ARPG ends once you finish the main storyline. Things like Newgame+ or higher difficulty modes become unlocked after successfully completing the game at least one. It can add new enemies/extra challenges/items/areas/secret endings and much more, prolonging the lifespan of the game.
The replayability doesn’t have to end there though, simply playing with different characters or picking different major storyline choices can lead to different outcomes and allow players to explore different branches of the game.
We’ve picked some great titles to choose from. There’s something for everyone here.
If you enjoy video games, you’ll have a great time exploring any (if not all!) of these fantastical worlds. Dive deep, it’s worth it!
Diablo II: Resurrected is the remaster of the classic Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction put together into a single game.
Developed and released in 2021 by Blizzard Entertainment, it’s basically a graphical and sound remaster with some quality of life improvements, leaving the core gameplay and items unchanged.
Diablo II changed the overall atmosphere of the original Diablo, focusing more on the gameplay and character customization, making the game much more fast paced than the original.
There’s a choice of 7 starting characters with each offering unique skill trees and initial statistics to help you on your mission to stop the Prime Evils from corrupting the world of Sanctuary.
Similar to its predecessor, each map is procedurally generated, populated by various monsters, including higher tier ones that drop more valuable loot and bosses.
This makes it very replayable as the gameplay loop is maintained on every new playthrough, allowing you to increase difficulty on each subsequent run after completing the main questline.
It’s a really fun game to replay on a fresh character every few years and despite the original Diablo II being over 24 years old the gameplay is still very satisfying, even if you haven’t played it in the past.
Path of Exile is an online action RPG released in 2013 by Grinding Gear Games. It takes place in the brutal and unforgiving continent of Wraeclast, filled with all manners of hostile beings and monsters to test your abilities on.
The game is a spiritual successor to Diablo II and focuses a lot on creating powerful builds from base 7 classes (19 in total including ascendancy classes), empowered by a huge skill tree shared by all classes with approximately 1325 skills in total!
This combined with the huge selection of various equipment can make Path of Exile quite complex when it comes to character development.
Gameplay itself is very similar to Diablo II by design, your exiled hero takes on hordes of enemies gaining experience, completing quests and finding gear in a very engaging loop. And just like in Diablo II, the levels are procedurally generated, making it so each map feels different on each playthrough.
If you’re a fan of ARPGs that allow you to create powerful builds with legendary gear to decimate hordes of enemies, Path of Exile is one of the best choices out there.
NieR: Automata is a sequel to one of the endings from NieR, specifically the one where aliens invade the world. The game was released in 2017 by Square Enix and developed by PlatinumGames.
You control a humanoid android designated as 2B, a seemingly cold and detached woman. 2B is part of the YoRHa squad, an elite military force designed to oppose the invading aliens and their seemingly sentient machine creations. The game is set within the Drakengard universe but keeps it separate from the original series as it takes place thousands of years in the future.
NieR: Automata is an amazing mix of action games and a deep story focus. You can expect fun and enjoyable gameplay and if you wish for a great challenge to your skills, you can pick hard mode at the beginning.
While there’s no skills/abilities to unlock from levelling you can find Plug-in Chips that increase your offense/defense/utility etc.
Combat is focused on performing effective combos with equipped weapons using either light or heavy attacks. There’s approximately 40 weapons in total, each having a unique model and stats with different attacks depending on their class.
It’s a fantastic game with amazing writing, fun gameplay and great looking graphics and effects.
Make sure you reach the ending “E” if you do play it!
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is widely considered a pinnacle of western Action RPG.
It is a continuation of the previous title, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. This time it’s set in a massive open world with many points of interest to visit and explore. The story is focused on Geralt of Rivia searching for his adopted daughter Ciri, following the letter he received from his ex-lover, the powerful sorceress Yennefer.
There are branching decisions that affect how the story plays out. Each choice leads to some sort of major turning point for the involved characters, often in unexpected ways.
The combat is easy to learn but can be tough to master if playing on harder difficulties.
Skills and equipment offer a lot of options in terms of creating various builds and efficient synergies, with alchemy playing a vital role when dealing with more powerful enemies or bosses.
There’s plenty of side content to explore outside of the main story. With side quests further expanding on daily life of a Witcher and their interactions with regular humans.
It’s without a doubt the best title in the Witcher franchise so far(with Polaris still being in production), an absolutely fantastic ARPG that everyone should play at least once!
Elden Ring was released in 2022 by Bandai Namco Entertainment, it’s developed by FromSoftware, the creators of Souls series.
The major difference between it and other Souls is the ability to freely move around the world. Dark Souls offered a more linear approach, being set on a path with a few branches to give an illusion of freedom.
Elden Ring is a fully open world, letting the player explore anywhere, so long as he has skills to survive the encounters, of which there are plenty.
Similarly to previous Souls like titles, there’s plenty of focus on learning the enemy attack patterns through trial and error and reliance on players' skill to progress. Doubly so in case of stumbling into more challenging areas filled with higher tier enemies and bosses.
There’s no real sugar coating it, Elden Ring is hard just like its predecessors.
It’s not for everyone but if you’ve got some patience and willingness to learn, no enemy is impossible to win against.
A magnificent game, with great visuals, atmosphere and challenging gameplay. And if you’re committed enough, there’s some really great story to discover.
ARPGs like Diablo or Path of Exile should get you your cut down hordes of enemies and gather precious loot fix. While more story driven ones, say, Witcher 3 or NieR: Automata will keep you engaged in their fantastic stories while exploring and interacting with their unique worlds.
If you seek out serious challenges, Elden Ring or any of the Souls series should test the limits of your patience and your willingness to push through ever more powerful enemies.
There’s a lot to choose from and each game offers something different and special.
There’s something for everyone!
Different strokes for different folks, some people enjoy more action oriented games and scoff at turn based style games. While some find tactical combat approaches more meaningful than mashing attacks. Both should be enjoyed for different reasons.
There are some JRPGs that share certain aspects with ARPGs but most are employing some sort of turn based combat system. Making the two genres mostly separate from each other, with a few titles that overlap.
