10 Best RPGs Of 2018
Swashbuckling, spells, swordfighting and... Spanish flu?!
RPGs have been around pretty about as long as gaming has been a household hobby, so it's no surprise that role-playing mechanics have really started to influence practically every other genre.
Take, for example, level progression in the latest Assassin's Creed games, God of War's gear upgrades, or skill trees in action fare like Spider-Man. You might have once expected a certain experience from an RPG, but that experience is now far more fluid; even genre stalwarts like Final Fantasy have shifted away from the traditional, turn-based mechanics that many players may have associated with an RPG overall.
This generation has truly opened up the RPG to every kind of player. 2018 specifically showcased some perfect traditional titles for purists, but we also saw story-rich action experiences, or the return-to-form of a strategy/RPG hybrid.
Battle systems have been reinvented, franchises have been reinvigorated, and unfamiliar settings have been charted. In a year that truly seemed like one of the best in gaming for a long time, 2018's RPGs offered something for everyone and proved that the genre is here to stay.
10. Vampyr
Vampyr was a vast change of pace for Dontnod, being the studio behind incredibly successful narrative game Life is Strange. However, they managed to transfer their experience of crafting stellar narratives across to their recreation of London during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918.
Vampyr's strengths are in its characters and writing. The story follows protagonist Dr Jonathan Reid as he grapples between his need to feed on his fellow Londoners (and thus permanently losing access to any information that NPC may have offered) and following his Hippocratic Oath to help heal those around him.
The possibility of permanently losing access to questlines really makes the choice to gain a huge boost in experience points a weighty one, especially as you progress into the later stages of the game and the story starts to delve deeper and deeper into vampiric lore.
Combat may not be the most inventive, often relying more on brute force as opposed to the various abilities you'll unlock, but that doesn't prevent the experience of exploring Dontnod's dark, mysterious London from being so atmospheric and compelling.