Top 30 Action RPGs of the 2010s

Brutal boss gauntlets, hundred-hour open worlds and loot treadmills all came of age in the 2010s. Some of these are household names; a few are cult picks their fans still evangelize.

1. 1
   The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

   CD Projekt Red's 2015 open-world epic following monster hunter Geralt across war-torn kingdoms.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Dark Souls

   FromSoftware's 2011 interconnected dark-fantasy world that made punishing, pattern-based combat a genre of its own.
   815pts
3. 3
   Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

   FromSoftware's 2019 shinobi action game built around posture, deflection and resurrection, winner of Game of the Year at The Game Awards.
   815pts
4. 4
   Final Fantasy XV

   Square Enix's 2016 road-trip RPG that moved the series to real-time action combat.
   586pts
5. 5
   Borderlands 2

   Gearbox's 2012 co-op looter shooter with procedurally generated guns and the villain Handsome Jack.
   532pts
6. 6
   Kingdom Hearts III

   The long-awaited 2019 Disney and Square Enix crossover concluding the Dark Seeker saga.
   532pts
7. 7
   Mass Effect 3

   The 2012 conclusion of Shepard's trilogy, adding co-op multiplayer and a galaxy-wide war against the Reapers.
   532pts
8. 8
   Bloodborne

   A 2015 PlayStation 4 exclusive trading shields for aggressive trick-weapon combat in the Gothic city of Yharnam.
   469pts
9. 9
   Nier: Automata

   PlatinumGames and Yoko Taro's 2017 android tale mixing stylish combat with multiple-ending philosophical storytelling.
   469pts
10. 10
    Dragon Age: Inquisition

    BioWare's 2014 open-zone fantasy RPG and Game of the Year winner at the first Game Awards.
    469pts
11. 11
    Nioh

    Team Ninja's 2017 Souls-like set in Sengoku-era Japan, with stance-switching combat and yokai bosses.
    469pts
12. 12
    Torchlight II

    Runic Games' 2012 colourful loot-and-click dungeon crawler with pets and free online co-op.
    469pts
13. 13
    Path of Exile

    Grinding Gear Games' free-to-play 2013 hack-and-slash famous for its enormous passive skill tree.
    469pts
14. 14
    Fallout 4

    Bethesda's 2015 post-apocalyptic Boston adventure adding settlement building and gunplay-focused combat.
    469pts
15. 15
    Dark Souls II

    The 2014 middle chapter of the Souls series, set in the decaying kingdom of Drangleic.
    397pts
16. 16
    Dragon's Dogma

    Capcom's 2012 open-world fantasy where AI Pawn companions fight beside you and you climb onto giant monsters.
    397pts
17. 17
    Deus Ex: Human Revolution

    Eidos Montreal's 2011 cyberpunk prequel letting augmented agent Adam Jensen sneak, hack or shoot his way through.
    397pts
18. 18
    Assassin's Creed Odyssey

    Ubisoft's 2018 ancient Greece adventure that fully turned the series into a dialogue-and-loot RPG.
    397pts
19. 19
    Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

    Nihon Falcom's 2016 castaway adventure, the fastest-paced and best-loved entry of the long-running Ys series.
    313pts
20. 20
    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

    Bethesda's 2011 open-world fantasy RPG about a dragon-blooded hero, still re-released on nearly every platform.
    313pts
21. 21
    Fallout: New Vegas

    Obsidian's 2010 Mojave wasteland RPG prized for faction politics and player choice.
    313pts
22. 22
    Dark Souls III

    The 2016 finale of the Souls trilogy, faster and more aggressive than its predecessors.
    313pts
23. 23
    Xenoblade Chronicles

    Monolith Soft's 2010 Wii epic set on the bodies of two colossal titans frozen mid-battle.
    313pts
24. 24
    Mass Effect 2

    BioWare's 2010 sci-fi squad RPG where Commander Shepard recruits a crew for a potential suicide mission.
    313pts
25. 25
    Diablo III

    Blizzard's 2012 isometric loot-driven dungeon crawler, revived by its Reaper of Souls expansion.
    313pts
26. 26
    Grim Dawn

    Crate Entertainment's 2016 dark, Victorian-flavoured ARPG with a deep dual-class system.
    313pts
27. 27
    Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

    A 2012 cult favourite fantasy RPG with combo-heavy combat and lore by R.A. Salvatore.
    313pts
28. 28
    Horizon Zero Dawn

    Guerrilla Games' 2017 open world where hunter Aloy takes on robotic beasts in a far-future wilderness.
    213pts
29. 29
    Kingdom Come: Deliverance

    Warhorse Studios' 2018 realistic medieval Bohemia RPG with demanding first-person swordplay.
    213pts
30. 30
    Monster Hunter: World

    Capcom's 2018 breakthrough that brought seamless hunting grounds and co-op monster battles to a global audience.
    0pts

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