2025 could be the all-time best year for RPGs thanks to Obsidian Entertainment

As an RPG fan, I always hope that I will find something great to play in the new year. In 2024, that game was…well, like in 2023. I finished Baldur's Gate 3 this year, and wrapping up Act 3 confirmed that Larian has created one of the best RPGs of all time.

But the rest of the year… Metaphor: ReFantazio is stellar, but I haven't been able to spend much time on it. I had a great time with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but was disappointed by its stop-and-start, linear-then-open-world rinse and repetitive structure. Dragon Age: Velgard has fun combat, but the role-playing game fails on the role-playing part of the equation.

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Last year left me hungry for something that made Baldur's Gate 3 tickle again, to the extent that I returned to an old CRPG, Obsidian's Tyranny, over Christmas. And thanks to Obsidian, I'll be enjoying great RPGs far beyond the holiday break.

Avowed and Outer Worlds 2 Put obsidian in pole position

That's because the acclaimed RPG developer is set to release two big games in the new year. We know that Avowed will launch in 2025 since its August delay, but at The Game Awards we learned that The Outer Worlds 2 is also coming in 2025. As a big fan of Obsidian's RPG style, the studio. Spielberg pulling '93 is good news.

Don't take this comparison too seriously. Neither Accepted nor The Outside World 2 is Schindler's List. They are both Jurassic Park.

Looks especially good. Previews for the game show expressive and colorful combat, interesting and well-voiced side characters, cool dialogue that stems from your role-playing choices, and engaging exploration driven by environmental puzzles. I enjoyed Pentiment (and Grounded, though I haven't played much), but it's nice to see Obsidian marshal its Xbox resources in the service of a great, choice-driven RPG.

Outer Worlds 2 will be a fun conclusion to the one-two punch. I loved the first game, but you can see the corners cut in some areas, like the wealthy planet Byzantium, where many buildings were inaccessible. I hope The Outer Worlds 2 has a lot of the sci-fi comedy and weighty choices that made the first game work, but with more depth and polish. The latest trailer looks exactly what I'm hoping for, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

A cornucopia of RPG fun

Like Avowed, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 arrives in early 2025. The first game was a breakout hit in 2018, captivating players with its well-regarded world, deep mechanics, and heaping helpings of janks. The second game seems to double down on everything that made the first game work, and I'm excited to check it out.

Xbox's heavy investment in RPGs starts paying off in 2025 as, in addition to Obsidian's games, Playground Games' Fable is also set to launch. I've only played a bit of the original Xbox game, so I'm not sure what to expect from this reboot. I hope that, like the older games, it places a greater emphasis on player freedom. But if it's more straightforward, I'm excited to see if the humor of the full game is on par with the very funny (and very British) trailers.

Close-up of smiling girl in fable.

There are some less crunchy heavy-hitters that are also set to make contact in 2025. Assassin's Creed Shadows looks like fun and Valhalla, Odyssey, and Origins will give you a degree of freedom to shape your characters. Monster Hunter Wilds is doubling down on the story, which could finally take the RPG-leaning series into full-on RPG territory.

There are some good indie releases on the horizon as well. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, Pathologic 3, Chernobylite 2: Extraction Zone, Death Trash (Full Release), Deltarun Chapters 3 and 4, Meugenics, and Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault are set to hit in 2025.

And finally, excitingly or humiliatingly, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 may finally arrive in 2025. It's the current release window but, as someone who expects a long-awaited sequel every year this decade, I'm not holding out. my breath Still, if developer The Chinese Room (which made 2024's standout Still Wakes the Deep ) can deliver half as moody, atmospheric and unusual as the first game, it'll be a worthy addition to an already stacked year.

another one

There is no right time to start Metaphor: ReFantazio

It's better to approach a long RPG like a TV show than like a movie.

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