While some Video games Aiming to deliver personal stories above all else, many players still value grand narratives with high stakes and epic narratives. From multi-year journeys, taking players across vast realms, to character-centric stories that start out almost mundane before slowly evolving into grand, world-saving quests, there's no shortage of truly epic. Video game masterpieces.
The 10 best games released since 2010, ranked
It's almost impossible to find serious flaws in these games that represent the pinnacle of gaming over the last 16 years.
Today, we're looking at these exact games, titles that everyone should play at least once to appreciate the great feats the gaming medium is capable of. The games below are not only some of the best and universally acclaimed titles, but they also offer great scope with an emphasis on epic experiences without sacrificing character depth and personal moments. A must-have game for sure, these games are almost guaranteed to become fond memories of most players for years to come.
10
Dragon Age: Exploration
Still impressive after all these years
A decade later, Dragon Age: Exploration It remains one of the best games in the series, balancing the old-school strengths almost perfectly Dragon Age: Origins With a modern RPG approach. From magnificent, varied locations to spectacular battles against dragons and other dangerous bosses, Research is a true fantasy epic, offering a classic story about the rise of an unknown hero to become a leader whom the entire world looks to as their savior.
Dragon Age: Exploration Amazingly well-aged, still able to surprise players with its visuals, combat variety, and magnificent scope, and finished with an admirable twist. Even so Dragon Age: Vilguard Offers some bits and missions that can sometimes get out of hand Dragon Age: ExplorationIt rarely feels as grand as its predecessor.
9
Shadow of the Colossus
Empty world, eternal grandeur
Shadow of the Colossus Almost the embodiment of the “less is more” mentality. Technically an open world game, Shadow of the Colossus Players are not interested in being entertained outside of their sole goal: find and destroy a mighty colossi to absorb their power and save their lost love.
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Even if the world is empty, Shadow of the Colossus It's consistently gorgeous, like almost no other game, and every encounter with another colossus is as mind-blowing as the last. Thanks to the modern remake by Bluepoint, Shadow of the Colossus An easy recommendation for today's players, as this minimal, epic story is more than worth living — and remembering forever.
8
The Last of Us Part 2
A mismatch craft in moral ambiguity
Unlike the first game, with its undeniably strong but well-known street-film structure, The Last of Us Part 2 It takes risks to subvert players' expectations, and offers more complex stories from multiple perspectives, ultimately colliding the worlds of its main characters with heart-wrenching results.
Granted, not all gamers were fans of the direction Naughty Dog took, but the ambiguous nature of the sequel only makes up for it. The Last of Us Part 2 A rare game that has to be experienced first hand to understand the rollercoaster of emotions it makes you feel. Not to mention, outside of its divisive plot, in every respect, TLOU 2 Almost perfect with unmatched visuals, gameplay and performance.
7
Kingdom Come: Redemption 2
A medieval epic without a single fantasy crutch
Warhorse's ambitious sequel is exactly the game the studio wanted to make from the start, taking all the lessons learned from the original to produce a definitive medieval RPG for fans of authenticity and historical accuracy. Even without the almost inevitable recognizable fantasy tropes in its setting, Kingdom Come: Redemption 2 It remains entertaining and absorbingly believable and demanding for regular RPG players.
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Kingdom Come: Redemption 2 It balances its character-driven narrative with moments of sheer epic grandeur, with huge, realistic battles and thrilling castle sieges to experience firsthand, as well as other dramatic events that players won't soon forget. It's the rare breed of must-play, 100-hour long modern RPG that players are lucky enough to get once or twice in a generation.
6
god of war
Sincere heartthrob meets jaw-dropping spectacle
From going, the god of war The series was all about some truly epic games featuring gods, mythical creatures, magnificent locations, and everything in between. following God of War 3As the old formula essentially hit a plateau, the devs actually had to take some steps back towards a more personal story with a more modest scope and a modern soft reboot of the series.
However, this does not mean that god of war (2018) lacks nothing that you would find in a true old-fashioned epic. Huge bosses, magnificent architecture, stunning scenery and many explorable areas with distinctive style — god of war An almost flawless action-adventure masterpiece with an admirable balance of honest character-driven moments and revelations and the good old fashioned spectacle that fans of the series have come to expect.
5
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Painterly worlds of pure creative freedom
RPG Masterpiece and the newest addition to GOTY of 2025, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's The devs have over-delivered with their debut project, surpassing even the wildest expectations. Its characters are already iconic, and it offers a fresh and exciting combat system with a lot of depth, stunning art, locations, and music, as well as a fascinating story full of meaningful twists. Campaign 33 A truly spectacular trip well worth taking.
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While personal at its core, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Elevated to the realm of epic grandeur with a painted world of rare non-grounded creativity, where the gods can do whatever they want. From giant bosses to creatures that coexist on complex thematic levels, Campaign 33 Players paint a unique canvas that cannot be found anywhere else.
4
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Each option reverberates through the battle-turn states
Easily the most epic game of the trilogy, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Allowing its players to explore a vast, war-torn open world, meet kings and emperors, participate in political intrigues, complete demon pacts, and oppose an ancient mysterious evil from another dimension, the series expanded upon the singularly personal goal of missing Ciri following her vanishing Tra.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt It's a game that's able to change its mood at a moment's notice, toss in funny quests and moments between dramatic, even tragic ones, and never forget to portray this believable world and everyone in it to great effect. All this allows players to constantly see and feel the results of their actions.
3
Red Dead Redemption 2
A wild west epic bigger than any movie
Red Dead Redemption 2 Plays in much the same field Kingdom Come: Redemption 2Depicts a grounded, believable world experienced through the eyes of a typical outlaw of the 1899 American frontier. while the essence RDR 2 With its very human heart, the game itself is what you might call an “epic” without exaggeration, full of characters, conflicts, and life-changing events.
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Set over the course of several months and take members of the Van der Linde gang across almost the entire continent (and beyond). Red Dead Redemption 2 A fascinating Wild West saga that can easily surpass any western movie.
2
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
The ultimate space epic
No, it's definitely not cheating at all Mass Effect Legendary Edition Remastered bundle as a single game. how did you give Mass Effect Representing one of the greatest gaming trilogies of all time, these games are meant to be played back to back, with each decision players making between entries. Not only that, everything has a clear development from there Mass Effect who Mass Effect 2 who Mass Effect 3The devs not only recreate what works, but also address everything that doesn't.
As for the epic aspect, rest assured – few action-RPGs out there can ever hope to match the grandeur. Mass Effect trilogy, where the entire galaxy finally unites to fight against the Reaper invasion.
1
Alden Ring
Our medium's Lord of the Rings
Alden Ring Sits up there with the best games ever made, perhaps embodying the greatest, most epic RPG journey of them all. Unrivaled in its scope, length, variety, and sheer sense of discovery, stepping into the Lands Between for the first time is something that will forever be etched in every player's mind. This is our medium The Lord of the Rings – A game that is an instant classic for the ages.
With its distinct art-style, towering architecture, underworld cities buried in deep caves, sky-high mountain peaks, and golden Erdtree soaring on the horizon, Alden Ring The spectacle is distilled into a personal experience. It has hidden bosses and enemies to defeat, infinite caves to open, and scores to knock out players with its grandeur. Alden Ring It's the first game that comes to mind when one thinks of “the greatest epic masterpiece ever,” and yet players who played it are surely missing out.
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