10 Best RPGs On Xbox Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass has the benefit of providing subscribers with a mountain of games, all of which you can play as much as you like so long as your subscription is active, or until they get removed. With such a huge selection of games, you could easily get your money’s worth no matter what you choose to play, but if you feel like getting the most bang for your buck, Game Pass’ selection of RPGs are a great place to start.

Game Pass boasts plenty of 50-100 hour adventures that’ll keep you coming back for a long time, but which RPGs are the best of the best? We’ve compiled a list of the greatest RPGs on Game Pass, so you know where to start. It’s worth noting that, due to the revolving door nature of Xbox Game Pass’ library, some of these games will cycle in and out of the service, but we’ll update this list as and when that happens. With that in mind, here’s the best RPGs on Xbox Game Pass.

 

The Best Game Pass RPGs

10. Black Desert

Developer: Pearl Abyss
Publisher: Pearl Abyss

If RPGs are time sinks at the best of times, then MMORPGs are practically time black holes, sucking up all your free time as you engage in the endless pursuit for better numbers on your gear. There’s a couple of MMORPGs available on Xbox Game Pass, with The Elder Scrolls Online being a good alternative pick, but we’re opting for Black Desert here, as it’s a brilliant MMO and one of the best RPGs on Xbox Game Pass.

Black Desert is a complicated sandbox of a game, with players able to pick from multiple classes and develop several different life skills that can net you profit in game, but the main reason to stick around is the stellar combat.

Unlike other MMOs that struggle to make the transition to console, Black Desert’s controls feel tailor-made for consoles, making it one of the easier MMORPGs to play on console.

 

9. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

Developer: NatsumeAtari, Rabbit & Bear
Publisher: 505 Games

The most recent addition on this list, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a prequel game to a Kickstarter backed RPG called Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. This prequel nature means that Rising is a bit more of a bite-sized adventure than other RPGs available on Xbox Game Pass, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of your attention. In fact, it’s one you should definitely keep your eye on.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising sees players controlling the party of CJ, Garoo and Isha, two adventurers and a town mayor respectively, who routinely venture through a series of dungeons to find treasure. The main goal is to build up the town you all reside in, using the resources you obtain to upgrade the merchants and vendors that call the town home.

If you like seeing an entire town achieve prosperity over the course of your game, Eiyuden Chronicle is a good shout.

 

8. The Fable Trilogy

Developer: Lionhead
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios

The Fable series is synonymous with the term “Xbox RPGs”, as the original trilogy of games hold fond memories for pretty much all who’ve played them. Sure, they might have promised the world and couldn’t deliver on it, but they’re still incredibly fun and enjoyable RPGs that are still worth checking out. It might have been nearly two decades since the original release of Fable 1, but the Anniversary Edition that’s on Game Pass is still an all-time classic.

Once you’re finished with the first game, Fable 2 and 3 are also available on Game Pass. Both of which improved the core gameplay and presentation of the series, while adding features like a dog companion. The dog addition alone makes Fable 2 and 3 the best games in the entire series, though all 3 are still worthy of your time.

If nothing else, it’ll fill the time up while you wait for the new Fable game from Playground Games.

 

7. Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

RPG fans have been enjoying the Yakuza series for years at this point, but with eight games in the series at this point, it might be a tough nut to crack for newcomers. If you’re yet to play a Yakuza game, and you prefer turn-based combat over real-time, your best bet would be to start with Yakuza: Like A Dragon, which represents a new start for the entire series. New characters, new gameplay and a brand new story — this is a brilliant place for new players to start.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon sees players take on the role of Ichiban Kasuga, a footsoldier sent to prison for 18 years. After spending all that time hoping for a hero’s welcome upon his release, Ichiban finds himself completely abandoned by his clan. With no answers and less friends, Ichiban puts together a party determined to find the truth.

In typical Yakuza fashion though, you’ll probably get distracted by all the minigames first.

 

6. The Outer Worlds

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Private Division

The Outer Worlds is an RPG for those who believe that Fallout: New Vegas is one of the best games ever made, so it’s no real surprise that it’s also featured on this list. It might not be as iconic as the game that inspired it, but The Outer Worlds is still an incredibly entertaining and absorbing RPG that allows you to be the space adventurer you want to be. Yes, you can be an insufferable jerk to everyone if you like.

You play as someone who’s been trapped in suspended animation on a spaceship for decades, stuck on the other side of the galaxy under the thumb of a hyper-capitalist hellscape. As you travel from planet to planet, you’ll build a like-minded group of people who want to help you rescue the other people stuck on the spaceship, or are just looking to use you for their own interests.

 

5. Hades

Developer: Supergiant Games
Publisher: Supergiant Games

Hades might be a bit more of a roguelike, but it’s got RPG elements pouring out of it, so much so that we included it in a few of our RPG lists, so it’s only natural that one of the best games of the past few years would also be featured here. Quite frankly, the fact that Hades is on Game Pass adds so much value to the subscription service to the point where it’ll be a sad day when it eventually leaves.

Based on Greek mythology, you play as Zagreus, the son of the titular God of the Underworld. Hades runs his underworld like an administration, and Zagreus doesn’t feel like he belongs. On top of that, he’s found out that his real mother is now living on the surface. Determined to find out the truth about his life, Zagreus attempts to break out of the Underworld, getting stronger with each subsequent run.

 

4. Fallout: New Vegas

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Bethesda

Thanks to Xbox’s acquisition of Bethesda, Game Pass has access to a few Fallout games, so if you prefer to play Fallout 3, Fallout 4 or Fallout: 76, feel free to swap this entry with one of those games. However, for our money, Fallout: New Vegas is still the apex of the series. Its setting, story, characters and gameplay are the best the Fallout series has to offer in its current form, making it one of the best RPGs on Xbox Game Pass.

Fallout: New Vegas sees players taking on the role of The Courier, who was betrayed and left for dead in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Awake and looking for revenge, you slowly become embroiled with the different factions that are hoping to call New Vegas their’s. Naturally, you have the power to decide who gets to keep everything, or you could just make a play for it all yourself.

The decision is yours.

 

3. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

NOTE: (requires EA Play/Xbox Game Pass Ultimate)

Developer: BioWare
Publisher: EA

Why settle for just one incredible RPG when you could have three? Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is the (mostly) definitive version of three iconic sci-fi RPGs. If you want to experience the absolute best of the best, this is the perfect Game Pass game. Just don’t be surprised if it takes you around 150 hours to get through all three games. There’s a lot on offer here, and pretty much all of it is excellent.

The original Mass Effect trilogy saw players create their own Shepherd, a human commander tasked with saving the galaxy from the dreaded Reapers. During all three games, you’ll assemble a crack squad, form bonds and relationships that’ll carry over across all three games, and attempt to put a stop to the Reapers in your own way.

Once you’re done with the Legendary Edition, you could even give Mass Effect: Andromeda a go too.

 

2. Stardew Valley

Developer: ConcernedApe
Publisher: ConcernedApe

RPGs allow players to assume whatever role they want to, though it would appear that a lot of people just want to take on the role of someone looking after their grandparents’ farm. Stardew Valley follows that principle by allowing players to move to a quiet town and establish their own farm, as a huge national corporation is also trying to muscle their way in. How you choose to build up your farm is up to you.

Farming is just one of the many lifestyles you could follow in Stardew Valley, as you can also spend your days trying to woo the various townsfolk, or you could just toil away in the mines and dungeons killing monsters. On top of that, there’s even support for online co-op play, meaning you can recruit your friends to be free labor for your farm.

Just make sure they don’t try and seduce one of the villagers out from under you.

 

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Developer: Bethesda
Publisher: Bethesda

The joke that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been ported to plenty of different platforms over the years is a popular one, but there’s a reason why that’s the case. If you can craft an RPG as expansive and immersive as Skyrim’s, surely you’d want to release it on every platform under the sun? Skyrim might not be a new experience for a lot of players, but it’s a reliably brilliant one, making it a perfect Game Pass RPG.

Skyrim sees players taking on the role of the Dragonborn, a prophesied warrior said to save the world from the coming invasion of Dragons. Of course, that’s if you actually get around to completing the main quest, as most Skyrim adventures are waylaid at the first sign of side content. All of a sudden, it’s been 100 hours or more, you’ve conquered a few different guilds and maybe even solved a civil war.

Shame those dragons are still around, though.

READ MORE: 10 Best Fighting Games On Xbox Game Pass