GamesRPGThe 10 RPGs that defined Xbox and evolved the genreWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGThe 10 RPGs that defined Xbox and evolved the genreWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Bethesda)
We love an RPG quest that seems simple at first but gradually gets more complex as you embark on it. That’s exactly what happened with our quest to try and narrow down the 10 RPGs that defined Xbox. While you may associateMicrosoft’s consoles more with Halo, Forza, or Blinx the Timesweeper (for the real ones out there), they’ve actually boasted a rich history of great role-playing games. Xbox also did more than any of the major platforms to erode the barrier between PC and console RPG.
But this isn’t a list of the ten best RPGs on Xbox. Otherwise The Witcher 3 and Skyrim would have definitely gotten shoutouts. Instead, please enjoy this trip down memory lane as we embark on this perilous quest to tell thestoryof RPGs on Xbox in just ten titles. These are all game-changers that, while they might not seem it today, altered the way we even thought about RPGs on a console for decades to come. Oh, and every game on this list is backwards compatible on Xbox Series X and S! And a bunch are some of thebest Xbox Game Pass gamesyou can try with your subscription. Handy, as many of them are still among thebest RPG gamesto play today, which is great news if you have a spare 10,000 hours free…
The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
(Image credit: Bethesda)
Developer:Bethesda Game StudiosPlatform(s):XboxRelease date:June 6, 2002
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
(Image credit: LucasArts)
AVOWED: THE BIG PREVIEW(Image credit: Future)This month, we’re diving into the highly anticipatedupcoming Obsidian game. To find our coverage, visit theAvowed Big Preview hub.
AVOWED: THE BIG PREVIEW
(Image credit: Future)This month, we’re diving into the highly anticipatedupcoming Obsidian game. To find our coverage, visit theAvowed Big Preview hub.
(Image credit: Future)
This month, we’re diving into the highly anticipatedupcoming Obsidian game. To find our coverage, visit theAvowed Big Preview hub.
Developer:BioWareEdmontonPlatform(s):XboxRelease date:July 16, 2003
A year afterStar Was: Episode II – Attack of the Cloneshad given us the line “I hate sand”, Bioware massively overcompensated with this beautifully written 2003 epic that’s still one of thebest Star Wars gamesever made. Hot off the success of Baldur’s Gate 2 (which was a genre highpoint many, many years before the recentBaldur’s Gate 3) Bioware crafted an RPG for PC and Xbox simultaneously with all the accessibility of a console title but all the brains its acclaimed PC games were known for. An incredibly confident sci-fi debut from a studio that was just getting started with this genre. This wasn’t just a good Star Wars game, it was as essential a part of your Xbox collection as the original Halo.
Fable
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Developer:Lionhead StudiosPlatform(s):Xbox (Remaster: Xbox 360)Release date:September 14, 2004
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Jade Empire
(Image credit: BioWare)
Developer:BioWarePlatform(s):XboxRelease date:April 12, 2005
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
(Image credit: Bethesda)
Developer:Bethesda Game StudiosPlatform(s):Xbox 360Release date:March 20, 2006
A lot of early Xbox 360 games were simply HD ports of what we’d been playing on the original Xbox. That all changed when Oblivion came along. Finally, a game that used all that extra horsepower to give us, well, a really big field. Butwhata field! Oblivion was beautiful, utterly massive, and would probably be talked about a lot more fondly today if Skyrim hadn’t completely stolen its thunder a few years later. As much of a statement of what consoles could do as Morrowind had been on Xbox, except this is infinitely more accessibleandhas Patrick Stewart in it. So world-shattering was this release that we declared “welcome to the first day of the rest of your role-playing life” in ourThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion reviewback on Xbox 360.
Mass Effect
(Image credit: BioWare)
Developer:BioWarePlatform(s):Xbox 360Release date:November 20, 2007
Easy to forget that this was once an Xbox 360 exclusive, and a series so important to that console’s identity that it was basically Xbox’s Final Fantasy. Mass Effect 2 may have been the peak of the series, but none of that would have happened had this game not gotten so much right the first time. You’re the subtly-named Commander Shepherd, leading a squad of loveable/hateable/I-want-to-romance-you-able characters on an unforgettable mission through the cosmos. An incredible achievement that proved Bioware didn’t need Star Wars to make a beloved sci-fi adventure, and led to one of the greatest trilogies ever in gaming. So much so that in ourMass Effect Legendary Edition reviewwe reiterated that it’s “an unmissable” series.
Lost Odyssey
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Developer:Mistwalker, FeelplusPlatform(s):Xbox 360Release date:December 6, 2007
We could have written an entire list of poor, doomed games that Microsoft developed to try and crack the Japanese market (RIP Blue Dragon). One of the more successful attempts was this heartfelt RPG from no less than the creator of Final Fantasy. There was a real hunger for a more traditional turn-based JRPG after the divisive Final Fantasy 12, but Lost Odyssey is probably most fondly remembered for its frequent flashback sequences that tell NPC short stories. These play out like little visual novellas and really go for the heartstrings. It’s probably the most conservative game on this list, but a surprisingly strong JRPG on a console that’s as American as a bald eagle eating an apple pie.
Fallout 3
(Image credit: Bethesda)
Developer:Bethesda Game StudiosPlatform(s):Xbox 360Release date:October 28, 2008
New Vegas gets all the love these days, as if it wasn’t working off the incredible template that Bethesda forged here. One it got so right that we basically accepted an identical shinier retread withFallout 4. There’s the incredible opening that sees you go through your entire childhood before the shocking reveal of leaving the bunker and seeing the post-nuclear wasteland for the first time. A terrifying horror game lurks in its ghoul-infested subway stations.Andthere’s a bit where you meet a cult worshiping a sentient tree that begs for death. Fallout 3 pushed the 360 to breaking point, but few Xbox games were as willing to take the RPG to such ambitious, bizarre places. Back on release, we called it “a huge, varied, epic, ambitious masterpiece” in ourFallout 3 review.
Dragon Age: Origins
(Image credit: BioWare)
Developer:BioWarePlatform(s):Xbox 360Release date:November 3, 2009
Bioware was so un-confident that this game would be a hit, that it didn’t plan any sequels (which some of Dragon Age 2’s meaner players might say is pretty damn clear). It’s easy to forget after the success of 3 that the idea of a spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate was a pretty tough sell back in 2009. But Bioware attempted – and succeeded! – in making the old-school character-focused fantasy RPG more appealing to modern console players' tastes. So began a series that’s still giving us great games today, based on ourDragon Age: The Veilguard review.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings – Enhanced Edition
(Image credit: CD Projekt)
Developer:CD Projekt RedPlatform(s):Xbox 360Release date:17 April, 2012
One of the PCs most ambitious RPGs was somehow miraculously squeezed into your humble Xbox 360, in what would be the most incredible Witcher-based miracle until some demons somehow got the third game running on Switch. Geralt’s second adventure is noThe Witcher 3– few games are – and yet it might even bemoreambitious, famously featuring a second act that can play out completely differently depending on early decisions you make. Proof that a series which was PC to its bones could work on console, this was Geralt’s first victorious step into the gaming mainstream, and well worth revisiting. In ourThe Witcher 2 review, we gave it a five star rating and called it “a brilliant masterpiece”.
Want more? Avowed is set to be a more up-to-date Xbox RPG favorite.Despite the Skyrim comparisons, Avowed is an Obsidian RPG first and foremost: “Let’s bring in all the greatest hits”!
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3
Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5
Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”