Best PS5 RPG games coming in 2021 and beyond

❘ Published: 2021-01-14T16:01:18

Horizon Zero Dawn, Gotham Knights and SCARLET NEXUS

PlayStation / WB Games / BANDAI NAMCO

Some incredible PS5 RPG games are coming out in the next year or two, from Gotham Knights to Starfield, so there’s something for everybody.

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As of yet, we haven’t seen any RPGs that match the caliber of some of the decade’s past epics. The 2010s were chock full of RPGs that fans will remember for years to come. Games such as Fallout 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5, Monster Hunter: World, and Red Dead Redemption 2 will all go down in the history books.

In stark comparison to these behemoths, though, 2020’s Cyberpunk 2077 left RPG fans everywhere with a bad taste in their mouths. Console editions of the game especially were riddled with bugs and glitches, being largely unplayable for what was expected of AAA developer CD Projekt Red.

Perhaps this game was hyped up too much by its fans, and remaining cautious about upcoming releases’ hype levels is a lesson that we all needed to learn.

Dragon Age 4
Gotham Knights
Hogwarts Legacy
Horizon Forbidden West
Starfield
Scarlet Nexus

Best PS5 RPG games (2021)

Gotham Knights

Batgirl is one of the heroes available for players to utilize in the RPG.

An open-world, exciting roleplaying game set within the DC Universe of Gotham City isn’t something that’s completely unheard of, but Gotham Knights introduces a new concept that is sure to intrigue superhero fans everywhere.

Following Batman’s death, players are able to take the helm of four characters — Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin — and explore the shrouded city. It’s a fresh take, and coupled with the optional cooperative mode style of play, restoring justice to the iconic locale as they try to clean house of the Court of Owls will be a blast.

Trailer

Following the destruction of the iconic Batcave, players will be based within the Belfry – an extremely iconic location for any DC fan. Here, players will aim to take back control of the city and unravel the mystery of what happened to the legendary Bruce Wayne.

The Belfry is where you spend the daytime portion of the game – and it’s a chance to interact with the Batcomputer to train your skills, abilities, and interact with others residing within the new enclave.

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While no set-in-stone date has been announced thus far, we currently have a release window of 2021.

Horizon Forbidden West

Four people stand armored in front of a gigantic mechanical creature, surrounded by fog

A continuation of Aloy’s story is something players have wanted since the original title released.

Releasing exclusively to PS4 back in 2017, Aloy’s journey in Horizon Zero Dawn absolutely knocked it out of the park. With a fully realized, layered character arc, and a believable, engrossing open world to explore, it’s no surprise that fans are looking to step into the redhead’s shoes once again.

Voiced once more by the phenomenal Ashly Burch of Life Is Strange fame, we journey to the titular land of the Forbidden West — the American West Coast, to be exact — to hunt down an infectious plague that destroys all it comes into contact with.

Trailer

Expanding upon the systems already built upon in the first installment, players will be able to explore underwater parts of the map, too – with secrets to collect lying deep within the map’s bodies of water. Players will fight even bigger machines than the behemoths we have already encountered out east and will come into contact with new tribes with unique traditions and cultures.

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The next installment of Aloy’s journey is set to release in 2021, exclusively on PS4 and PS5.

Scarlet Nexus

Players will be able to control either Yuito or Kasane in their journey.

BANDAI NAMCO’s upcoming RPG is sure to be among the best PS5 RPG games. Equipped with a fantastic arsenal of skills and weapons, players are able to assume the control of one of two characters – Kasane or Yuito – as they progress through the game to save mankind.

Denoted as a single story that provides players with two completely different experiences depending upon which hero you play as, the universe in which the game is set has discovered substances within the human brain that the world uses to build a society upon. Battling The Others, the OSF, or Others Suppression Force, recruits talented individuals to employ their skills and protect civilization.

Trailer

Incredibly stylized, with fantastic abilities that can be upgraded throughout the game by using the brain map, players are also able to use the character’s telekinesis in and out of battle to progress through the world and move objects.

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The game’s director, Kenji Abanuki, previously told IGN Japan that “since my origins as a developer lie in the RPG genre, I wanted to make sure to implement elements that I am experienced and confident with. So you can expect to enjoy story, character customization, communication between characters, and such as well.”

SCARLET NEXUS is surely set to be one of the best RPG games coming to PS5, and will be available to fans mid-2021.

Best PS5 RPG games (2022 and beyond)

Starfield

A side-on photo of a large space shuttle or ship of some kind on a plain, black background

While unconfirmed by devs, this previously leaked image could be a look at what’s in store for Starfield.

Without a new IP in over a decade, Bethesda Softwork’s upcoming RPG Starfield sees fans eagerly anticipating any new shred of information available to them. While we know that the game will arrive before The Elder Scrolls VI, other details concerning the game are relatively scarce. Regardless of this, though, fans are expecting a product that rivals the depth and scope of their previous RPG titles, perhaps even pushing it to new bounds.

Bethesda Softwork’s iconic Skyrim is still being re-released with updates across platforms years later, and is continually supported and added to by the modding community, with Oblivion being moved over into the game for players to experience in a mod titled ‘Skyblivion’.

Trailer (teaser)

Back in 2019, though, players received a sliver or information regarding the systems when Elon Musk and Todd Howard spoke in 2019’s E3 Coliseum, with Howard revealing that “traveling in space in our game, I want to say it’s like flight in the ’40s, like it’s dangerous.” He was also clear to note, however, that of course, these mechanics will have to be slightly gamified so that it’s important for players, but it nonetheless sounds thrilling.

Read More: Best RPGs coming to PC in 2021 and beyond

Starfield’s release date has yet to be officially confirmed. Fallout 4 was released back in 2015 just 6 months after it’s announcement, though, so anything can happen when it comes to when we’re seeing new details regarding the title.

Dragon Age 4

Could this sneak peek possibly be hinting at the game being set in Tevinter?

Following the jaw-dropping reveal at the end of Dragon Age: Inquisition’s final DLC titled ‘Trespasser’, Dragon Age 4’s storyline is set to be a wild ride. The betrayal of Solas, who was, unbeknownst to players, working as the puppet master of a plot to destroy the world, was a shock to all, and so it would be likely that the story will continue this thread as it moves into its new arc.

With wonderfully nuanced and uniquely written characters to accompany players on their journey, the series is an RPG lover’s dream. It prides itself on allowing the character to form deep and meaningful relationships with both heroes and villains, featuring a plethora of unique skills, classes, and races for players to experience in multiple playthroughs.

Trailer

Previous iterations of the game feature an incredible voice cast, including Freddie Prinze Jr. as the widely loved Bull, Alix Wilton Regan as one of the Inquisitor’s voices, and Felicia Day as Tallis, DA4’s voice cast is surely set to impress.

While little is known as to the storyline of the new installment, with Bioware’s description of “The world of Dragon Age needs a new hero – someone who can take on the evil forces threatening Thedas,” we can be sure to be in for a wild ride.

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Although Bioware’s release of Anthem was a total flop and has been all but abandoned and swept by the wayside, Dragon Age has the potential to be another fantastic addition to the franchise, with characters like Silas returning once more to pull at player’s emotions. No release date is yet set in stone, but in EA’s previous Q2 earnings call for 2020, Blake Jorgensen stated that it “probably” would release after the fiscal year of 2022, which would denote any time after April 2022.

Hogwarts Legacy (2022)

Hogwarts Legacy Ravenclaw student in a corridor

Players are able to choose their house and attend classes in the iconic school.

Games centered around Harry Potter’s The Wizarding World have been around for years now, but we’ve never had something that allows us to insert ourselves into the universe and explore the world freely. With Hogwarts Legacy, though, things are set for a shakeup. Set during the late 1800s, the date is far enough away from the antics of Harry Potter and Voldemort to still hold its own, yet retain that familiar feeling associated with the series.

The game’s overarching plot seems to center around our customized character, a 5th-year transfer student, and their journey through an undoubtedly bewitching storyline that sees players choose their house and attend lessons. Players will also be able to explore fan-favorite locales such as The Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade.

Trailer

As of yet, no AAA-level experience allows players to truly immersive themselves in the world. Online communities have existed in online forums and virtual worlds — Mischief Managed in Second Life has been the closest option to something like this— for years, but a more mainstream title is sure to draw a large crowd.