There was a time when RPGs were nothing more than dungeon crawlers with builds and stats, with the story taking more of a back seat. These titles had players either forming a party or venturing into a dungeon solo, encountering and beating enemies in a run-of-the-mill dungeon before encountering the main boss. Nowadays, RPGs have complex storylines and engaging characters, making them a blast in every way.
Western RPG design certainly involved a ton of character-driven questlines and deep backstories, with developers like BioWare and CD Projekt Red ensuring that players get to interact with many fun personalities who will remain in their minds long after they're done playing through this experience. Here are some of the best Western RPGs that have great character development across the board.
10 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the greatest role-playing games of all time. The game is absolutely loaded with meaningful sidequests, fun monster hunts, interesting locations, and a wealth of memorable characters who are a joy to interact with.
The game's overarching story of finding Ciri and beating the Wild Hunt is pretty engaging, allowing several characters to develop over the course of the narrative. The side quests are also full of nuance and depth, allowing players to interact with many well-written NPCs who add more life to this game's bleak world.
9 Mass Effect
Mass Effect is one of the best gaming trilogies of all time. Despite the many issues that players had with the third game, there's no denying that this conclusive entry had its highs despite its infamous ending.
The characters in Mass Effect are undoubtedly one of the most iconic video game characters of all time, retaining core aspects of their personality while also developing their character over the course of the three games. Mass Effect is a series rife with emotional moments, and the vast majority of them involve Shepard's squadmates in some form or the other.
8 Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077's technical issues took away from what was otherwise a great story with interesting characters. The main character V may be a bit too much of a blank slate for players to enjoy, but the other characters pull their weight quite extensively.
Johnny Silverhand is a great example of the character development in this game, with this rebel slowly understanding that extremism is not the way to go every time. This change in his mindset might've happened since his and V's personalities were merging together, but it's still pretty interesting to witness regardless.
7 Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is an excellent CRPG that is considered by many to be one of the best modern RPGs ever made. The game is absolutely loaded with content across its expansive chapters and can genuinely overwhelm players at times.
The characters in Original Sin 2 are undoubtedly the highlight of the experience, especially when it comes to the party members. The ending may take players off-guard, but watching characters like Sebille and Ifan ben-Mezd get over their past and rise anew as more mature personalities makes for a great time.
6 Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins is the game that, along with the first Mass Effect, catapulted BioWare to new heights as a developer. The action-packed story and memorable cast of characters made Dragon Age: Origins a treat that still delivers to this day.
The game's combat system can take a while to get used to, but is quite engaging once players attune themselves to the strategic nature of this gameplay. Given the ambitious nature of this title, most fans can understand why Dragon Age 2 was such a massive letdown in comparison.
5 Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium is one of the more unique games on this list. The game touts itself as an RPG with no combat whatsoever, replacing this mechanic with loads of dice rolls and skill checks that make failures just as interesting as victories.
The game uses the classic protagonist-with-memory-loss setup, but it's the manner in which this trope is pulled off that makes it so great. The writing of Disco Elysium is genuinely unlike any other game out there, and The Final Cut makes things even better by adding voice acting for the majority of lines in the game.
4 Horizon: Zero Dawn
Horizon: Zero Dawn is the first game in a series that has a pretty engaging premise. The idea of robotic dinosaurs taking over a post-apocalyptic world is quite enticing, and it helps that the game takes this concept pretty seriously.
The end result is a game with truly awe-inspiring combat and a great story that slowly expands with the scope of the game itself. Aloy's character may seem bland, but she develops nicely over the course of the series and helps propel the narrative forward, maturing in the process.
3 Undertale
The manner in which Undertale builds up characters and gives satisfying payoffs to their stories makes for a great time. There's a reason why sparing everyone nets the good ending, and players will be beating themselves up for accidentally killing off great characters like Toriel and Undyne.
Everyone in Undertale is written well, including the goofy side characters. Of course, it's the major characters in the series who develop pretty well and makes the story of this title quite satisfying to uncover.
2 Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an admirable effort by Warhorse Studios to create a medieval open-world game that is quite challenging and will force players to learn the systems of this game extensively. Henry is a farm boy in every way, and this shows when players get into combat with him for the first time.
Every victory is an achievement, and players can slowly help this farmhand grow into a competent warrior over the course of the game. Side characters like Theresa and Hans Capon are also written pretty well, making this title's main story one of high quality, even if the rest of the experience may need some major fine-tuning.
1 Wildermyth
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Wildermyth is easily one of the more unique games on this list, featuring many procedural systems that make every campaign pretty unique. The game's combat is simple yet engaging, but it's the characters in this game who are the biggest standouts in every way.
For characters who are randomly generated, it's genuinely impressive to see how full of life these people can be courtesy of the game's numerous random story moments. Characters can transform, fall in love, become rivals, die a hero, and accomplish several other things that makes Wildermyth a must-play for fans looking out for a unique western RPG.