Out of every genre, role-playing games have given us some of the most awesome, beautiful, terrifying, and fascinating worlds to explore. In celebration of the hours we’ve spent exploring and adventuring in them, here are our top 10 RPG worlds of all time.
Many games are set in outer space, but few have really captured the essence of space travel and intergalactic civilization the way EVE Online has. Exploring the New Eden galaxy and its over 5000 star systems and 2500 wormhole systems must be done manually, via spaceship. While EVE by no means prioritizes realism, it does keep many of its elements grounded in slow-paced management-heavy gameplay, especially with its complex player-driven economy. These elements, combined with the backstories of each major faction, are a perfect fit for the literal universe that has been home to some of the most exciting online space battles and dramatic player-driven epics in video game history.
The Ultima series allowed us to experience several centuries of history in Sosaria and Britannia, bringing its world to life in a way few games have. For new gamers, its medieval fantasy setting might seem bland at first glance, but those who have been with the series from the start will recognize a vibrant world with a living, breathing history all its own. Confidence in its own identity and philosophy work to ground Ultima’s world, so even as its people and places grew and changed across several iterations, it always felt true to itself.
The Pokémon world’s lore is expansive and imaginative, and the powerful creatures that fill it live in harmony (mostly) with the human inhabitants. Since the original Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, the world has continued to grow. With each iteration of Pokémon we not only get an abundance of new creatures to catch, but new scenery, traditions, and culture to discover in new regions, inspiring never-ending moments of wonder. Even more extraordinarily, parents feel safe allowing their 10-year-old children to embark on solo Pokémon-catching adventures around the planet. It’s the type of utopian world anyone would want to live in.
The Witcher games are set on the Continent, a high-fantasy world full of warring nations and, of course, magic. What really distinguishes the world of the Witcher, from the frozen shores of Skellige to the bloodied Northern Kingdoms, is its ability to meld so many diverse inspirations into a consistently frightening, but beautiful world. The creatures that roam there are just as fleshed out. You’ll battle nightmares drawn from Slavic folklore one quest and try to dispose of a Germanic wraith the next. Then there are Witchers themselves — battle-hardened mutants whose powers and moral flexibility makes them the perfect heroes for their dangerous world.
From the sheer scale of its twisted architecture to the unfathomable mysteries of its cosmic horror, Bloodborne manages to bring a fresh and exciting edge to elements that would fall flat in the hands of most creators. But it’s the dark, Gothic world of Yharnam that really ties it all together. Its cities are sublime and ornate labyrinths of stone and metal that you can’t help but gawk at, and its sprawling countrysides often go from eerie to otherworldly without warning. Bloodborne’s combination of Gothic horror and science fiction is a Lovecraftian nightmare as we’ve never experienced before, and it’s all thanks to the terrifying history of Yharnam.
Ivalice is one of the deepest and richest worlds that Square Enix has ever created. Spanning across Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, and Final Fantasy XII, Ivalice marries the aesthetic of medieval Europe and the Mediterranean with the iconic magic and creatures of the FF series. It’s a world rife with complex characters, political intrigue, and a mythology filled with the giant summons that we’ve loved for decades. Ivalice is one of the darker and more mature worlds in the Final Fantasy series, and shares more in common with Westeros than with Midgar.
Video games had never really seen a world like Sigil before Planescape: Torment, and in the years following its launch in 1999, we haven’t really seen another since. Originally the setting of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, Sigil is contained within the inner walls of a hollow, three-dimensional ring, which hovers above an unimaginably tall spire. Also called The City of Doors, the surreal city is home to an endless series of portals leading to other planes of existence. The dreamlike qualities woven into the fabric of its several distinct districts made it the perfect setting to experience Planescape’s strange philosophical adventure.
The continent of Tamriel is home to Cyrodiil, Morrowind, Skyrim, and the surroundings lands that have made our adventures in The Elder Scrolls series full of magic and wonder. Even if you’re someone who doesn’t play The Elder Scrolls for the story, there’s no denying the rich mythology and history behind its world. Tales of ancient gods, mysterious dungeons, and age-old factions color every moment of our time exploring its diverse landscapes, from the rocky deserts of Hammerfell to the frost-bitten peaks of Skyrim. Tamriel might be rooted in a long tradition of high fantasy, but it’s one of the best high fantasy worlds video games have to offer.
The comforting ambience of a crackling fireplace is accented by distant laughter and a melodic lute. Outside, a gentle breeze blows across the crisp green foliage of Elwynn Forest as two aimless max level players hone their skills in a friendly duel. To the north, the hustle and bustle of Stormwind City, to the south the dark, ominous danger of Duskwood. This is the experience inside the Lion’s Pride Inn, a single building, in a single zone, on one of the two continents that made up World of Warcraft’s original Azeroth; a remarkably unified game-world populated with thousands of players per server, each with their own destination. At this time, there was no way to circumvent exploration and interaction with this rich, massive environment and the emergent experiences it offered. A more engrossing and immersive multiplayer world has yet to be created.
Lordran is at once a world of great beauty and terrible decay, and it’s FromSoftware’s effortless juxtaposition of the two that makes exploring its interwoven landscapes such an awe-inspiring experience. From the highest, sun-kissed peaks of Anor Londo to the darkest depths of the Catacombs and the hellish underworld of Lost Izalith, Lordran manages to make each distinct layer of its kingdom feel like a meaningful part of the larger whole. What feels like a vast and impenetrable world at the start of our journey becomes a second home by the end, familiar but still fascinating, cohesive but still mysterious. That’s because nothing in Lordran exists by accident — everything from the location of specific spells to the illusory walls that hide exciting secrets has some purpose in the telling of Lordran’s complex history, which makes wandering its dark and atmospheric realms a reflective journey like no other.
What's your favorite RPG world? Let us know in the comments!
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