Best RPG of 2019 - Article
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 29 December 2019 / 6,484 Views
Welcome to the first in our series of Game of the Year articles for 2019! The winner was determined by a combination of community and staff voting. Before you proceed, note that the banner image for all of our articles does not indicate the winner; it will be an image or artwork from one of the shortlisted titles but not necessarily the winning one.
The RPG genre has had decades of glory. For years, games in which you play a crucial role as a central character have been released, generation after generation. The genre isn’t going anywhere and is only continuing to evolve from its more simplistic roots into something that can be overwhelming for some and pure joy for others. Side quests, open worlds, the removal of invisible walls, and the introduction of more player choice and agency than ever before are just some of the areas where RPGs have evolved over time. With that evolution, wonderful looking and playing RPGs have continued to be enjoyed all over the world. Here are this year’s nominees.
The Shortlist:
Kingdom Hearts III
The Outer Worlds
Pokémon Sword & Shield
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III
Disco Elysium
The Winner:
The Outer Worlds
Talk about out of left field! I think, if you'd asked most gamers back in the middle of 2018 what the best RPG would be in 2019, very few would have picked Obsidian's then-unrevealed new IP. But then it was revealed at The Game Awards 2018 in December of last year and it struck a chord with many, especially following the disappointing launch of Fallout 76 just a month prior. A Fallout-like game, from the team behind New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity, set in outer space, which plays like something based in the Wild West? I was sold on it from that point on, and the game’s storylines, which were a blast to play through, more than justified the hype it gained following its reveal.