Key foods
- RPGs excel when combining narrative and world-building through engaging text.
- Roadwarden, Wildermyth, Citizen Sleeper, Suzerain, and Disco Elysium stand out for their immersive text-based experiences.
- These titles offer deep emotional connections, rich character creation, intense moral dilemmas, and compelling political narratives.
Role-playing games have their roots in the world of text-based titles. Who knows where the genre would be today if not for the unified world of the tabletop RPGs that came before it? If there's one thing the best RPGs have in common, it's the perfect combination of narrative and world-building to make for a very engaging and very immersive title.
related
5 JRPGs with morality systems
This JRPG leads players down multiple moral paths, enabling them to make their own decisions with morality as a guiding tool.
However, some games in particular know how to use the written word to enhance their world. A significant part of the overlap between books and video games is the power of prose to capture the imagination and further connect the player to their game. For gamers who don't mind a little reading, here are some titles to keep an eye out for.
5 Warden Road
A sad journey through an untamed land
Warden Road A title that, despite being full of life, makes the player feel lonely in the best possible way. There's a lot of emphasis here on the protagonist, which is built from the ground up based on the player's initial choices. This almost introspective tone is especially interesting given that the story itself lends itself to a grand adventure story—the Rodwarden must brave the wilderness of the peninsula to help cultivate towns and settlements, and protect the innocent against the monsters that protect the roaming earth.
It's on par with many great role-playing games that have a fluid, dynamic world that's constantly changing. in Warden Roadthe text is used alongside some fantastic graphics with an attractive amber tone. The descriptions of events, NPC dialogue, and combat interactions are all fantastic textual parts of this title, and the attention to player choices puts it up there with some of the great branching RPGs available today.
4 Wildersmith
The epic story book of mythical proportions
Wildersmith It is one of those games that will stay with players for a long time. Not only is it an incredibly engaging strategy style RPG, but it has such a new character creation system that does the impossible, bringing the kind of attachment and depth that comes with pre-written characters, along with the freedom of creation and narrative choice that comes with customization. combines Characters There are many complex ways to make characters and events work, but the best way to play is to simply dive in.
There's a powerful but understated sense of wonder in the writing of this game, with every event, and the hundreds of variations based on character traits are so artfully written that it's not uncommon to forget about the world outside of the game. Each campaign is like a retelling of a fairy tale, an epic that involves a group of adventurers fighting against a long-forgotten threat.
3 sleeping citizen
A space dystopian RPG
This unique text-based RPG is a masterpiece of cyberpunk aesthetics and themes, perfect for fans of… well, cyberpunk. There's a lot of passion here, in everything from the tabletop-inspired stats to the unique mix of colors and visuals that make up the style of this game, with a heavy emphasis on shadows, deep blacks, and reds. It is used clearly. The text itself is of an original quality and feels like a mix of world building by an aspiring DM with sci-fi classics from the 70's and 80's.
It's a game of hard choices, capitalist dystopias, and compelling characters. A great title for anyone looking to immerse themselves in a space-focused environment without cutscenes.
2 suzerain
A political RPG that pulls no punches
suzerain It uses text and narrative to invest the player in the deep political machinations of a single nation and its fledgling democracy to find its place in the world. The fantasy land of Sordland is, in theory, player-controlled, but those looking for a powerful fantasy should look elsewhere. The old and former crypto-fascist president continues to manipulate parliament, the political left and right are trying to steer the country in two different directions, and through it all, the president must try to build a large enough coalition of allies to achieved to be able to do his politics. Ambition – an amended constitution – to be passed to Parliament.
There is no other way to say it – this game is brutal. Awesome, totally compelling, pretty much the perfect expression of what a good text-based RPG should be, yes. But also, brutal. There's no promise that everything will work out, no promise that what someone tells you is the truth, but if the player does nothing but compromise and bet, they'll find a country with little to show for the rest of the game. This 900,000 word title is stunning.
1 Disco Elysium
One of the best RPG games of all time
BAFTA award winner Disco Elysium It has a level of quality that is basically self-explanatory. It's one of the greatest CRPGs of the 21st century, and it's written with some pretty stunning prose. Deciding how your protagonist navigates the world, what his political and philosophical leanings are, and how he shapes the city around him is one of the most engaging experiences found in a video game today.
Players are doing themselves a disservice by diving into this tough, surreal, and highly compelling RPG with a text that's written like a dream and world-building that will blow people away. Like the other titles on this list, the text isn't the only barrier to entry, as the title is sometimes quite difficult and requires close attention to detail, but players who enjoy deep RPGs won't want to miss this title.
