We’re looking forward to the Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, which will provide enhanced graphics and loading times for free to PS5 owners who own the PS4 version of Final Fantasy VII, because who doesn’t want to play FFVIII in full 4K resolution?
But while we wait, there’ve been plenty of other great action-RPG titles released the past couple of years, which should serve you well during the agonizing wait for FFVIII. While you likely could complete all of these games before we get Intergrade, that might be a sign of video game addiction, so try to keep it reasonable okay?
Cyberpunk 2077
While its post-launch road was anything but rocky, a couple patch updates from CD Projekt Red managed to miraculously fix hundreds of bugs and glitches. Cyberpunk 2077 is now definitely something worth playing, rather than overhyped trash that people thought would take ages to properly fix.
The main cast of characters is broad and in-depth enough to deliver a fairly compelling storyline, with NPCs that almost make you care about them (but not really). There’s also such high replayability value with its sandbox approach to missions. The game is what you’d find in the dictionary if you looked up “cyberpunk tropes”, and that’s exactly what we wanted and expected.
Cyberpunk’s awesome 80’s neon sci-fi graphics, open-world sandbox gameplay, and handful of remaining hilarious bugs make it something almost like a trope in and of itself. It’s the classic “incredibly overhyped disappointing release” that actually managed to fix itself and correct course, giving us the GTA V x Shadowrun x Deus Ex with sprinkles of Bladerunner and Ghost in the Shell mashup we always sort of wanted.
Fireboy and Watergirl
As a puzzle-based action-platformer, Fireboy and Watergirl brings a lot of interesting gameplay elements to the table. The Fireboy and Watergirl game features exciting puzzles to solve cooperatively with another player. These challenges can be anything from laser beams to goo pits and stuck doors. New mechanics and novel puzzles add excitement to each new release in the series.
It’s also multiplayer compatible, so you and a friend can rage at each other over who needs to push what switch. You can play at CrazyGames, along with other great io games like Slither.io and Smash Karts.
Phantasy Star Online 2
Originally released in 2012, Phantasy Star Online 2 was region-locked specifically to Asia, so western gamers couldn’t enjoy the J-MMORPG goodness. But it was finally released in North America in 2019, and now the Steam version hosts a wide range of regions.
It’s a massive world with almost too much to do, and the grinding is absolutely 100% Korean internet cafe levels of hardcore, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more time-consuming grindfest than PSO2. People say on average, expect at least an entire year of grinding just to be PvP competitive.
But all of that grinding doesn’t have to be done sitting in front of a computer. Phantasy Star Online 2 is among the best Nintendo Switch RPG games, provided you have a Japanese account or region-switch your Switch!
Genshin Impact
Released in 2019, Genshin Impact splashed onto the scene and caught millions of gamers completely off-guard. An open-world action-RPG that is obviously inspired by, and pays homage to, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but being so much deeper than that.
Genshin Impact features a massive open-world environment with tons of treasure to find, walls to climb, and interesting monster designs that make battles captivating. It also has a cool party system that lets you recruit new characters as you progress, unlocking unique attacks and abilities for your party members.
What really surprised people was how many platforms Genshin Impact was released on, being available on PS4/PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile, with no gameplay differences between them.
Monster Hunter World
Accused of being a Pokemon ripoff back in the day, the Monster Hunter franchise has sunk its claws into the gaming industry by being ambitious in scale and design, providing players some fearsome and menacing creatures to tame compared to cuddly yellow electric-mice.
Completing Monster Hunt World will take about 50 hours of your time just on base content alone, not to mention the replayability due to the incredible amount of items and skill trees available. There’s also a healthy amount of DLC that genuinely contributes to the game.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV
A franchise spanning 3 decades, beginning with Dragon Slayer in 1989, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV brings incredibly in-depth JRPG action to the table, with a massive roster of playable heroes. By “massive” we mean 39, but that’s a lot considering how unique each character is. The developers must’ve spent months alone on character concept designs.
Each character has their own background story and contributes to the plot narrative in some way, though you’ll really want to go back and play the previous titles to understand what’s going on.
