RPGs typically have stories where it’s up to players to save the world and keep the peace. Final Fantasy 7 is a great example, as Cloud and the rest of his crew have to stop Sephiroth from carrying out his plan to destroy the world with a giant meteor. If Cloud doesn’t follow through with his mission, then the world is doomed.
If Cloud wins or fails, it’s up to players because they could just as easily never finish the game. These other RPGs may have epic stories in their own right, but they don’t have any dire plots that will result in the world caring if the heroes succeed or not. These examples are more casual adventurers.
Cat Quest 3
Sail On Kitty
Cat Quest 3 is one of the most chill open-RPGs that players can buy today. There’s not much of a central story, as players are a cat pirate who likes to go on adventures.
There’s no overarching villain threatening to destroy life itself or even the central protagonist in some wild plot with a twist. If the cat pirate decides to stop exploring caves, sailing the high seas, or taking over towers, then there’s not much consequence to anyone else in this game’s universe, which is refreshing.
Dead Rising
Survival Is Key
In the first Dead Rising, players go to Willamette, Colorado, as photo journalist Frank West to try and get photos of a zombie outbreak. When Frank lands on a mall rooftop, he doesn’t do it to save the citizens trapped in the mall or to go into the town itself and stop the zombie outbreak.
Instead, he just wants a scoop and gets overwhelmed in the process, which makes him seek aid from others within the mall. Frank is not the cure for the zombie apocalypse, as there are others seemingly out there who will take care of it eventually, meaning that the core story is just about Frank’s survival. If he dies, no one will seemingly care.
Dragon’s Crown
A D&D Style Adventure
Dragon’s Crown is a great 2D RPG wherein players can choose one of six characters who each represent a typical RPG class, like a mage, warrior, or archer. From the HUB town, players can gather supplies and then go diving into the town’s surrounding dungeons alone or with others online.
There is no overarching plot tying the bosses of these dungeons together, as the world itself is not in any real turmoil. It can be likened to a Dungeons & Dragons session wherein the DM has set up dungeons to explore all in the name of EXP, loot, and glory, not at the expense of saving the world.
Elden Ring
The Tarnished One
Elden Ring, like many of FromSoftware’s action RPGs, has a loose story. In this open-world RPG, players assume the role of the Tarnished, a warrior who was sent into another dimension after being banished from the main realm.
The quest within is not to restore the land to glory or to even escape it, as players just have to accept their fate. That said, they can choose to vanquish true evil in this other world to rise up and essentially become its leader. Whether players succeed or not is of no consequence to the citizens within, as this is a personal matter of importance in a world devoid of hope already.
Fallout: New Vegas
A Sandy Side Of Revenge
Fallout: New Vegas begins with players getting gunned down in the desert, left for dead, before waking up in a doctor’s office, miraculously still alive. The game overall is a quest for revenge, unlike more noble plots in the Fallout series, like finding a child or getting water to sustain a population.
Whether players find their killer and get revenge is of no consequence to the population in this Nevada area of the apocalypse. Players can certainly save lives and make life easier for certain factions, but they’re not a savior.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
