18 Games Like Mass Effect
This curation of games like Mass Effect features great role playing experiences with science fiction themes, party mechanics and a focus on a story driven by player choice.
The Mass Effect series blends science fiction with deep role playing mechanics such as character development and branching storylines to create a potent party based RPG franchise. The games follow the adventures of Commander Shepard across the galaxy as he attempts to save it from the mechanical race of Reapers while building his party and driving the story direction. Along the way players have plenty of opportunities to make vital and game changing decisions that alter both your story, the universe around you and other game elements which results in a potential completely different experience between playthroughs and players.
Gameplay in Mass Effect uses a third person perspective as players travel around the world engaging in dialogue, quests and upgrading equipment. At times players will also enter the tactical shooter portion of Mass Effect where you'll battle alongside your crew with your customised character that impacts your battlefield playstyle.
The games like Mass Effect here offer a mixture of epic story based role playing games from the science fiction and fantasy genres where you can shape the game world with your decisions while completing countless quests and combat encounters.
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins is the first game in the Dragon Age series of role playing titles with players exploring a fictional world through a third person perspective as you customise your own hero and path through the story. Continuing the deep and diverse fantasy worlds players have come to expect from previous BioWare games the game also draws from some real world fiction media. The fiction world for your adventure is the kingdom known as Ferelden which is one of many countries in Thedas and has b...[Read Review]
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt takes an already impressive franchise and elevates it to a whole new level of action role playing. In this 2015 addition to the Witcher Series of video games you’ll explore vast sprawling open landscapes, make moral quest decisions that ripple through the game, engage in combat, play cards with NPCs and investigate countless side missions on horseback. Geralt of Rivia is once again your protagonist for this adventure who is a powerful and professional monster hunte...[Read Review]
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is the sequel to the popular action role playing game expanding on the universe and story. After the original release on Windows, Mac, Linux and Xbox 360 an enhanced edition was released the following year dramatically building on the content and addressing a number of important bug fixes and tweaks. Like the first Witcher the game is loosely based on the book series with the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski, a setting that has proven extremely popular amongst fan...[Read Review]
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the third and long awaited game in the series. The game is a prequel and is set 25 years before the first Deus Ex game, this allows newcomers to the series to easily pick up the story even if they haven’t played the other games. In Human Revolution you’ll play as Adam Jensen, a leading member of the security team at Sarif Industries (one of the many growing firms dealing with biotechnology). This biotechnology has the power to reinvent the human body by replacing par...[Read Review]
The Witcher
The Witcher is a role playing game set in a dark fantasy world that kicked off a highly popular fantasy role playing franchise. Based on the book series of Polish author Anrzej Sapkowski and features a world filled with grey moral choices centred around the trials faced by the Witchers. Playing as one of these Witchers players will be challenged in the decisions they make throughout the story which all have long term consequences on the game world and your own adventure. Playing as Geralt of Riv...[Read Review]
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning takes players to a fantasy world where you’ll explore a diverse range of regions with their own story, battles and challenges. As an action role playing title this sprawling game world is paired with a dynamic combat system that lets you swing melee weapons or cast powerful magic on your enemies. Originally released in 2012 a remastered version (Re-Reckoning) was released in 2020 that brought the adventure to modern consoles in the process. Offering revitalise...[Read Review]
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 continues the Fallout franchise and brings players a familiar role playing experience set within the wasteland of a post-apocalyptic game world. Shifting the previously turn based game design into real time first person shooter Fallout 3 is the first of several in the Fallout series that adopt this faster style while retaining the deep role playing elements fans have come to expect. Developed by Bethesda Game Studios and released in 2008 for multiple platforms the game was later expand...[Read Review]
Baldur’s Gate
Baldur’s Gate takes place in a fantasy setting and is one of the many role playing games developed by BioWare. Released back in 1998 the game saw new life in 2012 when an Enhanced Edition of the game was released. In the game players will explore a world of cities, ruins, forests, mountains and dungeons. Along the way you’ll discover the past of your own character while also investigating the origins of a sinister plot. This story is mostly told through the use of journals and dialogue but the h...[Read Review]
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas adds another impressive RPG experience to the Fallout franchise with an action role playing title that is packed full of content. Exploring the wasteland that is the Mojave Desert players will meet countless enemies, NPCs and side quests throughout the Las Vegas area. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment and released in 2010 Fallout: New Vegas remains a fan favourite of the Fallout franchise and Obsidian developed games. Like many open world RPGs since it’s original relea...[Read Review]
Jade Empire
Jade Empire is an action RPG originally released for Xbox and Windows but has more recently been added to the Xbox Marketplace for Xbox 360. The game takes place in ancient China, a setting that is rarely touched by most games which makes it quite a unique experience. Jade Empire is set in a fictional kingdom where players take on the role of a martial art student under one of the masters in the school. The game starts when the player and their martial art school is attacked by a mysterious forc...[Read Review]
Fallout 4
The bombs have dropped and Fallout 4 is climbing out of the rubble allowing you to explore a devastated Boston landscape in the year 2287 over two centuries after the world was taken to the edge by nuclear war. Released on Windows, Xbox One and PS4 as the fifth major game in the Fallout franchise Fallout 4 has everything you’ve come to expect from the post nuclear war series and is once again split between the base game and various Fallout 4 DLCs. For the first time though players will be ...[Read Review]
Skyrim
Skyrim is the fifth game in the Elder Scrolls franchise and continues building on the success of the previous games with a large open world, sharp gameplay and plenty of customisation. The storyline of Skyrim has very few links to the previous games and mostly uses game references that won’t take away from the experience if you haven’t previously loaded up an Elder Scrolls game. This choice by the developer ensures that newcomers to the franchise don’t feel left out and can experience what...[Read Review]
Alpha Protocol
Alpha Protocol combines action, stealth and role playing together in a fun mixture as you play field agent Michael Thorton. The game was released in 2010 with availability on Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game follows you’re customised agent Michael Thorton as he deals with all the usual underground crime rings, corrupt government bodies and terrorists. This journey takes you across the globe and has plenty of opportunities for you to push the story down a particular path. There is de...[Read Review]
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II continues where the original left off. The game was released in 2004 for the Xbox platform with a Windows release a year later. The game is a solid RPG experience but not at the same level of the original. Unlike the first game development was fronted by Obsidian Entertainment and not BioWare but the game still plays in a very similar manner with gameplay only receiving a few tweaks and changes. The game setting puts you into the thick of things and is s...[Read Review]
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) is an RPG developed by BioWare that was released in 2003 and takes place in the Star Wars universe. The game was originally released for Windows and the Xbox (backwards compatible with the 360) but was re-released for iOS devices in May of 2013. The game has obvious appeals to fans of Star Wars with the game having plenty of lore and history. KOTOR takes place several thousand years before the Star Wars movies but there are still plenty of recognisa...[Read Review]
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Inquisition continues the legacy of the Dragon Age franchise with a breathtaking game world full of locations, romance, activities and plenty of combat. Available on the new generation of consoles (Xbox One and PS4) along with the old it’s available to a large range of gamers. With the third game offering a vast range of improvements over the second game in the franchise, the Dragon Age series is back to the level of quality it is capable of achieving and places it firmly atop ...[Read Review]
Dragon Age II
Dragon Age II is the second game in the hit Dragon Age series developed by BioWare and continues the fantasy adventure with a number of new features. The game was released in 2011 and is available across the big platforms including Mac, Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. While Dragon Age II is tied with the original game the stories are distant enough that players won’t have to play the original for the full experience but it is definitely recommended. In Dragon Age II you will play as Hawke w...[Read Review]
Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn is a sequel that is closely tied to the events of the original Baldur’s Gate with similar gameplay mechanics also present. Like the original, the game was given a rebirth through an Enhanced Edition (released in 2013). The game takes players south of your original adventure in the land of Amn, a small country that is known for its merchants. Much of the game focuses around the capital city of Athkatla which is home to a number of guilds, councils and organisation...[Read Review]