Summary
Role-playing games are as popular as they come, allowing players to step into the shoes of a player-insert character or someone with an established history and personality as they’re thrust into an epic adventure that involves saving the world in some capacity. Some RPGs let players go all by their lonesome to achieve this goal, but that’s not the case for many other games in the genre.
The best RPGs aroundlet players control a party of adventurers in a journey that’s a blast to experience from start to end. The protagonist needs their friends to tackle the enemies standing in their way, and trying to play as a lone wolf can lead to a frustrating run full of game-overs that is better off avoided.
Pillars of Eternity 2combinesthe CRPG goodness of the first gamewith a sailing adventure as players control a ship and explore the Deadfire. It’s a great gameplay loop that’s as satisfying as can be, and players get to choose four friends to accompany the Watcher in their adventures.
While there’s a perk players can use to try and pursue a solo run, this is not recommended for first-time players who will need the abilities and additional firepower of their friends to come out victorious against some of the game’s most challenging battles. Even veterans can have a hard time playing as a lone wolf since the game is balanced in a way that facilitates well-managed group fights instead of a one-sided humiliation.
Breaking into Mind Palaces as the Phantom Thieves is a great gameplay loop thathelpsPersona 5 Royalstand outas one of the best JRPGs fans can get their hands on. It’s possible to evict all the thieves from the party and fly solo as Joker, but doing so is far from an optimal way to play through the game.
Palace infiltrations can take way too many days, Joker’s weaknesses can be easily exploited, and several turns are wasted in healing the protagonist. Only the most hardcore JRPG players around can even think about a Joker-only challenge run, which may be too much of a headache for regular players to even bother with.
Out of all theFinal Fantasygames, the sixth mainline entry boasts so many party members that trying to go through this title with a single person in the party is an exercise in futility. Some of the game’s toughest dungeons require multiple parties, and choosing a single person for each party makeup is not recommended in the slightest.
It doesn’t help that thePixel Remasterhas enhanced the difficulty of the game, meaning that a solo run is even more challenging now. Players are better off mixing and matching party members instead to make the most ofFinal Fantasy 6’s excellent gameplay elements.
Playing as a solo character in any CRPG is far from ideal, but this is a downright crime inTyrannythat boasts some of the best writing players can enjoy in the genre. The companion questlines are the highlight of this game and not something that players should miss out on.
Of course, combat itself is ludicrously challenging if players explore all by their lonesome. They’ll miss out on team-up attacks with their companions as they either bond with them genuinely orcontrol them via fear.
One of the greatest JRPGs ever made,Chrono Triggeris a title that needs no introduction. The game is paced brilliantly and doesn’t waste the player’s time, which is more than what can be said for most other games in the genre.
Choosing to only control Crono throughout the game is time-consuming and may not be worth the trouble. Running away from or avoiding enemies can only work for so long until the lack of levels catches up to Crono in a boss fight, and losing out on valuable Double and Triple Techs is far from ideal in a game with so many memorable party members. Sidelining any one of them is downright criminal.
The changes made to combatinDivinity: Original Sin 2make companions more integral than ever before. Physical or magical armor needs to be depleted before players can target an enemy’s HP, and the player character will be smashed to bits in a single turn if every enemy piles on them with their attacks.
With other party members and summons, enemy aggro can be managed so that things don’t become too frustrating to deal with. This, coupled with the many interesting companions in the game, makes it clear why traveling in a group is safer and more entertaining inDivinity: Original Sin 2.
Baldur’s Gate 3isone of the greatest Western RPGsof all time, breaking records to become one of the most popular games back when it launched that fans can’t get enough of even now. The combat retains a lot of the Larian flair without being too hardcore, but there are limits to how much players can push this system.
Trying to play this game solo is robbing players of the optimal experience. Not only do they miss out on a lot of interesting banter, companion interjections, and unique story events, but the combat becomes so ridiculously hard that players will either give up on this game or abandon this challenge run in record time.
While most modern BioWare games allow players to tackle enemies on their own and come out relatively unscathed, the same isn’t true ofDragon Age: Origins. Teamwork is necessary for players to attain victory against the toughest enemies who can be tricky to deal with.
Without companions, every enemy will gang up on the Grey Warden and deplete their health in the blink of an eye. Only Dragon Age veterans can even think about attempting this run, and it’s still far from a pleasant time for obvious reasons.
