My Top 10 Solo RPGs on PC

Hello and welcome back! This time we’re tackling my favorite solo RPGs in a new top ten list. Perfect when you are tired of babysitting a bunch of demanding companions, questioning your every choice from level one to level one hundred. In other words: It’s me time, baby!

I usually prefer party based RPGs, fixed or with a custom crew, but once in a while I want to go on an adventure solo, soaking in the atmosphere in my lonesome. It’s just a different feeling to the RPG genre, that often comes with a melancholic vibe, even if the developer never deliberately intended it that way. 

The rules go: You must be solo for the majority of the game. If the game has companions, they must be temporary, locked to certain missions, and not something permanent to the experience. That’s basically it, and if you find the list missing your favorite game, it’s because I haven’t played it, or I plainly just didn’t enjoy it. It’s that simple. To the list!

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1) Gothic
The number one prison fantasy simulator is also my number one pick for solo RPGs. Gothic is the best game of its kind, thanks to one thing: immersion. The story is great, with you, the Nameless hero, being dropped into a prison, protected by a magical sphere and ruled by the inmates. This translates to a cool atmosphere and struggle for survival from the get-go.

The prisoners feel like real people, all with their own agenda, and personality, but what makes it stand-out is they all follow a realistic daily routine. Like sleeping at night, and working by day,—this naturally forms opportunities for the player. What better time to rob someone’s house than during the night while they sleep due to exhaustion from endlessly working the mines?

The combat is also awesome, and follows a smooth and enticing progressive curve that is felt both in gameplay, and the visuals. The graphics are old now, and the UI for inventory can feel very archaic.

However, as it is, a remake is coming soon in the form of the Gothic 1 Remake, which had a pretty good demo. Gothic is a great game, recommended for everyone, and if not the original, the remake will probably be!

2) Deus Ex: Human Revolution
While the original Deus Ex is a classic, and an awesome title, there is something special with Deus Ex: Human Revolution that spoke to me that the first game never did. This might come off as heretical, but I’m ready for the pyre fire!

Human Revolution is a sequel to the original, which sets the start of the cyberpunk adventure long before the dystopian nightmare of the first game. That means: we get to experience the start of the conspiracies and the take-over-the-world plot, with the Illuminati and Majestic 12 in the forefront.

It can feel a bit pointless from the perspective of being a prequel, since we can’t stop or change anything. Yet, the story with Adam Jensen in the lead is intriguing and is interwoven superbly into the general plot.

However, the fate of him is still undecided, seeing as the sequel Mankind Divided failed to deliver a true and satisfying ending to his arc. As a stand-alone title, it’s excellent and truly feels cyberpunk, with a story that leaves humanity hanging off a cliff, just with a few mechanical fingers clawing on.

Recommended to everyone that loves cyberpunk, sneaking around and shooting unsuspecting guards in the back of the head!

3) System Shock 2
System Shock 2 is the predecessor to everything space horror, like the Dead Space franchise. It might not be as gory as that series, but it got zombies and body-horror aplenty! It’s the perfect game for those that want to test the phrase “in space nobody can hear you scream”, because you will spend most of your time in it alone.

Well, except for the sentient AI, Shodan, that would love to see you crawl before her, and if not that, being dead as a fried circuit board. So, I wouldn’t call her riveting companionship!

Highly recommended for everyone that wants roleplaying mixed with horror, as there are several paths to take when it comes to equipment and stats. As of the writing of this article, there is a System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster in the making that will supposedly take the experience to the next level. Look out for that!

4) Arx Fatalis
Starting as an inmate is not an uncommon trope for an RPG, but what about starting as a prisoner to the goblins, in an apocalyptic fantasy world where the sun has fried the surface?

Arx Fatalis is Arkane Studio’s first game, the studio that basically created the sub-genre “immersion sim”. And if it’s one thing Arx Fatalis got, it’s that. It’s a highly immersive RPG that lets the player approach the quests however they want in a world that feels alive—much like Gothic.

Beyond the cool underground civilization setting, it has a unique magic system which has you learning and doing the spell maneuvers to cast them. It takes some practicing, but it’s a very satisfying system when you become good at it.

A great RPG for people that always wanted to spend their time underground, like any bearded dwarf.

5) Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
It had to happen, and with that I mean listing a Dark Souls game, even if everyone and their mom knows about it (and probably played it). Nonetheless, it’s an amazing journey, especially if you value the melancholic feeling it comes with.

The combo of letting you discover the planes alone for the majority of the time, with you holding your own against the undead in a doomed world, is a sublime experience. It’s a world that actually can become increasingly more doomed, depending on what you do in it.

Besides Demon Souls which was the first title with this type of gameplay, where death is not the end, Dark Souls were the first for many to experience this mechanic (me included). So, it holds a special place in my cold gamer heart.

However, it’s not only for nostalgic reasons. The combat is engaging, and the story, the parts we get without YouTubers coming up with more and more ridiculous theories, is mysterious and captivating. This is for everyone that feels like the gloomy chosen undead, and to kill a few demons, too. 

6) Risen
Like Gothic, Risen is made by the now defunct studio Piranha Bytes. And just like that game, it’s highly immersive with player freedom at the forefront. It was a return to glory after the stumble that was Gothic 3, seeing as they essentially went back to what made the first game great, and recreated it with Risen.

However, now with modern graphics, and controls (at the time). What stands out with Risen is its cursed island world, and jungle themed exploration. It also has a fascinating antagonist, whose level of “evilness” actually depends on your perspective, because I’m not sure if I would call the greedy Don Esteban an epitome of morality.

Looking past the story, the world feels alive, letting you do and tackle quests in any way you want. It’s an awesome RPG, with smooth and deadly combat.

7) Consortium
From the damned jungles of Risen, to the skies in the future of 2042, at approximately 12000 meters height in Consortium. In Consortium, you play as the enigmatic Bishop Six, part of a peacekeeper organization, and the plane you are traveling with has suffered a terrible murder. It’s your job to figure out who did it, and why.

Describing Consortium shortly like this makes it seem more like an adventure title, than an RPG. Trust me, though—it’s an RPG, and a unique one at that. It does have combat. However, it’s not the main goal, if you don’t want to, that is. It’s what makes Consortium special. You set the rules within the game, and it adopts the story after your actions.

But only so far. Things will happen with or without your input if you rest on your laurels. There is a sequel coming out, called Consortium: THE TOWER, that is currently in Early Access. Sadly, it seems to be in development hell, and I doubt the full scope of it will ever come to pass. Yet, the first game is certainly worth playing, just don’t mind the sequel baiting at the end!

8) Underrail
Tunnels, and even more tunnels, as far as the eye can see! The setting for Underrail shares similarities with Arx Fatalis, as its surface world has collapsed, with the remaining inhabitants hiding underground for survival.

This has of course spawned all kinds of factions, some weirder than others, that all fight for supremacy in one way or another. The big differences, beyond the setting, is that it’s viewed from a top-down perspective, and takes place in the far future, which entails futuristic weapons and strange tech gadgets.

While a story is here, conversations have taken a backseat in favor of murdering humans, mutants, and critters in creepy abandoned crypts of the modern age. It’s a combat character builder’s wet dream, seeing as it has everything from slitting throats in the dark, to exploding people’s brains through psychic energy Scanners style.

Cool combat, but a bit thin on the story. There is also a sequel coming, named Underrail 2: Infusion, and from what I have seen it looks mighty promising!

9) Alpha Protocol
Alpha Protocol is an odd beast. The gameplay is not exactly good compared to similar stealth titles like the Splinter Cell franchise, but its story, and free-form interaction with the difference forces you encounter are masterfully designed, and very engaging. There are multiple ways to play agent Michael Thorton. You can be the biggest asshole in the agent business, or someone that’s suave with the ladies, making allies all over the world. It’s all up to you, and it affects the story in different and surprising ways.

This alone begs you to play the game again, to try new approaches in the missions. It’s just a shame that the action gameplay can’t fully keep up with the narrative and snappy dialogue. The worst part of all, it sold badly, so we never got a sequel, leaving agent Thorton to rot in Feargus Urquhart’s basement scared and alone.

There is no way Obsidian Entertainment can make a title like this again. Just look at Avowed. Despite the janky gameplay, it’s a game worth playing if you ever want to feel like James Bond, without actually being him.

10) NEO Scavenger
You might think that I’m a tad obsessed with the apocalypse, because here is another game in the same old good wasteland. And well, you wouldn’t be all wrong, as it makes an excellent setting for any RPG.

NEO Scavenger is a survival RPG set in the apocalyptic wasteland of God knows what, and survival is harsh, seeing as this world has a tendency to eat you up within the first couple of turns. It has a permanent death system, meaning that when you die, you’ll have to start over. I’m not usually too keen on these types of games, but NEO Scavenger is one of the few ones I enjoy. Dying isn’t the end all, and it increases the tension of playing by a lot, which is a good thing. Yet, it still hurts my soul when my hours-lasting lord of melee character dies from a tiny infected wound.

Being a survival game, surviving in the aftermath of the end of the world is actually hard, as most things like wounds, and illnesses are realistically modeled. That means that everything in real life that sucks, sucks something brutal here, too.

It’s a fun game, where every fight is filled with tension, and that’s not all. The narrative is also captivating, which makes puzzling the story together another interesting gameplay mechanic. Highly recommended!

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Phew, that was a hard list to make. I had to leave a couple of classics behind, like Morrowind, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. However, I have to be honest to myself. While enjoyable games, they don’t reach top-10 for me. But, as they say in Sweden: “tastes are like butts: split”. Thanks for reading, and I hope you found some useful information, instead of just unbridled rage at my picks!

– Thomas