Best Action RPGs To Play If You Like The Witcher 3

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the greatest games ever made. That should not be a controversial statement. Developed by CD Projekt Red and released in 2015, The Witcher 3 garnered near-universal praise for its ambitious storytelling and immersive setting. The game’s success propelled the somewhat niche franchise into the mainstream.

In this long and sprawling adventure, The Witcher 3 concludes Geralt’s journey satisfyingly… and that’s not even getting into the awesome combat, graphics, characters, lore, and everything else along the same lines. There aren’t many games that feel as fresh as CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece, but for any person who wishes to enjoy a similar experience, here are some of the best action RPGs like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Updated on September 6th, 2023 by Geoffrey Martin: This List has been updated to include a video version of the article. The video version details ten entries from the piece, showing off each game for readers who have never seen the gameplay in action.

Elden Ring

Elden Ring has taken the gaming world by storm in a way that the popular but still niche Dark Souls games never quite managed. Set in a vast world that demands to be explored, Elden Ring mostly leaves players to their own devices as they traverse the unknown in search of the Great Runes. Unsurprisingly, this journey proves to be extremely difficult.

Honestly, Elden Ring’s combat, lore presentation, and pacing are not that similar to The Witcher 3 – FromSoftware’s game is very much its own beast. That said, when it comes to action open-world RPGs, both releases are game-changers and deliver experiences that are hard to top.

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Planescape: Torment

Describing Planescape: Torment as an “action RPG” is generous since its combat is static and one-note. That said, the bland battles are worth putting up with to experience everything else this classic has to offer. While The Witcher 3 is generally treated as the standard-bearer for quality writing in RPGs, Planescape: Torment held that title for a very long time.

More importantly, the game’s story, world-building, and dialogue have aged quite well. Permitting someone goes in with realistic expectations, Planescape: Torment is still a must-play RPG and one of the best extensions of the Dungeons & Dragons universe.

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Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Anime visuals, party-based combat, and a fantasy setting with sprinkles of sci-fi, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has little in common with The Witcher 3 on the surface. However, both games have similar strengths as they deliver well-written stories set within massive worlds defined by political strife. Like CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece, the Switch exclusive dedicates a great deal of time and effort to exploring its main characters and their relationships.

Ultimately, Xenoblade Chronicles 3‘s biggest strength is its ability to immerse players in a fully-realized setting drenched in history, conflict, and nuance. The combat system takes a while to reveal all of its depth, but it does expand nicely as the lengthy campaign progresses.

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Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Any of the last few Assassin’s Creed games are safe picks for those seeking epic adventures; however, Odyssey gets the nod when it comes to games like The Witcher 3 since it marked the point when Ubisoft’s series fully embraced role-playing elements. Dialogue options and branching paths are integrated into the storyline, providing players with more agency than in previous Assassin’s Creed titles.

The open-world is enormous and blends history with fiction, creating a landscape littered with jaw-dropping vistas and neat details. Although not quite reaching The Witcher 3 level, Odyssey‘s story is solid enough, as are the combat and progression systems.

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Kingdoms Of Amalur: Re-Reckoning

Kingdoms of Amalur excels in different areas than The Witcher 3. Its story is a bit uninspired and doesn’t become anything more than just serviceable; conversely, the game’s combat is smooth, fast-paced, flexible, and creative. The protagonist lacks Geralt’s personality; however, Kingdoms of Amalur’s customization options provide players with plenty of room to create their own heroes.

The Witcher 3 and Kingdoms of Amalur both take place in rich fantasy settings that are visually captivating, although the latter’s world is far more colorful than the former. For those seeking an action-heavy RPG, this game is the way to go.

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GreedFall

Placing the player in the boots of a noble emissary exploring a mostly undeveloped island, GreedFall offers a large and dynamic map to uncover. The third-person view that mixes a nice range of melee weapons and firearms gives this ARPG a unique feel that will resonate well with fans of The Witcher games.

There are a ton of cool, original monsters to meet and slay, though the vibrant natural world offers more than just combat. Players can romance various companions along the way, build diplomatic relations with powerful politicians, and bring peace to the divided factions crowding the island.

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Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red’s follow-up to The Witcher 3 had big shoes to fill; unfortunately, Cyberpunk 2077‘s launch was anything but smooth, with the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game being riddled with bugs. On PC and next-gen consoles, the action RPG is a far more enjoyable experience, allowing for the game’s strengths to shine through more clearly.

Cyberpunk 2077‘s greatest achievement is Night City, a bustling metropolis filled with skyscrapers stamped with the sigils of corporations that tower over gang-torn streets. Although it trades a third-person perspective for FPS gameplay, Cyberpunk 2077‘s engrossing storytelling, convincing NPCs, and dense world are deeply reminiscent of The Witcher 3.

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Deus Ex

Similar to how The Witcher 3 set a new standard for writing in RPGs, particularly for side quests, 2000’s Deus Ex raised the bar when it comes to player freedom. Blending first-person shooter gameplay with RPG concepts like customization and non-linear levels, Ion Storm’s masterpiece was well ahead of its contemporaries in many areas. Even all these years later, few games come close to matching Deus Ex‘s stellar level design and immersion, and that includes its highly-regarded sequels.

Deus Ex is a very different experience than The Witcher 3, but they both represent the RPG genre at its best. Although dated in some ways, Ion Storm’s classic holds up very well overall; in fact, Deus Ex can be described as timeless.

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Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines might seem somewhat antiquated in this day and age, but the action RPG was a game-changer in 2004. Prior to The Witcher 3, Troika’s project helped set the standard for writing in video games, and the range of choices the RPG provides players is still impressive nearly two decades later. Narratively, Bloodlines is among the genre’s greatest representatives, and time has done nothing to change that perspective.

Bloodlines 2 is in production, although a release date has yet to be announced. Provided someone goes into the 2004 release with reasonable expectations considering its age, they will find one of the best games like The Witcher 3.

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Grim Dawn

Grim Dawn is an isometric action RPG in the style of Diablo and Titan Quest, therefore, any person contemplating whether they should pick up this game should be aware that it plays nothing like The Witcher 3. Like most entries in this subgenre, Grim Dawn is primarily loot-driven, and the game does not hold back on drops.

Even though it is very much a different type of beast from CD Projekt Red’s RPG, Grim Dawn also envisions a dark fantasy world that has a more grounded aesthetic compared to other similar games. While not the focus, the game’s story is pretty good as well, taking place in a world ravished by a war that left humanity on the brink of annihilation.

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Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen

Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma is finally receiving a sequel, something that has been a long time coming. Slightly underrated at the time of its release, Dragon’s Dogma gradually garnered a cult following, particularly once the Dark Arisen expansion hit the scene. In some ways, Capcom’s game is the inverse of The Witcher 3 since it excels in combat while not offering too much story excitement.

Dragon’s Dogma unleashes players in a dark fantasy world filled with imaginative and horrifying monsters, most of which pack quite a punch. Even though its map is not especially large, the game makes Gransys seem bigger than it really is by limiting fast travel and cramming a lot of content into a small space.

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Alpha Protocol

Before proceeding any further, it should be noted that Alpha Protocol is far rougher around the edges than The Witcher 3. With janky controls, lackluster gameplay, and quite a few bugs, the game’s negatives can be difficult to overlook, but they do not detract from its positives: story and customization. Set in a futuristic sci-fi world, Alpha Protocol centers around a secret agent who goes on worldwide missions, and players are given the freedom to warp Michael Thorton’s personality, skillset, and future.

Alpha Protocol has branching storylines, dialogue options that genuinely matter, and great world-building. This RPG rewards multiple playthroughs, each one better than the last since players steadily become more adept at circumventing the game’s frustrations. In many ways, Alpha Protocol is similar to the first Witcher game, at least in terms of strengths and weaknesses.

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Kingdom Come: Deliverance

No game is exactly like The Witcher 3, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance arguably has the most similar-feeling world. While the latter does not have fantastical creatures, Kingdom Come‘s Bohemia is a gritty and dirty place that prioritizes realism above everything else. If The Witcher 3 is a dark fantasy, then Kingdom Come is the version set on Earth.

Kingdom Come‘s open-world is vast, punishing, but also capable of inspiring moments of beauty. The game’s first-person combat comes with a steeping learning curve as players need to master their swordsmanship (or other weapons) to stand a chance in any of the harder battles. Like The Witcher 3, Kingdom Come is an immersive sim that strikes a grim tone and makes players work for every success.

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Mass Effect 2

When it comes to games that are similar to The Witcher 3, it goes without saying that most BioWare games from their golden age are a great fit. Mass Effect 2 is one such game that is a must-play for anyone who was invested in the story of The Witcher 3.

While BioWare games tend to focus more on party interactions, individual character stories, and the like, there will still be enough similarities between Mass Effect 2 and The Witcher 3 to satiate any person’s role-playing urges. The biggest difference between both these games is their settings… which is where the next game on this list comes into the picture.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition, a compilation containing BioWare’s trilogy, is available on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

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Bloodborne

The Witcher 3‘s combat is awesome, and any player who wishes to enjoy a tighter and more challenging version of this combat should definitely try out Bloodborne.

The fast-paced nature of the game’s combat will definitely feel right at home with the battles in The Witcher 3, and that’s not the only selling point of Bloodborne. The beautiful Gothic world of this game has a number of Lovecraftian elements that make the levels of Bloodborne equally haunting and engrossing to explore.

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Gothic 1 & 2

Piranha Bytes is synonymous with eurojank, which are basically games that prioritize mechanical depth over visuals. Even though it sounds like a criticism, “eurojank” is really a term of endearment, and a lot of that goodwill can be traced back to the first two Gothic projects. Generally, the sequel is considered superior, but as Gothic 2 continues directly from its predecessor, newcomers should start from the beginning. The original game is pretty good too, so it is hardly a painful sit.

Gothic is rough around the edges, fairly ugly by 2001 standards, and punishingly difficult at times, and the same can be said about the sequel. On the positive side, the games craft believable worlds that emphasize player growth and immersion. Rather than focusing on massive maps, Gothic fills its real estate with NPCs that genuinely seem like they have their own lives beyond the player’s actions. The protagonist is also fairly weak and takes a while to become a powerhouse, which means players have to be very careful to not get into fights with the wrong people.

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Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor

High fantasy settings are a dime-a-dozen in video games, and it can be quite challenging to select a game that does justice to its setting. Thankfully, Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor manages to evade this problem since its setting is already as established and legendary as can be.

It certainly helps that the game is extremely fun to play, with the visceral combat being an absolute blast in every sense of the word. People who play Shadow of Mordor will definitely have an extremely positive and enjoyable experience indeed.

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Final Fantasy 7 Remake

In the last decade, Square Enix has reframed Final Fantasy as a real-time action JRPG franchise, leaving its turn-based roots in the past or for the occasional spin-off. The change, naturally, attracted some criticism, although the games themselves are reasonably well-liked; that said, none of them are especially excellent companion pieces for The Witcher 3. Final Fantasy 15‘s open-world might make it seem like the obvious pick, but its underwhelming quests, one-note combat, and poorly-paced plot are difficult to overlook. Narratively, Final Fantasy 16 arguably comes the closest to matching CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece, and its story is among the franchise’s strongest recent efforts. However, the title strips back a lot of RPG mechanics, to the point of playing more like a standard action game at times.

Finally, that leaves Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which is the first part in a trilogy that seeks to present an alternate take on Square’s classic 1997 turn-based JRPG. Once again, Cloud joins an eco-terrorist group going up against his former employer, Avalanche. Initially, he treats it like just another job, but he eventually becomes committed to their cause. While fairly linear in the grand scheme of things, FF7R does incorporate some light exploration and optional content to give players something to do between the main story beats. Blending real-time action and turn-based ideas, the battle system is enjoyable and deep, especially since there are multiple playable characters who all do their own thing.

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Diablo 4

Diablo 4 has led a strange life. Blizzard’s RPG launched to a very positive reception, but the studio’s post-game roadmap garnered its share of criticisms. The season 1 patch was almost universally hated, which prompted Blizzard to rethink things. As such, the initial excitement around the game wavered fairly quickly, which can make it somewhat difficult to recommend considering so many other great RPGs came out during the same period. Still, at its core, Diablo 4 is very good, and it comes packed with a lot of content.

In truth, Diablo 4 and The Witcher 3 offer wildly different experiences. The former does not really begin until players complete the main story, while the latter is hailed for its quests and storytelling. If someone wants to get the most out of Blizzard’s title, they will need to play the endgame and stay on board for the seasons; however, that does not mean the campaign is worthless. In fact, Diablo 4 has a pretty great and lengthy story that ranks among the franchise’s better efforts. Set in an open-world, the game has a reasonably sized map that has quite a few side quests, some of which are fantastic in their own right.

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Fallout: New Vegas

The intricate plot and game-altering decisions of The Witcher 3 are one of the game’s biggest selling points, and people who wish to enjoy such consequence-heavy decision-making in their games should definitely try out Fallout: New Vegas.

This game takes everything good about the first two Fallout games and combines them with the modern conveniences introduced in Fallout 3. In the process, Obsidian crafted a sublime role-playing experience that no self-respecting gamer should miss out on.

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The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

While the story of The Witcher 3 is definitely one of the biggest reasons why people love this game, another aspect that should also be highlighted is its fantastic open-world exploration. Therefore, it’s only a given that people who love exploring the beautiful world of The Witcher 3 would also enjoy playing Skyrim, which is considered to be right up there with the best role-playing games ever made, and for good reason.

Through mods and ports, Skyrim has remained relevant for more than a decade, as millions of players have and will continue to immerse themselves in its engrossing lore and world. While Skyrim‘s first-person combat has very few similarities with The Witcher 3‘s gameplay, both RPGs excel in other areas like their quests and depth.

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The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings

Typically, it goes without saying that someone should start with the first rather than the last chapter in a trilogy, but The Witcher is an exception. The third entry served as this universe’s introductory point for a lot of people, and the game’s popularity far eclipses its predecessors. Although they do tell one ongoing story, CD Projekt Red succeeded in making The Witcher 3 accessible as a standalone experience. As such, even people who adored the game might not feel tempted to revisit the previous entries.

Even though its writing is fantastic, 2007’s The Witcher‘s gameplay is polarizing and completely different from anything that came after it. Fortunately, the same cannot be said for The Witcher 2, which incorporates many of the same ideas as its successor. While consisting of separate zones rather than a continuous open-world, the RPG still contains its share of exploration and side quests, and the latter are decent in their own right. The combat system is also similar to The Witcher 3, which means people will either love or hate it. More importantly, Assassins of Kings tells a great story.

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