RPG fans rejoice. The age of blockbuster games is upon us, from the exploration of thousands of planets to revisiting the worlds filled with beasts, monsters and the undead. With the success of Diablo IV, it’s clear that RPGs remain among the biggest genres of the gaming world.
And over the next couple of months, the three biggest RPGs of 2023 – and some say, the past decade – are coming up. Here’s what to expect from Starfield, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and Baldur’s Gate 3.
Starfield
As Bethesda Game Studios’ first original series in over 25 years, many players already have high expectations for open-world RPG Starfield.
Set in space, players will “answer humanity’s greatest mystery” within the Milky Way galaxy, where they can explore 1000 planets across over 100 star systems.
Players can choose to join one – or all – of five factions: Constellation, Crimson Fleet, Freestar Collective, Ryujin Industries and United Colonies. Each faction comes with unique missions for the player to complete.
Players get a myriad of customisation options for themselves and their ships. They can customise their character’s appearance and histories, even giving them unique traits like ‘Kid Stuff’ – where the character can visit their healthy parents at home, but 10 per cent of their income is automatically deducted to send their parents. Their ships can also be customized with tons of colour options, modules, and firearms that affect the ship’s performance.
Starfield will be released on Sep 6 for Windows and Xbox Series X/S.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Cyberpunk 2077 is getting its first expansion pack, Phantom Liberty, just three years after its release.
According to CD Projekt, the spy-thriller-themed pack expands on or completely overhauls everything from the base game. Following criticism of the game’s disappointing release in 2020, the massive DLC is expected to fix some core issues of the original game,
Overall, the changes make for more open-ended fights instead of the predictable ‘stats battles’. For example, kill trees have been rebuilt to give players new abilities as opposed to better stats. Additionally, players can also battle enemies while driving by shooting out of their windows, making fight scenes more intense.
Keanu Reeves will return as Johnny Silverhand, while Idris Elba takes on the role of secret agent Solomon Reed – a role written specifically for him.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will be released on Sep 26 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It will not be available to Cyberpunk players on the PS4 and Xbox One.
Baldur’s Gate 3
The third main game in Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate series, Baldur’s Gate 3, takes place almost a century after the events of Baldur’s Gate 2.
Set in the Dungeons & Dragons (DnD) campaign setting Forgotten Realm, the multiplayer game features a multitude of races to choose from, including the Forest Gnome, Wood Elf and Lightfoot Halfling. Players can also choose from classes like Cleric, Warlock and Druid – or if they can’t decide, they can opt for multi-classing!
The game is slated to feel more ‘alive’ than its previous renditions, as players will be able to talk to any character they see. Players can also recruit and form romantic relationships with their companions, who can choose to reciprocate the player’s feelings based on their interactions together.
The series’ biggest city yet features an upper, lower and outer city – and no loading screens! This means that, along with a maximum of three other friends, you get to explore the city and experience the game’s story to its full extent.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is currently available as early access on Steam, but it will be officially released on Aug 31 for PC, Mac and PS5.
