Valve’s Linux-powered Steam Deck gives you access to your expansive Steam library on a convenient, portable, and surprisingly capable device. There's a huge PC RPG library, which makes this guide essential.
The aforementioned Ys and Mass Effect series live on PC, as do the Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Final Fantasy, and Xanadu titles. The role-playing game genre on PC is just as deep, if not deeper, than what you find on consoles, such as the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series S/X. That, in a nutshell, is what makes an RPG an RPG. Regardless of the game and style, RPGs typically deliver rich narratives combined with character and/or equipment customization. Even realistic, modern cities can serve as intriguing RPG backdrops in Disco Elysium. Think Electronic Arts' Mass Effect games. In other titles, your character carries big heat in outer space. Sometimes your character wields traditional weapons, such as swords and arrows, in a medieval setting like Nihon Falcom's Ys series. Japanese and Western are the big umbrella categories, which are further divided into turn-based, action, strategy, dungeon crawlers, roguelikes, and other sub-genres. RPGs fall into various categories and subcategories, each with distinct gameplay styles.
