Turn-based RPGs hold a unique charm in the world of video games, blending strategic depth with rich storytelling. The thrill of carefully planning each move, the tension of enemy encounters, and the satisfaction of a well-executed strategy make these games irresistibly engaging. As we find ourselves in the heart of 2023, the horizon of gaming is shimmering with the promise of numerous exciting titles set to redefine the genre in 2023 and 2024.
Join us as we embark on a thrilling journey into the future of turn-based RPGs, where we’ll highlight twenty upcoming titles poised to shake up the genre with their unique mechanics, compelling narratives, and visually stunning worlds.
Top 20 Upcoming RPGs of 2023 and 2024
From long-awaited sequels and innovative indie projects to jaw-dropping reimaginings of beloved classics, these games are set to make the next two years a true golden era for turn-based RPG aficionados. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer looking for your next big adventure or a newcomer eager to dive into the genre, this carefully curated list has something for everyone. Let’s roll the dice and leap into the future of turn-based RPGs!
Persona 5 Tactica
If you’re a Persona fan, chances are you’ve already got this tactical spinoff of the franchise’s stylish masterpiece on your waiting list. If you’re not a Persona fan, there’s still plenty of time to get into the series; you won’t want to miss Tactica!
Featuring a unique storyline and a blend of fan-favorite and new characters. After an unusual incident, the Phantom Thieves find themselves in a dystopian realm ruled by a military group, the Legionnaires. They’re rescued by a mysterious revolutionary, Erina, who proposes a compelling deal in exchange for their assistance.
In this thrilling combat adventure, players can lead an “emotional revolution”, building their dream squad of heroes to confront oppressive armies in exciting turn-based combat. Dynamic combat mechanics include powerful Personas and an array of weapons to stylishly eliminate enemies.
At first glance, the chibi-style makeover of Persona 5‘s beloved cast might seem to suggest that Tactica will be a bit simpler than the main game. However, knowing Atlus there will be tons of depth for hardcore players while still allowing more casual fans to enjoy the story. We’ll find out when Persona 5: Tactica launches on 17 November on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation.
SKALD: Against the Black Priory
If you didn’t know better, you might think that SKALD: Against The Black Priory was a forgotten PC classic. The game’s style presents a dark and detailed world with a pixelated top-down perspective that’s bound to leave you with a nostalgic feeling.
With deceptively deep tactical combat and impactful choices to make at every turn, SKALD is shaping up to be the early ’90s cult hit that never was. Skald: Against the Black Priory features a dark, branching storyline, tactical turn-based combat, and deep character creation. Player choices impact the narrative, altering the story’s course and their party’s fate.
With enhanced features like auto-resolve, quest logs, and a modern inventory system, the game provides a fresh take on old-school RPG experiences. You can try the demo now, while the full game is expected sometime in 2023. On PC via Steam and GOG.
The White Raven
GatherRound Studios‘s debut title The White Raven is sending a clear message that the developer is one to watch. This tactical fantasy RPG has gorgeous pixel art and animation and an eye-catching cinematic style that helps it rise above the rest.
In this open-world tactical RPG, players step into the shoes of Jin, a young spirit whisperer who is tasked with navigating mystical landscapes that blur the lines between reality and the underworld, all while leading an unconventional team on a quest to unravel the secrets of the Aurorean Steppes.
Along the way, players gather resources to build and upgrade a sanctuary and recruit specialists to aid their survival. Interactions with allies are complex, shaped by character-specific missions, and can lead to a range of outcomes, including destructive paths, personal growth, and even potential romance.
Based on what we’ve seen so far, The White Raven has plenty of homages to Fire Emblem, but executes them in a way that feels like a nod to the classics rather than an imitation. It promises to have choices that affect the story, as well as dynamic romances and rivalries; we can’t wait to see how it turns out! On PC via Steam, no release date has yet been announced. In the meantime, check out our interview with the devs.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate needs no introduction. The original games, set in the legendary Forgotten Realms of Dungeons & Dragons fame, are the most beloved CRPGs of all time. With D&D more popular now than it’s ever been, fans are ready to welcome the return of Baldur’s Gate as well.
Players are called back into the intricate world of the Forgotten Realms. Infected with a Mind Flayer parasite, they develop mysterious powers they can resist or embrace. Players can choose their characters, explore a vast world, and engage in strategic combat.
Baldur’s Gate 3 features a multiplayer mode, unique character backstories, and an immersive narrative. Key features include the ability to pause the world at any time, a combat system based on D&D’s 5e ruleset, and a world that reacts to players’ choices and dice rolls.
Developed by Larian Studios, the team behind the incredible Divinity: Original Sin games, Baldur’s Gate 3 has been in early access since 2020. RPG fans are in for a thrilling adventure when the full game launches on the 3rd of August 2023 on PC via Steam and GOG.
The Iron Oath
We still can’t get enough of The Iron Oath just over one year into early access. Where Battle Brothers popularized the open-world gritty mercenary sim, The Iron Oath is still on track to perfect the formula. The game’s pixel art and tactical combat are still just as thrilling as when the game was first announced.
The Iron Oath is a dynamic, turn-based RPG where players lead a mercenary company in the evolving world of Caelum. As years pass, players must hire and manage their team, tackle dangerous missions, and adapt their strategy as their mercenaries age, retire, or die. The ever-changing power dynamics of Caelum’s noble houses create new opportunities and risks. Players manage their guild’s operations and politics, building a diverse, powerful team and making impactful decisions that influence their company and Caelum’s fate.
We’re expecting to see the Tales By The Fire update any day now, with more content coming in Q3 of 2023. This means we’re unlikely to get a full release until the end of this year at the very earliest, but if any game is worth the wait, it’s this one. On PC via Steam and GOG.
Armed Fantasia
It may never have reached the heights of fame like Final Fantasy, but the PS1 wild-west RPG Wild Arms built up a dedicated fanbase. There might not be any more Wild Arms games coming, but the original game’s creators are giving us a brand-new take on the overall concept with Armed Fantasia.
As part of a dual Kickstarter campaign with Penny Blood (see below), Armed Fantasia brings back the enormous JRPG world map. Players will be challenged to traverse and explore the untamed frontier with their trusty ARM, finding new adventures in a new world when the game launches, probably sometime in 2024 or 2025. Check out the official website
Penny Blood
Just as Armed Fantasia is a spiritual sequel to Wild Arms, Penny Blood takes up the banner for Shadow Hearts. It’s always a treat to see a JRPG that takes place somewhere other than a magic punk fantasy setting, so Penny Blood‘s gothic-noir 1920s world is sure to catch some attention for novelty alone.
Even if you’ve never played Shadow Hearts or Wild Arms, Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood are sure to be on the lips of every JRPG fan when they launch. I can’t wait to try them! Official website here.
Sea of Stars
One of the most exciting indie JRPGs of the year is only a few months away! Whether you’re a fan of classic ’90s hits or want to play a game that’s full of heart and adventure, Sea Of Stars will definitely be a game to play this summer.
Sea of Stars is a modern take on classic RPGs by Sabotage, blending old-school nostalgia with current-day innovations in combat, storytelling, and environment interaction. It introduces a system with timed hits and strategic damage manipulation, along with a free-form navigation system breaking away from grid-bound movements.
With breathtaking environments and enemies and a soundtrack to match from Yasunori Mitsuda, we’re expecting very good things from Sabotage Studios with this title. Sea Of Stars is scheduled to release on 29 August 2023 on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox. In the meantime, give the demo a try!
The Lamplighters League
Harebrained Schemes made a name for themselves with excellent tactical games like The Shadowrun Trilogy and BattleTech. Now, they’re bringing their expertise to an original setting with The Lamplighters League! With big set-piece battles and exciting firefights, 1930s pulp action is perfect for a tactical game, so it’s very exciting to see one of the best devs in the genre giving it a go.
Set in an alternate 1930s universe. The player is tasked with assembling and managing a team of misfits to combat the Banished Court, a malevolent cult poised for world domination. The game intertwines real-time infiltration and turn-based combat within a narrative deeply rooted in character development.
Players can explore a range of global locations, and strategic decisions are key in thwarting the enemy’s plans. Enhancements to team members’ gear and abilities are crucial as the threats escalate. Although missions lead to resource gains and skill growth, the team must also manage the effects of stress and injury.
The Lamplighters League is currently listed for release on 3 October 2023 on PC via Steam and Epic.
Metaphor: Refantazio
For hardcore JRPG fans, a new Atlus title is always worth at least a passing glance. When a new Atlus title comes from the creators of the last three Persona games, fans know they’re in for a treat. Such is the case with Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Details are pretty scant at this point, but it’s pretty clear that Atlus is hoping to launch a new franchise with Metaphor, capable of standing alongside their flagships Persona and Shin Megami Tensei. Considering the game is billed as dark fantasy, it will probably lean more toward the latter. If that’s the case, then we’re eager to fight some demons in 2024! Check out the official website.
Wandering Sword
Wu xia martial arts stories are practically made for JRPGs, but that particular style of story seems to struggle in the West. That might change with Wandering Sword, which follows a young warrior’s journey to become a master martial artist and hero.
Players can master various martial arts forms and weapons, cultivating internal and external energy through meridian points. The game offers both real-time and turn-based combat modes for varying gaming styles. Relationships with NPCs can be cultivated, enabling player recruitment for adventures and potential romances. Wandering Sword‘s narrative is shaped by player choices, leading to different endings, and numerous side quests enhance the main storyline, ensuring high replayability.
If you liked last year’s remake of Live A Live, then Wandering Sword‘s grid-based combat and 2.5D presentation should be right up your alley. The equipment and character customization system looks to be quite deep as well, allowing players to create unique combos and replay the game with new builds. The game is expected to launch in 2023, though an exact date has not yet been announced on PC via Steam.
Stoneshard
If you were to look at the players’ stats for Stoneshard, either in its current early-access form or post-launch, those players would either have hundreds of hours logged or twenty minutes, with very few players falling in between those two extremes. This brutally challenging open-world RPG isn’t for everyone, but players who like it will absolutely love it.
Stoneshard is an open-world, turn-based RPG where players live the tough life of a medieval mercenary. With no hand-holding and limited saves, it’s a strategic game that rewards careful planning. Players explore a war-torn kingdom, taking on a variety of enemies and managing their character’s health and mental state. Character customization is extensive, with over 200 abilities and 400 equipment pieces.
Stoneshard is the kind of game where surviving a single quest is an accomplishment, but when you pull it off you feel like you really earned it. Preparation, risk assessment, and a lot of trial and error are all keys to success. If that sounds like your kind of game, you can play the early access version now; there are still plenty of updates on the horizon! On PC via Steam and GOG.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
It remains to be seen whether Rogue Trader will be the best Warhammer 40,000 video game ever made, but it’s almost certainly the most immersive. Exploring the worlds of the Imperium in a Divinity-style CRPG while battling aliens, daemons, and more is sure to be the highlight of this interstellar adventure.
In the vastness of the Koronus Expanse, the player commands their personal voidship, navigating through treacherous yet lucrative regions. As a Lord-Captain, every player’s decision influences the open-world environment and its characters. They gather a diverse crew, each with unique skills and advice, and steer them on individual life paths.
The game features isometric, turn-based combat where strategic positioning and ability utilization are crucial for victory. Grounded in the classic Rogue Trader ruleset, the game offers an expansive realm of possibilities for the player to explore.
From ground skirmishes to spaceborne fleet engagements, Rogue Trader is sure to be full of exciting battles in the grim darkness of the far future. This game will be a must-play for 40k fans and RPG gamers in general when it launches sometimes on PC via Steam.
Broken Roads
It would be easy to say that Broken Roads is “Fallout, but in Australia.” There’s a lot more to it than that, though, and the demo will leave you wanting more. The post-apocalyptic, isometric CRPG gameplay will be instantly familiar to anyone who’s played similar games like the Wasteland series, while the game’s unique morality system and story choices allows for multiple playthroughs.
The game merges traditional RPG elements with a classless system, allowing extensive character customization. It also introduces a Moral Compass system, where characters’ decisions shape their moral standing and philosophical worldview. The gameplay involves exploring diverse landscapes, from the vast Outback to decaying urban areas, with survival, combat, and alliances playing key roles.
Actions in Broken Roads aren’t good or evil, nor are they lawful or chaotic. Instead, players’ choices determine their character’s overall life philosophy, unlocking new options based on the sum total of their actions. You’ll be able to tell your own story in the Outback when the game releases later this year on PC via Steam and GOG and PlayStation.
Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery
Reverse Collapse comes from a franchise that until now has been comprised of mobile gacha games, so it naturally has some extra work to do in winning over players who expect a deeper experience. We’ve had a chance to try it out recently, and it’s looking like Reverse Collapse might just be able to pull it off!
Reverse Collapse propels the player into a future world during a second Cold War where intrigue and personal stories are skillfully told with a highly inspired anime graphic style.
Through tactical near-future combat interspersed with slick-looking anime cutscenes, Reverse Collapse puts players in command of a global conflict that threatens to upend the world order. The battle begins later this year on PC via Steam.
Jagged Alliance 3
The accessibility of a tactical game is often inversely proportional to the realism of its setting; the more aliens and wizards a game has, the easier its gameplay is to grasp. Games focused on realistic, modern combat tend to be targeted more toward a niche of players who want deep, crunchy systems that take a long time to learn.
Jagged Alliance 3 is a tactical, turn-based RPG set in the politically divided nation of Grand Chien, where the president has disappeared and a paramilitary group called “The Legion” has taken control. The President’s family has hired a group of mercenaries to find the President and restore order, supported by the powerful Adonis corporation.
Players can choose from a wide cast of unique mercenaries, engage in rich tactical combat, and make crucial decisions that will impact the nation’s fate. With a focus on looting, customization, territory control, and training local forces, the game offers a dynamic, active world. It also features an online co-op mode for shared campaign experiences.
Jagged Alliance 3 flips this dynamic on its head, presenting a fictional war-torn nation in the modern world through accessible, XCOM-style battles. It’s a great pick for players hoping for a military thriller without needing a spreadsheet open on their second screen. Best of all, it’s only a few weeks away, launching on 14 July on PC via Steam and GOG.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Eiyuden Chronicle had one of the most successful campaigns in the history of Kickstarter, becoming the #1 funded Kickstarter video game of 2020, and so eagerly anticipated that a smaller game, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising was released last year to sate fans’ hunger. If anything, Rising made us want the main game, Hundred Heroes, even more!
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a highly anticipated JRPG set in the diverse world of Allraan. The game’s narrative unfolds against the backdrop of various nations whose history is shaped by the use of swords and magical objects, “rune-lenses”. The story centers around Seign Kesling, a young imperial officer, and Nowa, a village boy, whose friendship is tested as they are drawn into a war incited by the power-hungry Galdean Empire seeking to exploit an artifact that can amplify the power of rune-lenses.
With a cast large enough to rival Suikoden and incredible animation both in and out of combat, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes will be the JRPG event of the season when it launches. It’s still listed as “coming soon,” so there’s still some more time before that happens on PC via Steam and Epic, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
Sacrifire
You might not know it from all the focus on photorealistic triple-A titles, but we’re in the midst of a pixel-animation Renaissance. Along with many other titles on this list, Sacrifire is a prime example of what modern developers can do with colorful dots.
SacriFire is an upcoming RPG from Pixelated Milk, known for their games Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs and Warsaw that allows players to engage in intricate battles with multiple weapons and elaborate combos. The game merges pixel art and 3D graphics, offering retro-style characters in 3D environments.
The narrative explores moral complexities and subverts typical RPG tropes, set across two diverse worlds, the subterranean city of Antioch and the spirit paradise of Erebus. Gameplay includes varied combat disciplines, weapon crafting, puzzle-solving, and dungeon exploration. Enhancing the experience is an original soundtrack by G4F and Motoi Sakuraba, and professional voice acting from Sound Cadence Studios.
Drawing inspiration from 90s RPGs this RPG blends turn-based and real-time combat, and has been quietly amassing a collection of laurels at indie shows and conferences. Suppose Pixelated Milk’s previous titles are any indication. In that case, Sacrifire is bound to garner some loving fans, though there is not currently a release date listed for the game planned to be out on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox.
Demonschool
If you like Persona, then you’ll certainly want to check out Demonschool. From its cast of misfit students to its social gameplay and climactic battles against giant monsters, this RPG has everything you’re looking for, presented with style.
Fans of publisher Ysbryd Games know to expect engaging stories in a strange but relatable world, and Demonschool looks to carry on that tradition. It doesn’t have a release date yet for PC via Steam, so be sure to wishlist and follow it to stay up-to-date.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Ichiban Kasuga became a new face of the long-running Like A Dragon series (formerly known in the West as Yakuza), so players will no doubt be excited to see him returning for a new adventure in 2024’s Infinite Wealth.
Ichiban’s introduction to the series transformed the usual action beat-em-up gameplay into a turn-based RPG with stunning results. With only a launch trailer to go on, it’s unclear right now weather he’ll be wielding his baseball bat Dragon Quest-style again, or if he’ll make the leap into real-time battles, but either way we’ll be glad to join this gangster with a heart of gold on his next quest. On Pc and Consoles.
These are some of the most anticipated RPGs between 2023 and 2024; we would love to hear your opinions and suggestions through our YouTube channel, where you can also find the video version of this article, our Twitter profile, and finally, our Discord channel where you can find the guys from #turnbasedthursday and many passionate indie developers and fans of turn-based games.
