2012 · Looter Shooter · PC
Borderlands 2 is the gold standard for looter shooters, combining an absurd sense of humor, a truly great villain in Handsome Jack, and millions of procedurally generated guns into one of the most replayable co-op experiences ever made.
2013 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Path of Exile is the action RPG that kept expanding while its competitors stood still. Over a decade of free updates have turned a scrappy alternative into the standard-bearer for the genre, with character customization depth that nothing else matches and a league system that reinvents the game every few months. The learning curve is brutal and the trading system is stuck in another era, but players who push past those barriers tend to stay for years. Grinding Gear Games built something that respects both your intelligence and your wallet, and in the free-to-play space, that combination remains vanishingly rare.
2021 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Nioh 2: Complete Edition is the refined version of Team Ninja's already excellent combat formula, adding Yokai abilities and a character creator to an action RPG that was already one of the most mechanically rich in the genre. The three-player co-op and three included DLC expansions make this the definitive package for players who want depth, challenge, and hundreds of hours of content. Its complexity will overwhelm some players, and the PC port launched with issues that still linger in spots, but for those who push through the learning curve, the payoff is extraordinary. This is one of the best action RPGs available on PC.
2016 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Grim Dawn is one of the finest action RPGs available on PC, built on a foundation of extraordinary build diversity and deep character customization. Its dual-class system and Devotion constellation tree create a level of theorycrafting depth that keeps players experimenting for hundreds of hours. The world is grim and atmospheric, the loot loop is satisfying, and the modding community extends the game well beyond its already generous content. It won't win over players who want flashy, fast-paced combat, and it takes time to show its hand. For anyone willing to invest that time, though, this is the kind of game that quietly becomes an all-time favorite.
2021 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Diablo II: Resurrected is a faithful and visually stunning remaster of one of the most important action RPGs ever made. The updated graphics bring the dark world of Sanctuary to life without compromising the gameplay that made the original a legend. Quality of life improvements like shared stash and auto gold pickup smooth out the roughest edges, and ongoing content updates have kept the game evolving. Some design choices haven't aged gracefully, and the rocky launch left scars on community trust. But the core experience, the loot chase, the build diversity, the satisfying rhythm of clearing dungeons, remains as compelling as it was two decades ago. For action RPG fans, this is essential.
2012 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Torchlight II is one of the most polished and accessible action RPGs ever made. The combat loop is addictive, the art style has aged gracefully, and mod support gives the game a practically infinite shelf life. It doesn't try to reinvent the genre and its story won't stick with you, but what it does, it does with a level of craft and care that's hard to fault. More than a decade after release, it remains one of the best entry points into the action RPG genre and a reliable good time for veterans who want something that respects their hours without demanding their souls.
2024 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Path of Exile 2 arrived in early access as the ARPG event of its generation, trading its predecessor's screen-clearing speed for deliberate, boss-centric combat closer to a soulslike with loot explosions, and its campaign's first act sequence ranks with the genre's finest hours. Grinding Gear rebuilt everything, WASD movement, skill-gem freedom, an endgame Atlas, and the honeymoon's ecstatic reception ran straight into the franchise's oldest argument when patches pulled toward friction and the community pulled toward power. It's punishing, gorgeous, unfinished, and patched in public. The genre's ceiling lives here, along with its loudest patch-note debates.
2017 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Nioh: Complete Edition packs Team Ninja's demanding samurai action RPG and all three DLC expansions into a single package that offers hundreds of hours of content for players willing to invest in its systems. The stance-based combat is faster and more technical than most games in the genre, and the loot system adds a layer of build crafting that keeps progression rewarding well into the endgame. Level design stumbles and late-game repetition prevent it from reaching the peaks of its best fights, but the combat alone makes it essential for anyone who wants their action RPGs sharp and unforgiving. It's a rougher experience than its sequel, but the foundation it laid is remarkable.
2024 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Last Epoch carves out real space in a crowded genre by making character building the star of the show. The skill specialization system gives every class a depth that rewards experimentation, and the time travel campaign is more interesting than most ARPG stories manage. Server instability at launch left a mark on community trust, and the endgame doesn't yet match the breadth of its longest-running competitors, but the core loop of building, tweaking, and optimizing characters is strong enough to justify dozens of hours before those limits start showing.
2006 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Titan Quest carved its own path in the action RPG genre by swapping gothic horror for ancient mythology and building a dual-mastery class system that remains one of the most satisfying character progression frameworks in the genre. The journey through Greece, Egypt, and China offers a scope that few competitors have matched, and the Anniversary Edition brought the multiplayer and quality-of-life improvements the original needed. Pacing issues and repetitive mid-game stretches test your patience, and the loot system can be stingy in the later acts. But the core loop of building a unique class combination and carving through mythological creatures across three civilizations holds up remarkably well almost two decades later.
2009 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Torchlight proved that a small team with deep genre knowledge could build an action RPG that captures the addictive loot loop without the bloat that often comes with bigger budgets. Three distinct classes, a pet companion system that keeps inventory management painless, and mod support that extends the dungeon crawling indefinitely make it a package that punches well above its price point. The lack of multiplayer is a genuine gap for a genre built on cooperative play, and the single-dungeon structure starts to feel samey in longer sessions. But as a focused, polished entry point into the action RPG genre, Torchlight still delivers exactly what it promises.
2019 · Looter Shooter · PC
Borderlands 3 has the best gunplay the series has ever seen but stumbles with a weak story and annoying villains that can't fill the void Handsome Jack left behind.
2022 · Action RPG
Torchlight: Infinite brings legitimate ARPG depth to mobile with strong build diversity and seasonal content updates, though its mobile-first design and lingering monetization concerns keep it from matching its PC-native competitors.
2012 · Action RPG · PC / Battle.net
Diablo III is a game that needed years of post-launch work to become what it should have been at release. The Reaper of Souls expansion and the Loot 2.0 overhaul transformed it from a frustrating grind into one of the smoothest, most satisfying action RPGs on PC. Combat feels incredible, class variety is strong, and seasonal content gave players reasons to keep coming back for years. The always-online requirement remains an unnecessary burden, the art direction divided longtime fans, and the early auction house era left a stain on the game's reputation that never fully washed out. In its final form, Diablo III is a polished and entertaining loot game that traded atmosphere for accessibility and came out with a product that most players, grudgingly or otherwise, put hundreds of hours into.
2023 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Diablo IV delivers an excellent campaign and a dark, atmospheric world that fans waited years to explore. The combat feels responsive, the classes are distinct, and the production values are among the highest in the genre. What follows that campaign is where opinions split. Endgame content, seasonal depth, and an expensive cosmetic shop have kept the community in a state of perpetual debate about whether the game lives up to its potential. It's a good action RPG with a great foundation that hasn't yet figured out how to keep its most dedicated players satisfied long-term.
2020 · Action RPG · PC / Steam
Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem is a cautionary tale wrapped in gorgeous packaging. Its visuals remain among the best the ARPG genre has produced, its Gate of Fates passive system is an inventive take on character building, and the voiced campaign shows more ambition than most games in this space attempt. But persistent bugs, balance problems that funnel players into a narrow set of viable endgame builds, and the end of all development and multiplayer support in 2024 leave it as a single-player curiosity rather than a genre contender. There's a good game buried here for those willing to accept its limitations, but the ceiling it could have reached makes its reality sting.