10 Incredible Recent RPGs That Surprised EVERYONE

At one point, role-playing games were considered a niche market. But not only are they more popular than ever now, turn-based mechanics and levelling up systems are being incorporated in almost every genre in recent years.

Having said that, there are certain RPGs that tend to garner more interest, like Persona and Dragon Quest. IPs like these don't just come with a ton of pre-emptive hype, but are backed by massive companies and an endless supply of cash, allowing any new entry to be promoted to the masses long before they're released.

Of course, this makes it difficult for indie developers' projects to make a splash. Even if these creators devise the most innovative role-player possible, it can get overshadowed by a AAA title, especially if it's released at the same time.

That's why it's deeply satisfying when a RPG designed by a handful of plucky developers dominates in sales and wins over critics and fans, despite receiving minimal marketing. Even though the latest Final Fantasy or Pokemon tend to generate more buzz, this lot came out of nowhere and stole their thunder.

In 2019, Gunfire Games released an action role-player called Remnant: From the Ashes, which is set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by monsters. The title had engaging combat, a focus on co-op, and a hefty amount of replayability. But due to the punishing solo play and janky technical elements, Remnant wasn't as great as it should've been.

With that said, Remnant was a success, so a sequel was warranted. Although players may have expected more of the same, Remnant 2 was better in every way. In fact, it's arguably Gunfire's game.

 The follow-up offers a more flexible class system, greater enemy variety, richer lore, and a vastly superior procedurally generated world, which encourages exploration and experimentation. Multiplayer is seamless this time around, making co-op an absolute blast. Though the enemy encounters from the previous instalment grew tiresome, some of the boss encounters here rival the best the Soulsborne genre has to offer.

The reception was so positive, Remnant 2 almost doubled the concurrent player count of the previous title. On top of that, it was the second-best-selling game on Steam at launch, selling a million within the first week.

Remnant 2 didn't just surpass its sequel, but redefined what the series is capable of.