2024 looks to be the year of RPGs. If you thought 2023 had it good with titles that fall under the role-playing-game genre, you have another thing coming once January rolls around. We have brand-new IPs from veteran RPG creators, we have remakes of beloved classics, we haveremastersof beloved classics, and we have long-awaited sequels for more than one long-running RPG series.
So whether you’re looking to duke it out on the tropical streets of Honolulu or race chocobos through beautiful countryside while the universe is in peril, 2024’s RPGs have you covered. Read on to discover what role-playing titles we here at TheGamer are most excited for in the coming year.
Updated Jul 18, 2025:Many of us here at TheGamer are avid fans of RPGs. We have intense discussions on which Final Fantasy is best, compare various (in-game) life choices to see who got the best outcome, and bemoan the time it takes between entries in our favorite series. So of course we’ve got more games to add to our Most Anticipated RPGs of 2024 list.
Cat Quest 3
Sean Murray, Staff Writer
Not every RPG needs to be about a world-ending threat that only you, the chosen one, can solve. Sometimes an RPG can be about a cat going on an epic adventure to the high seas to defeat Pi-rats. If you played the first Cat Quest or its sequel (and you should definitely play both), Cat Quest 3 looks like a continuation of the simple, elegant, and fun gameplay that made the first two games so incredible.
For the third game, it looks like developer The Gentlebros have dialed up the 2D graphics, given our feline protagonist a makeover, and even added ship-to-ship combat. Expect a ten-hour adventure with a ton of cat puns.
Unicorn Overlord
Ryan Hay, Writer
I have a bit of a confession: I unabashedly love every game that Vanillaware has ever put out and I cannot contain my excitement for Unicorn Overlord. It has everything I could possibly want in a video game: a high fantasy setting, Vanillaware’s signature soft and dreamlike aesthetics, and a tale of revenge to retake a stolen kingdom.
Unicorn Overlord has been hyped up as being the largest game in Vanillaware’s history, which only has me that much more excited to get my hands on it. Being billed as a return to old-school fantasy tactical RPGs is a big boast to make, especially for a smaller studio, but if there’s anyone who could pull it off while making a memorable experience, it’s Vanillaware.
Avowed
Amanda Hurych, Evergreen Content Lead
Fingers crossed this does not get delayed into 2025, but Avowed is currently my number one RPG set to release next year. I’m a bit of a persnickety RPG player. I don’t want too strict of a narrative, but I also prefer a bit more structure than something that just sets you loose in a ginormous world with no direction. I also lean toward sci-fi more than fantasy, and it’s a coin toss whether I’ll enjoy turn-based combat over real-time.
But no matter the premise, setting, or gameplay trappings, an RPG from Obsidian Entertainment grabs my attention. They could make a game about wandering around a backyard and fighting bugs, and I’d play it. (I did.) Avowed is set in the same universe as the Pillars of Eternity games, so it’s definitely a step above a backyard.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Quinton O’Connor, Specialist Writer
Even as I type this, my living room TV has Final Fantasy 7 Remake on it. I’m on my fourth playthrough of what was, for my two cents, 2020’s Game of the Year, and it gets better every time. Say what you will about the weird additions to the classic FF7’s Midgar arc, but goodness gracious, the banter between these iconic characters makes up for it in spades. The battle system is sublime, and coming back to Remake after this year’s Final Fantasy 16, I think this is still the gold standard for modern FF combat.
I realize I’m going on about Remake, rather than the upcoming second part of the trilogy. But it’s just such a solid foundation, and now we’re kicking off the planetary journey with huge open zones, tons of side quests… and the return of an in-game Final Fantasy card game, which is something I’ve waited, oh, 23 years for? And Cloud backflips off of a dolphin? This has GOTY 2024 written all over it. I shouldn’t say that before playing, but man, I can’t help myself.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Josh Coulson, Affiliates Editor
Having grown up with a Mega Drive, a PS1, and then a PS2, I missed out on a lot of Mario games, so Nintendo deciding to remake them all is working out pretty well for me. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is one of many that completely passed me by, but also a game I’ve heard nothing but good things about.
The jubilation from those who know how good it is when its remaster for Nintendo Switch was announced has me incredibly excited to experience it for the first time in 2024, and I’ve still got the Super Mario RPG remake to come before the end of this year. Like I said, there has never been a better time to be someone playing Mario catch-up.
Persona 3 Reload
Joshua Robertson, News Editor
The original Persona 3 is an absolute classic. It was a turning point for the series and, along with Persona 4, laid the foundation for Persona to become arguably Atlus and Sega’s biggest and most important franchise. There’s no denying that it’s aging like milk though, and a modern day remake including all of the improvements that Atlus has made to the series over the past 17 years is extremely exciting.
I’m itching to see how the game’s combat has been modernized, what a new and improved Tartarus looks like, all the new scenes with familiar characters, and have a bit more interactivity in the world itself. Having only played Persona 3 Portable in the past, I’m looking forward to exploring Port Island in an entirely new way. Atlus had better keep the Stupei, Ace Defective line though, or I’ll be fuming.
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Tessa Kaur, Features Editor
I played a demo build of Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth at Tokyo Game Show, and I’ve been pining for it ever since. Honolulu is rendered in gorgeous sunny detail, with the usual yakiniku restaurants and takoyaki stands replaced with açai stores and shaved ice desserts. The turn-based gameplay is surprisingly dynamic and exciting, a definitive and extraordinarily fun evolution from Yakuza: Like A Dragon’s combat.
There are hilarious tag-team animations, character bingos to mark your growing relationships with each party member, and you may zip through the streets on a Segway. I can’t wait for this game to come out, and for everybody to fall in love with its distinct personality as much as I have.
Suikoden I & II HD Remaster
David W. Duffy, Database Editor
With FF7 Rebirth already taken, and Quinton putting the hype into words better than I ever could, I had a look at the list of upcoming games and saw nothing else I was really excited for. Then I remembered I had the Suikoden remasters in my fantasy draft, and that they were delayed out of 2023. Who knows when Konami will finally get around to announcing a new release date, but I hope it’s sooner rather than later.
From what we have seen so far, they look promising, and they’ll certainly tap into nostalgia for me. I played them to death back in my teenage years (because I’m that old), going out of my way to recruit the hundreds of characters available. I particularly loved the first game’s story of liberation from tyranny, being a loose adaptation of The Water Margin, and I hope it does well enough to see us get further remakes — or even a brand-new title.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Stacey Henley, Editor-in-Chief
Metaphor: ReFantazio is Atlus’ not-Persona game, while Persona itself is its not-SMT series. The realm of religious yet socially reflective RPGs will grow next year with Metaphor, and I have no idea what to expect from it. But after Baldur’s Gate 3 went deep into the RPG mechanics over some of the ‘action-adventure but a little bit RPG because you choose what weapon you have’ games the triple-A market has pushed, that has heightened my cravings for more games that get a little hardcore and traditional with their RPGness. Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like the pick of this bunch.
Death Stranding 2
Ben Sledge, Features Editor
I’m not entirely convinced that this will come out next year, and I’m certain I won’t play the PC port until 2025 at the earliest, but the sequel to Hideo Kojima’s inimitable Death Stranding sure has my attention. The first game redefined the term ‘walking simulator’ with innovative shoulder button based balance mechanics and an unhinged plot to accompany the drudgery of Norman Reedus’ glorified Deliveroo driving. I’m hoping for more mechanical innovation, more wild dioramas of levitating, flayed whales, and more holding R2 to take a leak.
