Possibly one of the best games in the Elder Scrolls, Skyrim is an instant classic, and not because it just has dragons in it (even though that is probably one of the best reasons).

Players jump into the world of Skyrim and embark on a quest to discover who they are. You soon discover that you are a dovahkiin, the last true Dragonborn and the only one who can save the world from the the infamous Black Dragon, Alduin. You also harness the power to Thu’mm (Dragon shout) which uses the ancient dragon language in order to create all sorts of magic spells. One of the best ones sees you shouting so loud that you can blow people skyward.

What puts Skyrim above the rest is it’s beautiful open world and story. Players are able to get absorbed into what Skyrim has to offer and can amass countless hours into the game. The soundtrack is also fantastic and gets the adrenaline pumping. Especially when a Dragon turns up.

Set so far in the future that our current age and culture has passed beyond even myth, Torment: Tides of Numenera takes place in a time where science is indistinguishable from magic. Numenera are any items you can find around the world, artefacts of long gone eras, they can be anything and come in any form. The beauty of the game, and the world, is that everything is unexpected. That item you might have picked up might work as a hair comb, but it might have been meant to be a translator for a species of human so alien they might as well be aliens. Made by some of the same people behind Torment: Planescape, it’s well written, constantly surprising, and is one of the games that really lets you play how you want to play.

Imagine Fallout 3 but set in a world that’s cohesive, makes sense, and is also at the same time a whole lot more fun. Welcome to Fallout: New Vegas! Set in the Mojave Desert, you’re there with a burning question in your mind. And a bullet. Find the guy who shot you, and then find out what the heck is happening in New Vegas. Leading you on a journey around the whole desert, it’s a journey into black comedy, as well as a journey into a discussion about how budding nations treat other cultures. It’s a fascinating world, and it feels like home. Just don’t mentioning jingling, jangling, or indeed, jingling.

In a land torn apart by constant warring between factions, Mount & Blade delivers the definitive sandbox RPG experience. You will start out life, as usual, as an adventurer with nothing. From there, you can take any path you like and this game will not tell you which one! The core gameplay is really strong in Mount & Blade. There is a world map in which you travel around the land to towns and cities, choosing where to fight and where to go and trade or pick up quests. In battle, you will be on the front lines with your soldiers, issuing commands as you fight. Mounted combat is where this game shines, but you can really choose any weapon and style to fight with (hello, army of crossbow cowards). Recruiting peasants from villages and training them up into soldiers to fight for you and growing in reputation until you form a real army, the world is your oyster in this true sandbox RPG.

The Final Fantasy franchise has been around since 1990 and was the last ditch effort by Square. Little did they know that over 15 games later the Final Fantasy franchise would have evolved from a turn based pixel action game to the latest open world RPG.

Final Fantasy XV has to be the most visually impressive yet, with its surreal settings and vast expanses to explore. It is the tale of Prince Noctis and his companions as they set off on a journey to form alliances, but they get swept up and betrayed along the way. As Final Fantasy stories normally are, it’s a touch confusing and loses it’s way slightly in the middle, bringing it back to an emotional end.

The characters are what make this game, the group of guys that have a life of friendship tackling the horrors and demons of the world. Final Fantasy does have an initially awkward new combat system, that when harnessed become tonnes of fun. The creatures and bosses are impressive and the side quests make this game wildly addictive.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. This game put Bioware in the RPG elites. Set 5000 years before Anakin Skywalker even considered his feeling on sand, the Republic is at full-scale war with the Sith Empire. Thats right, there are so many Sith they have their own empire. The Jedi and the Sith number in the thousands, and you are the latest to join their ranks. This game took what was great about the best RPGs (Baldur’s Gate, Jade Empire) and put it in Star Wars. You have a ship with interesting companions, you have a ‘save the galaxy’ quest that takes you to a handful of differing planets that each have their own fascinating side-quests. The story is one of the best to come out of Star Wars, and best of all you can be motivated to do good, or to increase your own power.

Over a decade on and World of Warcraft is still the best and most popular MMO out there. Despite using an older engine, because of the art style it still looks fresh, and the frequent updates and expansions have meant that the game has been massively changed since its 2004 release. The whole experience is so streamlined now, there’s nary a bump to be seen on your quest from lowly adventurer to general invading the Broken Isles to defend the world against a demonic invasion. Just because there’s new things to do doesn’t also mean there isn’t a wealth of older content to work through too, there’s a whole world out there just waiting for you to explore it, and no other MMO competes with WoW in terms of how much there is to do, and the fun you’ll have when doing it.

Divinity: Original Sin is one of the most open RPGs out there. The game has almost no ‘main quest’, instead letting players organically find and pursue quests they like to pursue. It's the closest video games have gotten to actual Dungeons and Dragons, allowing players to kill any NPC, to have turn-based combat and branching dialogue choices. The game has a lot of freedom, and unaware players coming from MMOs may find that hoovering up quests is a very boring way to take up all their game time. Its multiplayer too, meaning that you can still play with your one Chaotic Neutral Rogue friend who wants to backstab every NPC and steal their stuff. This is something gamers have been waiting for for a long time.