There are few franchises from the HD era of gaming that have had gotten the same level of attachment from gamers as Mass Effect. Fans love it so much they even celebrate N7 day, referencing the highest level special forces that lead the way through most of the original trilogy's storyline.
For fans who are in love with the franchise, things are looking great as they recently got the Mass Effect Legendary Collection— but after beating that, they might still be looking for their action-RPG fix. And while there aren't a ton of sci-fiction action-RPGs out there, there are a handful of games that can feel reminiscent of different aspects of— from it's choice-focused narrative to the expansive alien settings.
10 Alpha Protocol Is An Espionage RPG For Players Who Miss Going On Secret Missions
Back in 2006, Sega contracted Obsidian Entertainment to make a Western RPG for them. This game would wind up being Alpha Protocol, where the player would work for the eponymous organization as agent Michael Thornton.
Combat merged hand to hand, weapons, and stealth to seem as similar to a James Bond game as possible, with the developers being inspired by Bond as well as other famous fictional action spies like Jason Bourne. While not particularly well-received upon release, especially by critics, the game developed a strong fanbase that swear by it— as tends to be the case with many Obsidian games (KOTOR II, Fallout: New Vegas, etc.).
9 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey Will Appeal To People Who Want Better Combat
Until Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, players were always given a completely defined protagonist in all of the Assassin’s Creed games. But with Odyssey, players were not only allowed to decide the character’s gender, but choose how they wanted to respond, as either Alexios or Kassandra hunted down the people who broke apart their family.
Though the player won’t get a spaceship, they do get a sea-faring ship, complete with a crew who breaks into song if the player is traveling a good distance. There’s also the ability to romance characters both on and off the ship, even though they aren’t as involved as some Mass Effect moments.
8 Star Ocean 3: Till The End Of Time Has Players Battling An Existential Threat Across The Galaxy
It could take some getting used to to adapt to something like Star Ocean compared to Mass Effect, but there are some similar concepts. In both cases, the ultimate threat is something that’s not just a threat to humanity but all sentient life in the galaxy.
Star Ocean main character Fayt and his friend Sophia go from being on the run from a war-like alien race to uncovering the truth of their universe in this lengthy adventure that was the first 3D installment in the popular series that dates all the way back to the 16-bit era.
7 Destiny 2 Offers A Massive, Expanding Universe
The original Destiny marketed itself as a much larger, more detailed story than it ever actually was, which rubbed some fans the wrong way and limited the game's success a bit.
Destiny 2 on the other hand leans into the promises made in the original trailer, where the players are able to hop from planet to planet battling a wide variety of aliens in the hopes of protecting what’s left of their society. The customization from weapons to armor also feeds the fans looking for more of an RPG focus.
6 Cyberpunk 2077 Is A Solid Sci-Fi Experience Beneath Its Flaws (& Depending On The Platform)
It’s true, the flaws do drag Cyberpunk down in an experience that isn’t nearly as good as it would’ve been if it didn’t have them— particularly those who had the misfortune of trying to play the game on Xbox One or PlayStation 4, both versions of which are borderline-unplayable (to the point that Sony removed it from their online PlayStation store entirely).
However, when players are able to look past and find a version of the game that does run well, that they’ve largely found is an incredible action-RPG experience. Traveling through Night City and being able to customize one’s body in ways Mass Effect never allowed is something most sci-fi fans will want to try at least once. Hopefully the game's performance will continue to improve through patches and updates to become the experience it truly deserves to be.
5 The Outer Worlds Has All The Choices Of Mass Effect But In A More Comedic Setting
Obsidian Entertainment are pioneers when it comes to creating choice-focused gaming, something that Mass Effect fans fell in love with (hence all the Paragon vs. Renegade memes.) The Outer Worlds has all that in spades, with the main character being able to respond to most dialogue in a variety of ways— which can and does affect how the eventual story completely unfolds.
It might be a challenge for Mass Effect fans to get used to first-person gameplay though, as Outer Worlds doesn't offer a third-person option. But given that the developer was founded by industry veterans who worked on such pioneering RPGs as Baldur's Gate and the original Fallout, gamers know they are in good hands with this game.
4 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Offers Choice-Based Storytelling & Great Combat
Many of the action-RPGs on this level hand the player a character they develop themselves over time. But The Witcher 3 gives players a well-defined protagonist in Geralt of Rivia, a surly, sarcastic sort who only wants to rid the world of monsters and make a decent living.
Playing The Witcher is a huge shift from Mass Effect as it sends players to a fantasized medieval era, but players looking for an immersive RPG world will find few better than this. In fact, The Witcher 3 is considered by many to not only be one of the best games of its generation, but one of the best games of all time.
3 Outriders Is An Expanding, Dark, & Immersive Sci-Fi World
Outriders, only just released in April of 2021, is perhaps a little too edgy for it’s own good at times, but that hasn’t stopped millions of players from investing into it. It takes place in a world where humanity was forced to abandon Earth and travel to a completely different planet. But the new planet is even less welcoming, and the lead player winds up imbued with new powers after coming into contact with an “anomaly” on the planet.
This game feels similar to Mass Effect: Andromeda, with humans looking to settle into a new environment after abandoning their own. As a relatively new game there are still various bugs and kinks being worked out, but things are already shaping up nicely on that front.
2 Greedfall Features A Large Party That Have Their Own Missions For The Player To Deal With
A lot of people might have forgotten Greedfall, but it was the closest thing to a large-scale RPG released in 2019. In the game's world, the player travels to a new land to colonize it while finding the answer to a plague in their old country.
What makes this game most similar to Mass Effect is the fact that players can collect party members, and get loyalty missions and must find ways to placate everyone in the group while reaching their goal.
1 Xenoblade Chronicles X Is A Space Opera RPG Where Players Can Meet Aliens.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is one of the best games on Nintendo’s Wii U, and as it has yet to be ported anywhere else, it is one of the few remaining reasons to still keep a Wii U hooked up. It serves as a prequel to the original Xenoblade Chronicles and is considered by many to still be the best entry in that series.
Before the game begins, humanity is forced to abandon Earth, but wind up on a new planet alongside multiple other alien races. There, they’re in charge of protecting themselves against the attackers while also building up a new society. The side quests flesh out one of the best developed universes in the last ten years, and there’s a ton of characters in the game to meet.
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