The 10 best RPGs for busy adults looking for a breather from hectic schedules

When life gets hectic, you just need the best RPGs to play as a busy adult. Few things make me sadder than when someone tells me they don't have enough hours in the day to play new games anymore (or at least games with more narrative depth than a round of Call of Duty Warzone). It's a slow, sorry process, but before long, one of your favorite hobbies has faded into the ether, and you're left clawing back your personal time by watching reruns of Friends through glazed eyes once the kids are finally asleep or your boss stops calling.

I hereby banish you from that fate. I've chosen the games on this list because they value your time and your wallet in different respects. Some of them stand out for their straightforward controls, meaning you don't have to wrack your brain to remember them between longer breaks. Others stand among the best ARPGs, offering both long and winding stories alongside strategic combat you can refine over time if you want to stretch a single game out as long as you can.

Between long, dense open-world roleplaying games you can devour in chunks to the best short RPGs to play in a weekend, I promise there's an RPG out there to suit even the most chaotic lifestyle. Here, you'll find RPGs that can easily dip in and out of, as well as those suited to weekend play sessions – with the kind of vibes you can expect from each included (you can learn more about that in our FAQ section below). Oh, and if you're after more recommendations because you're short on time, I recommend checking out best Quick Play RPGs. So why not treat yourself to one of the best RPGs for busy adults? C'mon, I chose them for you 'specially.

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The best RPGs for busy adults, starting with...

10. Citizen Sleeper

There's something irresistibly compulsive about Citizen Sleeper. My first session with it lasted over eight hours, buoyed through a deep space dystopia by thrumming lo-fi beats and infectious rolls of the dice. With an average playtime of around 12-15 hours, Citizen Sleeper is easy to speed through in a quiet weekend, though its daily resource and replenishment system means you can also husband the experience for shorter bursts of play.

Solodev Gareth Damian Martin leans on pen-and-paper tabletop games in creating a layered, well-realized sci-fi world that gets further complicated in its follow-up (check out our Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector review for more on that), but there's something soothing about the first game in particular. It might be a bit less stimulating if you're not a fan of text-heavy RPGs, but if you're a busy adult who loves to unwind by curling up with an excellent slow-burn mystery novel where side characters are given as much depth as wider corporate conspiracies, Citizen Sleeper will have you rapt.

9. Final Fantasy 16

Look, sometimes us busy grownups just want something cinematic, silly, and bombastic to dip in and out of. Look no further than Final Fantasy 16 – the most approachable game in Square Enix's JRPG series yet. A large part of that is how it heavily leans on the best real-time RPGs instead of turn-based experiences, breaking away from the norm to deliver a fantasy roleplaying adventure that unravels more like a classic hero's journey fable.

The combat is flashy and over-the-top, as is FF16's colorful cast of characters, which is excellent if you want something easy to digest… once you get past its lengthy introductory sequences. The fact that the story takes so long to get truly underway is a blessing and a curse in that respect, but as long as you have time to blitz through those first couple of hours uninterrupted, our Final Fantasy 16 review promises "an experience that stands alongside the series' greats."

8. Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium is one of the cleverest narrative RPGs I've ever played, and it very much knows it. As a slower-paced, more cerebral RPG where your dice rolls are helped or hindered by which personality points you invest in, I can't say that Disco Elysium is necessarily easy to dip in and out of over long periods of time. But played on the Switch or Steam Deck, it's the perfect bit of meaty bedtime reading.

Crafting a particular build is a chaotic art form in itself, which can lead to some hilarious discoveries as well as unfortunate philosophical blunders – but therein lies its slightly pompous genius. It was a super popular Game of the Year contender in 2019 for good reason, though, and if you aren't deterred by the idea of putting your brain through its paces as you uncover a funny yet infinitely bleak buddy-cop mystery, Disco Elysium might be the perfect RPG escape for a busy adult like you.

7. Crimson Desert

There are some RPGs you play for their gripping storylines, fascinating characters, and dire moments of choice and consequence. Then, there's Crimson Desert: a game you play for open world immersion. I concur with our Crimson Desert review that Pearl Abyss' latest is a bit of a mess as far as the roleplaying itself is concerned (stay with me here), but with 80km2 to explore as sword-for-hire Kliff, it offers an endless playground for low-stakes, drop-in fun.

Crimson Desert is an excellent RPG for a busy adult because it simply respects your time and how you want to spend it. Want to lay down your arms and play it like a life sim? You can. Prefer grinding skill points and challenges in the name of becoming the beefiest combatant in Pywel? Go right ahead. You can even actually play through the story itself if you really want; the best thing about it being so weak is that you'll never worry about forgetting what's happened, even if you're unable to play for long stretches at a time. The fact is that Crimson Desert is simply massive, and that makes it excellent value if you're looking for one big game to play for the next however many months.

6. Avowed

If you also hate nothing more than needing a two-hour YouTube explainer to know how classes work in an RPG, you've come to the right place. As our Avowed review says, it's not quite Obsidian's very own Skyrim – actually, it's much more pleasant.

Avowed is a bite-sized yet beautiful RPG that can slot into your hectic life wherever you need it to, and now that it's available on PS5 as well as Xbox and PC, it's even more accessible. One of my favorite things is how, from combat to narrative, nothing screams overcomplication. The story is fairly basic – you're a descendant of a God and you go around a fantasy land with your pals to fight things and learn nifty abilities. Combat is diverse, yet easy to grapple with; there's archery, magic, melee, and even guns to choose from, and you can swap between weapons with a push of a button. And don't worry about memorizing stuff like combos or combat systems, because when in doubt, you very much can just whack it with a sword.

5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Before you yell at me for this one being lower in the list, hear me out. The Witcher 3 is one of my favorite RPGs of all time, but I also played it during a period of my life where I was anything but a busy adult. It has some of the most engaging combat among the best RPGs by a mile, with some truly incredible setpieces across a stunning open world to conquer as Geralt follows The Path. It might be one of the more time-intensive options on this list, but learning how to spec your build is a process you won't regret getting a handle on.

Mastering the different Witcher signs and abilities and how they synergize with various mutagens is what makes this a perfect RPG for busy adults, especially if you want to put all your spare time into one grand experience and see your hard work pay off. You can also just ignore the main questlines in favor of shorter mercenary contracts, giving you the sense of adventure and escapism. The Witcher 3 is still one of the most narratively rich and satisfying games out there some 11 years later – even if our The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine review falls just shy of the five-star rating it holds in my heart.

4. Assassin's Creed Shadows

The best thing about Assassin's Creed Shadows, especially for a busy adult, is its quest design. Riffing off the Ancient Grecian likes of Assassin's Creed Odyssey before it, Yasuke and Naoe's journey takes us across a beautiful open world as we tick off names on an ever-growing hitlist. That dependable loop is what makes Shadows so easy to pick up and put down again according to your schedule, and with two characters to play as and experiment with in terms of combat styles, you'll never be bored with tweaking your build and exploring new opportunities.

Even as a story-driven experience, I never felt funnelled towards doing just the main quests – there's plenty of other fun secrets, challenges, and discoveries to explore across Japan. Sure, myFeatures Editor was right to point out the setbacks of this "scattershot" narrative approach in his Assassin's Creed Shadows review, but it's actually a great boon for anyone who's looking for a lighter-touch story experience that still has plenty of vibrance, depth, and reactivity to enjoy besides.

3. Hades 2

Don't fight me on whether it's a roguelike or an ARPG; Hades 2 is both, and it was made for busy adults like you. Our Hades 2 review goes into greater detail on why exactly that is, but take it from someone who literally bought a Steam Deck to play this game on the go: Supergiant's latest is as built for short bursts of play as it is impossible to put down.

The roguelike element means you can restrict yourself to one or two (or three, or forty) separate "runs" per session, with carried over resources to help strengthen protagonist Melinoe as she repeatedly battles to the Underworld to kill her dear old gramps. Replete with plenty of familiar faces and new ones, Hades 2's host of memorable characters and their interwoven, progressively unlocked stories is just one aspect of what makes Hades 2 so absorbing. If you love a hack-and-slasher with a heavy dose of Greek mythology and don't fall head over heels for this one, I really can't help you.

2. Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 is one of those once-in-a-generation RPGs that can't help but blow your every expectation out of the water. If you want to know why it's also one of the best RPGs for busy adults, consider this: my incredibly busy lawyer brother has been playing nothing but Baldur's Gate 3 and Hunt: Showdown for the past three years, and I don't think he has any plans on stopping.

It's perhaps the best investment money can buy right now in terms of RPGs with replay value. Developer Larian has been working away at it in the years since launch, adding new classes, new interactions, even whole new sections of the game. I haven't replayed any game as much as I have this one, and even if you're a total D&D newbie who can't tell your clerics from your storm sorcerers, Baldur's Gate 3 will be one game you can play for as many years as there are permutations of character and party composition. Our Baldur's Gate 3 review isn't playing around; this really is "the new gold standard for RPGs".

1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an explorer's dream. The combination of low-pressure adventuring with puzzles, quirky combat, and unique abilities to help problem solve makes for a beautiful world to take your damn sweet time in. The fact that it's pretty tame as far as violence is an added bonus for busy RPG-loving parents out there, because you can definitely play this one around or even with your kids – though maybe the Blood Moon cutscene might be a bit frightening for the little ones.

Much like Baldur's Gate 3, Tears of the Kingdom benefits from having a certain knack to it. Once you understand how to play, you'll never forget. It builds off the successes of Breath of the Wild to deliver a stunning action-adventure RPG experience where going off the beaten path is not only okay, but very much encouraged. Our Guides Editor's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review deems it a "game as broad as it is deep" – so if you're looking for something you'll never feel truly "finished" with, Hyrule is out there, waiting.

Best RPGs for busy adults FAQs

Explore more recommendations with our pick of the best story-driven RPGs or the best single-player RPGs.