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Hironobu Sakaguchi, the legendary dev best known for leading the creation of the original run of Final Fantasy games, says there are two big ways to define RPGs in 2025. There are big graphical powerhouses following in the footsteps of games like Black Myth: Wukong, and the "diversity of experiences" filled out by smaller, old-school-inspired titles.
Asked what it means to create an RPG in 2025, Sakaguchi told Eurogamer that "Nvidia has announced their latest 5090 graphics card and the evolution of graphical expression is going to continue to expand. So an experience that fully takes advantage of what the 5090 can offer, you could argue, is an RPG geared for 2025, and it could probably create the same kind of wave, or almost social phenomenon, as [Black Myth] Wukong did."
Wukong was indeed something of a phenomenon, shifting 10 million copies in its first four days and instantly becoming the biggest single-player launch in Steam's history. The game was lauded for its impressive visuals and fun boss fights – our Black Myth: Wukong review agrees – and proved to be a breakout success from China's burgeoning game scene.
Final Fantasy itself is still pushing some graphical boundaries, but Sakaguchi acknowledges his own modern work isn't on that cutting edge. "Fantasian, on the other hand, is much more of an old style experience," he continues. "And it still, I think, stands for one interpretation of what an RPG can be. So another way to look at RPGs in 2025 is this diversity of experiences players have at their fingertips."
It's tough to argue against that kind of diversity. Our list of the best games of 2024 includes the likes of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Dragon's Dogma 2, Persona 3 Reload, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Unicorn Overlord - all wildly different RPGs with very different interpretations of what the genre can be.
