The Xbox 360 was one of the best places for role-playing games in its generation: BioWare's sci-fi trilogy, Bethesda's open worlds, a strong run of Japanese RPGs and a few cult favorites. This list ranks the 14 best by critic consensus and lasting appeal, with a note on what each does best and where it shows its age. Many Xbox 360 games also run on newer Xbox consoles through backward compatibility, but not all of them, so check the store before you hunt down a disc. If you want newer games, see our page on the best Xbox RPG games.
1. Mass Effect 2#
BioWare's 2010 sequel turns the series into a story about building a crew for a suicide mission. The loyalty missions give every companion a personal arc, and the final act pays off the choices you make along the way. It trades some of the first game's inventory and exploration for tighter shooting, and its planet scanning is a chore, but it is the game most players name when they talk about the series at its best.
2. Fallout: New Vegas#
Obsidian's 2010 Mojave Desert RPG gives you factions, reputation and an unusual amount of freedom in how to solve a quest, from talking your way through to shooting your way out. The writing and the sense of consequence set it apart from other open-world games of its time. It launched with a lot of bugs, and the combat is rough, but it remains the Fallout many fans rank first.
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim#
Bethesda's 2011 fantasy world is built around wandering: pick a distant mountain, walk there and find something unexpected on the way. Guilds, dragons and a huge number of side quests fill the map. Combat and animation feel dated, and bugs are part of the experience, but few open worlds on the console match its pull.
4. Mass Effect#
The 2007 original introduced Commander Shepard, the Normandy crew and a galaxy where your decisions carry over from game to game. Its conversation system and companions were ahead of their time. The Mako driving sections and the inventory are clumsy and the shooting is less polished than later entries, but the story and setting still hold up.
5. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings#
CD Projekt RED's 2011 RPG, released on Xbox 360 in 2012 as the Enhanced Edition, is a political story in which a major choice at the end of the first act sends the game down very different paths. The art and the writing are strong, and the consequences feel real. It is demanding: combat is harder than in the later games of the series, and the opening hours are unforgiving.
6. Dragon Age: Origins#
BioWare's 2009 dark-fantasy RPG offers six origin stories, a large party and tactical combat in which you pause and give orders. The companions and the choices in the main story are the highlights. The console version lacks the PC original's overhead tactical camera, and the visuals are dated, but the writing carries it.
7. Fallout 3#
Bethesda's 2008 return to the post-apocalyptic series shaped the open-world formula the studio kept building on. The Capital Wasteland is full of places to find, and the VATS system makes the shooting more tactical. The ending is weaker than the rest, and the engine shows its age, but the first hours in the wasteland are some of the best in the genre.
8. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion#
The 2006 game that brought Bethesda's open-world fantasy to the console generation, with a vast province, guild questlines and the Radiant AI that made townspeople follow daily routines. Level scaling and stiff dialogue have not aged well, but the guild stories and the freedom still impress.
9. Mass Effect 3#
The 2012 end to Shepard's story combines the strongest combat of the trilogy with a war that pays off many earlier decisions. Its ending divided players, and BioWare released an extended version after the launch. The multiplayer mode added a lot of replay value, and the game is worth playing for the final missions alone.
10. Dark Souls#
FromSoftware's 2011 action RPG built its reputation on difficulty, a connected world and quiet storytelling. Learning the world and its bosses is the main reward. The Xbox 360 version suffers from frame-rate drops in a few areas, and the game explains very little, so it can be punishing for newcomers.
11. Borderlands 2#
Gearbox's 2012 shooter-RPG mixes loot, character classes and four-player co-op in a cel-shaded world with a sharp sense of humor. Hunting for better guns is addictive, and the villain, Handsome Jack, is one of the genre's best. It is repetitive over long sessions, and its humor is not for everyone.
12. South Park: The Stick of Truth#
Obsidian's 2014 turn-based RPG puts you in the fourth-grade fantasy game of the show, with a faithful look and a script that matches the series. Its battles are simple but charming. It is short, around ten hours, and the humor is crude, but it is a rare licensed game that gets the source right.
13. Lost Odyssey#
Mistwalker's 2007 game, from the creator of Final Fantasy, is a classic turn-based Japanese RPG about an immortal soldier. Its short written dream sequences about his memories are the highlight. It is linear, has random battles and came on four discs, but it is one of the best traditional Japanese RPGs on the console.
14. Tales of Vesperia#
Namco's 2008 game stars the rebellious Yuri Lowell in a story about justice and loyalty, with a real-time battle system that rewards combos. Its colorful anime look and its party are the strengths. Some side quests are repetitive and the pacing drags in places, but it is one of the console's most charming Japanese RPGs.