The Best Short Action RPGs Of The Last 10 Years

3D Dot Game Heroes

Silicon Studio tossed out quite a gem on the PlayStation 3 called 3D Dot Game Heroes. It’s a game that played some homage to The Legend of Zelda franchise from yesteryear but visually makes a quick and unique impression. If you enjoyed the classic style retro games then chances are you will find some enjoyment with this title where players take the role of a hero who goes on a grand quest to get rid of the dark forces that have flooded into the Dotnia Kingdom. Everything about this game screams early Zelda games, from the map layouts, gameplay mechanics, to even the repeated soundtrack. It’s a simplistic game, but don’t expect the title to be all that easy. Instead, this is very much an old school action RPG where players are expected to explore and figure out what to do. Of course, as mentioned, the visuals are what will catch your eye in this 3D pixel world filled with nice little touches such as enemies exploding into several pixels across the ground, the shimmering water effects, to even lens glare. If you have about 15 hours you can complete the main storyline.

Transistor

After the success of Bastion, Supergiant Games went on to make they’re follow up release, Transistor. In a lot of ways, the developers kept the same style and gameplay from Bastion but simply enhanced a few areas to make the title feel a bit more unique. In this game, players step into the role of Red, a lounge singer that had her voice stolen, but now wielding a large sword-like weapon known as Transistor, she embarks on a journey to figure out what exactly is going on with her stolen voice and the chaos that has hit the world. Of course, we won’t go any deeper than that as this game forces players to figure out the narrative as they progress through the title.

Just as with Bastion, the visuals look like a hand-drawn world but with combat being slightly tinkered with. This is still very much an action RPG, where players can make upgrades to their character whether it be aimed towards delivering powerful attacks or defensive measures to keep Red a bit safer in a fight. However, there is an element that allows players to make the game a bit more turn-based where you can pause the combat and plot out their attacks before watching Red carry out the commands. Furthermore, this is a very short game as the storyline will only set you back about 6 hours.

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