10 Best Post-Apocalyptic RPGs, Ranked

Highlights

• RPGs can include various settings beyond medieval fantasy, with sci-fi and post-apocalyptic themes providing diverse experiences.
• Post-apocalyptic RPGs explore society’s collapse and aftermath, focusing on survival, choices, and rebuilding civilization.
• Games like
  Fallout
  and
  Project Zomboid
  offer immersive experiences in post-apocalyptic settings with complex narratives and gameplay.

While often associated with medieval fantasy, thanks to the success of major franchises like Baldur’s Gate and The Elder Scrolls, RPGs belong to a broader genre that includes games with various settings. Sci-fi or even sports, when well-developed, can effectively integrate RPG gameplay elements, providing players with diverse and wonderful experiences.

Another popular setting for RPGs is thepost-apocalypse. Universes where society has collapsed, for various reasons, captivate people’s imaginations. Many games depict how society attempts to rebuild, often fractured by the ideals of ancient civilizations. Surviving in these environments is an additional challenge that many post-apocalyptic RPGs incorporate as a key gameplay element.

10 The Age Of Decadence

Steam Ratings: 81%

Inspired by the fall of the Roman Empire, The Age of Decadence is a post-apocalyptic RPG that showcases how this setting can take various intriguing approaches. In this universe, society collapsed due to a bloody and magical war between two kingdoms, leaving the world to suffer the aftermath even centuries later.

This game also revives some concepts overlooked by modern RPGs, such as a heavy emphasis on choices and consequences, as well as a high difficulty and learning curve. There are numerous ways to start the game, with available backgrounds shaping how the world views the main character, and choices made throughout the story will influence its progression.

9 Wasteland 2

Steam Ratings: 82%

Wasteland 2 is set in a post-apocalyptic future devastated by a nuclear war initiated by a self-aware AI that saw humanity as a threat. After the conflict, the AI continues to try to eliminate humans with robots and synths that (mostly) follow its commands.

Developed by the creators who made Fallout, Wasteland 2 explores survival and morality in a desolate world. Throughout the three games in the series, players take on the role of a member of the Desert Rangers. In the second game in the franchise, the main mission is to investigate the death of a colleague and face down a new threat.

8 UnderRail

Steam Ratings: 87%

• Plataforms: PC
• Released: 12/18/2015
• Developers: Stygian Software
• Genres: RPG

UnderRail is a post-apocalyptic RPG where humanity, due to various factors, was forced to live in underground structures, like subway lines, which serve as their last hope for survival. The events that led people to live in these conditions are uncertain, and as years have passed since the population had to adopt this lifestyle, living on the surface is no longer common knowledge.

During the story, players can explore theories about what happened to the old civilization, but the focus is on exploring the tunnels, facing dangers, and interacting with factions fighting for control of scarce resources.

7 Chrono Trigger

Steam Ratings: 87%

Spanning different eras of humanity, Chrono Trigger is a unique game that takes players on a long journey filled with time travel. One of these settings is the future where the awakening of Lavos, the game’s main villain, brought about the end of times for humanity. The Earth has become a desolate desert, with destroyed cities and scarce resources scattered across the wasteland.

This future is dominated by machines created to assist humanity, but that turned against their creators, instead becoming deadly threats. Amid this desperate scenario, the main characters must fight for survival and find a way to save the future through time travel.

6 Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game

Steam Ratings: 87%

• Plataforms: PC
• Released: 11/09/2023
• Developers: Iron Tower Studios
• Genres: RPG

From the same creators of The Age of Decadence, Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game stands out in the post-apocalyptic RPG genre for its engaging and complex narrative. Set on a generation ship that left a destroyed Earth in search of a new home, the game explores the struggle for survival in a hostile and decaying environment.

Severe problems occurred during the voyage, including a violent revolt that dismantled the ship’s original government, resulting in a fragmented and conflict-ridden society. With its challenging gameplay focused on moral choices and combat tactics, Colony Ship offers a deep and immersive experience for RPG fans, standing out as an excellent representative of the post-apocalyptic genre.

5 Horizon Zero Dawn

Steam Ratings: 87%

Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the best post-apocalyptic RPGs available, combining an engaging narrative with robust RPG elements. Set in a future where humanity has regressed to a tribal lifestyle, the game excels in presenting an open world full of mysteries and dangers.

The protagonist, Aloy, uses survival and combat skills, as well as a device called a “Focus” that allows her to interact with ancient technology. Here, the world is dominated by machines that hunt humans, the result of the collapse of an advanced civilization. With rich side quests and a detailed skill tree, Horizon Zero Dawn offers an immersive experience, blending action, strategy, and deep narrative elements, making it a modern classic of the post-apocalyptic genre.

4 Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden

Steam Ratings: 90%

Inspired by games like XCOM, Mutant Year Zero is a tactical post-apocalyptic RPG where humans have practically ceased to exist. Climate change, combined with economic crises and tensions between countries, led to a nuclear war that devastated all civilizations.

Now, the world is inhabited by mutant animals, where nature has reclaimed the space lost to the cities, and all that is heard is the sound of the wind. Players who venture into this game will control an unusual group of characters, searching for resources to survive and new mutations to explore the post-human Earth.

3 Final Fantasy 6

Steam Ratings: 90%

Square Enix is known for exploring a variety of themes in each new Final Fantasy release, and a prominent theme in Final Fantasy 6 is the post-apocalypse. First, the War of the Magi, which devastated the world, happened long before the game’s events, with humanity managing to rebuild itself afterward.

During the game, a second apocalyptic event occurs, with Kefka Palazzo, the main villain of Final Fantasy 6, disrupting the world’s balance by ascending to power and bringing a new cataclysm to the universe. This game from Square Enix, besides being one of the best RPGs of the developer’s 2D era, also explores themes like rebuilding humanity and starting anew.

2 Fallout 2

Steam Ratings: 94%

When it comes to post-apocalyptic universes, Fallout is one of the genre’s biggest references. The story diverges from history after World War 2, leading to a devastating nuclear conflict in 2077. The setting is marked by a retro-futuristic aesthetic, blending elements of the 1950s with advanced technologies, creating a unique and immersive world.

Fallout 2 deepens this narrative, leading the player to explore an open world full of complex missions and moral choices. The protagonist, a descendant of the Vault Dweller from the first game, seeks to save their tribe. Moreover, the game combines strategy gameplay with exploration of the world, offering great freedom of choice and multiple endings, and cementing itself as a classic of the genre.

1 Project Zomboid

Steam Ratings: 94%

The zombie apocalypse is one of the most iconic settings in post-apocalyptic games, and Project Zomboid stands out as a juggernaut in the genre. Although it doesn’t have a story to follow, the game offers players boundless freedom to explore the city of West Point and its 90s-era surroundings, all of which are infested with zombies.

The cause of the end of the world in the game is the Knox Infection, whose origin is still uncertain. Radios in the game suggest diseases or bioterrorism as possible causes. Additionally, Project Zomboid stands out for its complex survival systems, requiring players to carefully plan their strategies to obtain essential resources and avoid attracting the attention of zombies. Managing basic needs like hunger, thirst, and health, combined with the constant threat of the undead, makes it one of the best games in the genre.