1. Planescape: Torment (1999)

Your main character, known as the Nameless One, is on a quest to be able to die after reincarnating over and over.

Widely considered to have the greatest writing and story of any RPG ever, Planescape: Torment often tops the lists of not only “great RPGs,” but also “best games of all time.” It's for good reason. Planescape: Torment is the pinnacle of western-style RPGs. It is the culmination and perfection of all the ideas that games like Fallout and Baldur's Gate were aiming for.

Planescape: Torment, on its surface, looks similar to those two games, and the combat is the same kind of party-based, dice-rolling, spell-casting strategy. Where the game sets itself apart, however, is in its unique setting, unforgettable story, and insanely compelling characters. At the very start of the game, you wake up in a morgue, and your first companion is a wise-cracking floating skull who's better for jokes than he is for a fight. Getting out involves disguising yourself, talking to a wise, ancient force, reconnecting with the ghost of your dead lover, hitting people with a dismembered arm, and trying to talk to zombies. That's all within the first hour in the first area.

The remainder of the game only gets better and better, with a dark, interesting world that operates on completely different rules from our own, or from any world you see in other RPGs. Every story for every character could fill its own novel, and you leave each encounter with a small piece of your mysterious past, as the story explores themes of redemption and destiny.

Although I love all the games on this list, if, for some reason, you were only going to play one RPG ever, this is the perfect one. If you enjoy it, there's also a sequel currently in the works thanks to Kickstarter.

What are you waiting for?

With all these games, you should have hundreds of hours of engaging stories, unforgettable characters, challenging gameplay, interesting upgrading stats, and more! “RPG” is such a huge genre, and at the base of it it's all about telling stories while you build and customize a character. While this list is a great place to start, and includes some of the best in the genre's history, it's important for you to find one that lines up with the settings, aesthetics, and gameplay you enjoy!

So, what are your “must-play” RPGs? Let us know what we missed in the comments below!