RPG Games Online: Action, Idle, Dungeon and Online RPGs
Updated
RPG games online are role-playing games: you guide a character who grows stronger through levels, skills and gear, usually while working through quests. In a browser they come as action RPGs with real-time fights, turn-based dungeon crawlers, idle RPGs that fight for you and online RPGs with other players. Below are the kinds, with games from the catalog for each.
| Kind | What you do | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| Action RPGs | Fight in real time and collect gear | Hero Knight - Action RPG |
| Roguelike RPGs | Build a new character every run | DungeonsQuest |
| Turn-based and story RPGs | Plan a party, trade or follow a story | Claritas Dungeon Crawler RPG Demo |
| Idle RPGs | Let the hero fight, spend the loot | Endless idle RPG |
| Online RPGs | Level up among other players | Ligmar Online |
What makes a game an RPG
Wikipedia's article on role-playing video games calls the genre one generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement. You control one character or a small party, and four parts come back again and again:
- Levels. Fights earn experience points, and enough of them raise the character's level.
- Stats and skills. Numbers such as strength or dexterity decide how well the character fights, and skills add abilities.
- Gear. Weapons and armor come as loot or are bought with gold.
- Quests. Tasks and a central story carry you through the game.
Classic RPGs fight turn by turn, and the action RPG is the hybrid that borrows real-time combat from action games. If you care more about journeys and puzzles than about growing a character, start with adventure games online.
Action RPGs: real-time fights and loot
You move, aim and attack yourself, and the levels and loot still decide how far you get.
- Hero Knight - Action RPG is a 2D pixel game: level up with experience, collect gold and gems, raise attributes and skills and buy equipment. Each boss you beat gives the knight a new magic ability. Press A for the red HP potion and S for the blue MP potion.
- Mask of six Moons is a pixel-art action platformer built around loot: 12 weapon types, each with its own moves, and every weapon rolls random bonuses. You spend level-up points on five stats. J attacks, L dashes, Q heals and I opens your status.
- Dragon Power is an arena seen from above, where you build a sorcerer against dragon hordes, with skill trees, gear loadouts and soul-shard progression. WASD moves, the mouse aims, keys 1 to 4 use skills and Tab opens the character panel.
- War Lands 2 sends you through a magical world of skeletons, wizards and trolls. Smash barrels and wooden boxes for items that raise your stats. C opens the stats menu and B the inventory.
- Hero Inc is a 3D adventure RPG: explore levels, fight enemies, gain skills, pass quests and beat bosses, all with a click or a tap.
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Two of these are pixel art, and more of that look is in pixel games.
Roguelike RPGs: a new build every run
A roguelite run starts from zero, so the build you pick while you level decides how far you get.
- Roguelike RPG drops you into ever-changing maps full of monsters. Collect loot and grow stronger with each run. WASD walks, E picks up weapons and items, and the left mouse button attacks.
- DungeonsQuest is a fast-paced 3D action roguelite. Survive waves, collect XP gems, level up and choose upgrades, then combine abilities and weapons into a build that is new every run, with a final boss at the end.
- Slime Survivors has endless waves of slugs, skeletons, goblins and golems. Defeating them raises your level and characteristics, and bosses reward artifacts. Use on-screen buttons, or the arrow keys on a computer.
Turn-based and story RPGs
Turn-based RPGs rarely test your reaction time, so the thinking goes into who you bring and what they do.
- Claritas Dungeon Crawler RPG Demo is a 2D turn-based dungeon crawler with no story. You build a party from a roster of heroes with four abilities each, and the game is about skill fusion and synergies. Z confirms and X cancels; on a phone you tap and swipe.
- The Merchant blends adventure and commerce in a pixel-art world: sail to desert ports, take quests from the governor and upgrade your ship. A bad trade can leave you bankrupt.
- Gloom:Gargoyle is the first act of a magical third-person game with three locations and two dungeons, where you look for divine artifacts. Keys 1, 2 and 3 switch between its three auras.
More games that reward planning are in strategy games.
Idle RPGs: the hero fights, you upgrade
In an idle RPG the hero fights on its own, and your clicks go into upgrades and gear.
- Endless idle RPG has your hero fight waves automatically, gather loot and gold, equip gear and open up upgrades.
- Simple Loot Idle is built on loot: kill monsters, equip the better items, sell the worse ones and spend the money on hero upgrades.
- Idle Warrior Tales RPG is a PVE AFK RPG with idle leveling, boss battles and equipment. Your heroes choose their own spells, such as healing an ally or cursing a monster.
- Stat Stealer Alpha is about a slime that absorbs the stats of the mobs it beats. Double-click an item to equip or absorb it.
- Bounce Heroes mixes idle RPG, merge puzzle and roguelite action. Merge the bouncy balls fallen foes drop, and pick one of three cards each wave.
How waiting and upgrading work is covered in idle and clicker games.
Online RPGs with other players
- Ligmar Online borrows from older browser MMORPGs: leveling, rare loot, dungeons and PvP, plus a regular group and a guild that fights for territory.
- Mageclash.io is a multiplayer fantasy game where you fight monsters and other players. You build a character from 100+ spells and knight, rogue and wizard armor, and place stat points when you level up.
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More games with other players are in multiplayer games and the multiplayer category.
Tips for RPG games
- Read the character screen before you spend points. Tab opens it in Dragon Power and C opens the stats menu in War Lands 2.
- Drink potions early. Hero Knight's own tip is that they restore 50%, so use them when you are under 50%.
- Wear the better loot and sell the rest, as Simple Loot Idle is built to do.
- Commit to one build in a roguelite. DungeonsQuest asks you to combine abilities and weapons into a single build per run.
RPG games FAQ
What does RPG mean in games?
It stands for role-playing game: you play a character who grows through levels, stats and gear, usually by following quests. The kinds above differ mostly in how they fight, turn by turn, in real time or on their own.
Are there RPG games online with no download?
Yes. The games here play free in the browser, with no install and no registration. Ligmar Online's description adds that there is no client to download.
Can you play RPG games online with other people?
Some of them. Ligmar Online has PvP and guilds, and Mageclash.io is a multiplayer game. The other games above do not describe a multiplayer mode.
What is an idle RPG?
A game where the hero fights on its own and you spend what it earns on upgrades, as in Endless idle RPG and Simple Loot Idle.
The adventure games category has more dungeons and quests to try.
