7 Best Games Like Mass Effect, Officially Ranked

Few RPG franchises make player choices feel as consequential as Mass Effect. From shaping relationships with squadmates to deciding the fate of entire civilizations, BioWare’s sci-fi series combines character-driven storytelling and combat in a way that remains difficult to replicate.

Fortunately, several other RPGs capture parts of that experience, whether through impactful dialogue or expansive worlds that are accompanied by branching narratives. From Dragon Age: Inquisition and The Outer Worlds to Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur’s Gate 3, these seven games offer compelling alternatives for anyone looking for their next story-driven adventure, especially with Mass Effect’s own future looking bleak with the closure of BioWare.

7 Dragon Age: Inquisition

BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition is a natural recommendation for Mass Effect fans, particularly those who love building relationships with a diverse group of companions. Instead of commanding a spaceship, players lead the Inquisition, which is an organization tasked with confronting a supernatural catastrophe threatening Thedas.

The game’s strongest feature is its cast. Characters such as Cassandra, Dorian, and Varric have distinct personalities and personal quests that develop throughout the journey. Romance options and decisions affecting entire regions also give players reason to invest in the world.

6 The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds takes the corporate satire and futuristic setting of science fiction RPGs and turns them into a compact, choice-driven adventure. Players awaken from Cryosleep in a distant colony and find themselves involved in a conflict between powerful corporations and struggling settlements.

Like Mass Effect, the game features recruitable companions and decisions that influence how different factions perceive the protagonist. Companions also have personal quests that add context to their motivations, making them more than just extra guns in a firefight.

5 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Before Mass Effect established BioWare as a major name in cinematic sci-fi RPGs, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic demonstrated the studio’s ability to tell a compelling space-fantasy story.

Set thousands of years before the films, the game follows a customizable protagonist caught in a conflict between the Jedi and the Sith. Players recruit companions and explore different planets while making decisions that influence their alignment with the light or dark side of the Force.

Its dialogue choices will feel familiar to Mass Effect veterans, while its turn-based combat and older presentation require some adjustment.

4 Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution offers a different kind of sci-fi role-playing experience, trading interstellar exploration for corporate power and even human augmentation. Players get to control Adam Jensen, a security specialist whose life changes dramatically after a devastating attack.

The game’s appeal lies in how much freedom it gives players. Stealth-focused players can bypass enemies through vents and hacking, while those who prefer direct confrontation can invest in combat augmentations.

Although Jensen’s story is more tightly controlled than Commander Shepard’s, the game shares Mass Effect’s interest in technology and the consequences of powerful organization manipulating ordinary people.

3 Cyberpunk 2077

Few modern RPGs match Cyberpunk 2077 when it comes to creating a detailed futuristic setting. Night City is a sprawling metropolis dominated by people trying to survive in a system designed to exploit them in a metropolis dominated by corporations and street gangs.

Players control V, a mercenary whose struggle for survival becomes increasingly personal. Along the way, they encounter memorable characters and make decisions that influence relationships and the story’s possible endings.

2 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a different fir for Mass Effect fans because it places greater emphasis on action and exploration than dialogue choices. Nevertheless, its cinematic storytelliing and spacefaring adventure make it worth considering.

Players control Cal Kestis in this one, a young Jedi surviving under the Empire’s rule, and his journye takes him across several planets as he searches for a way to help rebuild the Jedi Order. Along the way, he develops relationships with a small crew aboard the Stinger Mantis.

Lightsaber combat, challenging enemies and even force abilities drive the gameplay in this one, and unlike Mass Effect, it offers limited character customization and fewer brancing narrative decisions.

1 Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 gets the top spot because it capturs the companion development and the consequential decision-making elements that define the best parts of Mass Effect. Set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, the RPG follows a protagonist infected with a mysterious paraside while offering countless ways to shape the journey.

Its companions are central to the experience with characters have personal histories and their own reactions to the player’s choices. Decisions can also transform quests and even change which characters remain part of the party.

Turn-based combat is a major departure from Mass Effect’s third-person action, but the tactical depth ends up rewarding experimentation as the brancing narrative further encourages multiple playthroughs. since different choices can produce dramatically different outcomes.

Which of these games would you rank as the best alternative to Mass Effect? Let us know your picks in the comments below!