Escalation offers ten tiers of difficulty, each with different Mutators and Modifiers. Alongside harder challenges, there are also no checkpoints by default and a timer. Escalation Tokens are required for attempting the higher tiers, though you can obtain some by completing the same missions. But fail a mission, and those Tokens are gone forever.

What kind of Mutators can you expect? Well, there’s Harvester, which regenerates an enemy’s armor and health while they deal damage; Suppressor, which charges an EMP when an enemy takes damage; Anchor with its damage resistance and free incendiary rounds to foes; and more. This all sounds vaguely like Diablo 3’s Greater Rifts, so surely there must be some worthwhile rewards, right?

That’s where Prototype Gear comes in. As a new rarity, it includes higher stat rolls (which are up 1.5 times the previous maximum) and Augments, including Echo, which grants a chance for a bullet to repeat its damage; Amalgam, with a chance for each bullet to apply random statuses; and more. They’re not guaranteed from Escalation Missions, but higher tiers offer better drop chances alongside other rewards.

For even more details on what Rise Up has to offer, including brutal new Kill Squads which can drop Exotic Blueprints, head here.

In a statement on Twitter, Massive acknowledged that it would miss Gerighty but that “his mark will live on.” “We’ll continue to bring the world he’s been part of creating to our players for years to come. Julian, your legacy is part of this studio and remember: Once an Agent, always an Agent.”

Regarding his departure, Gerighty said on his own profile, “It’s time for me to hang up my go bag (keeping the watch) as I go on another grand adventure. The Division’s future burns bright, and I can’t wait for you to discover what the teams have been working on.”

Gerighty became series executive producer back in 2023, having been busy with directing Star Wars Outlaws. He would announce The Division 3 at the same time, though there haven’t been any other details since.

Of course, given his importance, there may be some concern about the project’s status. The Division 2 also has plenty of content coming up, from Year 8 and the new Realism Mode in the upcoming Anniversary Season to the new Survivors mode. That’s not even accounting for The Division Resurgence on mobiles. Massive’s response? “Don’t worry.”

“Our teams who built this world with Julian are still here, carrying it forward with an ambitious, unchanged commitment for the future.” True enough, creative director Yannick Banchereau is still going strong on The Division 2, even teasing some more surprises for the future. Meanwhile, Survivors is led by Magnus Jansén, previously responsible for The Division 1’s Survival DLC (which arguably pioneered the extraction genre).

The Division 3 doesn’t have a release date or platforms, but we’re expected to learn more about The Division 2’s next year of content this March. It’s also possible that The Division gets a Definitive Edition, based on a banner spotted at FPSDay in Japan.

Announced during Japan’s FPSDay Celebration and exclusive to Warlords of New York expansion owners, creative director Yannick Banchereau described it as offering “action-focused combat with reduced time-to-kill and realistic weapon damage based on bullet caliber.” There are also longer cooldowns for skills, less ammo, a limited HUD, and no health regeneration, lending a Ghost Recon-like flavor to combat.

The downside is that players will have to create a new character, as game designer Raul-Sebastian Birnoshi revealed in a panel that many of the looter elements have been stripped away (including leveling). It’s a pretty novel take on the formula, one that Banchereau calls “raw and unforgiving.” “Realism Mode is your chance to experience The Division 2 like never before.”

For those who don’t want to make a new character, purchase Warlords of New York or want something else to grind towards, Massive has a new Anniversary Pass coming up, which includes Rainbow Six Siege X, Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon cosmetics. Pricing is yet to be announced, but it could feature free tiers to go along with the paid offerings.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC, with support for Xbox Series X/S and PS5. If you’re in the mood to revisit the first game, especially ahead of the apparent Definitive Edition, a 60 FPS patch was released several weeks ago for PS5.

“When a few of us made a small team to resurrect TD2 I had zero interest in adding a year or two, just to sunset the game again,” wrote Hoffstein. “The goal, what we believed we could do, was to build something bigger and lasting. This is fun to see but there’s still so much more we want to do.”

He then went into some of the challenges behind working on the more recent content in The Division 2 as has been described in the franchise’s roadmap for 2025 and beyond, as well as the upcoming release of The Division 2: Survivors. Hoffstein noted that one of the main reasons he took on the job was because it was “interesting”.

“Launching a game is hard and I had the chance to help a couple other games do that. But this seemed even harder to do and with less of a roadmap as to how to even do it,” he explained. “In other words interesting. I have a hard time turning down interesting.”

Continuing the posts, Hoffstein also wrote about his experience in turning around games that might have believed to have been left behind by Ubisoft, including Rainbow Six Siege. Ultimately, with all the challenges associated with staffing the studio up for work on The Division 2, he noted that the studio has been quite successful despite only having started out with five people.

“I figured the biggest challenge would be staffing and yeah,” he wrote. “Studios plan staffing years in advance to keep everyone allocated and busy. We created a problem of being a team that needed positions filled that weren’t on anyone’s spreadsheet. We weren’t supposed to exist.”

“I’ve been part of two big turnarounds with Rainbow Six Siege and The Division 2. Amazing to be part of both. But we had 5 people to restart Division 2. Five! What were we thinking? Ah that was fun.”

Earlier this year, Massive Entertainment had launched the Battle for Brooklyn DLC for The Division 2. Priced at $14.99, the DLC takes players back to the first location from the original The Division all the way back in 2016 – Brooklyn – where they have to deal with enemies like a more powerful iteration of the Cleaners faction. When it comes to gameplay, the DLC brought with it new locations and activities, as well as new Hunter Riddles and Bounty Locations.

The Division 2 was also recently announced as getting its own Survivors mode. Much like the version for The Division, development on Survivors in The Division 2 is being headed up by Magnus Jansén. There is no release date yet for the mode, with Massive confirming that it is still in its early stages.

For more details about the current state of The Division 2, check out our review of Battle for Brooklyn.

Relatively Newbie-Friendly

Ongoing live-service games can be intimidating to start up for the first time, but games like The Division 2 make an effort to ease fresh players into its systems. This DLC is one such example with its immediate access to the new zone and content right out of the gate. And for Gold Edition buyers, there’s an instant level 40 boost to get into the content with a better advantage.

Coincides With the Start of Year 7

Aside from the story DLC from 2020, 2023’s ‘The Descent’ was the the latest large-scale expansion the game has had. As usual, large DLCs coincide with the start of a new yearly rollout of seasons. In this case, players can get a headstart on Season 1, Year 7 with the recent beta update that went live on April 25^th. The update features a prototype build of the new season, minus the new zone and campaign, for a limited time. As revealed by the patch notes, Y7, S1 introduces a new global modifier that streamlines builds with set bonuses for the Firearms, Stamina, and Electronics Attribute Tiers. There’s also new active and passive modifiers that reward smart team play. Lastly, this season introduces one new Exotic Weapon and two new Exotic Gear pieces. Yeah, modifiers and a handful of new weapons don’t seem too exciting for casual players, but the DLC itself is where the meaty content lives.

Revisiting Brooklyn

Ah, Brooklyn. Old-school Division fans yearned to return to the snowy city streets that started it all, and now they can – except, this time without the snow. The original Brooklyn stage only took place within a fast-paced linear story prologue, so expanding it into a freely explorable open-world zone is a nostalgia bomb for fans well worth downloading the game again for.

Two Large Districts

The new Brooklyn map is divided into two districts. Brooklyn Heights is situated to the southwest of the player’s main settlement, while the district of Dumbo is to the northeast. The Deep Dive video gives us a good look at the in-game map, cluing us into the face that each district has two World Missions each. Brooklyn Bridge is the most notable landmark throughout the DLC, as it neatly separates the two districts with its monolithic presence. Detailing historic environments tends to be Ubisoft’s strong suit, so it’ll be neat to visit real-life landmarks like the Manhattan skyline and the Dumbo-Manhattan Bridge Waterfront – and, of course, Brooklyn Bridge itself.

Main Missions Are Separate From the Open-World

One thing players won’t be doing is running through these Brooklyn districts within tightly crafted story missions much like The Division 1’s prologue briefly did. Instead, the devs opted to keep the main campaign missions outside of the Brooklyn map instead cordoned off within bespoke mission-specific locations. It’s interesting that they decided to do a 180 reversal of The Division 1’s prologue in this regard. Players will do all of their open-ended exploration within the Brooklyn map and the DLC’s campaign outside of it.

Story

The story picks off mostly where the last story expansion left off: with Division agents cleaning up the mess that the NYC hurricane caused. Unfortunately, the Bridge Settlement folk don’t just have natural disasters to worry about; the Cleaner and Riker gangs have mass produced a devastating new weapon aimed right at them called the Purple Flame. Much of the campaign involves stopping these gangs and presumably snuffing the Purple Flame out of existence.

Returning Characters

Longtime Division fans can expect plenty of familiar faces from previous games and DLC. Dr Kandel hasn’t been seen since her role developing the cure for the Green Poison in The Division 1, and now acts as an essential ally for the Brooklyn Bridge Settlement. We’ve already seen screenshots of Keener’s old crew in the new DLC such as Theo Parnell and Agent Hoskins, to name a few.

6-10 hour run-time

During the DLC Deep Dive, the creative director noted that the campaign will take between 6 to 10 hours to complete. Since the map is open-ended and filled with side activities, it’s likely to take 10 or more hours to squeeze every last ounce of content out of it with the main story path averaging around the 6 hours.

Open-World Activities

Speaking of content, we already have the full list of activities dotting the new map. Battle for Brooklyn will consist of three main campaign missions. This seems may seem dainty at first blush, but campaign missions typically range between two to three hours each if past campaign missions are anything to go by. There are four world missions with two in each district and four control points. The amount of living world activities is 12, while there are 16 world bosses to take out. If you like bounties, you’re in luck because the DLC features 10 of them along with 8 hunter riddles scattered about the Brooklyn map.

Most Vivid Environments Yet

It’s a delight to see the Brooklyn map looking so beautiful considering the amount of activities players will be engaging with here. The snowy winterscape from Division 1’s prologue is replaced with a vibrant Autumn landscape this time around. I’m surprised just how colorful and contrasting the outdoor environments look; it’s not exactly the kind of ambience that comes to mind when thinking of a Tom Clancy game. The foliage in particular looks highly detailed and full of warm Fall vibrancy.

World Missions Are Now Replayable

Finally, a highly requested feature makes its debut in Battle for Brooklyn: replayable World Missions. World Missions are basically the side missions of The Division 2. They take roughly half as long as main campaign missions and take place within the open world areas of the game map. As stated, the DLC includes four World Missions.

New Corrosive Ailment

Your primary antagonistic force in the DLC is the Cleaner gang. Though, the only cleaning they do is the corrosive destructive kind. They’ve somehow managed to mass-produce a corrosive Purple Flame Flamethrower which dishes out devastating ailments out to players. Corrosion reduces max armor over a duration of time, whittling down players’ max defense as long as they stay in range of the Cleaner’s attacks. There’s a special brand of stress seeing your health bar shrink before your very eyes, and it looks like The Division equivalent to that is about to be a reality with the Purple Flame corrosion ailment.

Smart Cover is Back

Division 1 players will be delighted to know that the Smart Cover skill returns in all its glory with the new DLC. It’s not exactly the same here though. Players will be rewarded for using cover points with their choice of an offensive or defensive buff reward. Specifically, the Precision Smart Cover variant enhances weapon handling and damage and provides auto-reloading of rounds. While Fortified Smart Cover gives extra armor (perfect against the Purple Flame), various resistances, including an OP stagger resistance.

Pricing and Editions

Considering the DLC’s healthy 10-hour campaign, the price here isn’t as eye watering as we’ve been accustomed to over the months. For The Division 2 players, Battle for Brooklyn can be purchased as a stand-alone expansion for $14.99. New players will have to purchase the game and DLC separate or as a bundle with the Gold or Ultimate Editions. Besides including the new DLC, Gold Edition adds on the level 40 boost and Warlords of New York DLC. While the Ultimate Edition adds on a year 1 pass, Ultimate Pack, and 1,000 credits on top of those perks.

Release Date and Platforms

Battle for Brooklyn launches worldwide on May 27^th for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Amazon Luna, and PC. A Ubisoft Connect account is required to play the game regardless of platform. A small silver lining is players don’t have to play exclusively through Ubisoft’s launcher and can play through Steam or Epic.

Returning to Brooklyn, where players began their journey in The Division 1, you’ll explore familiar locations and new areas like Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights during the Autumn. The DLC is touted to last six to ten hours and includes four Control Points (with each faction having a unique gimmick for guarding them).

You can also look forward to 12 Living World Activities, ten Bounty Locations, eight Hunter Riddles, and a new collectable Bounties set. The Cleaners and Rikers are the main enemies, though they’ll harness the Purple Flame to more devastating effect, and Smart Cover returns with two variants: Precision and Fortified.

You can also look forward to the new Catalyst Exotic Mask, which provides buffs when dealing and receiving status damage. As for future seasons, Massive promised more events, end-game depth, and an improved onboarding process for newcomers. Stay tuned for more updates.

“Six years ago, The Division 2 launched, inviting players into a meticulously crafted vision of post-pandemic Washington, D.C.,” said Banchereau. “Today, we celebrate the incredible journey, honoring the community, the game’s growth, and the people shaping its evolution.”

Kicking things off, players can get in on the sixth-anniversary celebration through a special celebratory backpack. Dubbed the Anniversary Backpack, the item features a unique dynamic display that shows off the player’s SHD level.

“From the 2019 launch to the recent Year 6 Season 3: Burden of Truth, we’ve come a long way,” said Hoffstein. “84 Title Updates, including 13 Seasons, game modes like The Summit, Countdown, Descent, and the Paradise Lost Incursion, as well as more than 200 gear pieces have kept the game thriving for veterans and newcomers.”

There will also be a Twitch drop event, where players watching partnered Twitch streamers playing The Division 2 will be able to get their hands on special rewards. The drops are divided into two sets spread out over a week. The first step will reward players with two Named Item Caches for watching for 30 minutes, a Celebration Arm Patch for watching for an hour, an Exotic Cache for 2 hours, and the Celebration weapon skin for 3 hours.

The second week of Twitch drops will again kick things off with two Named Item Caches for 30 minutes, an Anniversary Arm Patch for an hour, an Exotic Cache for 2 hours, and the Anniversary weapon skin for 3 hours. The Twitch Drops can be earned now until March 17.

“And we wouldn’t be here without all of you Agents,” said Ilyina. “Thank you for your continued support, feedback, passion, creativity, and never-yielding interest in the game.”

The Division 2 also has currently-ongoing events to celebrate the anniversary. Things are kicking off with an EXP Bonus event; until March 18, players will be able to earn five times more than the normal amount of exp as they play the game. Various activities will also have their own related Exp event, including Dark Zone.

April will also see a new event, kicking things off with a new April Fools’ event. Later in the month, The Division 2 will also get an event to celebrate Spring, featuring a unique reward in the form of the Rabbit Season Outfit.

The studio has also announced a new podcast series, Tenacity. It will feature PhD geographer, urban explorer and survivalism movement specialist Bradley Garrett. The podcast will showcase real-world technologies and concepts that help people to adapt to “shifting circumstances.” It was inspired by the idea of the civilians of The Division trying to adapt and survive the games’ gruelling events.

To cap off the video, the developers also revealed a small video for the upcoming The Division 2 DLC Battle for Brooklyn. The video showcased gives us a glimpse at some of the new enemies players can take on in Battle for Brooklyn, complete with close-quarters combat scenarios. While no details are available, keen-eyed players will also notice new weapons used by the agents.

Join us as we look at the top 30 best action RPGs as of 2023 and what makes them worth playing.

30. Fallout 3

Much like Skyrim, Fallout 3’s combat hasn’t exactly aged well. However, at the time, it was pretty revolutionary, representing the formerly overhead 2D RPG in a fully 3D world with third and first-person perspectives.

The shooting felt more immersive, and V.A.T.S. was more of a slow-mo targeting system for damaging specific limbs (or exploding heads in over-the-top fashion). Aside from that, the world is well-developed, channeling the isolation of a post-nuclear fallout, while your choices had a notable impact on quests to create memorable moments.

29. Dying Light 2 Stay Human

When going from Dying Light 1 to 2, several things were lost. Fortunately, Techland has been doing a good job restoring some of these, while adding some new features to expand on and improve the combat. Legendary weapons, new enemy types, more dangerous Infected, Legend Levels, dismemberment and much more have been added in post-launch updates, resulting in a more visceral and engaging experience.

28. Bastion

Supergiant Games’ first title, Bastion, mixed isometric combat with some light building mechanics to create a compelling adventure. The world is a mess, and it’s the player’s job to put things back together, with the different structures conferring unique upgrades and facilities. Combat is fairly solid and responsive throughout, with melee and ranged options available, but it’s the story and its mysteries that immerse you, thanks, especially to the Narrator who follows your journey.

27. X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse

It’s a shame there haven’t been many action RPG titles in the vein of X-Men Legends, especially with how good Rise of Apocalypse turned out. The story was simple enough as Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants teamed with Xavier’s X-Men to defeat Apocalypse, which allowed for squads from an extensive roster.

Each character gained XP to upgrade their abilities and could even execute combos and Super Combos. With a central hub for viewing comic book covers and biographies, a Danger Room for additional missions and updated visuals over the original, X-Men Legends 2 was an upgrade in almost every way (except maybe the voice acting).

26. Weird West

An immersive sim from WolfEye Studios, Weird West is still an action RPG with open-ended objectives and fairly responsive combat. The various playable characters and unique abilities add some flavor to the supernatural adventure, and you can either go in guns-blazing or utilize stealth to take down foes. While some choices may not be that impactful, the combat is on point, the art style sharp, and the world brimming with things to do.

25. Transistor

Weird as it sounds, Supergiant Games’ Transistor qualifies as an action RPG, though it also has a sort of real-time with pause system. Protagonist Red wields the Transistor, a powerful sword, as the Cloudbank faces an attack at the hands of the Process.

During combat, players can go around whacking enemies or pause and plan actions as long as the Action Bar remains. After unpausing, those actions are immediately executed. With a surprising amount of depth to its encounters and Functions, Transistor is a different take on the genre, but one that presents an incredible art style and music to go with its emotional story.

24. Diablo 4

Despite a problematic launch for its first season, Diablo 4 has improved by leaps and bounds since then. Classes have received more items and Uniques to enable distinct builds and many more viable play styles.

The world has received several changes that make leveling up smoother and the end game more enjoyable (teleporting directly to a Nightmare Dungeon from its Sigil being one such change). Even the horse feels much better to control. Though things could always change, Diablo 4 is in a pretty good spot right now and worth checking out for fans of action RPG looters.

23. Ys 9: Monstrum Nox

Ys 8: Lacrimosa of Dana starts slow and often repels those who aren’t into its “stranded on a deserted island” plot or the basic survival tasks. Granted, it opens up and offers an incredible journey, but it takes some time. Ys 9: Monstrum Nox, on the other hand, is full throttle from the get-go.

The city of Balduq is seamless to explore and brimming with things to collect as players use Adol’s new traversal abilities in exciting ways. Each Monstrum’s story is interesting; the combat is as fluid as ever and the bosses fun to fight; and the new activities integrate seamlessly into the game. The Ys series may not be for everyone, but Ys 9 is simply phenomenal.

22. Borderlands 2

The pinnacle of the franchise, Borderlands 2 featured an unforgettable villain, some crazy loot and class synergies, and a decent story. Sure, the end-game devolved into utter chaos, especially in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, but with heaps of content and significant improvements over the original, it remains the definitive looter shooter. Yes, even over Borderlands 3.

21. System Shock 2

After the first game’s success, System Shock 2 leaned more into the action aspect while still emphasizing strategy over twitch aiming. Though there were different services of UNN to choose from, each specializing in different branches like weapons, hacking and psionics, the gameplay was still open-ended, encouraging experimentation. Of course, between all the different enemy types and weapons, it’s easy to forget that System Shock 2 is a horror game, with the insanity of SHODAN and the sound design still unmatched.

20. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

It may not have aged all that well, but one can’t discount the impact of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim’s combat on the genre. Being able to dual-wield and use different kinds of magic while having more agency on the development of your character was incredible, not to mention all of the different Dragon Shouts. The threats it offered, from dragons and giants, also felt fresh and challenging. Melee combat can be hit or miss, but Skyrim made up for it with the quality of its world and exploration.

19. Starfield

You could levy many criticisms against Starfield, but the combat has marked a step up from anything Bethesda has released thus far. The overall feel of shooting is crisp, and seeing the effects of certain weapons, like ballistic weapons pushing you around in Zero-G settings, is pretty cool. Throw in everything else, from compelling ship design and space combat to fun side missions, and Starfield does offer enough reason to lock and load.

18. Dead Island 2

No one expected anything from Dead Island 2 after it spent nearly a decade in limbo. So when it launched as a straightforward, zombie-killing hack-and-slash title with surprisingly deep combat, it was surprising.

Using the environment to damage zombies, unique weapons that all affected the undead in different ways, the Skill Deck for leaning into certain play styles, and the FLESH system, which took gore and dismemberment to a new level, all added to the experience. Even if the missions and story weren’t anything exceptional (the latter did have some fun revelations, though), Dead Island 2 gave you plenty of reason to run around and slay zombies in creative ways. And really, what more could you ask?

17. Remnant 2

The first Remnant is the very definition of a dark horse. With little hype, it cemented itself as a compelling, challenging game that blended third-person shooting with Souls-like mechanics. So to have Remnant 2, a bigger, bolder version with overhauled mechanics, more loot and customization is a dream come true.

From the bleak landscape of N’erud to the crazed streets of Losomn, the sequel offers a strong variety of enemies, fun boss fights and more complex procedural generation for entirely different questlines and challenges in each run. Even the build variety is significantly crazier since you can effectively mix skills from two classes together.

16. Pokémon Legends: Arceus

As perhaps the biggest shift to the Pokemon formula in a long time, Pokemon Legends: Arceus allowed the player to run around and capture Pokemon in real time. You can be attacked and knocked out during battles, which means deploying Pokemon to fight back. It was a big twist utilized in several unique ways throughout the story. Of course, on top of this, Arceus also featured a massive world to explore, tons of Pokemon to collect and an enthralling story that encouraged catching them all.

15. Lords of the Fallen

Like Dead Island 2, Lords of the Fallen is a long time coming, and it delivers on almost every single front. The dark fantasy setting, with the dual world motif playing a major role in the gameplay and story; the three magic schools, each with unique play styles; and the combat, which mimics Dark Souls in the best way possible – Hexworks delivered all this and more, along with some genuinely stunning visuals.

14. Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 has seen so many changes since its launch that it’s hard to keep track. Nevertheless, it’s still one of the best looter shooters available, with new Exotics and Gear Sets leading to a diverse range of playstyles. Combat itself feels very good, with new Signature Weapons adding some exceptional wrinkles without feeling like bog-standard “Ultimates.” With how much The Division 2 has expanded in content, from The Summit to Countdown, it’s easy to get lost in the gear grind.

13. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Many appreciate Monster Hunter Rise and its mechanics and the new monsters it delivers, but there’s just something else to Monster Hunter World. Its combat is an altogether different kind of polish, and you’re not bound to Wirebugs to unleash some of the strongest attacks.

The sheer range of monsters, old and new, is fun to fight, while Iceborne ups the difficulty significantly while layering on new Skills, mechanics and match-ups. If the Siege activities aren’t your thing, then maybe you’d like to take on the vast range of optional quests, including collaboration with Resident Evil and The Witcher 3. While it could be frustrating in its own right, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is a stunning achievement for the franchise.

12. Hogwarts Legacy

Between capturing the essence of the Wizarding World’s locations and atmosphere and creating a fun open world, Hogwarts Legacy had its work cut out for it. Thankfully, even with average loot, it has stellar combat. There’s nothing quite like unleashing a bevy of spells against opponents while dashing around and using Avada Kedavra to wipe them out.

11. Lies of P

If there’s any title that could come close to feeling Bloodborne-like, it’s Lies of P. The Belle Epoque era epic also tosses in aspects of Dark Souls and Sekiro as you look to break an opponent’s stance and follow up with devastating blows.

Along with extensive weapon customization and Puppet Arms for different abilities, there are also unique weapons with powerful skills, adding even more nuance to the combat. Its pacing and boss design may not be on par with FromSoftware’s best, but the fact that it invites such comparisons while delivering stunning environments and ample enemy variety is already an achievement in itself.

10. Demon’s Souls

The original Demon’s Souls is something special. It kick-started the Souls-like genre as we know it, with FromSoftware going on to create the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne and Elden Ring. While it’s impressive, Bluepoint Games took the essence of the action RPG and polished it to a stunning degree on PS5.

You could argue that the graphical upgrade alone shouldn’t make it worth considering, but so much work has gone into enhancing the atmosphere and revamping locations to create a new feeling without taking away from the difficulty.

9. Nioh 2

Team Ninja had a lot to live up to after Nioh. With Nioh 2, it delved even more into what made the series so great – unrelenting but fair difficulty, combined with new aggressive Burst mechanics to overcome enemies.

That’s on top of all the new skills, weapon types, and Yokai Skills, further deepening the combat, while new bosses and mission parameters – including the dreaded Dark Realm. With even more potential for broken builds and extensive end-game activities to test them, Nioh 2 is a meaty experience, even if its difficulty isn’t for everyone.

8. Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 is when the series fully embraced the action RPG genre, becoming a third-person shooter where Shepard could issue commands to his teammates and combo effects together. It was seamless for such a massive leap in gameplay, delivering stellar gunplay while expanding on classes and weapons to offer more options. It’s backed by an amazing story, incredible companions, memorable side quests and one of the best final missions of any game, resulting in an unforgettable experience.

7. Cyberpunk 2077

When Cyberpunk 2077 first launched, its combat was good. Not spectacular, but good. Following numerous updates, it’s evolved into something truly spectacular. Between the bloody finishers, improved melee combat and solid gunplay is a toolset for more different builds.

Become a powerful hacker, spreading viruses and destroying opponents by driving cars into them. Leap around with Mantis Blades or toss bodies around. There are so many possibilities now, and it all feels good to control. Of course, the rest of the game being far better than before doesn’t hurt either.

6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Widely considered one of the greatest games ever made, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has it all: A compelling story, excellent side quests, a vast world brimming with activities and secrets, and, of course, some strong combat. Refined over the years, especially with the Complete Edition adding quick casting for Signs, the combat has the right amount of feedback as you dance around and demolish enemies.

5. Dark Souls 3

Some may love the first game, while others choose the second game to be different, but Dark Souls 3 is arguably the series’ peak. It strikes a balance with Bloodborne’s fast pace and the classic dodge-rolling gameplay, offers some incredible levels with striking details and delivers an incredible range of boss fights. Combine this with a healthy selection of spells and weapons for replay value, and you have one of the best action RPGs. Even after all these years, few games can match the brilliance of Dark Souls 3.

4. Final Fantasy 16

Yes, the role-playing game mechanics – specifically the loot – are fairly light. Yes, the dungeons weren’t packed with crazy mechanics. However, when it comes to embodying everything that makes the series so worthwhile, Final Fantasy 16 is superb. The combat offers a different take on Break mechanics and constantly adds new abilities and combos to try out as you progress.

The story is an enthralling odyssey with betrayal, revelations and its fair share of grimness. The characters are all portrayed excellently, even if some could have used more time to shine. Above all, the presentation with its visuals and music, especially the Eikon fights, has to be seen first-hand. It may not be everyone’s favorite Final Fantasy, but Final Fantasy 16 is still an accomplished action RPG.

3. Horizon Forbidden West

Video game sequels are meant to improve on their predecessors, and Guerrilla Games took this to heart with Horizon Forbidden West. Every aspect, from the Skill Trees and upgrade system to Armor Skills and open-world activities, is better than the first game. With so many unique movement options like the Shieldwing and Pullcaster, Aloy would have even tougher Machines to deal with, including the Tremortusk, Slaughterspine and Tideripper. It made for an enthralling adventure, as the secrets of the Forbidden West were laid bare.

2. Elden Ring

FromSoftware’s magnum opus, its take on the open-world genre, is nothing short of masterful. The Lands Between is brimming with secrets and challenges, and even with some repeated content and cheap bosses, it’s an epic journey.

If seeing what’s around the next corner is a big motivator, then combat is perhaps the second biggest, mixing the best of Dark Souls with the most customization in a Souls-like title yet. Whether you’re a samurai specializing in Bleed builds, a Warrior jump-attacking everything with dual greatswords or slinging spells, there are so many ways to play, to say nothing of the wide variety of Spirit Ashes that serve as companions.

1. Bloodborne

It’s only fitting that one of the few games that can match FromSoftware’s best works is what many consider its best work to date. Bloodborne isn’t the most technically accomplished action RPG on this list due to being stuck on the PS4 for all these years.

Nevertheless, it delivers a gothic Victorian setting and a sense of all-encompassing dread. The combat is still enthralling, engaging and involving, introducing weapon transformations and firearms for new ways to topple enemies. Throw in some excellent bosses and engrossing lore, and Bloodborne still towers over its competitors.

PS4 subscribers gain access to Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, Kingdom Hearts 3 and Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory. There’s also Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and What Remains of Edith Finch. Rounding out the line-up of PS4 titles is Earth Defense Force: World Brothers, Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain and Onee Chanbara Origin.

PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers also gain access to five classic Ratchet and Clank titles on PS3. These are Ratchet and Clank, Ratchet and Clank 2: Going Commando, Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet and Clank: Deadlocked, and Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. For details on the PlayStation Plus Essential titles available for November, head here.

Season 10 of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 follows the story of a new target: General Peter Anderson. With the power vacuum within the True Sons and the fall of Antwon Ridgeway, Anderson is brokering peace with the Black Tusk to try and take down the Division.

New features of Season 10 include 3 new difficulties for the eight-player Countdown mode. This means that Countdown now has Normal, Hard, Challenging, and Heroic difficulties depending on the number of players and their skill levels. New Legendary difficulties are also being added to Tidal Basin and the Manning National Zoo strongholds.

There are also new weapons and gear available in the new season. This includes three new exotic items: Doctor Home rifle, Busy Little Bee pistol, and Bloody Knuckles gloves.

Alongside everything else, the Expertise cap is also going up from 20 to 21, and players who have the Season 10 pass will also get additional rewards.