The Mass Effect series is one of BioWare’s hallmark franchises that combine high-intensity third-person combat with incredible storytelling, world-class voice acting, and unforgettable characters. For those who enjoy choice-based narratives, sci-fi themes, action combat, and steamy romances with NPCs, here are great games like Mass Effect.
Starfield
| Initial Release Date | September 6, 2023 |
| Developer | Bethesda Game Studios |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Xbox Series X|S |
Starfield represents Bethesda’s first new intellectual property in more than 25 years. For the first time in the history of the developer, fans received an open-world sci-fi RPG.
- Read more: Starfield Guides Hub
Given Bethesda’s extraordinary reputation with the massive success of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, Starfield had and still has a lot to live up to. Even with a slow start, this adventure eases players into a vast, wide universe across the stars.
You can play from a first-person or third-person perspective, travel across many different planets to build and upgrade ships, meet companions, fight pirates, and more.
Interacting with NPCs offers you plenty of branching dialogue choices and a handful of romance options.
Cyberpunk 2077
| Initial Release Date | December 10, 2020 |
| Developer | CD Projekt Red |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Xbox Series X|S – PlayStation 5 – Xbox One – PlayStation 4 |
Although it had a rough launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has turned out to be one of the greatest first-person shooter RPGs of all time. The Phantom Liberty DLC brought with it a ton of quality-of-life improvements and new content that make it worth it for new and returning players to start everything over.
- Read more: Cyberpunk 2077 – Cheats & Unlockables
Explore the detailed futuristic urban hub of Night City, overrun with violence and dominated by corporations. Like Mass Effect, the world of Cyberpunk 2077 invites players to interact with well-written characters, branching dialogue, romance, side content, and more.
Dragon Age: Origins
| Initial Release Date | November 3, 2009 |
| Developer | BioWare |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Xbox 360 – PlayStation 3 |
In the 2000s, BioWare created a slew of new IPs. The two largest were the science fiction universe of Mass Effect and the other was the fantasy universe of Dragon Age.
Dragon Age: Origins (DAO) is a dark fantasy epic that offers the classic BioWare experience with dialogue choices, romance, and player choices that affect every facet of the world. Made by the same developer as Mass Effect, DAO has tactical combat, a wealth of fascinating lore, complex characters, and world-class voice acting.
No Man’s Sky
| Initial Release Date | August 9, 2016 |
| Developer | Hello Games |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Mac – Xbox Series X|S – PlayStation 5 – Nintendo Switch – Xbox One – PlayStation 4 |
No Man’s Sky is an expansive and procedurally generated open-world experience that invites players to explore a vast and virtually infinite universe.
Developed by Hello Games, the game offers an awe-inspiring experience as players traverse through a myriad of diverse planets, each teeming with unique flora, fauna, and landscapes.
Like Mass Effect, the game places an emphasis on exploration, survival, trading, and combat. What’s more, players have the freedom to chart their own course, discover new species and resources, and engage in interstellar travel across a seamless and beautifully rendered universe.
Alpha Protocol
| Initial Release Date | June 1, 2010 |
| Developer | Obsidian Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Xbox 360 – PlayStation 3 |
Alpha Protocol is an espionage-themed action role-playing game that puts players in the shoes of Michael Thorton, a covert operative navigating a complex world of international intrigue. Players unravel conspiracies, making crucial decisions that shape the mission outcomes, and honing various skills.
The game, like Mass Effect, is experienced in the third person. Furthermore, it emphasizes choice and consequence, offering a branching narrative where decisions significantly impact the storyline and relationships with in-game characters.
Thornton can pursue romantic involvement with several women he encounters during his journey throughout the game at the player’s discretion.
Dead Space (Remake)
| Initial Release Date | January 27, 2023 |
| Developer | Motive Studio |
| Platform(s) | – PC – PlayStation 5 – Xbox Series X|S |
For those who enjoy sci-fi mixed with survival horror, the Dead Space remake is the game to play. Set in an abandoned spaceship, the plot follows engineer Isaac Clarke on a journey through a nightmare-inducing atmosphere that stretches beyond his typical area of expertise.
This third-person shooter has the player fighting cosmic terrors known as Necromorphs, retaining the original gruesome combat but with refreshing tweaks that offer a fresh experience for new and returning players.
Hogwarts Legacy
| Initial Release Date | February 10, 2023 |
| Developer | Avalanche Software |
| Platform(s) | – PC – PlayStation 5 – Xbox Series X|S – Nintendo Switch – PlayStation 4 – Xbox One |
The Wizarding World has never been experienced like Hogwarts Legacy, and for fans of choice-based roleplaying games, this is an unforgettable experience.
Become a student of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the late 1800s, sorted into the house of your desire, pick your wand, don your character in various regalia, and experience thrilling third-person combat.
In Hogwarts Legacy, you will meet and interact with many different characters, and the main plot involves the player’s connection to a mysterious ancient magic. The branching dialogue decisions made along the way will affect the outcome of relationships as well as the story.
Deus Ex
| Initial Release Date | June 23, 2000 |
| Developer | Ion Storm |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Mac – PlayStation 2 |
Deus Ex is a groundbreaking cyberpunk-themed action role-playing game that presents a dystopian future where society grapples with the augmentation of human beings.
Set in a gritty and complex world, the game offers players a rich narrative exploring themes of conspiracy, transhumanism, and societal divides.
Known for its open-ended gameplay and player choice, Deus Ex allows diverse approaches to missions, offering freedom in character development, exploration, and decision-making, enabling players to mold their gameplay experience according to their preferred playstyle, whether stealth, combat, or hacking.
Binary Domain
| Initial Release Date | February 16, 2012 |
| Developer | Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Xbox 360 – PlayStation 3 |
Binary Domain is a third-person shooter game set in a futuristic Tokyo made by the studio behind the Like a Dragon (Yakuza) franchise, where players control a squad of international operatives fighting against robotic foes in a world on the brink of a robot uprising.
This title places a significant emphasis on a diverse team of characters with distinct personalities, skills, and relationships that dynamically evolve based on player choices and interactions.
Similar to Mass Effect, Binary Domain integrates squad-based combat, decision-making that impacts the story and relationships within the team, and a narrative that revolves around the consequences of technology and its ethical implications
Vanquish
| Initial Release Date | October 19, 2010 |
| Developer | Platinum Games |
| Platform(s) | – PC – PlayStation 4 – Xbox One – PlayStation 3 – Xbox 360 |
Mass Effect has decent gunplay, but the real magic is the way the setting is built with a believable and memorable story, characters, relationships, and world lore. Vanquish, on the other hand, is all about the gameplay.
This title from PlatinumGames demands constant movement from the player in a fast-paced third-person shooter adventure. It has a steeper difficulty curve than most games like Mass Effect, but it is a ton of fun.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
| Initial Release Date | July 16, 2003 |
| Developer | BioWare |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Mac – Xbox – iOS – Android – Nintendo Switch |
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) is another BioWare role-playing game that places players in the midst of an epic narrative, allowing them to create a character and make consequential choices that shape the story.
- Read more: KOTOR – Cheats & Unlockables
Set in a galaxy far, far away thousands of years before the events of the movies, KOTOR explores a conflict between the Jedi and the Sith. The game’s sci-fi setting, emphasis on player choice, character development, and narrative-driven gameplay share common ground with the Mass Effect series.
What’s more, KOTOR offers one of the greatest plot twists in video game history, on the level seen in The Empire Strike’s Back (1980).
Fallout: New Vegas
| Initial Release Date | October 19, 2010 |
| Developer | Obsidian Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Xbox 360 – PlayStation 3 |
Fallout: New Vegas is an action role-playing game set in a post-apocalyptic world that combines elements of open-world exploration, decision-making, and a narrative driven by player choices.
- Read more: Fallout: New Vegas – Cheats & Unlockables
In this setting, the player is cast in the shoes of the Courier navigating the Mojave Wasteland. The game offers a vast and dynamic world filled with various factions, each with its own agenda and philosophy.
Similarly to the Mass Effect series, Fallout: New Vegas incorporates a deep narrative with branching storylines that evolve based on the player’s decisions, fostering a morally ambiguous universe where choices impact not just the immediate narrative but also the fates of factions and characters.
Jade Empire
| Initial Release Date | April 12, 2005 |
| Developer | BioWare |
| Platform(s) | – PC – Mac – Xbox – iOS – Android |
Jade Empire is set in a fantastical world inspired by ancient China, blending martial arts, magic, and a rich, mystical storyline. Players assume the role of a martial arts apprentice whose destiny involves navigating a gripping narrative filled with moral choices and philosophical dilemmas.
Similar to the Mass Effect series, Jade Empire places a strong emphasis on storytelling and player choices that affect the game’s direction. Both games feature a deep narrative, where the player’s decisions have a significant impact on the storyline, relationships with various characters, and the ultimate outcome of the game.
While Mass Effect is set in a futuristic space opera, Jade Empire offers a similar experience in a rich, ancient world filled with its own lore, traditions, and mysticism.
Horizon Zero Dawn
| Initial Release Date | February 28, 2017 |
| Developer | Guerilla Games |
| Platform(s) | – PC – PlayStation 4 |
Horizon Zero Dawn presents a stunning open world with a unique blend of primitive and futuristic elements, focusing on survival, combat against robotic creatures, and unraveling the mysteries of the past. The game follows Aloy, a skilled hunter in a lush but dangerous world overrun by machines.
Both Horizon Zero Dawn and Mass Effect offer immersive narratives shaped by player decisions in a third-person experience but are set in vastly different environments and themes.
The Outer Worlds
| Initial Release Date | October 25, 2019 |
| Developer | Obsidian Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | – PC – PlayStation 5 – Xbox Series X|S – Nintendo Switch – PlayStation 4 – Xbox One |
In the satirical, alternate future of The Outer Worlds where mega-corporations run the galaxy, players take on the role of a colonist who awakens from hibernation in a distant colony, faced with many choices that significantly impact the game’s narrative.
Both The Outer Worlds and Mass Effect feature a diverse cast of characters and factions, each with its motivations and ideologies.
Greedfall
| Initial Release Date | September 10, 2019 |
| Developer | Spiders |
| Platform(s) | – PC – PlayStation 5 – Xbox Series X|S – PlayStation 4 – Xbox One |
Greedfall is set in a 17th-century-styled fantasy world filled with magic, exploration, and political intrigue. Players take on the role of De Sardet, a diplomatic officer seeking a cure for a deadly plague while navigating complex relationships between different factions.
Like Mass Effect, Greedfall emphasizes player choice, with decisions shaping the narrative, impacting relationships with factions and characters, and influencing the game’s ultimate outcome. However, the latter offers a more contained, but equally intricate, tale of political maneuvering in a fantasy setting, blending diplomacy, combat, and exploration.