10 Best Single-Player Games

Sometimes the best gaming plan is to disappear into a world at your own pace. No lobby to organize, no teammate waiting at the next door: just a character, a problem and an evening that might run a little longer than intended.

These ten games make that time count in different ways. Some reward a carefully considered decision; others give you a mountain to climb or a fight to learn. Multiplayer may be optional in a few, but every recommendation here offers a substantial adventure you can play alone.

Looking for somewhere to start?

• Baldur’s Gate 3 for choices that change how an adventure unfolds.
• Elden Ring for exploration with demanding combat.
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for a focused party RPG with active turn-based battles.

10. Resident Evil 4 (2023)

Best for a tightly paced survival-horror rescue mission · PC edition · Single-player

Leon arrives in a secluded village searching for the president’s daughter and quickly discovers that the locals have other plans for his visit. Resident Evil 4’s remake turns that straightforward rescue premise into a series of tense encounters, strange spaces and carefully rationed opportunities to recover.

Aiming, repositioning and deciding when to spend ammunition all matter. The knife adds another defensive option, while upgrades let you invest in the weapons you trust. The satisfying part is getting through a dangerous situation with a plan that did not quite survive first contact.

It is a strong choice when you want a more concentrated campaign than the larger RPGs above. Expect horror, pressure and action rather than a quiet exploratory holiday. There is no need to know the original’s surprises before playing this version.

9. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Best for inventing solutions with an unusually flexible toolbox · Nintendo Switch edition · Single-player

A broken crossing in Tears of the Kingdom might call for a bridge, a vehicle or a ridiculous contraption that gets you there anyway. Link explores a changed Hyrule with abilities that encourage you to treat the environment as usable material, not simply scenery between objectives.

Shrines and traversal problems give those abilities smaller spaces in which to shine. Finding a workable idea can matter more than finding an intended route, and discoveries often suggest another experiment. The broad search still has a story, but curiosity can happily take over an afternoon.

This is the solo pick for players who enjoy making their own fun from physical systems. Building and experimentation are central pleasures rather than optional distractions. You do not need a partner to supply the questionable engineering; Hyrule leaves that responsibility entirely with you.

8. God of War Ragnarök

Best for close combat inside a father-and-son journey · PC, PS5 and PS4 · Single-player

Kratos and Atreus leave home looking for answers in a world already anxious about Ragnarök. Their relationship gives the journey its center, while the realms provide a steady supply of obstacles that cannot all be settled with an axe. Knowing the preceding God of War helps those relationships land.

Fights reward reading attacks, using the right tools and managing space. Exploration and environmental puzzles break up the combat without making the companions disappear until the next cutscene. Equipment and skill choices give you ways to adjust the action as the journey grows.

Pick this when you want a directed adventure with room for side paths. It is more focused than a fully open-world RPG and more demanding in combat than a story-only experience. Avoid plot summaries if you want its character moments to arrive without warning.

7. Cyberpunk 2077

Best for building your own approach to a dangerous city · PC edition · Single-player

A job in Night City can begin with a conversation and end with you looking for a roof, a security terminal or a louder solution. Cyberpunk 2077 makes the mercenary V your way into a city where personal ambition and corporate power rarely leave each other alone.

Character upgrades let you emphasize hacking, stealth or direct combat. Those choices make encounters feel different without removing the story’s pressure on V. The city also provides smaller jobs and conversations that make its problems feel personal rather than purely decorative.

This suits players who want action-RPG customization inside a strong central narrative. A densely built city brings a different kind of freedom from a countryside full of distant landmarks. Follow the people and work that interest you instead of treating every available activity as homework.

6. Alan Wake 2

Best for an unsettling mystery told through two perspectives · PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S · Single-player

A crime scene becomes the first piece of a much stranger investigation in Alan Wake 2. FBI agent Saga Anderson works through evidence while Alan faces his own situation in the Dark Place. The connection between them is something to discover, not a twist that needs explaining in advance.

Investigation, exploration and tense combat trade places rather than settling into a nonstop shooting rhythm. Limited resources make some encounters uncomfortable even before the imagery does. The changes in perspective give familiar details room to acquire new significance.

Save this for a session when you can pay attention to atmosphere and narrative clues. It is a horror game with disturbing material, not merely a detective story with spooky wallpaper. Familiarity with the first Alan Wake adds context, though the sequel introduces Saga’s investigation on its own terms.

5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Best for monster contracts with human complications · PC and consoles · Single-player

Geralt can identify a monster more easily than he can untangle the people arguing about it. The Witcher 3 follows his search for Ciri through a world of wars, dangerous creatures and smaller troubles that rarely stay simple once someone starts explaining their side.

Tracking clues gives contracts a useful rhythm before the fighting begins. Preparing for a creature, choosing a response and seeing what follows makes side stories feel worth pursuing. Better gear helps, but understanding what happened can be the more satisfying reward.

Choose it for a long journey where conversations carry real weight alongside swordplay. The amount of story can make a short session surprisingly talkative. You can follow the central search without exhausting every map icon, so leave room for the detours that actually interest you.

4. Red Dead Redemption 2

Best for living inside a detailed outlaw story · PC, PS4 and Xbox One · Single-player story; Red Dead Online is separate multiplayer

Arthur Morgan’s next job rarely feels separate from the gang depending on him. Red Dead Redemption 2 puts you among outlaws trying to hold together as the world closes in, then gives you a sprawling landscape in which to ride, hunt and take your time between obligations.

Conversations around camp and encounters on the road make the setting matter beyond the next gunfight. Looking after your horse or following an unexpected trail can slow the story down in a useful way. The appeal is partly having room to notice the people caught inside it.

Allow for deliberate movement and a patient opening. This is less suited to a quick burst of frictionless action than to settling into a place. Its single-player campaign stands on its own; you do not need Red Dead Online to experience Arthur’s journey.

3. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Best for turn-based battles that keep your hands involved · PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S · Single-player

Expedition 33 sends a small party after the Paintress, whose ritual threatens the people of Lumière. That opening gives the journey urgency without requiring you to know its later turns. The striking landscapes make leaving the familiar city feel like stepping into an unsettling painted world.

Battles use turns, but dodging, parrying and timed attacks keep you involved between menu choices. Character abilities and equipment give you a second layer to consider when reflexes alone are not enough. Getting better means understanding the party as well as recognizing an incoming strike.

Put this near the top of your shortlist if you want an authored RPG journey rather than an open-ended life in a giant map. Its combat asks more immediate attention than a purely menu-driven system. Let the story introduce its cast and mysteries without looking up their destinations.

2. Elden Ring

Best for finding your own route through a hostile world · PC, PlayStation and Xbox · Single-player with optional online co-op and invasions

A distant ruin in Elden Ring is often a better invitation than a quest marker. Ride toward it and you might uncover a useful weapon, a small dungeon or an enemy that politely suggests you return later. Exploration gives you options when a particular fight stops your progress.

Your equipment and character build change how you approach the Lands Between. Learning an enemy’s timing matters, but so does recognizing when a different tool or another route would help. The world rewards curiosity without making every discovery part of a tidy checklist.

This is the pick for players who want to earn their confidence. Its difficulty and restrained guidance demand patience, and online help remains optional. Playing alone makes the quiet stretches between battles particularly effective: the next risky detour is entirely your decision.

1. Baldur’s Gate 3

Best for solving problems your own way · PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S · Single-player; optional online or local split-screen co-op

A conversation can save you a battle in Baldur’s Gate 3, but so can a well-placed shove. You assemble a party, investigate a dangerous parasite and decide what sort of person you want to be while traveling through a world with plenty of opinions about your choices.

Turn-based encounters give you time to combine spells, terrain and character abilities. Outside them, exploration and dialogue can be just as consequential. A solo run lets you set the pace and steer your companions without negotiating every questionable idea with three friends.

It earns the top spot through that freedom. Expect a substantial amount of reading, talking and learning rather than constant action. If you like discovering that a strange plan actually works, this is a generous place to start experimenting.

Which should you play next?

Baldur’s Gate 3 is the first stop for players who want to shape an adventure through decisions. Elden Ring hands more of the discovery to you, while Expedition 33 offers a more directed journey with a distinctive battle rhythm.

If you enjoy managing a party, browse Best Isometric RPGs for more character-driven adventures. For a longer run with a familiar cast or world, Best Video Game Trilogies offers several ways to turn one good evening into a whole series.